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Mexico is famous for many things. It’s ancient ruins, colonial architecture, and delicious food immediately spring to mind.

But perhaps the most iconic Mexican attraction is the nation’s beautiful beaches.  

Mexico’s beaches offer an incredible mix of white sand, idyllic Caribbean waters, and fierce Pacific waves.

You can choose from remote beaches with nothing but seascape for miles or fully equipped beaches with bars, beach beds, and everything else you need for a great day out. 

So which are the best of the best?  

TripAdvisor has unveiled their Travelers Choice Awards Best of the Best Beaches in Mexico, and these are the top five:  

5. Playa el Chileno, Cabo San Lucas 

In fifth place is Playa el Chileno, located in Cabo San Lucas.

This is considered one of the most swimmable beaches in Cabo San Lucas, which means it attracts both families and watersports enthusiasts.  

There’s a dive shop located on the beach, so if you want to try your hand at diving or snorkeling then you’ll have everything you need on hand.  

You’ll find a lovely mix of locals and tourists here, creating a relaxed and low-key vibe.

This beach is immaculately cleaned, and the facilities are well cared for, too. It’s a great choice for a water-focused day out.  

Getting to the beach is easy, too. If you hire a car or take a taxi, the beach is a straightforward 15-minute drive from downtown Cabo San Lucas. Via public transport, you can take the Supercabos bus to the beach entrance. 

4. Playa El Cielo, Cozumel 

Cozumel is famous for its beautiful beaches but the one that really stands out from the crowd is Playa El Cielo.  

Like all of the beaches on this list Playa El Cielo is a spectacular, visually stunning beach.

But what really makes this beach stand out from the crowd is what lies beneath.  

This is an incredible beach for snorkeling and home to an abundance of sea life. Stingrays and starfish, in particular, call this area home, but you can also find turtles here.  

It’s worth noting that the only way to get to El Cielo beach is by boat. You can take a combined boat ride and snorkeling tour of the beach with El Cielo snorkel tours.

These trips cost $69 per adult.  

3. Balandra Beach, La Paz 

Balandra Beach is a wonderfully unique horseshoe shaped beach located just outside of La Paz on the Baja California Sur peninsula.  

You’ll find crystal clear, shallow water here, so much so that you can walk from one side of the bay to the other without needing to swim.  

Its shallow waters make it a great place for swimming and snorkeling, and the rocky landscape surrounding the bay provides an incredible vantage point from which to appreciate the beauty of the undulating sand just beneath the water.  

In fact, Balandra Beach is so special and unique that, due to its natural beauty and biodiversity, it has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  

2. Playa Norte, Isla Mujeres 

Playa Norte is the main beach on Isla Mujeres, which is a small tropical island paradise just off the coast of Cancun.

This is a wide expanse of breathtakingly beautiful beach, considered one of Mexico’s most visually stunning.  

The sand here has an unusual tinge of pink as it is actually formed by crushed coral. This pink tone is even more visible at the shoreline when the sand is wet.  

One of the things that makes Playa Norte so appealing is that the water is so shallow: even if you keep wading out, it will only reach your waist.

This makes it a great spot for intergenerational vacations, as it’s great for swimming and for children to play.  

Getting to Playa Norte is a breeze too. Take a ferry ride to Isla Mujeres from Cancun with Ultramar, which costs $14.50 per adult.  

1. Playa Delfines, Cancun 

According to TripAdvisor, Playa Delfines is officially the best beach in Mexico. It isn’t the most well-known beach in Cancun, but it’s well worth making the time to visit.  

When you imagine a picture-perfect beach, Playa Delfines is probably what you’re imagining. This is a free public beach that offers amazing panoramic views of the Caribbean Sea.

In fact, it’s a rare free beach in the Hotel Zone amongst a sea of private hotel beaches.  

The sand here is a vibrant, bright white, and the water is a perfect turquoise blue. As an added bonus, this is where you’ll find the giant iconic ‘Cancun’ sign, an essential photo spot.  

Getting here is easy too. You can either jump in a taxi or if you’re on a tighter budget then the R-1, R-2, or R-27 city buses all go to the beach from downtown Cancun or the Hotel Zone.  

Tor Brierley

Tor has been writing for more than 20 years and has visited 25 countries (and counting!) She specializes in European and family travel and never says no to new adventures.

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When you think of Asia, it’s probably the terraced paddies of Vietnam, the riotous party scene of Thailand, or maybe the island-dotted seas of Indonesia that come to mind––who doesn’t dream of escaping to Bali for a long, romantic weekend, right?

Those all sound great, but have you ever wondered about a lesser-known Cambodia, just next door to all these tried-and-true tourism hotspots, yet still shrouded in mystery?

