Experience the best of Río Lagartos

Río Lagartos is a small fishing town on the northern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, about 144 km west of Cancún. It sits on a shallow lagoon protected as the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, a long strip of mangroves, salt flats, dunes and beaches that separates the lagoon from the Gulf of Mexico. The reserve is a major nesting ground for American flamingos.

Boat trips go through the mangrove channels to watch flamingos feeding in the shallows, along with herons, spoonbills and crocodiles. East of town, the evaporation ponds of a large salt works at Las Coloradas glow pink. The fishing villages of San Felipe, with its pastel wooden houses, and El Cuyo are strung along the coast, and the Maya ruins of Ek Balam and the colonial town of Valladolid lie inland, within two hours' drive.

Fresh fish is the local food, often grilled with achiote, along with ceviche, octopus and Yucatecan dishes such as cochinita pibil and sopa de lima. The weather is hot and humid. November to April is drier and a little cooler, while May to October brings heavy rain and heat, and the hurricane season runs from June to November.