10 Best Family Things to Do in Riviera Maya

Xplor Park in Playa del Carmen is an outdoor adventure park offering a wide range of exciting, thrilling, and pulse-pounding adventures for adults and kids of every age. Here you can race along high above the ground on a lightning-fast zipline. You can head for an underground spelunking expedition and go swimming in a cave among the stalactites. You can enjoy a hammock splash water attraction, go on vehicle safaris, and enjoy the ultimate bonding with the family.

The park has an age limit of 5, so it's good for families with kids older than toddlers. It's located just 7 minutes to the north of central Riviera Maya.

Xcaret Park in Playa del Carmen is an outdoor theme park offering a full resort, soft sands, turquoise waters, adventure tour packages, and up-close animal experiences. Here you can go snorkelling or scuba diving, ride a zip line high in the air, explore underground rivers, and parasail 600 feet in the sky. You can also get in the water and go swimming and snorkelling with nurse sharks and pet them. For the kids, they can feed, pet, and interact with stingrays and go snorkelling in a shallow, quiet lagoon.

Various packages have different age restrictions. In general, kids should be at least 5 years old to attend. It's just about 12 minutes from central Riviera Maya.

The Tulum Archaeological Zone is a stunning set of ruins where you can see and explore the remains of the ancient Mayan civilisation and learn about their culture. These ruins are some of the most stunning ancient remains globally and among the largest of any Mayan settlement in Mexico. They are also easily accessible outside Tulum, about an hour from central Riviera Maya. You can enjoy biking, hiking, and taking picturesque family photos in front of buildings that are centuries old. Just steps away is a white sand beach with pristine, clear waters.

These ruins have no specific age limit. That means no matter how old the kids are, they can find something to enjoy.

The Punta Venado Bike Park offers nearly 20 miles of mountain bike tracks that are ideal for some family bonding and exercise in the heart of the Riviera Maya. The trails are well-maintained and offer an "all-terrain biking experience" along beaches, through mangrove forests, and passing cenotes. You'll see sites of importance to the Mayan culture, ancient ruins, independent shops, and all manner of sights, smells, and tastes to experience the full breadth of the diverse culture of the Riviera.

Mountain biking, even without mountains, are a great activity for the whole family. You can even rent bikes and equipment, or book a guided ride to learn all about the sites you'll visit and pass.

Xel-Há Park is a waterpark in Cancun that offers a wide variety of aquatic fun like cenote swimming, snorkelling, waterborne zip-lining, photo ops, and entertainment opportunities. Here you can spend the day soaking up the sun on the beach or get in some pulse-pounding thrills. You can swing on a rope and drop into deep water or go swimming with dolphins, stingrays, and manatees. You can go whitewater tubing or take the kids to Children's World, where they can enjoy a rope climb, paddling pool, seesaw, water slides, or even a crocodile tunnel.

You can also climb a lighthouse or grab a bite in the on-site restaurant. It's only 30 minutes south of central Riviera Maya.

Cirque du Soleil La Joyá is a family-friendly circus and acrobatics show at the Vidanta Riviera Maya Resort, which tells a storey showcasing the ancient local culture. The storey concerns a little girl and her grandfather searching for the secrets of life and the journey they take together. You'll see acrobats, trapeze artists, storytellers, tumblers, and many other acts by internationally renowned performers, many of whom have appeared on shows like America's Got Talent. The show also includes a dinner theatre experience where you'll enjoy authentic Mayan cuisine that ties into the storey.

The show has an age limit of 3 years old. It's 30 minutes north of central Riviera Maya.

Aktun Chen is a scenic nature park tucked deep inside the Yucatan rainforest, offering an outdoor getaway with adventure park options from swimming and kayaking to ziplining. Here you can explore endless, winding underwater rivers that you can swim in and spot stunning formations of stalactites and stalagmites in a vast cave complex. You can ride a zipline high above the ground. You can hike through scenic jungle trails. Kids can learn to snorkel in the river. The options for fun and excitement here are near endless.

One of the most exciting parts is designing a custom package that caters to your family's specific desires. Aktun Chen is only 30 minutes south of central Riviera Maya.

Atlantis Submarines is a unique tour agency offering an immersive experience deep beneath the sea that you're sure to remember for many years to come. You'll sit in a real submarine that goes almost 1,000 feet below the sea. It's a kid-friendly expedition where you will get the chance to explore the second largest coral reef in the entire world and see the vast array of colourful sea life while learning about the delicate ecological balance of our oceans. You will be comfortably seated and air-conditioned the whole time.

To go on this experience, kids must be at least 3 feet tall. The tour is in Cozumel, about an hour and a half from central Riviera Maya.