Mexico: Yucatan Named the Best Place To Visit in 2024 -- Here's Why

The Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico has always been one of the country's most popular tourist spots thanks to its beautiful beaches, Mayan ruins, and jungle adventures. It has now been named the best place to visit in the world.

Travel site Travel Lemming has released its list of the "50 Best Places to Travel in 2024," and it named the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico at #1 over other tourist hot spots such as #2-ranked Gizo, Solomon Islands and #3-ranked Stavanger, Norway.

"Escape Cancun on the Maya Train to colorfully authentic Mexican towns. Discover beaches free of tourists and seaweed, ancient pyramids, and underground swimming holes the Mayans believed were gateways to the underworld," stated the site in picking the Mexican state as its top vacation destination.

Yucatan has long lived in the shadow of its neighboring state, Quintana Roo, where Cancun is located. However, the state is home to Izamal, nicknamed the "Yellow City" and famous for its Spanish colonial buildings. It also has Valladolid, another historic town, which tourists can go to to visit Chichen Itza, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

The Mexican state is also well known for beautiful white sand beaches in areas like Progresso and El Cuyo, as thousands of cenotes, which are lush, underground swimming holes. The ancient Mayans believed these swimming holes were gateways to the underworld.

Travel Lemming listed two more areas in Latin America for the Top 10, including Antigua, Guatemala (#4) and Guatape, Colombia (#9). They also listed three areas in the US in the Top 10 vacation spots: Memphis, Tennessee (#5), Kodiak, Alaska (#8), and Eureka Springs, Arkansas (#10).

Tourist Spots in Yucatan, Mexico

The most well-known tourist spot in Yucatan is, of course, Chichen Itza, which was declared a World Heritage Site in 1988 by UNESCO and a Wonder of the World in 2007. According to Yucatan Travel, it is considered the most famous Mayan city in the world and is located 188 km from Cancun.

There are plenty of old Mayan ruins in the state, such as Mayapan, Xcambo, Labna, Ek Balam, Kabah, Uxmal, Ake, and more. However, the city of Valladolid still standing but long gone is its Mayan architecture, replaced by still-standing Spanish colonial buildings.

For those who love wildlife, Celestun is known for its flocks of pink flamingos while El Palamar is known as one of the most important ecological reserves in the Yucatan. Meanwhile, beach lovers can check out El Cuyo, El Palmar, Progreso, San Filipe, and Celestun.

Best Time to Visit Yucatan, Mexico

Yucatan can be reached via train from Cancun or directly by air to Tulum. As for the best time of year to visit this beautiful Mexican state, the Mexico Travel Blog lists the dry season, which happens between December and April.

There are also plenty of fiestas in the Yucatan, including Carnival in February, Semana Santa (Holy Week) in April, and Day of the Dead in October.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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