What to do in Cancun and how to plan your trip
Twenty-two kilometres of white sand on a sandbar, the second-largest reef in the world a few hundred metres offshore, and a Maya city inside the Hotel Zone itself. Which of the four zones you book decides what your week is.
- 4transport zones
- 586hotels
- 4tours & activities
- 22 kmof beach
- 28 °Caverage, all year
- UTC−5no daylight saving
Everything you need to know about Cancun
Cancun needs no introduction: 29.3 million passengers came through its airport last year, more than any other in Mexico except the capital. What they come for is twenty-two kilometres of white sand against water so bright it looks edited, the largest reef in the western hemisphere a few hundred metres offshore, and a cosmopolitan city with the whole Yucatan within a day trip. This is how you get in, and what there is once you are here.
Getting to Cancun
- Cancun Airport (CUN)The busiest airport in the country after Mexico City, with direct flights from most of North America and a good part of Europe. Four terminals, under an hour from every zone we serve.
- Maya TrainIt stops at the airport itself, so Tulum, Valladolid and Merida are within reach without hiring a car.
- ADO coach stationIn the city centre, on Avenida Tulum. Long-distance coaches to Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Merida and Chetumal.
Beyond the beach
The other Cancun: the reef offshore, the Maya city inside the Hotel Zone, and the strip that stays up all night.
Good to know
- LanguageSpanish. English is widely spoken across the Hotel Zone and the airport.
- CurrencyMexican peso (MXN). Dollars are taken in tourist areas, usually at a worse rate.
- Time zoneUTC−5 all year. No clocks going forward, so the time difference with the UK changes in spring and autumn.
- Power127 V, 60 Hz, flat two-pin US-style plugs. Bring a UK-to-US adapter.
- WaterDrink bottled water. Hotels and restaurants serve purified ice.
- Emergencies911, the same number nationwide, with English-speaking operators.
Transfers from the airport to every zone of Cancun are a fixed price per vehicle, with the driver waiting at the exit. See availability.
What to see and do in Cancun
The full list, not a top three: what the destination’s tourist board puts first.
The biggest of the public beaches and the one with the CANCUN sign, at the far south of the boulevard. Open sand, strong surf and a lookout over the whole coast.
What the tourist board calls the hidden gem of the Hotel Zone: it sits behind the shopping centres and almost nobody walks the two minutes in from the boulevard.
The sheltered side, facing Isla Mujeres. Calm water, shallow for a long way, and the two piers the ferries leave from.
More than five hundred sculptures sunk between Punta Nizuc and Isla Mujeres for coral to grow on. Snorkel the shallow ones, dive the deep ones.
At Km 18, opposite Playa Delfines, inside the Hotel Zone itself. A Maya trading settlement, a few hundred iguanas living in it, and hardly ever a queue.
The other site, north of the city centre on the road to Puerto Juarez. Taller pyramid, fewer visitors, and a view across the channel to Isla Mujeres.
Protected water from the west coast of Isla Mujeres to Punta Cancun and Punta Nizuc: reef, turtles, and the reason the snorkelling boats go where they go.
The other water, behind the hotels. Kayaks, small boats and a mangrove system with crocodiles and wading birds. Best at last light.
Twenty minutes by ferry from Puerto Juarez, a golf buggy for the loop, Playa Norte in the middle, and whale sharks from May to September.
South of the city, Grupo Xcaret runs painted boats down its canals from seven to eleven, Monday to Saturday, with live music, a tasting dinner and an open bar.
The two ends of shopping here: designer names at Luxury Avenue and La Isla in the Hotel Zone, hammocks, silver and embroidered cotton in the city centre.
The show the city is known for, in Punta Cancun: acrobats over the crowd, live tributes and a band. Book the table, not the door.
Beaches of Cancun
From south to north along Kukulcan Boulevard, plus the quieter bays north of the city.
Km 18. Wide, free, strong waves, lifeguards and the Cancun sign.
Km 13. Long and quiet, behind Kukulcan Plaza.
Km 10. Calm mornings, next to the Punta Cancun nightlife.
Km 6.5. Sheltered water, ferries to Isla Mujeres, good for families.
Km 5. Calm bay on the sheltered side, good for children and paddleboards.
North of the city. Wide, quiet and reached through the resorts.
Tours and activities in Cancun
Pick-up from your hotel, and each tour’s cancellation policy is shown before you pay.
Adventure
ATV Xperience by Xcaret
Water
Catamaran to Isla Mujeres – Cancun Sailing
Water
Catamaran to Isla Mujeres – Xcaret Xailing
Shows
Xoxi Cancun (Xoximilco)
When to visit Cancun
Four seasons for one destination. Choose yours by weather, crowds and price.
High season: dry, 24 to 29 °C, the biggest crowds and prices. Book transfers and tours a few days ahead.
Hot and humid, above 30 °C. Sargassum starts on east-facing beaches; the north beaches stay cleaner.
