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see + do
Cancún see + do
Cancún is Mexico's number-one tourism moneymaker, thanks to its proximity to chilly East Coast cities and the preponderance of familiar franchises that make U.S. tourists feel right at home. It's all about easy access to warm breezes and the crystal blue Caribbean Sea. Most visitors stick to the Zona Hotelera, a skinny 14-mile-long manmade sampler of Everyman's dream vacation setting. Sunbathing, swimming, shopping, and lazing about are the main activities, and attractions sans a commercial aspect are nearly nonexistent. The Mayan temples at El Rey and El Meco (and the stained glass dome at Kukulcán Plaza) add a slight historical perspective to the scene. Mostly, businesses are constantly racing to raise their hip quotient and stay ahead of the competition.
The best physical activities take place in the lagoons, where active types paddle kayaks and race about on WaveRunners. Travel agencies offer tours to the cenotes and coral reefs south of Cancún in the Riviera Maya—diving and snorkeling are far better there than at Cancún's few loved-to-death reefs. Day trips to Isla Mujeres include decent fish-spotting at Parque Garrafón, along with the chance to tootle about the island in a golf cart.
Long before modern pyramids rose beside the sea, the Maya built temples and homes beside the Caribbean, using the region as a stopover for traders and pilgrims...more
OK, so it's not exactly Madrid or even Mexico City, but Cancún's small bullfighting ring, in the El Centro section of town, holds bullfights on...more
The Yucatán is one of the flattest places on earth—an area with almost no peaks or hills to accent its tropical terrain. As a result, the region's...more
Just five miles long and no wider than a city block at each tip, tiny Isla is the antithesis of Cancún. The island's many small hotels weather most...more
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