Cancún in Mexico

Cancún Introduction

Cancún is a coastal city in Mexico's easternmost state, Quintana Roo, on the Yucatán Peninsula. Cancún is located on the Yucatan Channel that separates Mexico from the island of Cuba in the Greater Antilles. The Cancún region is sometimes known as the Mexican Caribbean. Cancún is the municipal seat of the Benito Juárez municipality and a world-renowned tourist resort. The city center is located on the mainland which connects the Nichupté and lagoons to a narrow 7-shaped island where the modern beachfront hotels are located. The island of Isla Mujeres is located off the coast and is accessible by boat from Puerto Juárez.

There are about 150 hotels in Cancún with more than 24,000 rooms and 380 restaurants. Four million visitors arrive each year in an average of 190 flights daily. The Hotel Zone of Cancún is shaped like a 7 with bridges on each end connecting to the mainland. Hotels on the vertical or long side of the 7 tend to have rougher beaches and beach erosion can be a problem. Resorts on the horizontal or short end of the seven tend to have more gentle surf because the waves here are blocked by the island of Isla Mujeres which lies just off shore. The Hotel Zone offers a broad range of accommodations, ranging from relatively inexpensive motel-style facilities in the older section closest to the mainland, to high-priced luxury hotels in the later sections, great malls, theme parks and swimming with dolphins activity.

On the opposite side of the island from the Caribbean Sea is the Nichupté Lagoon, which is used for boating excursions and jet-ski jungle tours.Cancún is also the gateway to the Riviera Maya, another tourist pull in the area, where people go attracted by the numerous archaeological sites, as Cobá and Tulum, the many cenotes, charming towns as Playa del Carmen and theme parks such as Xcaret Eco Park, Xel-Ha and Xplor. Read More ...

Cancún Map

Cancún Picture Guide

The sunny Caribbean sea at Cancun, attracting millions of tourists every year
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One of the main attractions is the beautiful golden sandy beaches
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A typical part of the beach along the hotel zone at Cancun
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Activities along the beach include Catamaran Sailing
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Other activities include motor boat and jet ski hire
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For a spectacular aerial view, you could try Para Sailing!
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Beach facing hotels at Cancun
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Hotel terraces leading straight down on to the beach
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A pelican in full flight over the beach at Cancun
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Sunbeds on the beach ready for a days sunbathing
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A typical Cancun hotel swimming pool, facing directly onto the beach
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Enjoying a cocktail around the swimming pool
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Colourful entertainers around the pool in Cancun
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The view looking from the hotel zone towards Downtown Cancun City
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The Lagoon located behind the sand spit
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Motor cruisers moored in the Lagoon
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The Riu Cancun, one of the hotels in Cancun's hotel zone
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All hotels have superb views out over the Caribbean sea
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Accommodation varies from apartments to hotels
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Some well known brands have hotels in Cancun
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A typical view of the main road running down the middle of the hotel zone in Cancun
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Shopping in the Cancun hotel zone, you wll find a mixture of designer names and local souvenir outlets
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A series of modern Plaza Malls runs along the hotel zone
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Each one contains some well known names
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A leather shop in one of Cancun's Shopping Malls
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Locally crafted masks on sale in Cancun's souvenir shops
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Senor Frogs Souvenir Shop in Cancun
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A Souvenir shop in Plaza Forum Mall
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For your nights out, you can do no better than the world famous Coco Bongo nightclub
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Party time inside Coco Bongo in Canun
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Part disco, part show, with all kinds of show acts
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