Mexico is home to dozens of popular coastal meetings and events destinations, all of which offer luxurious hotels, all-inclusive resorts, beachfront meetings-friendly properties and offsite event venues in a sunny climate that makes the country a meeting planner’s tropical playground.
While these coastal cities may have everything planners and attendees need within steps of a hotel’s front door (literally, the beach is right there), they have even more to offer when groups are willing to venture beyond the activities within walking distance.
From the southernmost point on the Baja California Sur peninsula to the top of the Yucatán Peninsula, opportunities for groups to see more of coastal Mexico are limitless. Here are just a few day-trip excursions and experiences for groups meeting in Cancún, the Riviera Maya and Los Cabos.
Cancún and the Riviera Maya
As neighboring destinations on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, both Cancún and the Riviera Maya draw millions of business and leisure travelers every year. Together, the two regions are home to nearly 150 miles of white-sand coastline along the Caribbean Sea.
Cancún is known for its all-inclusive resorts, vibrant nightlife, outdoor activities and warm climate that make the area a popular destination for visitors year-round. Most of Cancún’s hotels are located within walking distance of one another and sit on a 17-mile stretch of beach.
Just south of Cancún, the Riviera Maya region stretches from Puerto Morelos through Playa del Carmen, Tulum and other coastal areas in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. Like Cancún, the region is well known for its sparkling Caribbean waters and luxurious resorts, as well as world-class snorkeling and swimming in cenotes, or natural sinkholes.
Beyond being picture-perfect beach destinations, both Cancún and the Riviera Maya region have a rich history full of stories that are thousands of years old, starting with those of the ancient Maya civilization, whose archaeological sites are abundant throughout the Riviera Maya region in areas like Tulum, Coba and Chichén Itzá.
Tropical Incentives is the trusted DMC partner of Posadas, the leading hotel operator in Mexico with more than 180 hotels and 29,000 rooms in Mexico and the Caribbean. For 40 years, the Global DMC Partner with the biggest tourism network in Mexico has served more than 17,000 clients with unique experiences and tailor-made programs.
On the DMC’s website, Tropical Incentives describes Cancún as “the ultimate destination in the Caribbean for conventions and incentives.” Some of the day-trip excursions and experiences the DMC can help groups plan when meeting in Cancún include cenote tours, catamaran cruises, an “ATV Mud Madness” adventure and tours of the ruined ancient Mayan city-turned-archaeological site Chichén Itzá.
In the Riviera Maya region, Tropical Incentives has similar group offerings, including cenote tours and catamaran rides, and also offers tours of an archaeological site in Tulum and ATV jungle adventures.
On tropicalincentives.com, planners can use the DMC’s “Design Your Experience” tool to select a program type (conference, convention, incentive, etc.) and a range for how many participants to accommodate (anywhere from 20 to more than 1,000 people). Planners can then select their ideal program destination from a list of eight cities and regions and define the types of experiences they want their program to include (sea activities, adventure, eco-tourism, cuisine and more).
After setting a date range for their event, planners are given a summary of their program and the opportunity to get a quote from the Tropical Incentives team within 24 hours of submitting their contact information and a few more details about their event.
[Related: How to Incorporate Local Culture into Events at Popular Coastal Mexico Resorts]
Los Cabos
Along the coast of the very southernmost point on Mexico’s Baja California Sur peninsula sits the tranquil oasis that is Los Cabos.
The popular tropical destination for meetings and events offers top-tier hotels and resorts, world-famous golf courses, numerous onsite and offsite event venues and an authentic Baja arts and culture scene, as well an enviable arid climate and natural landscapes that make it hard to stay indoors.
With miles of beaches surrounded by the crystal-clear blue waters of the Pacific, stunning desert views and promontory mountains, Los Cabos offers sights to see that are equally as beautiful as they are seemingly endless—and your attendees are likely going to want to see these sights for themselves.
From exploring the Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez and nicknamed the “Aquarium of the World” by French naval officer and oceanographer Jacques Cousteau), to riding along the Cabo desert on a camel’s back, here are just a few day-trip excursions and adventures for groups in Los Cabos.
