Things to Do in Riviera Maya & The Yucatan

Dominica is a volcanic island, which means much of the shoreline is rocky, and there are fewer sandy beaches than visitors might be accustomed to in other parts of the Caribbean. Mero Beach is the closest beach to the capital Roseau, and also one of only a few beaches on the island that has food, drinks, bathrooms, showers and other amenities nearby. With sandy beaches few and far between, Mero Beach is a particularly popular spot among visitors and locals alike, especially on the weekends. And because Mero has warm, protected waters for swimming and public restrooms and showers nearby, it’s an ideal place for families to spend a day playing in the sun and sand. And just a quarter mile from Mero Beach, you’ll find the Wacky Roller Adventure Park where you can climb across rope bridges, ride ziplines and go river tubing.

With the body of a fish and the head of a lion, a Merlion statue is a national icon of Singapore, representing the country's history, identity, and transformation from a fishing village to the "Lion City." More than a spot of cultural interest with its own statue, though, Merlion Park provides a beautiful backdrop to play and relax on the banks of the Singapore River and stunning photo ops to boot.

Guides like to say that Tikal was the New York City of its time, while Copan was its Paris. Full of artists and intellectuals for hundreds of years, Copan was a city where what was on the pyramids was more important than how high they rose. So you don’t come here to be wowed by the scale, rather to take in the beauty and skill of the Mayan people.

This site offers the best chance in the Maya world to go back in time to an age when the buildings were covered with stucco and painted with lively scenes: you can still see the original pigments.

Also unusual for Mayan sites, this one has an attractive colonial town near enough for walking, Copan Ruinas, full of good-value hotels and restaurants.

The Main Site
Several grassy plazas and a ball court are surrounded by pyramids and other temples, many decorated with lively carved stone symbolic figures and former kings. Nearly every surface is covered by some relief or carving. Stone stelae illustrate the various rulers over the centuries and tell stories spanning more than 600 years.

The Tunnels
Two tunnels under one pyramid provide a view into how one pyramid was built on top another, as well as how the civilization evolved over time and became more sophisticated. The tunnels are only open to a few people at a time.

Sculpture Museum
To understand what the temples looked like in their heyday, enter here to so a reconstructed pyramid that is brightly colored and covered with painted figures. Original sculptures and painted sections are on display showing what is often missing from visits to ruins now.

Las Sepulturas
This site a little more than a kilometer from the main archeological park, included in the admission, is where the elite lived and buried their dead. It contains tombs—some elaborate, some simple depending on rank—for the city’s royalty and spiritual leaders.

The MINT, short for Moment of Imagination and Nostalgia with Toys, Museum of Toys opened in 2006 as the world’s first museum dedicated entirely to toys and children’s memorabilia. The private museum is owned by Mr. Chang Yang Fa, a citizen of Singapore and passionate collector of toys.

Today, the museum houses the largest collection of vintage, rare and one-of-a kind toys in the world -- a collection that includes some 50,000 specimens collected from 40 different countries. Toys on display run the gamut from the familiar (Batman and Popeye) to more obscure pieces from Europe and Japan. If you’re looking for something specific, you’ll find a collection of China-made toys on the second floor, the Childhood Favourites collection on the third and exhibit space dedicated to characters on the fourth.

If you get hungry, the museum houses three eateries. Mr. Punch Restaurant serves up 1920s-inspired dishes, the Rooftop Bar specializes in cocktails and snacks, and the Sidewalk Bar makes for excellent people watching over a cold drink and a casual bite to eat.

The oldest mosque in Singapore, the Masjid Sultan, is located in the Malay-Muslim quarter of town. The sheen of the two distinguished golden domes that top it, as well as its colorful yet tasteful façade, has made it one of the premiere destinations for visitors of any faith.
    
Standing on a site totaling 44,228 square feet (4,109 square meters), the massive interior two-stories high can hold about 5,000 faithful Muslims, with separate conference rooms and auditoriums to seat many more. It is also decorated with handcrafted motifs, golden floral patterns and calligraphy to top it all with intricate design.

Having long been a hub for local commerce and art, the mosque is also known to have been the place of several historic events, including where several racial riots took place in the 1950s.

These days, planners organize frequent seminars here for prominent theologians and scholars. There are also occasional art showings, charity events and blood drives as well as opportunities to have an in-depth look into the Quran with novice level classes. Check the Masjid Sultan website ahead of time to see what might be happening when you are in town.

Located within walking distance from Victoria Street and Ophir Road, the mosque is accessible by the 7, 32, 51, 61, 63, 80, 145 buses, or a short walk from the MRT station Bugis (EW12).

Medellin’s main Cathedral, along with thickly shaded Parque Bolivar—once Medellin’s most important plaza—now seem suffocated by the claustrophobic urban chaos that is downtown. The narrow streets and gritty scene make it a bit difficult to appreciate this amazing structure from up close.

Officially called the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Contraception of Mary, this is the largest brick building in the world, and largest cathedral in South America. Designed by French architect Emile Charles Carre and completed in 1931, the tawny towers took 56 years, all total, to build. Look for it as you zip past on rapid transit, with a vantage that allows you to appreciate the enormity of its construction.

The cavernous interior is a bit spare and spooky, but the epic interior arches are well worth a look. This area gets seedy after dark (Bolivar Park, out front, isn’t exactly wholesome even at noon), so stay alert if you’re here for evening Mass.

The vast tropical basin that covers Petén, the northern third of Guatemala, remains largely wild, its jungle-carpeted Mayan cities and traditional indigenous villages left largely unmolested within the protected 2.1 million-hectare (almost 8000 square-mile) Maya Biosphere Reserve, created by UNESCO in 1990.

Home to only 3% of Guatemala’s population, it has become an adventurous ecotourism destination. The reserve comprises Tikal National Park, El Zotz and Naachtún-Dos Lagunas Biotopes (Uaxatún), Yaxhá-Nakum-Naranjo National Park, and Mirador Basin National Monument, along with at least 200 other Mayan ruins, mountains, rivers, cenotes, hiking trails, and 14 lakes, including Lake Petén Itza, gateway to the reserve.

The reserve is part of a protected area stretching from central Mexico, through northern Guatemala and Belize. The Mayan city-studded forests are home to thousands of rare and beautiful species, including jaguar, puma, ocelot, margay, spider monkeys, tapirs, deer, scarlet macaws, and much more. There are dozen of ways to explore the wilderness, most of which are easily arranged from Flores.