Whale shark season and the summer holidays. Afternoon showers, warm sea, family crowds.
Low season: the best rates and short tropical storms. Hurricane watch mostly in September and October.
Getting around Cancun
What each option costs and when it makes sense.
Run the whole Hotel Zone and the city centre round the clock for about 12 pesos. Pay the driver in cash.
Fixed zone fares posted at hotels, no meter. Agree the price before you get in. Ride-hailing apps are limited in the Hotel Zone.
Four terminals: Puerto Juarez and El Embarcadero, cheaper and every 30 minutes, or Playa Tortugas and Playa Caracol without leaving the Hotel Zone. Twenty minutes each way.
Hotel to hotel, to the parks or back to the airport, at a fixed price with the same standards for every driver.
Areas of Cancun we serve
4 transport zones, each with its own page: hotels, times and fixed transfer prices from the airport.
Cancun Hotel Zone & Downtown
Cancun · 12 km- Saloon $35.40
- SUV $85
- Group van $75
Puerto Juarez
Cancun · 22 km- Saloon $50
- SUV $130
- Group van $145
Playa Mujeres
North of Cancun · 30 km- Saloon $63
- SUV $126
- Group van $113
Costa Mujeres
North of Cancun · 32 km- Saloon $75
- SUV $154
- Group van $137
Hotels in Cancun we pick up from
Fixed price to every hotel in the zone. If yours isn’t here, type it in the search box.
Cancun Hotel Zone & Downtown
Cancun · 556 hotels- Free cancellation with Premium
- Flight monitoring
- Meet & greet
Playa Mujeres
Cancun · 15 hotels- Free cancellation with Premium
- Flight monitoring
- Meet & greet
Costa Mujeres
Cancun · 15 hotels- Free cancellation with Premium
- Flight monitoring
- Meet & greet
Tips from our local team in Cancun
What travellers ask us most about the city, answered by the people who live here.
Sargassum: check before you swim
Seaweed reaches the east-facing beaches from May to September. Playa Mujeres, Isla Mujeres and the sheltered side stay cleaner.
Pesos beat dollars
Dollars are accepted but you pay 10 to 15% more. Pay by card and carry some pesos for taxis, tips and the market.
Nightlife is in Punta Cancun
Km 9 concentrates Coco Bongo, The City and the open-bar clubs. Plan the journey back; taxi fares go up after 2am.
Hotel Zone traffic peaks from 5pm to 7pm
Kukulcan Boulevard is a single road. Allow 20 extra minutes for airport pick-ups at that time.
The Puerto Juarez ferry is cheaper
Ultramar from Puerto Juarez costs less than the Hotel Zone piers and runs every 30 minutes.
Sunday at Parque de las Palapas
The city centre fills with food stalls, music and families. Go for dinner and come back by bus or a fixed-price transfer.
Rain passes quickly
Even in the wet season showers last about an hour. Plan beach mornings and indoor afternoons.
Cancun travel guides
Practical, written by the team that drives the city every day.
Cancun is two cities, and most trips only see one
There is the Hotel Zone — 22 kilometers of sand between the Caribbean and a lagoon, where almost every visitor sleeps — and there is downtown Cancun, a …
4 read
The Cancun Hotel Zone, kilometer by kilometer
The Hotel Zone is a sandbar shaped like a number seven: 22 kilometers of boulevard with the Caribbean on one side and the Nichupté lagoon on the other, …
3 read
Playa Mujeres: a marina, a golf course and a very short list
Playa Mujeres is the older half of the resort development north of Cancun, 30 km from the airport and just short of Costa Mujeres. It has a working mari…
2 read
Costa Mujeres: the newest strip, and the most isolated
Everything at Costa Mujeres was built in the last decade or so, which is why the resorts are enormous, the rooms are current and the beach in front of t…
3 readGetting to Cancun from the airport
Fixed price per vehicle to every zone, driver at the exit with a name board. Full details on the airport page.
Transfer prices per zone in Cancun
| Transport zone | Journey time | Passenger van8 8 | Airport taxi3 3 | Luxury SUV5 5 | Group van15 15 | See availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cancun Hotel Zone & Downtown | 25 min | $34 | $35.40 | $85 | $75 | See availability |
| Puerto Juarez | 35 min | $45 | $50 | $130 | $145 | See availability |
| Playa Mujeres | 40 min | $58 | $63 | $126 | $113 | See availability |
| Costa Mujeres | 45 min | $70 | $75 | $154 | $137 | See availability |
One way in USD per vehicle, taxes, tolls and luggage included. Return is the total for both legs. Puerto Juarez prices include the drop at the ferry pier. Journey times are estimates without traffic, worked out from distance and speed limits; those marked ≈ are approximate.
The prices shown are the Economy fare. Many services also have a Premium fare in the same private vehicle, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before and free changes up to 12 hours before; Economy includes one change with 24 hours’ notice. You choose between them when you see availability.