See wildlife and nature near Cancun

By Fritz Faerber

updated 2:12 p.m. ET Jan. 24, 2008

CANCUN, Mexico - Going wild in Mexico doesn't have to mean a tequila-fueled beach vacation dancing on tabletops surrounded by carousing spring-breakers. In fact, the big party destination of Cancun is a short distance from lush parks hosting wildlife of another sort.

Neon pink flamingos, howler monkeys, brilliant toucans and mysterious sea turtles are just a few of the locals you can meet by trading la vida loca for a more nature-friendly trip.

Cancun and its surrounding area of the Riviera Maya are Mexico's top destination for international travelers, drawing more than 3.5 million visitors a year. The beach was the lure for the first visit my wife and I took six years ago. But since then, we've returned to explore the Northern Hemisphere's largest barrier reef off the coast, natural springs pocking the Yucatan, mangrove swamps, salt marshes and thick jungle.

Much of the Yucatan is a flat limestone slab, topped with low jungle and scrub. There are no real rivers; the heavy seasonal rain seeps into sinkholes, known locally as cenotes, that have eroded over the millennia into the porous stone. The fresh water travels underground and percolates into the sea from natural springs.

The woods, cenotes and waters off the coast host a riot of colorful animals. Great blue herons, anteaters, the Yucatan rust rump tarantula, giant iguanas, ocelots , manatees and countless other animals make their home in the region.

If you go Getting there: If you fly to Cancun, the Mexican Riviera town of Playa del Carmen is a short cab or bus ride to the three eco-parks Xcaret, Xel-Ha and Tres Rios. It's also easy to take a trip to the Sian Ka'an Biosphere from Playa. If you fly to Merida, you can stay in the city, but you'll want to spend most of your time in the nearby countryside, beaches and ruins. Lodging: In the Mexican Riviera, we've stayed at Mosquito Blue, which is a somewhat spendy, trendy European-run hotel in Playa. It offers spa treatments and is dramatically decorated; 011-52-984-873-1245. Standard rooms are U.S. $199-$248 through April 30; less in summer, more for larger rooms. The all-inclusive Occidental Grand Xcaret, attached to the Xcaret eco-park, is a great option for a relaxing sun-and-fun vacation with a bit of nature; 011-52-984-871-5400. Rates start at a little over U.S. $300 a night for late winter/early spring. Merida, a relatively large city, offers quite a few moderately-priced hotels. In nearby Celestun, the brand new resort of Manglares is right on the beach, at the north end of the road by the beach;  011-52-988-916-2156. Rooms, U.S. $85. We were there in low season (summer) and had the place to ourselves. If your trip includes a visit to the ruins of Chichen Itza or Uxmal, consider a stay at a Mayaland hotel, which offers old-style Mexico decor, with beautiful gardens, rooms with exposed wood beams and central pools surrounded by lush greenery. Rates start at U.S. $164. The Mexican Tourism Department suggests these outfits for booking nature-friendly trips: www.siankaantours.org/ www.solyarena.com.mx www.cesiak.org www.ecotravelmexico.com www.cancun-discounts.com

Families or other travelers who want to heed the call of the wild can check out the three eco-parks of Xcaret, Xel-Ha and Tres Rios. All are just a short ride away from the resorts at Cancun, Playa del Carmen and the rest of the Riviera Maya.

Xcaret is the most developed. It's a bit like a U.S. water park -but with a walk-through butterfly pavilion. You can also follow a narrow river from a spring out to the Caribbean and swim with dolphins and manatee (a practice that quite a few biologists frown upon as stressful for the animals).

Xel-Ha is the middle of the pack. It feels less engineered and is centered around a huge lagoon where fresh spring water mingles with the saltwater. The water teems with schools of electric-colored fish. There are bike trails and a spring-fed river to swim or float down in an inner-tube. Xel-Ha also offers chances to swim with the dolphins.

Tres Rios is our favorite. It's far less developed than the other two parks. You can kayak in the surf or canoe solo through the mangroves (no crocodiles as far as we could see). Take a boat out to snorkel the reef or ride horses. My favorite was the eerie swim from a cool spring along a narrow, tree-canopied stream out to the sea.

More adventurous tourists stray a bit farther, to visit the gem of the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Refuge. The UNESCO World Heritage Site sprawls across about 1.3 million acres and includes everything from offshore coral reefs in to the beaches, lagoons, cenotes and low tropical forests.

Deal of the Day Newfoundland and Labrador Explore World Heritage sites, glimpse into the life of the Vikings, more, from $1,635.

It's a good idea to book a trip through the local tourism office, as the roads are tricky. We took a day-trip with a fly-by-night tour operator we found through our hotel in Playa del Carmen. Basically, locals rented a bunch of jeeps and handed the keys to us tourists. It was up to us to designate a driver for each vehicle — and we ended up chauffeured by a German tourist excited to drive an American jeep.

We spent a day in the biosphere, slowly making our way on rutted roads through the jungle to a boat that ferried us through mangrove-filled marshes. We spent a good 20 minutes circling a mangrove island packed with two species with memorable names — Magnificent Frigatebirds and Brown Boobies. Then we headed out to the reef for some snorkeling, where we spotted sea turtles and dozens of varieties of tropical fish. A fresh fish lunch on the beach at the fishing town of Punta Allen capped off the trip. Total for the day: U.S. $70 each.

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