Cancún

No reviews yetCity Quintana Roo, Mexico

Playa Delfines is a long public beach on the southern part of the Hotel Zone, Cancún, Quintana Roo

El Rey is a small Maya archaeological site inside the Hotel Zone, Cancún, Quintana Roo

Mercado 28 is a market area in the city centre of Cancún, Quintana Roo

Isla Mujeres lies about 13 kilometres off the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, Cancún, Quintana Roo

About Cancún

Cancún was developed from the 1970s as a planned resort on Mexico's Caribbean coast, built on a narrow barrier strip that bends like the number seven between the sea and a lagoon. It has since become the busiest resort area in the country and the main arrival point for the Mexican Caribbean, with a real working city alongside the beaches.

The Hotel Zone holds the large resorts, nightlife and long stretches of pale sand. Toward its southern end, Playa Delfines is a favorite public beach with open views, and the El Rey ruins preserve a small Maya site among iguanas in the middle of the strip. Downtown is where residents live and eat; Mercado 28 sells crafts and souvenirs, and nearby taquerías are far cheaper than the resort restaurants. Ferries reach Isla Mujeres in well under an hour, and tours run to Isla Contoy, a protected bird island with limited daily visits. Snorkelers head to the reef off Punta Nizuc, and Puerto Morelos offers a quieter fishing-village coast to the south. Many visitors also take day trips to the seaside ruins of Tulum or inland to Chichen Itza.

Cancún suits travelers wanting convenience, easy flights and resort amenities. Spring break brings large crowds, and seaweed can affect beaches in warmer months. Hurricane season runs from June through November.

Best seasonDecember through April brings dry, sunny weather and calmer seas, though prices peak then.

Ideal stayFour to five days allows beach time plus a couple of island or ruins trips.

ArrivingCancún International Airport is the region's main gateway, a short drive from the Hotel Zone.

WiserMap travel guideCancún Mexico Isla Mujeres Maya Ruins and Yucatán FlavorsPlan Cancún with this guide to Hotel Zone beaches, Isla Mujeres, Maya ruins, Yucatán food, where to stay and the best time to visit the Mexican Caribbean.Read the guide

11 Reasons to Visit Cancún

Neighborhoods 1

Cancún Hotel Zone

Most of Cancún's resorts line a narrow barrier island shaped like the number 7, with the Caribbean on one side and the Nichupté La...

Beaches 2

Playa Delfines

A wide public beach near the southern end of the Hotel Zone, Playa Delfines is where locals go when they want classic turquoise wa...

Playa Tortugas

On the calm northern arm of the Hotel Zone, Playa Tortugas faces the sheltered Bahía de Mujeres, so the water is usually gentle an...

History 1

El Rey Archaeological Zone

Hidden among the resorts of the southern Hotel Zone, El Rey preserves a small Maya settlement that flourished in the late Postclas...

Museums 1

Museo Maya de Cancún

Cancún's modern anthropology museum, opened in 2012 in the Hotel Zone, gathers archaeological finds from across Quintana Roo and t...

Shopping 2

Mercado 28

Downtown's best-known craft market is a maze of stalls selling hammocks, embroidered dresses, silver jewelry, ceramics, masks and...

La Isla Cancún

Built on the lagoon side of Boulevard Kukulcán, this open-air shopping village is laid out around canals and bridges, with breezy...

Diving 1

Punta Nizuc Reef

At the southern tip of the Hotel Zone, Punta Nizuc marks where the shallow reef of the Mexican Caribbean begins, protected within...

Nature 1

Nichupté Lagoon

Behind the Hotel Zone lies a large system of interconnected lagoons fringed by mangroves, a calmer world than the surf on the ocea...

Parks 1

Parque de las Palapas

The main square of downtown Cancún, named for the palm-thatched shelters that once covered it, is where local families gather in t...

Nightlife 1

Coco Bongo

Cancún's most famous nightclub, near Punta Cancún in the Hotel Zone, is as much a stage show as a dance floor. Through the night,...

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