4 Best Sights in Mexico

The biologists running the Croco Cun Zoo, an animal farm just north of Puerto Morelos, have collected specimens of many of the reptiles and some of the mammals indigenous to the area. They offer immensely informative tours—you may even get to handle a baby crocodile or feed a monkey. Be sure to wave hello to the 500-pound crocodile secure in his deep pit.

Mérida's top children's attraction features pleasant wooded paths, playgrounds, inexpensive amusement-park rides, an inline skating rink, a small lake you can row on, and a little train that circles the property. It also includes cages that house more than 300 native animals, including exotic ones like lions and tigers (a modern zoo this is not, and you might not approve of those cages). At the exit, you’ll find snack bars and vendors; there are on-site picnic areas, too. The French Renaissance–style arch commemorates the 100th anniversary (in 1910) of Mexican independence.

Better that you encounter all the creatures that slip and slither here in the safety of Mexico’s largest serpentarium than out in the wilds of Baja. More than 100 species are on display in indoor and outdoor exhibits, including turtles, pythons, rattlesnakes, and a rather large iguana. A majority are rescued from precarious situations in the wild (like being abandoned at birth or seriously injured) and are either rehabilitated and released, or if not possible, continuously cared for. Labeling is entirely in Spanish, but the staff offers guided tours in English with advance notice. A gift shop sells reptile-theme souvenirs.

In the early 16th century, Mexico City's zoo in Chapultepec housed a small private collection of animals belonging to Moctezuma II; it became quasi-public when he allowed favored subjects to visit it. The current zoo opened in the 1920s, and has the usual suspects, as well as some superstar pandas. A gift from China, the original pair—Pepe and Ying Ying—produced the world's first panda cub born in captivity (much to competitive China's chagrin). Today, a descendent of those original pandas, Xin Xin, is one of only three pandas in the world not owned by China. Chapultepec is also home to a couple of California condors plus hippopotamus, giraffes, and kangaroos. The zoo includes the Moctezuma Aviary and is surrounded by a miniature train depot, botanical gardens, and two small lakes. You'll find the entrance on Paseo de la Reforma, across from the Museo Nacional de Antropología.