The holiday season is winding down but there are still months of winter left ahead – presenting the perfect opportunity to escape to Mexico. Whether you just need a break from snowy weather, could use a time away to refresh after holiday preparations, or are just itching for some adventure and exploration, a winter vacation in Mexico offers just what many of us need.

Winter Mexico beach vacations

Unsurprisingly, the winter months in Mexico do lead to cooler temperatures than in the summer but in the southern parts of Mexico, the temperature remains in the upper 70’s and 80’s – plenty warm to enjoy the beach in locales like Puerto Vallarta and Cancun. Without a doubt, the warm weather is a major attraction, drawing visitors to these popular destinations all season long.

When you’re not relaxing on palm-lined beaches, there are ancient Mayan ruins to explore and numerous day trips to local attractions. Ecotours, for example, are especially popular escapes that allow visitors to enjoy wildlife during the more mild season.

Mexico’s seasonal celebrations

Though Christmas has come and gone, celebrations continue throughout Mexico. There are plenty of annual festivals going on right from the start of the year. New Year’s Day, or Ano Nuevo, is a national holiday when regular businesses are closed but most tourist attractions are still up and running. Not long after, Dia de Reyes, or Kings Day, is celebrated on January 6. On Dia de Reyes, Mexican children receive gifts from the three kings (the Magi) and eat Rosca de Reyes, or King’s Cake. This wreath-shaped bread hides a small doll to represent the baby Jesus.

By the end of January, the festivities are just beginning; February 1 marks Constitution Day – Dia de la Constitucion – a national holiday celebrating the 1917 adoption of the country’s constitution following the Mexican Revolution. The next day, February 2, is the religious holiday Dia de la Candelaria, which officially marks the end of the Christmas season in Mexico. Dia de la Candelaria commemorates when Mary brought baby Jesus to the temple 40 days after birth to present him as her firstborn, and Catholics in Mexico celebrate by bringing statues of baby Jesus to church for blessing.

Almost as soon as the Christmas season officially ends, many Mexican cities kick off Carnaval. Each city’s celebration runs on its own schedule that may vary slightly from place to place, but they generally run for five days before Ash Wednesday (which falls on March 1 in 2017).

Soak up local culture

Nothing provides a physical and emotional recharge like a change in scenery. Not only does Mexico feature a beautiful landscape that offers an escape from the snowy tundra of the United States and Canada in winter, but it offers an immersion in traditional culture. Even in the most tourist-oriented destinations, visitors can sample traditional food, buy Mexican folk art, and enjoy the wonderful hospitality of local residents.

Who needs Times Square when there is a world of possibilities in sunny Mexico? This year, ditch the snow and the cold and head south for New Year’s. It’s easy to book a premier vacation rental at a resort town in Mexico. The hardest part of arranging your trip is figuring out which particular destination suits you best. Here’s a quick look at some of the possibilities for ringing in 2017.

New Year’s Eve in Cancun

Cancun is a world-class destination for vacationers looking to soak up some sun, but the nightlife is certainly nothing to sneeze at. You can expect a night to remember. The Mandala Beach Club is known for hosting extravagant pool parties. Celebrate the first few hours of 2017 at the After Party from 2 to 6 am. Packages are available, including a VIP experience.

Before heading over to the Mandala Beach Club, make your first stop of the night at Dady’O Cancun. There is a pre-party at La Vaquita, which includes an open bar. Your ticket includes your cover and a buffet-style dinner. Dady’O Cancun is well-known for its extravagant light shows and exuberant celebrants.

New Year’s Eve in San Carlos

This beautiful subdivision in the port city of Guaymas in Sonora is famed for its crystal-clear, warm waters and world-class golf courses, making it a popular resort town. Come New Year’s Eve, guests and residents can let loose with dancing to live salsa bands, talented live DJs, and champagne toasts galore.

If you’re craving an elegant sit-down dinner, take your significant other to the New Year’s Eve celebration at El Embarcadero at Marinaterra. Enjoy the live music as you feast on the chef’s finest dishes and desserts. Reservations are recommended.

La Salsa is hosting its own unique farewell to 2016 with a live salsa band and DJs. Start your evening with surf and turf, lobster Thermidor, or other delectable offerings. Tickets are limited.

If you’re looking for a less formal affair, head over to Froggy’s New Year’s Eve party. Control A is slated to perform from 10 pm to 2:30 am. Pizza, beer, and margaritas will be served to hungry dancers.

Try the local customs

Wherever you decide to celebrate the incoming year in Mexico, do embrace the local customs to fully enjoy the experience. For Americans, the stroke of midnight often includes a kiss and a champagne toast. In Mexico, it’s customary to consume 12 grapes – one for each chime of the clock. “Las doce uvas de la suerte” brings luck in the New Year.

