Cancun, or, more precisely, Cancún, is a coastal tourist city on the Caribbean (eastern) side of Mexico. There are two significant areas, Punta Cancun (tip of Cancun), also known as the Hotel Zone and Playa Del Carmen. We chose to stay in Punta Cancun. The Hotel Zone is walkable and you don’t need to rent a car if you are staying there. Buses are always available to go to other parts of Cancun though you rarely will.

You can get there by taxi, but the bus is pretty convenient as well. Take a bus for 94 MXN to Cancun downtown and then R1 for 12 MXN to Zona Hotelera. Both the buses are pretty frequent, so an expensive taxi isn’t required.

Day 1: Hotel Zone

There is a beautiful lagoon in the Hotel Zone, but swimming isn’t allowed because of the crocodiles. It is still gorgeous, and I would recommend staying in a hotel close to the lagoon.

We had a vegan ceviche at Cancun Forum, I would highly recommend that for vegetarians.

Day 2: Isla Mujeres

We took a cruise to Isla Mujeres. The island is gorgeous. Compared to Belize or Cayman islands, it is a bit overrated. If you have done similar day cruises, feel free to skip this.

We were supposed to go to Cancun Underwater Museum but the ocean had strong waves that day, so, we ended up seeing more fishes instead.

Day 3: Chichén Itzá & Cenote

Chichen Itza is considered one of the modern wonders of the world. We did a tour with Sat Mexico Corporation, and I would highly recommend them. There were three main stops in the tour, Chichén Itzá, an underground swimmable water hole known as Cenote, and the town of Valladolid.

Chichen Itza is gorgeous, historical, and huge. If you have a good guide, they will tell you a lot about Mayan culture, including the game of Pok Ta Pok.

The second stop was at the Artesanías Chac Mool de Kaua (artisans of Kaua). Here you taste some local food and see local sculpting before heading for a buffet lunch.

From there, we headed to Ik Kil Cenote. There are a few popular ones, as long as your trip includes one of them, don’t worry about picking the best one. You swim for an hour. The attraction of Ik Kil Cenote is to cliff dive from 6m (18 ft).

While returning, we stop at the town of Valladolid. If you are into colonial architecture, you would like it.

In the evening, we decided to check out the non-touristy city of Cancun, and we ended up going to festivities going on at Parque de las Palapas (“Sheltered Park”). Tons of food items like corn, ice cream, churros at local prices. I would highly recommend going there before returning to the airport.

Note

If you are staying for longer, then you can buy groceries at Selecto Supermarket, or Supermercado. It is in the hotel zone.