Are you planning your upcoming vacation to Cancun and feeling overwhelmed by the plethora of hotels available? Unsure about how to select the right one to enhance your experience?
Firstly, it's essential to recognize that 'Cancun' refers to the major airport in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. With over 1,200 hotels and 31,000 Airbnb properties, the options can be overwhelming, potentially leading to extended decision-making periods.
To streamline your decision, I've categorized the primary staying areas into four: Costa Mujeres, Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum, each offering distinct experiences.
This article aims to guide you in choosing the best hotel based on three critical questions:
How close would you prefer to be to the airport?
Is staying within walking distance of the city downtown a priority for you?
Consider the proximity to archaeological sites, cenotes, snorkeling spots, and general tour destinations.
I will delve into four main hotel regions along the Riviera Maya spanning 138 km (85.7 miles). This comprehensive guide will greatly assist you in making an informed decision.
Cancun Hotel Area
This is definitely the closest area to the Airport, only 15 min away; probably the most popular tourist destinations in the world, the area is 30 km (15 miles) long with white sand beaches, turquoise blue sea, some of the biggest all-inclusive Hotels in North America, in one side of the main avenue you will see the Hotels and right across the street there are restaurants with lovely views to the lagoon.
Some of the Hotels will be bigger than others, but you will easily walk around to restaurants, shops, small malls, nightclubs, convention centers and the market. It’s important to mention that this area is very touristy.
Some of the activities in Cancun hotel zone will be to visit the Archeological site San Miguelito, Mayan Museum, Ferries Wheel, the Mirador in Playa Delfines, get on the ferry to visit Isla Mujeres, Playa Norte, do Snorkel in the Famous Underwater Museum, try some of the Water activities at Nichupte Lagoon (Be aware that swimming in the lagoon is forbidden) and with children you can visit Ventura Park.
***From May to September you can snorkel with the Whale shark, the biggest fish on earth.
Playa del Carmen
This city is located in Riviera Maya, the heart of the Mexican Caribbean. It takes 50 min from the airport. Over here you can find All types of accommodation, from all Inclusive Hotels to Vacation Rentals.
The destination is famous for its main street known as 5th Avenue, where you will find Restaurants, Hotels, traditional souvenir shops, boutiques, bars, nightclubs, street art performances, art galleries & the beach is only one block away, so you can easily relax or party at a beach club, and you can find ancient Mayan ruins that used to belong a city that was called Xaman Ha. So this destination is perfect if you would like to try a little bit of everything in a walking distance.
About tours, it’s right in the middle if everywhere, you can either visit a cenote or more, do Sunrise Paddleboard, take the ferry to the Cozumel Island (45 min) for scuba diving & snorkeling, visit the archeological sites such as Muyil, Tulum, Chichen Itza, Siian Kan, Adventure Parks and more.
In general a great place if you are looking for tours, food variety and even just to relax by the beach or going to the Spa.
Tulum
It’s divided in three main areas: Tulum Archeological Site, Tulum Hotel Area & Tulum Downtown. It’s famous for the Boho Chic style Boutique hotels, wellness, made for travelers who would like to enjoy the food from restaurants and enjoy the relax vibe, All Inclusive Hotels doesn’t really exist on this area, most hotels are for only adults, but here are plenty of Vacation Rental with great accommodations.
This will be the farthest from the airport, it can take 1 hour 30 min just to get to Tulum, but it’s definitely worth it.
The Archeological site of Tulum can be reachable by bike from downtown or Hotel zone, there are many cenotes and lagoons close to the city, the Sian Ka’an biosphere it’s only 20 min away as well the Akumal beach (famous turtle sight seen spot), great beach clubs, Yoga retreats and Mayan Communities 30 min away by car.
As you can see, you will probably have to come more than once to this area to experience all these destinations.
Have a great trip 😀
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