Tulum

Tulum sits at the intersection of Caribbean beach culture and ancient Mayan civilization — the only major Mayan city built directly on the coast, its ruins perched on a cliff above turquoise water. The town has evolved from a backpacker discovery into one of the most design-forward resort destinations in the world, with boutique eco-hotels in the jungle, beach clubs that operate at a global standard, and a cenote system — a network of underground sinkholes connected by subterranean rivers — that is genuinely unlike anywhere else on earth. Gran Cenote and Cenote Dos Ojos are the most accessible; serious divers come for the 215-mile underwater cave system.