Having hosted nearly 5 million visitors this year, a personal record, Cambodia is quickly catching up with its peers in popularity, and we’ll go out on a limb in asserting it’s to do with the fact it’s the home of one of the most beautiful ancient cities in the continent:

Discover The Cultural Capital Of Cambodia

Phnom Penh may be the administrative center, but if Cambodia ever had a cultural capital, that is Siem Reap, its second-largest conurbation, home to around 245,000 people, and a historically-charged city originally settled in the year 802 AD.

That’s exactly 1,222 years of accumulated heritage for you, and if you love marveling at ancient monuments, rest assured there’s a plethora of those scattered all around Siem Reap––not to mention vibrant street markets, a stunning riverside walk, and lush nature.

This is a city that has seen the rise and fall of many a civilization, from the Siamese to Khmer Kingdoms, and even the French Empire, which controlled much of Cambodia for the first half of the 20th century: from medieval temples to French-colonial palaces, you’ll find it all in here.

Though the entire town is an open-air museum, Siem Reap’s pride and joy is Angkor Wat, the former seat of the discontinued Khmer Kingdom from the 9th to 15th centuries, and a national monument so emblematic it features on the Cambodian flag.

Look it up.

If It’s Good Enough For UNESCO, It’s Good For Us

Vast, mysterious, and full of intrigue, Angkor Wat is a UNESCO-protected temple complex of many intricate stone-carve buildings, including the Main Temple of Angkor Wat, the silhouette of which you see displayed on the Cambodian flag.

It is the main reason travelers are flocking from all over the world to visit Cambodia, having recorded a 28% increase in tourist numbers this year, easily making it the most-popular attraction in the Southeast Asian country, ahead of beaches, resort zones and city breaks.

Angkor Wat is not Siem Reap’s only ancient marvel, though: tourists also have their eyes set on nearby Bayon, distinguished by its 216 smiling stone faces, the partially-overgrown Ta Prohm, with towers slowly being reclaimed by the jungle, and a pink sandstone Banteay Srei Temple.

With so much amazing History, it’s no wonder the small-group sunrise tour of Angkor Wat, with pickup available from many locations around Siem Reap, is the best-selling activity in the area, costing only $16 to book per person.

@pisalguidefrancoangkor #angkor_wat_of_cambodia_🇰🇭♥ #guidefrancophone khmer classic danse APSARA #apsara ♬ សំឡេងដើម – KhmerCulture🇰🇭វប្បធម៌ខ្មែរ💗

Other unique activities in Siem Reap include attending an Apsara Dance Show, a display of classical Khmer dance, with performers engaging in entrancing movements while wearing colorful, elaborate traditional costumes.

For around $28.85, you can go market shopping with the aid of a knowledgeable local and then attend a cooking class, where you’ll be initiated on the centuries-old art of Khmer cooking, an immaterial cultural highlight of Cambodia.

Go easy on the fish amok and the spring rolls! You’ll want to save room for the bananas in palm sugar with coconut juice that’s coming for dessert…

Last but not least, no trip to Asia is complete without a little dose of adventure, and for the thrill seekers amongst us, hiking up Kulen Mountain, where there are majestic waterfalls and more ancient ruins, and where the Siem Reap River originates from, is a must-do.

How Expensive Is Siem Reap?

My friend, we totally get it why this question might have been at the back of your mind reading through this article.

The inflation and skyrocketing consumer prices have been hard on all of us and flying halfway across the world to some country in Asia, as beautiful as it may be, can sound a bit too delusional with the current state of affairs.

If you’re wondering how expensive Siem Reap––and Cambodia as a whole––is to visit, we’re glad to report that it’s not expensive at all.

Granted, it’s a bit tricky to get to, as there are no nonstop flights between America and Cambodia, and you’re likely to have a stopover in another Asian or even a European or Middle Eastern country, depending on which coast you’re flying from, getting there.

Once you’re in Cambodia, the $3 meals, luxury double rooms in spa hotels for a negligible $45, and one-hour curbside massages for around ten bucks will make it all worthwhile, trust us.

On average, tourists spend between $11 and $27 per day on food, $3.34 to $8.75 on local transportation, and an average $32 to $102-a-night on hotels, with the total cost of a one-week stay in Siem Reap as a mid-range traveler being an economical $647, excluding flights.

Culture has never looked this good or affordable!

Vinicius Costa

Vini, our senior lead writer at Travel Off Path, has over 60+ countries under his belt (and currently weaving tales from Paris!), and a knack for turning off-the-beaten-path experiences into informative stories that will have you packing your bags.

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This article originally appeared on TravelOffPath.com

Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.