Travelling to Cancún?
Cancún isn’t a town that grew: it’s a government project. In 1970 this was a twenty-two-kilometre sandbar shaped like a number seven with almost nobody living on it, and the state decided to build a destination from scratch. Everything odd and everything good comes from that: the Hotel Zone is a single avenue between the Caribbean and a lagoon, and the real city sits fifteen minutes inland.
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What to see in Cancún
8 ROUTESOur routes, not a list of everything. Places that have been there for centuries: no opening times or prices, which go stale.
- 01
Cancún in a day
8 hA pyramid full of iguanas inside the Hotel Zone, the lookout where the lagoon finally makes sense, and the city that exists once the boulevard ends.Playa Delfines · Zona Arqueológica El Rey · Museo Maya de Cancún and San Miguelito · El Centro: Parque de las PalapasRead the full guide - 02
A weekend in Cancún
20 hOne day in the water and one on land: reef and island on Saturday, city and lagoon on Sunday.Saturday morning: Isla Mujeres · Saturday afternoon: the reef and MUSA · Sunday: downtown and the Nichupté lagoonRead the full guide - 03
The beaches of Cancún
6 hThe sandbar has two stretches with different seas, and choosing wrong is the difference between swimming and being tumbled by a wave.Playa Tortugas / Playa Caracol · Playa Delfines · Punta NizucRead the full guide - 04
Where to eat in Cancún
4 hThe food here isn’t generic Mexican: it’s Yucatecan, and you eat it downtown, not on the boulevard.Cochinita pibil, and why it’s a morning thing · Mercado 28 · Avenida Yaxchilán and Parque de las PalapasRead the full guide - 05
Where to stay in Cancún
2 hBoulevard or city: two different trips at two different prices. Plus a third option half an hour away.Hotel Zone (Boulevard Kukulcán) · El Centro (downtown) · Puerto MorelosRead the full guide - 06
Day trips from Cancún
10 hOne of the seven wonders ninety minutes away, an inland sea in the middle of the jungle, and a Maya city on a cliff.Chichén Itzá · Tulum · The Ruta de los CenotesRead the full guide - 07
From Cancún airport to the city
1 hThere’s a train, but it doesn’t go to the city. There’s a public bus, but it stops at no hotel. Worth knowing before you land.ADO: the only public transport · Tren Maya: for the Riviera, not for the city · Taxi: expensive, direct, and with its own rulesRead the full guide - 08
Cancún: practical tips
1 hSargassum, hurricane season, why the beaches are yours, and how not to overpay on the exchange.Sargassum and hurricane season · Money: pesos, tipping and the exchange trap · Connectivity and the tropical sunRead the full guide
Airport to city centre
4 OPTIONSThe real options, with what actually decides it: which terminal it leaves from and where it drops you. Fares and timetables live with the operator, who keeps them current.
- BusADOT2 · T3 · T4 → Terminal ADO de Cancún CentroThe only public transport from the airport. It stops at no hotel: only at the ADO terminal downtown. For the Hotel Zone you connect there with the R-1.25-40 minFares and timesADO
- BusADOT2 · T3 · T4 → Playa del Carmen y TulumStraight from the airport to the Riviera Maya terminals, without going through Cancún.·Fares and timesADO
- TrainTren MayaPuerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Valladolid y Chichén ItzáThe station sits inside the airport, reached by the free Conexión Intermodal shuttle from all four terminals. Note: there is NO station in downtown Cancún, so it won’t get you to your hotel.·Fares and timesTren Maya
- TaxiZona Hotelera y centroAirport taxis hold a federal concession and charge by zone. Cancún city taxis aren’t allowed to pick up there. Timing depends a lot on which Kukulcán kilometre your hotel sits at.20-40 minFares and timesTaxis de concesión federal
VIP lounges in Cancún
3Before you fly, or on the layover. Pay per visit, whatever airline.