In the 1970s, Mexico wanted to develop a resort area and found that the Yucatan peninsula was the perfect location to develop this utopia. As a result, the city of Cancun was developed and the resorts and communities along the coast were constructed to fabricate this tourism destination. Everything is designed for tourism, making it a destination that can accommodate any kind of traveler. In addition, the peninsula has a number of different archaeological sites, including the New World Wonder of Chichen-Itza, that make it a cultural destination along with a beach haven.
Depending on the goal of your vacation, there are different activities that you can seek out and places to stay to fulfill those desires.
For Those Who Want To Get Pampered and Relax in Cancun
Cancun and the resorts on the Yucatan Peninsula are great destinations for those who want to relax and decompress on vacation. The entire coast from Cancun to Tulum is lined with resorts that vary in budgets and amenity offerings. These resorts could be exclusive small boutique hotels, all inclusive resorts, or large hotels with a-la-carte offerings, all with pools and beach access.
What To Do:
Relax At A Resort (Also Family Friendly)
If you want, you can decompress at the resort of your choosing, spending your time reading at the pool, laying on the beach, and relaxing to the max. Some resorts even have multiple restaurants on site, allowing you to stay on the resort the whole time without getting tired of the food offerings. You should consider the following when researching the different resort options for your stay:
- If you have a young children, you can find resorts with childcare amenities, allowing you to have some free time to yourself. Some have playgrounds, kid pools, and more designated just for children.
- If you do not want to be around children, you can find resorts that are adult-only.
- Look into the spa offerings and reserve the ones you want to do in advance.
- Resorts can help organize outings to the different archaeological sites or help you find group tours to the different destinations around the peninsula.
- The location of the resort on the Yucatan peninsula can change your experience and what you have access to during your stay. (You can read more about this below)
Where to Stay:
Hotel District of Cancun (especially if you want to go shopping)
This is one of the most popular and accessible resort areas on the Yucatan Peninsula. It is close to the Cancun airport, the most common airport to use to get to the peninsula, making it seamless to access. The hotel district also includes a number of designer shopping malls, making it perfect to get some retail therapy in while on vacation.
Riviera Maya
The area between Cancun and Tulum is considered the Riviera Maya. It has a variety of gated communities that self-contain resorts, timeshares, condo rentals, golf courses, tennis courts, and more. This area is perfect for those who want to be part of these larger communities, but make sure you understand what you have access to prior to reserving anything. It could also be the best location for those traveling with larger families because of the variety of accommodations.
Tulum Beachfront
Tulum is both an archaeological destination and a boutique beachfront resort area. Tulum has grown in popularity over the last few years. What started as an exclusive boutique and luxury destination has grown to accommodate a larger variety of budgets. If you are looking for those picturesque beachfront hotels, then this is the destination for you. It is perfect for a romantic vacation or a girls getaway. This destination will be the most remote and peaceful of the three options discussed here and while it will be beautiful, it may be more challenging to do some of the other activities that the peninsula has to offer, due to its location. (There is an airport in Tulum but you will have to evaluate the cost and time of flying into Tulum versus flying into Cancun and taking transportation to Tulum.)
For Those Who Want To Explore the Culture of the Peninsula
This area of Mexico contains many archaeological sites that were vital to the Mayan culture that inhabited the area from Guatemala to the Yucatan Peninsula. Each archaeological city was ruled as an independent city-state, each trading with one another and having different amounts of wealth and power depending on the resources available to them. The most popular sites are Chichen-Itza, Tulum, and Coba, each of which can be visited from Cancun, Riviera Maya, or Tulum.
What To Do:
Visit an Archaeological Site
Chichen-Itza: The most popular archaeological site is Chichen-Itza. Its pyramid is one of the New Seven World Wonders and is a must-visit destination in Cancun to learn more about the people that have inhabited the peninsula for centuries. If you are visiting just one archaeological site, this is the one to prioritize. To get to the site, you can use a tour group to get historical and archaeological information about the location while providing transportation. Many of these tours stop at a cenote and the city of Valladolid. You can read more about the archeological site here.
Tulum and Coba: These two archaeological sites are often visited together due to their proximity. Tulum is the only Mayan city that was located along the ocean, making it especially picturesque against the jungle and ocean. Coba is the largest of the archaeological sites and contains the biggest pyramid. It is also the least restored of the archaeological sites, making it a great one to visit to see how people discovered the sites in the jungle. It is best to use a tour group to visit both of these sites and the tours include a stop to swim in a cenote and eat lunch. You can read more about the archeological site here.
