Skip to content
Mexican Caribbean
Cancun

Cancun

Play - Sway - Get Away

Cancun

A cosmopolitan city with spectacular beaches.

The Hotel Zone runs between the Caribbean Sea and Nichupté Lagoon: white sand beaches, hotels, shopping malls, restaurants and marinas, twenty minutes from the airport.

Cancun has the Maya Museum and the El Rey, San Miguelito and El Meco archaeological sites; offshore, the reef, MUSA and the ferries to Isla Mujeres.

Right now
24°Drizzle
Best for
Beach, nightlife and a first trip to the Mexican Caribbean
Best season
Dry season, December to April

Getting here

Airport

Concourse of a terminal at Cancun International Airport, with shops and passengers

Airport

Cancun International Airport

The airport sits south of the city, about twenty minutes from the Hotel Zone and twenty-five from downtown.

  • Private shuttle: Transfer services leave from the arrivals hall straight to your hotel door.
  • Bus: Airport buses run frequently to downtown and the Hotel Zone.
  • Car rental: The agencies operate inside the terminal, useful if you plan to drive the coast.

Maya Train

Maya Train running along the track through vegetation

Maya Train

Two stations

Two stations serve the city: the airport one, inside the grounds, and Cancun station to the west.

  • From the airport: The station connects to the terminals through the internal shuttle.
  • Into town: From Cancun station, city transport runs to downtown and the Hotel Zone.

Ferry

Passenger boat crossing the Caribbean Sea in front of the Cancun hotel zone

Ferry

Four terminals

Four terminals connect with Isla Mujeres: Playa Caracol, Playa Tortuga and El Embarcadero in the Hotel Zone, and Puerto Juarez north of the city.

  • From the Hotel Zone: The three terminals are steps from the hotels; the crossing is longer and more scenic.
  • From Puerto Juarez: The shortest route, about twenty minutes, with departures every half hour.

Bus

The ADO bus terminal in downtown Cancun, with its canopy and the platforms beyond

Bus

Cancun bus terminal

The Cancun bus terminal is downtown, not in the Hotel Zone.

  • From the airport: There are direct buses from the airport to the downtown terminal.
  • Down the coast: Buses leave from here for Playa del Carmen, Tulum and the south of the state.

The beaches

The beaches of Cancun

All the beaches are public. Those at the start of the Hotel Zone, like Las Perlas, Langosta, Tortugas, Caracol and Gaviota Azul, have gentle surf and suit young children; farther south, Chac Mool, Marlín, Ballenas and Delfines bring waves and water sports. Delfines has the lookout with the Cancun sign, and Playa Coral welcomes pets.

White sand beach and turquoise sea in Cancun

Maya heritage

El Rey, El Meco and the Maya Museum of Cancun

El Rey, at km 18 of the Hotel Zone, is the largest archaeological site in Cancun and takes its name from the sculpture of a noble found in 1909, now at the Maya Museum of Cancun. That museum is the entrance to San Miguelito and its eight-meter Great Pyramid. To the north, El Meco keeps El Castillo, the tallest structure in the north of the state, overlooking the bay of Isla Mujeres.

Remains of the El Rey archaeological site in Cancun

Sea and lagoon

The reef, MUSA and Nichupté Lagoon

Off Punta Nizuc begins the Mesoamerican Reef System, and between Cancun and Isla Mujeres lies MUSA, the underwater art museum. Snorkeling, diving, catamaran trips, paddleboarding, kitesurfing and parasailing leave from the Hotel Zone itself, and the jungle tour crosses the mangrove channels of Nichupté Lagoon by speedboat to end with snorkeling on the reef.

Sunrise over the sea off Cancun

After dark

Nightlife

Restaurants over Nichupté Lagoon with international cuisine, mariachis, live music and shows; later, the clubs of the Party Center in the Hotel Zone and the bars of Puerto Cancun and downtown. For families there are dinner shows aboard a boat.

Interior of a nightclub with neon lights in Cancun

Shopping and golf

Malls, markets and golf courses

Shopping malls in the Hotel Zone and downtown, craft markets like Mercado 28, and 18-hole golf courses between the jungle, the mangroves and the lagoon.

Aerial view of a golf course in Cancun, between the jungle and the lagoon

More about Cancun

Cancun

September 29, 2024

10 Things to Do in Cancun to Make the Most of Your Trip

Discover the best things to do in Cancun: beaches, the MUSA underwater museum, Maya ruins, cenotes, Isla Mujeres, nightlife and more.

Read the article
Maya temple in Cancun

September 29, 2024

The Archaeological Sites in Cancun

Explore the archaeological sites in Cancun: El Rey, Yamil Lu'um, San Miguelito and El Meco, minutes from the Hotel Zone.

Read the article
Cancun

September 29, 2024

Discover the Paradise Beaches of Cancun

Discover the paradise beaches of Cancun for an exclusive getaway: quiet public sands, calm sheltered bays and the private resort enclave of Playa Mujeres.

Read the article

Cancun

24°Drizzle
89%9 km/h
Best time to visit
  • Thu30°23°

Follow us on Instagram

@visitcancun