Travel & Holidays in later life

Most holiday charter flights to Mexico give you choice either of Cancun on the Caribbean side, or Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific. 

In 1970, Cancun didn't exist except as a twinkle on a computer screen. In that year, the Mexican government decided to move seriously into the holiday-beach business, and asked a computer programme to pick the most perfect location along the Caribbean coast.

There were plentiful contestants for the Beach Beauty prize. Numerous locations could offer sands composed of finely powdered shells, limestone and coral. There was easy access to the world's second longest coral reef after the Great Barrier Reef of Australia; total absence of industrial pollution; and proximity to historic archaeological sites. 

The computer choice was a 14-mile island strip, shaped like a figure '7', which enclosed a beautiful lagoon on the eastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. 

Along that entire length were fabulous white beaches, soft as talcum powder. Water sports could operate in the Caribbean itself, or in the more placid waters of the lagoon. In this location untouched by man, the nearest settlement was the tiny fishing village of Puerto Juarez. 

The island was designated as a Hotel Zone, totally reserved for holiday development, and connected by a bridge each end to the mainland, where the separate downtown area of Cancun was sited.

Today, only around 30 years since opening of the first hotel, Cancun now rates as Mexico's leading holiday destination, far outstripping Acapulco. Every tourist service has been fully developed, with hotels, time-share apartments, restaurants and bars, glitzy shopping malls and sparkling nightlife. 

If you prefer somewhere closer to local living, several smaller resorts have arisen southwards, within 40 minutes of Cancun airport. The leader is Playa del Carmen - originally a fishing village offering access to Cozumel island. Now it's a laid-back resort with a Mediterranean atmosphere, in contrast to the American style of Cancun's Hotel Zone.

Any hotel along this superb Caribbean coast can offer all the standard beach and watersport facilities, with year-round sunshine freshened by sea breezes.

This area of Mexico is part of the coastal fringe of the Yucatan Peninsula. The inland area is mostly covered with a tangled jungle where the few villages and market towns have been linked in recent years by reasonable roads.

From 800 BC onwards the Yucatan Peninsula saw development of an advanced Mayan civilization. Scattered settlements merged into centralised cities that became highly skilled in science, maths and astronomy. The Mayan calendar accurately measured the solar year and could project dates thousands of years in the past or into the future.

Cities and ceremonial centres blossomed especially in the Classic Period, between 250 and 900 AD, with planned urban layouts, broad boulevards, efficient water and sewage systems, great pyramids and palaces. 

Brilliance in the sciences and in social structure was matched by artistic skills. Music and dance were used in religious ceremonies, employing a wide range of musical instruments. Yet curiously the Mayas never made use of the wheel (except in toys) or of domestic animals.

Mayan culture peaked around 900 AD and then fell apart. When the Spaniards arrived in the 16th century, the greatest Mayan cities had long been abandoned. The causes of the decline and fall remain a mystery, though theories abound. 

Today, the awesome sites of Chichen Itza and Uxmal are easily visited on excursions from the coast, together with the Spanish colonial cities of Valladolid and Merida. The Mayan sites are just as impressive as the famous Aztec ruins near the capital, Mexico City.

Today, Puerto Vallarta is a bustling and cosmopolitan resort. Most of the 250,000 residents are connected with tourism in one way or another, to serve over 1.5 million annual visitors.

Despite Puerto Vallarta's popularity and dynamic growth, the original centre keeps its charm. Cobbled streets are lined with white stucco buildings roofed with red tiles. Wrought iron balconies overflow with bougainvillaea. Visitors enjoy all the warmth and colour of Old Mexico, and are greeted everywhere with smiles.

Closely backed by jungle-clad foothills of the rugged Sierra Madre mountains, the countryside is only a few city blocks away. When nightlife ends, roosters start crowing to welcome the dawn. 

Puerto Vallarta is the seaside resort of the State of Jalisco, which prides itself on being the source of everything that is 'real' Mexico: of mariachi music, cowboys, sombreros, Mexican-style rodeos, superb horsemanship, and hearty eating of hominy stew, beans and chillies. If you want a taster of these pleasures, Puerto Vallarta can provide.

Typically, if you like beans, Mexico is paradise. But take care with Mexican side-dishes of sauces. Even a modest flavouring can work like dynamite for the next 24 hours. Enchilados, guacamole and tacos all taste better in Mexico.

The national spirit is tequila, taken straight by Mexicans, but preferred by tourists in cocktails such as a Margarita made with lemon and crushed ice. Canned beer is very cheap and makes a good thirst-quencher

"Frommer's Cancun, Cozumel & the Yucatan" by Lynne Bairstow - The most up-to-date of the available guidebooks.

"Puerto Vallarta Handbook" by Bruce Whipperman  - For a handbook, it goes into considerable detail about the region, including much information about plants and fish.

Step into the Aztec and Mayan Worlds (The Step into Series) - Buy this book before you go to the Yucatan, and get a better understanding of the Mayan civilization.

Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo and Guadalajara (Frommer's Portable Guides)  - Worth buying for its coverage of the superb colonial city of Guadalajara,