A Cancun vacation means long stretches of white beaches leading to the bluest waters of the Caribbean Sea making it a top destination for beach lovers. Cancun offers luxurious hotels that provide a great base for daytime activities such as snorkeling by the reef or lazing on the beach to an unsurpassed night of fun with some of the best nightlife in the world. Downtown Cancun is the place to go for authentic Mexican food and to see the life and culture of 'real' Mexico. Plenty of tours, nightclubs, restaurants, water sports and ancient Mayan ruins in near proximity mean there is something for everyone. A couple of hours from Cancun is the ecopark of Xel Ha. A natural aquarium, in a beautiful setting there is lots to see and do. Snorkeling is as safe as it gets and wildlife is abundant, see stingrays, parrotfish and iguanas. Here you can swim with the dolphins or take a walk along the myriad of paths through the mangrove forests. Enjoy a leisurely meal in one of the many restaurants or feed the fish from the floating bridge to see why this place is raved about. Swim with dolphins too. Getting to Xel Ha is easy to do independently and could easily be combined with a half day trip to Tulum Xel Ha. Cancun is situated in the heart of the Mayan world with many Maya ruins within traveling distance, a few hours away is Chichen Itza built between 550 and 900AD, Chichen Itza is the most famous site in Mayan history. A spectacular light show in the evening makes Chichen Itza a must do for any Cancun trip. In the 10th Century the city was abandoned the reasons for which still baffle archaeologists to this day. The largest structure is El Castillo, each of its four faces has 91 steps which added together, plus 1 for the summit, equals 365.