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Aerial view of the Hotel Zone beach in Cancún, with the hotels along the sand and the Caribbean in shades of turquoise
A concrete Volkswagen Beetle on the seabed of the MUSA underwater museum, colonised by coral
Snorkellers in life jackets over the reef of the Puerto Morelos national park
The limestone cliffs of Punta Sur, the southern tip of Isla Mujeres, above the Caribbean
The low, green shore of Isla Contoy seen from a boat, with seabirds over the mangroves

Things to do in Cancún: 9 experiences

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Photo: dronepicr, CC BY 2.0

Manchones and Punta Nizuc

Snorkel over the sunken sculptures of MUSA

Check dates and prices

Photo: Andy Blackledge, CC BY 2.0

Puerto Morelos

Snorkel the barrier reef off Puerto Morelos with a park guide

Check dates and prices

Photo: ProtoplasmaKid, CC BY-SA 4.0

Isla Mujeres

Take the ferry to Isla Mujeres and ride down to Punta Sur

Check dates and prices

Photo: CesarNS1980, CC BY-SA 4.0

Isla Contoy National Park

Join a permitted boat to the bird island of Isla Contoy

Check dates and prices

Photo: Peter Maas, CC BY-SA 2.5

Cancún was planned from 1970 as a resort on a barrier island that then had three residents, and it is still two places. The Hotel Zone runs along Boulevard Kukulcán between the Caribbean and the Nichupté lagoon; downtown, on the mainland, is where people live and eat for a fraction of the price. The Mexico page already covers the Coco Bongo show. This page covers the sea, the lagoon and the Maya sites inside the city.

Most of what is worth a day here is on or under the water: the ferry to Isla Mujeres, MUSA's sunken sculptures, the reef at Puerto Morelos and the bird island of Contoy, which takes only a set number of visitors a day. On land, the Museo Maya is the best place in the city to understand the ruins you will see later at Chichén Itzá or Tulum.

9 things to do in Cancún

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The limestone cliffs of Punta Sur, the southern tip of Isla Mujeres, above the Caribbean

Take the ferry to Isla Mujeres and ride down to Punta Sur

Isla Mujeres

A full dayGo alone or with a tour

A short ferry from Cancún lands you on a narrow island whose southern cliff once held a Maya shrine to the goddess Ixchel.

Check dates and pricesCatamaran to Isla Mujeres with snorkel and lunch
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A concrete Volkswagen Beetle on the seabed of the MUSA underwater museum, colonised by coral

Snorkel over the sunken sculptures of MUSA

Manchones and Punta Nizuc

3 to 4 hours with the boatBook ahead

Hundreds of life-size concrete figures were sunk off Cancún to pull snorkellers and divers away from a damaged natural reef.

Check dates and pricesSnorkel trip to MUSA and Manchones reef
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The small pyramid of the San Miguelito archaeological site among the trees beside the Museo Maya de Cancún

See the Museo Maya and walk out to San Miguelito

Hotel Zone, km 16.5

2 to 3 hoursNo booking needed

INAH's Maya museum in the Hotel Zone, with the ruins of San Miguelito standing among the trees right beside it.

Tours in Cancún
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Panorama of Playa Delfines, the public beach on the open Caribbean side of Cancún's Hotel Zone

Spend a morning at Playa Delfines, below El Mirador

Hotel Zone, km 17.5

Half a dayFree

A public beach on the open Caribbean side of the Hotel Zone, where the waves are big and lifeguards keep watch all day.

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A quesadilla stall with its picture menu in Parque de las Palapas, downtown Cancún

Eat at the stalls of Parque de las Palapas

Downtown Cancún

2 hours in the eveningFree

Downtown Cancún eats at the stalls of Parque de las Palapas, a square that fills in the evening at prices the Hotel Zone forgot.