While walking along the streets, be mindful of windows overhead. It’s also considered good luck to toss out a bucket of water at midnight, which signifies bidding farewell to the old year. And don’t be surprised if you’re invited to walk a circle around an empty suitcase. Another way to invite good travels in the New Year is to walk around the block while carrying an empty suitcase. Visitors can rest assured that fireworks are just as traditional in Mexico as they are in America; midnight fireworks invite good luck and frighten away evil spirits.

More than 6,000 water-filled caves can be found along Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Known locally as cenotes, these limestone sinkholes are popular scuba diving sites marked by their stunningly beautiful stalagmites and stalactites. Over the past 35 years, avid spelunkers and divers have been exploring the underwater caverns, primarily located on the Riviera Maya between the Tulum ruins and Cancun.

In 2007, while diving the site known as Hoyo Negro (Spanish for black hole), a group of amateur cave divers made a startling discovery that would completely transform the way scientists view the first inhabitants of America. Alejandro Alvarez and his friends stumbled upon a completely intact 12,000-year-old skeleton of an adolescent girl. This landmark discovery was only announced publicly this year in the U.S. magazine Science, following years of meticulous scientific investigations by Mexican authorities.

12,000 year old skeleton found in Yucatan water cavern

Mexican scientists believe that the preserved skeleton of the teenage girl, nicknamed Naia (which is old Greek for water nymph), may shed light on the origin of the American continent’s first inhabitants. Later studies on the skeleton’s facial features and skull shape helped identify Naia as a paleo-American woman. Her DNA can be traced back to hunter-collectors who traveled to the Americas from northern Asia more than 20,000 years ago.

Scientists think that the 16-year-old girl possibly fell into the hole before the caverns filled with water. Over the many thousands of years, as glaciers melted, the girl’s bones along with those of prehistoric mega fauna were sealed off in a watery grave.

Fortunately for scientists, the skeleton was found practically untouched and in pristine condition, providing almost a time capsule. In the watery tomb, divers also found many bones of creatures that were later identified as puma, sabertooth, giant tapir, boar, coyote, bear and gomphothere – a distant elephant relative.

Great Maya Aquifer discoveries

Within months of finding the Naia skeleton, underwater explorers made two other notable discoveries within the Great Maya Aquifer in the state of Quintana Roo. Archeologist Guillermo de Anda Alanis and his team discovered a perfectly preserved Maya altar, along with remains of prehispanic building structures dating to 900-1200 AD. Divers also found the fossilized cranium of a man more than 10,000 years old.

Researchers speculate that these ancient remains found in the cenotes of the Yucatan Peninsula suggest some sort of catastrophic climate event or drought that occurred in the late classic period.

Resources:

1. LA Times, Teen skeleton found by Mexico cave divers has scientists breathless, http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-mexico-skeleton-divers-20140530-story.html
2. MexicoNews Network, TEN THOUSAND YEAR OLD SKULL FOUND IN QUINTANA ROO http://www.mexiconewsnetwork.com/art-culture/ancient-skull-found-quintana-roo/

Mexico’s world-famous resorts offer nightlife, fine dining, and many other modern amenities, but if you are looking to take a step back in time to an earlier civilization, plan a trip to the Tulum ruins. The ancient remnants offer visitors a maze of discoveries as they wander through what was once a thriving seaport.

Mayan ruins at Tulum

Tulum was a Mayan city located about 40 miles south of Playa del Carmen and 80 miles south of what is now Cancun. The modern luxuries of Cancun stand in contrast to the nearly 1,000-year-old city, which houses the relics of the Pyramid el Castillo, or castle, and a series of temples each decorated with dedications to Mayan gods. It is believed that it may have been an important worship site for the Mayan “diving god” which had its own temple near the Castillo.

The remnants of Tulum lie at the top of 39-foot cliffs overlooking the Yucatan Peninsula at the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. The town’s position as a seaport – and possibly a trading area for jade and obsidian – opened it up to invasion, so it is surrounded by a limestone wall, nearly two feet thick, on three sides. It housed 600 people inside 39 square miles of rolling hills and buildings.

This ancient seaport is exceptionally preserved, sparking visitors to imagine what life in the pre-Columbian town was like – even archaeologists are not entirely certain what civilization was like in ancient Tulum, or even who lived inside the city walls.

Tulum offers both adventure and relaxation

Visitors need not choose between tapping into their inner Indiana Jones and relaxing on the beach. Tulum features its own beach on the Caribbean, perfect for sunbathing along turquoise waters beneath the rising cliffs. Add this spot into your travel agenda and step into a well-preserved piece of history.