Cancun Holidays - Compare Prices & Departure Dates

Cancun is Mexico’s premier tourist resort on the Yucatan peninsula with the Caribbean sea on one side and the Nichupte Lagoon on the other. Forming a ‘7’ shape, the resort areas are made up of 11 different beaches over 14 miles.

Cancun itself is divided into two areas, namely the ‘Hotel Zone’ (or Zone Hotelera) and modern Downtown Cancun.

The Hotel Zone is the holidaymaker hotspot with over 150 hotels and 380 restaurants. The whole area is easy to navigate with the airport in the south, the north side is main Downtown Cancun and the hotel zone is the island strip in between, linked to the main land by two bridges.

As well as offering long stretches of sandy beaches and blue seas, Cancun is well known for its extensive nightlife and shopping.

The official currency in Cancun is the Peso, but the US dollar is widely accepted as well. Cancun is six hours behind UK time and the official language is Spanish, with many living and working in the Hotel Zone speaking English.

Cancun International Airport (IATA code CUN) is Mexico’s second busiest airport and welcomes many scheduled and charter flights from the UK. The flight time from London is around 10 hours and 40 minutes and around 11 hours from Manchester.

Most tourists arrive in Cancun having booked package holidays through UK tour operators, so getting from the airport to your accommodation is by pre-arranged bus transfers. Independent travellers will find taxis and buses are both reasonably priced to the the Hotel Zone, which is just a 10km ride away.

UK nationals do not need a visa to enter Mexico on holidays of less than 180 days, but you will need to fill in a tourist card on arrival at the airport.

To enter Mexico, you must have at least six months’ validity left on your passport and proof of return travel. On leaving the airport a departure tax of around 500 peso is due, but more often than not this is included in the flight or package holiday cost.

Once in resort, taxis are plentiful, many hotels offer free bicycle hire and there are the Collectivo shuttle buses too which run around resort and up and down the 307 coastal highway.

When you think of Mexico, think tropical sunshine, extensive beaches and a purpose-built tourist area offering all the hotels, bars, restaurants and club you’ll ever need, with all the modern feel of America but with a Spanish twist too.

Days start off late with a good breakfast before taking up your position on the sun lounger on the beach or by the hotel pool. Late afternoon could be the time to try some waterports such as parasailing, jet biking or snorkelling.

Those with PADI diving certification will love the organised dives in and around the coral reef and beginners are well catered for with dive schools too.

The Hotel Zone really comes alive at night with everything on offer from glitzy Vegas style shows to impressive nightclubs hosting internationally renowned DJs. Be warned as the partying starts late and finishes very early the next morning!

For a flavour of a more local night out, head to the bars and clubs in the Downtown Cancun area, just a short taxi ride away from the Hotel Zone.

Although the beach is always very inviting, there are some rather amazing hidden cultural hotspots around Cancun reflecting the country’s Mayan past that can all be visited on daytrips.

Head to Tulum which is 80 miles away from Cancun and has over 60 different Mayan structures, ruins and temples to admire. The famous area of Chichen Itza is now one of the World’s New Seven Wonders and is about three hours of travel each way from Cancun, but well worth the visit.

If the sun, beach, sea, nightlife and Mayan heritage isn’t enough for you then there are loads of other attractions around Cancun.

These include various sea life centres where you can pay to swim with dolphins (try at the Interactive aquarium, Wet n Wild and Delphinus Dreams) and ecoparks.

The Hidden Worlds of Cenotes Adventure Park lets you visit a whole labyrinth of underwater caves and caverns, along with zip wires and skybikes for the less feinthearted.

Xcaret Ecopark is an eco-archaeological park south of Cancun, celebrating local flora, fauna and Mayan culture with shows, a Mayan village, underground tours, butterfly and orchid collections.

If you’re feeling active, there are self-drive Jeep safaris and horse riding available too. You can even go and cheer on Premier Division local football team Potros de Hiero in the Cancun stadium.

Easily accessible by jet ski or catamaran is Isla Mujeres which is around 20 minutes away from Cancun and is a favourite day trip for holidaymakers and ideal for snorkelling too.

The Hotel Zone is unsurprisingly the epicentre of the accommodation in Cancun and you can find hotels and apartments ranging form three to five star plus, with all the international hotel names such as Hyatt, Hilton and Marriott all present.

Those who come to Cancun on package holidays will stay in accommodation in this area. If you’re coming with young children, the hotels facing the Nichupte Lagoon side rather than the Caribbean offer gentler waves and cool to the touch coral sandy beaches.

If you arrive independently, you can take your pick of mid to high end hotels, but if you’re looking for somewhere cheaper, head to Downtown Cancun.

A true shopper’s paradise. There seems to be an air conditioned shopping centre on nearly every intersection, the largest of which (Plaza Kukulcan) has over 300 shops, restaurants, a cinema and bowling alley.

Boutiques usually sell a mix of well known American, Mexican and International brands, with shoes, beach wear and jewellery being favourite purchases.

You needn’t go far for your shopping fix, as many of the locals sell their wares on the beach, so if you’re looking for handmade gifts from sarongs to bangles, they will more than likely come to you.

Every type of food you could want is readily available here from McDonalds and Argentine steakhouses, to Japanese and Italian.

Seafood is renowned to be particularly good and must-tries include more traditional dishes such as Enchiladas and Pollo Pibil which is chicken with orange and spices, barbecued on a banana leaf.

Of course, being Mexico, expect to find a lot of foods spiced up with lots of chilli!

As for drinks, Mexico’s favourite drink is Tequila, which here is usually served as a Margarita. The local beers are known worldwide now too, with familiar names such as Sol, Corona and Dos Equis.

The main tourist season in Cancun is between May and October. Temperatures are easily into the 30s, so you’ll need to be prepared for the heat, especially when on excursions in-land.

May to December is cooler, but the tropical climate means there are often big storms, with September being the rainiest month.

• If you want paradise beaches but with serious nightlife too
• A very ‘Westernised’ holiday in central America with all modcons
• Accessible trips to see Mayan ruins

• Holidaymakers seeking peace, quiet and few people around them

Cancun Travel – the latest advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Cancun Info – the official Mexico Tourist Office site for Cancun

Head to Cancun for a mix of tropical beaches, sunshine, watersports and shopping all combined with Mayan heritage all topped off with an undeniably Spanish flavour.