Cancun

Twenty-two kilometers of beaches with soft white sand that’s always cool to the touch and names like Perlas, Langosta, Tortugas, Gaviota Azul, Chac Mool, Marlin, Ballenas, Delfines and Coral welcome visitors. Several of Cancun’s beaches, including Playa Delfines, also known as El Mirador where the colorful Cancun sign is located for fantastic selfie photos, have won the international Blue Flag award for the purity of the water and clean sand.

Beaches along the eastern shoreline facing the open Caribbean from Punta Cancun to Punta Nizuc are breezier and have bigger waves. During the summer nights, they welcome special visitors –female sea turtles that come ashore to lay their eggs in the sand.

In contrast, the bayside beaches on the north shore of Cancun Island looking out towards Isla Mujeres are sheltered, with gentle waves and shallow water, making them ideal for children.

Protected by a national Marine Park, the chain of coral reefs in the bay between Cancun and Isla Mujeres and at Punta Nizuc is a great place to start exploring the Mesoamerican Reef, the world’s second longest.

With names like Manchones, Chitales and El Tunel and Punta Nizuc, these shallow water reefs of elkhorn and brain coral festooned with colorful sponges and sea fans are home to marine life including pork fish, angel fish, jacks, lobsters, octopus and sea turtles.

Another amazing underwater attraction that is a must for Cancun visitors is the iconic Museum of Underwater Art or MUSA. Five hundred life-size statues, most of them by British artist Jason deCaires-Taylor, are submerged in four galleries in the Marine Park. The museum has a conservation message, and the statues are gradually being colonized by corals and sponges, fish and other sea creatures.

Cancun is a shopper’s paradise. Visitors will find everything from famous luxury fashion brands, perfumes, gemstones and designer jewelry to Mexican silver and handicrafts, tequila and mezcal and even Cuban cigars.

The major Hotel Zone malls are the lagoonside La Isla Shopping Village 1 & 2. Look for the Cancun Aquarium in La Isla 1 and Fashion Harbor, an arcade full of some of the world’s best-known designer brands. La Isla 2 boasts more shops, restaurants and the Cancun Big Wheel. Marina Puerto Cancun is at the entrance to the Hotel Zone overlooking Puerto Cancun Golf Course and the marina. Luxury Avenue at Kukulcan Plaza is a shopping emporium for perfumes, cosmetics, jewelry, timepieces and fashion.

In Downtown Cancun, visit Malecon Las Americas. If you are shopping for souvenirs, Market 28 is a popular spot for Mexican textiles, ceramics, carvings, silver jewelry and souvenirs.

Where to dine tonight? Cancun has it all! Discover the sheer variety of Mexican cuisine in restaurants that range from the elegant to traditional taco stands. Be sure to sample Yucatecan dishes and Caribbean seafood and whenever you are in the mood for something different, you’ll find everything from Italian, Argentinian, Japanese, Thai and Indian to steak houses and all the major International fast food eateries.

Watch the sunset from a waterfront restaurant such as Captain’s Cove and then get ready to enjoy Cancun’s pulsating nightlife. Dance until the early hours in the famous nightclubs on Punta Cancun or listen to soft jazz, live rock, salsa or reggae in one of the many bars.

As an alternative, set sail for a lobster dinner cruise on a Spanish galleon, a catamaran cruise through the bay or a swashbuckling party on a pirate ship. For a taste of Mexican culture, there’s even a floating fiesta of traditions, cuisine and music in the jungle

Would you believe that the ancient Maya were the first to settle in Cancun thousands of years ago? Archaeologists have discovered that the Cancun area was inhabited in the Late pre-Classic period, 300 B.C. to A.D. 100. Later, during the post-Classic period from A.D. 900 to 1520, it was a port of call on the Maya trade route through the Caribbean.

You can still see the temples erected by Cancun’s ancient inhabitants at El Rey and San Miguelito archaeological sites in the Hotel Zone and at El Meco, north of Puerto Juárez. If you would like to learn more about this amazing culture, which was one of the most advanced ancient civilizations in the Americas, visit the Cancun Maya Museum, next to San Miguelito and in front of two of our resorts The Royal Islander and Royal Uno All Inclusive Resort & Spa.

Go even further and visit some of the Yucatan’s famous sites such as Chichen Itza, Ek Balam and Uxmal.

You cannot spend time in Cancun without visiting sister island Isla Mujeres, a 20-minute boat ride across the bay.

Isla’s charms include picture-perfect, palm-lined Playa Norte, one of the most beautiful beaches in Mexico, coral reefs and a vibrant fishing village with craft shops, cafes, colorful Caribbean wooden houses and thatched waterfront seafood restaurants.

A two-hour boat ride to the north of Cancun, Contoy is a beautiful desert island that is an important bird sanctuary for over 150 species of native and migrant birds.

Located in the Gulf of Mexico, peaceful Holbox is a place to leave the frenetic pace of modern life behind and reconnect with nature. Long walks on the beach, fishing and birding trips, glorious sunsets, fresh seafood and the chance to see the whale sharks, manta rays and sea turtles in the summer are its charms.