Mayakoba’s name – Mayan for “city on the water” – commemorates the fascinating people who dotted the Yucatan with their harmonious buildings and complex city-states. Gifted traders and farmers, the Mayans based their activities on a calendar so precise that it was only improved (very slightly) in the 20th century. Several important Mayan sites are an easy day-trip from Mayakoba. They include Tulum, an ensemble of some dozen buildings gloriously perched over the sea; Coba, perhaps the largest Mayan city and the hub of its sophisticated roadways, with 6,000 ruins accessible from jungle footpaths, and Chichen Itza, an unforgettable complex centered on the dramatic 91-step pyramid the Spaniards called “El Castillo.”