Cancún

Overview

The city is actually split in two main area, the Zona Hotelera, which is a  an 18 Km long island which is located facing  the caribbean on one side along a long sunny beach strip with many large fancy  hotels  and on the other  back side it is surrounded by  a beautiful lagoon called Laguna Nichupte. The second part of the city is called Ciudad Cancun, which is in the mainland.  This is where most of the Cancun local people live, and also where tourists can find more budget accommodations. Ciudad Cancun and Zona Hotelera are joined by this long causeway/bridge. They are literally two different worlds. Ciudad Cancun has some nice restaurants and bars along Avenida Yaxchitlan, and a more Mexico feel to it. The Zona Hotelera has the opulence of Las Vegas, Nevada with a beautiful beach, nice malls, fancy bars but no casinos. 

Nearby are many Maya sites that are easy to explore. They offer a unique insight in the precolombian civilization of Mexico. Many tourists get packages to visit Chichen Itza,a good 2-3 hrs away by car. But, if a tourist takes local buses, or even better, rents a car...there are many wonderful places to see. Some of the closer ones to Cancun are Cobá and Tulum, which are near Playa del Carmen, which is also another tourist ocean area on the so called Ruta Maya, within an hour from Cancun. Tulum ruins are near the water, so it is a scenic place, Cobá is about 45 mins. inland from Tulum....very wonderful place.  Renting a bike on site is recommended in...more

History