Check dates and pricesEvening taco walk in downtown Cancún
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The low, green shore of Isla Contoy seen from a boat, with seabirds over the mangroves

Join a permitted boat to the bird island of Isla Contoy

Isla Contoy National Park

A full dayBook ahead

A national park island 30 km north of Isla Mujeres where only permit-holding boats land, with a cap of about 200 visitors a day.

Check dates and pricesDay trip to Isla Contoy and Isla Mujeres
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Snorkellers in life jackets over the reef of the Puerto Morelos national park

Snorkel the barrier reef off Puerto Morelos with a park guide

Puerto Morelos

Half a day from CancúnGo alone or with a tour

Half an hour south of Cancún, the barrier reef runs about 500 metres off the beach, closer to shore than almost anywhere on this coast.

Check dates and pricesGuided reef snorkel with transport from Cancún
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Sunset over the Nichupté lagoon behind Cancún's Hotel Zone

Drive a small speedboat through the Nichupté mangroves

Nichupté lagoon

2 to 3 hoursBook ahead

Cancún's own boat trip: a two-seat speedboat you steer yourself through the mangrove channels of the lagoon, then a swim on the reef.

Check dates and pricesSelf-drive speedboat through the mangroves, with snorkel
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Coco Bongo nightclub in Cancún's Hotel Zone

See the Coco Bongo show in Cancún's Hotel Zone

Hotel Zone, Cancún

4 to 5 hours, from doors to closingBook ahead

Part nightclub, part stage show: acrobats, live bands and tribute acts perform above the dance floor through the night.

Tours in Cancún
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Traveller picks

Hidden gems suggested by travellers. We check each one before it goes up; the words are theirs, not ours.

No traveller picks for Cancún yet. Know a place most visitors miss?

Plan your trip

  • Getting there

    Cancún International Airport is on the mainland south of the city. ADO buses link the terminals with the downtown bus station, and taxis and shuttles go to the Hotel Zone. From the downtown station, buses reach Playa del Carmen in about an hour and twenty minutes and Valladolid in about two hours.

  • Getting around

    The R1 and R2 buses run up and down Boulevard Kukulcán between the Hotel Zone and downtown, often and cheaply; R1 also reaches the ADO station. Colectivos opposite the ADO station go to Puerto Juárez for the Isla Mujeres ferries. For Puerto Morelos, take a second-class bus or colectivo down Highway 307.

  • How many days

    In must30's view, four days: one for Isla Mujeres, one on the water at MUSA or Puerto Morelos, one for Isla Contoy, and a slower day for Playa Delfines, the Museo Maya and dinner downtown. Add days if you use Cancún as a base for Chichén Itzá or Tulum.

  • When to go

    December to April is the dry season, with the calmest sea for boat trips and the most visitors. It is hot all year and hottest around May. June to November brings the rainy and hurricane season, and from about April to October sargassum seaweed can wash up on the east-facing beaches.

  • Where to base yourself

    The Hotel Zone puts you on the beach and on the boat-tour pickups. Downtown is cheaper, close to the bus station and to Puerto Juárez for Isla Mujeres, but has no beach. Isla Mujeres itself is a calmer base once the day boats leave.

Questions travellers ask

Is it better to stay in the Hotel Zone or downtown Cancún?

For beaches, the Hotel Zone, which faces the open Caribbean and is on every tour's pickup route. For prices, food and buses, downtown, which has no beach but is a short R1 or R2 ride from it.

How do I get to Isla Mujeres from Cancún?

Take an Ultramar ferry from Puerto Juárez, north of downtown, which runs about every half hour and takes under 20 minutes. Ferries from Playa Caracol and Playa Tortugas in the Hotel Zone run less often and cost more.

Can I visit Isla Contoy on my own?

No. Only operators with permits can land there, and the national park caps visits at about 200 people a day. Book a day trip from Cancún or Isla Mujeres a few days ahead in high season.

Is Playa Delfines safe for swimming?

Only on calm days. It faces the open sea with nothing to break the waves, and red flags are frequent. Swim near the lifeguards, check the flag and stay out when it is red.

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