By air
Cancún International (CUN), ~15 km
North America · Mexico
Cancún, Mexico
Caribbean beaches and turquoise water
Getting there
Best time to visit
December to April — dry, before hurricane season
Don't miss
The Hotel Zone beaches
The MUSA
Isla Mujeres
The El Rey ruins
Things to do
Beach days
Snorkelling
The MUSA underwater museum
Cenote swims
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: dronepicr · CC BY 2.0
What to pack
Swimwear, reef-safe sunscreen
A quieter corner
Playa Delfines, the public beach with the big view
Questions travellers ask
When should I go to Cancún?
December to April, when it's dry and before hurricane season.
What is there to do in Cancún?
Beach days on the Hotel Zone beaches, snorkelling, the MUSA underwater museum and cenote swims. Take a trip to Isla Mujeres and see the El Rey ruins too.
Is there a public beach in Cancún?
Yes — Playa Delfines, the public beach with the big view. Bring swimwear and reef-safe sunscreen.
What local dishes should I try in Cancún?
Seafood tacos and cochinita pibil.
About Cancún
- Coastal
Where it is
Cancún is on the north-eastern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. Its Hotel Zone runs along a long, narrow sandbar shaped like the number seven, between the Caribbean Sea and the Nichupté Lagoon.
History
The Maya built small temples here such as El Rey, but when work on a planned resort began in 1970, the island of Cancún had only three residents, caretakers of a coconut plantation. The first hotels followed in the mid-1970s, and Cancún quickly grew into one of Mexico's leading beach destinations.
People
Most people in Cancún have come from Yucatán and other Mexican states to work in tourism, and Spanish and English are widely spoken in the Hotel Zone. Yucatec Maya is spoken in many families, and Yucatecan dishes such as cochinita pibil and sopa de lima are local staples.
Known for
- White-sand beaches on the Caribbean
- Snorkelling and diving on the reefs
- MUSA, the underwater sculpture museum
- Ferries to Isla Mujeres
- Cenotes and Maya ruins inland
Did you know?
MUSA, the underwater museum off Cancún and Isla Mujeres, has some 500 sculptures on the seabed, placed to draw divers away from the natural reefs and to grow into an artificial reef.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.