Get it while you can: LivingSocial Escapes bring you “Delish and Deluxe in the Riviera Maya”

For $479 (regularly $1,092) this epicurean escape to Bel Air Collection’s Xpu Ha Riviera Maya Resort can be yours. The deal includes a gourmet meal plan, plush accommodations, fine dining, and more on your 3-night getaway for 2. JetBlue Airways offers daily non stop flights from NYC’s JFK Airport to Cancun.

More information on the trip and booking details can be found at livingsocial.com.

Booked. Now what?

Visit one of the city’s two markets and enjoy some beloved local dishes. Mercado Veintiocho, west of the post office, and Mercado Veintitres, north of the post office offer authentic Mexican flavor at authentic Mexican prices (cheap!).

Tulum is a must when traveling through this region in Mexico. The pre-columbian Mayan walled city was one of the last inhabited by the Mayans and was at its height from the 13th to 15th centuries. Standing on a bluff facing the Caribbean, the structure allowed Tulum fort to be protected from invasions. With access to both land and sea, it served as an important trade hub as well as site for worship. As one of the best preserved of Mayan architecture in the Yucatan, it is the areas prominent tourist spot. Because of this, visitors can only see (though a sight to be seen) and can not climb the ruins. If a hike to the top is more your style, be sure to visit Coba, another pre-colombian ruin where climbing is still allowed.

Beach bum? No problem. Following the Caribbean coastline the beaches are world class and the activities plentiful.

Eats worth digging into:

La Cueva del Pescador in Akumal serves super fresh fish daily. Having relationships with the local fisherman (they’ll whip up whatever you bring in too!) the food is fresh, tasty, and real. Be sure to try the boquinete, a local fish fried whole with a crunchy garlic sauce.

The roasted lechon (suckling pig) served up Thurs. through Sun. mornings, with chicharron and habanero in a torta, in Playa del Carmen at Avenida 30 Y calle 30, under the blue tarp, is an experience. And the grilled octopus at Negrosal in Playa (calle 16, entre aves. 1 y 5) is the best you will ever taste.

Happy trails.