Cabo Adventures
For more than a decade, Cabo Adventures has been providing unforgettable tours and experiences inspired by nature in Los Cabos, focused on sharing the culture, wildlife, biodiversity and natural beauty of the area.
Private tours for groups are available, and the company offers tailored experiences based on the activities each group is interested in. Tours are led by bilingual guides and can include transportation (including airport transfers) to and from a group’s hotel.
Planners can work with Cabo Adventures to organize a variety of day-trip excursions and experiences for groups, such as:
- Off-road UTV adventure: Experience natural landscapes and wildlife unique to Cabo San Lucas. Groups of up to 48 can drive through the canyon trails of the Baja outback on Polaris UTVs to soak up the sunshine, then through the wetlands for a splash of fun.
- Outback and camel safari: Distributed in different schedules, groups of up to 266 people can set out on a voyage through the Baja desert atop camels’ backs. Ride along the Pacific Ocean through the Cabo desert, stop for a photo with a camel and consider adding a private tequila tasting to wrap up the day.
- Outdoor zipline adventure: Rated on Travelers’ Choice 2022 as one of the top 10 experiences in the world, Cabo Adventures’ outdoor zipline adventure gives groups of up to 140 the option to experience the longest and fastest zipline in Mexico—the “Superman!”. Those brave enough to take on the “Superman!” will soar for 4,000 feet at 60 mph over a canyon.
Explore more tours from Cabo Adventures at cabo-adventures.com.
Sun Rider Tours
Sun Rider Tours has been creating unforgettable experiences at sea for the last 30 years, striving to deliver unique tours that don’t cause unnecessary harm to the planet by using green technology, self-sustainable resources and new ways of thinking.
Sun Rider Tours’ modern and comfortable fleet can host up to 250 passengers for private events and tours that are customizable with decorations, special menus, personalized drinks, live music or DJs and special night lighting.
The company’s Snorkel Lunch & Sail tour takes groups on a catamaran out into the turquoise waters of the Sea of Cortez, home to more than 890 species of fish—90 of which are unique to the region. After admiring sights like The Arch of Cabo San Lucas, groups will journey toward Santa Maria or Chileno Bay to the coral reefs to snorkel with a professional crew and in-water guide.
More group tours, including a sunset dinner and whale watching experience, are available at sunridertours.com.
[Related: Prime Incentive Properties in Los Cabos and the Mexican Caribbean]
Seeing Sayulita With Vallarta Adventures
Last August, I attended SITE Foundation’s flagship fundraiser, SITE Classic, in Punta Mita, a 1,500-acre private peninsula on the north end of Banderas Bay.
The event drew more than 200 attendees to Conrad Punta de Mita, and SITE gave every one of them the opportunity to choose from eight different incentive experiences that showcased all the destination, an hour northwest of Puerto Vallarta, has to offer.
Choices ranged from spa treatments at the Conrad and tequila tasting to a catamaran ride and ziplining. When I registered for the event, I opted in to the Sayulita Escape ATV Tour with Vallarta Adventures (a sister company of Cabo Adventures).
Fewer than 20 other SITE Classic attendees and I gathered in the Conrad’s lobby early one morning and boarded a shuttle to Vallarta Adventures. Our bags were packed with everything we needed to spend a day with the DMC in Sayulita, the surf capital of Mexico renowned for its vibrant arts and crafts scene.
Vallarta Adventures gave us bandanas to wear over our mouths and noses and goggles to block out the dirt and dust as we drove Polaris RZR UTVs on a 4x4 off-road route to the world-famous beach town.
Following a walk through Sayulita’s art-lined streets, the DMC led the group to a taco stand for lunch in the heart of downtown. In the plaza, dozens of vendors and local artists had tents and tables set up for an art fair, and within walking distance were multiple other shops selling locally made products.
Vallarta Adventures gave the group a little over an hour to explore Sayulita on their own before we all met at a local ice cream shop for dessert and boarded the UTVs back to the DMC.
Almost every one of us left with a piece of local art to take back home, and love for yet another destination in coastal Mexico.