Where To Stay:
Downtown Cancun
If you want to spend multiple days visiting the different archaeological sites and doing tours outside of Cancun, you may want to consider splitting your time between the resort areas of the peninsula and the city center of Cancun. The tours to visit archaeological sites take the entire day, diminishing the value of staying at a resort during that time. The city center has a number of different hotels (many with pools) that are more affordable than the resorts and is a safe place to walk around after touring all day. There are also different restaurants that you can walk to, giving you options that range from street tacos to good sushi. If this is something you are interested in doing, we recommend spending up to 4 nights in the city center, transferring to a resort in the morning, and spending 2 nights and 2 full days at a resort. This is a sample itinerary (5-7 days/4-6 nights) for this option:
Activity
Where to Stay
Day 0
Arrive in Cancun
Cancun City Center
Day 1
Visit Chichen-Itza
Cancun City Center
Day 2 (Optional)
Visit Tulum and Coba
Cancun City Center
Day 3 (Optional)
Boat tour to Isla Mujeres (See “Those Who Want to Party”)
Cancun City Center
Day 4
Go to the resort first thing and relax
Resort
Day 5
Resort day
Resort
Day 6
Leave Cancun
The Resort of Your Choosing
If you are only looking to do one day of touring around the peninsula, it may not be worth it to change hotels mid-trip. In that case, find the resort that fits your personality, needs, and budget in one of the locations mentioned in the “Pampered and Relax” section above.
For Those Who Want To Party in Cancun
Cancun is both a relaxing destination and a place to let your hair down and let loose. The partying can include all-inclusive resorts, party cruises, or clubs and can depend on how you want to spend your time in Cancun.
What To Do:
Visiting Isla Mujeres
Isla Mujeres is a Caribbean island that is near Cancun and easily accessible by boat. The island has beautiful beaches and beach clubs that can allow you to fully appreciate the beautiful Caribbean ocean and the white sand beach that makes this island so popular. For the most budget friendly option, you can take a ferry between Cancun and the island, allowing you to explore the town on the island and hang out at the beach or beach clubs on the island. Otherwise, you can find some private transportation companies that can take you to the island – the club of your choice may have a suggestion for this.
Another option for visiting the island is taking an all-inclusive yacht tour to different points of the island. These tours include a snorkeling opportunity, lunch at a beach club, and time at the main town/beach of the island, along with unlimited drinks on the boat. This allows you to visit the island and its beaches in a fun and easy manner without much planning or logistics on your end.
Check Out the Clubs in Cancun
Cancun has a number of dance clubs at the northern end of the Hotel District. They are all next to each other, making it very easy to hop from one club to the next. You can also purchase packages that allow you to skip the lines to designated clubs on designated nights. Or you can pick specific clubs, pay cover, purchase bottle service, etc. like other clubs throughout the world.
Stay At an All-Inclusive Resort in Cancun
All-inclusive resorts give you the freedom to eat and drink as much as you want throughout your stay, making it ideal for those who want to party more without incurring the cost or if you like to have a fixed budget for your vacation. (For those who are foodies, this may not be the best option for you because the food at these resorts tends to not be as good as restaurants in the area).
Where To Stay:
Hotel District of Cancun
This is one of the most popular and accessible resort areas on the Yucatan Peninsula. It is close to the Cancun airport, the most common airport to use to get to the peninsula, making it seamless to access. The hotel district includes the major clubs of Cancun, making it much easier to access them throughout your stay. This is also an area with many all-inclusive resort options at a variety of budgets. If you do not want to explore the clubs but do want to go to Isla Mujeres, you can consider staying in Downtown Cancun.
For Those Seeking Adventure in Cancun
Cancun and the Yucatan Peninsula is full of adventure for people at any age and any risk level. Between the ocean activities that the region has to offer to the jungle landscapes, your imagination can run wild with all the things to do that will give you a little adrenaline rush.
What To Do:
Different Adventure Sports
Finding adventure on the Yucatan Peninsula is incredibly easy. You can talk to your hotel about their offerings, ask a tour agency about their different options, or search for reputable companies that do the activity that you are searching for. You can wait until you are in Cancun to find the appropriate or unique adventure that you want to pursue. These activities include but are not exclusive to the following:
- Horseback riding
- Jet skiing
- Snorkeling
- Scuba diving
- Diving with whale sharks – depends on the time of year
- ATVing
- Flyboarding, hoverboarding, jetpacking
- Zip lining
- Parasailing
- Fishing
Where to Stay:
Different Adventure Sports
To do these activities, you can stay anywhere along the coast of the Yucatan peninsula, including the Hotel District of Cancun, Riviera Maya, Tulum Beachfront, and Downtown Cancun. They are available at any location. You may have to meet at a central meeting point for some of these activities or may get picked up/dropped off at your hotel.