Cancun Holiday
Cancun is many things to many people. To college students on spring break it is a week long, 24 hour party hot spot. To honeymooners it is the perfect romantic getaway to start a life together. To outdoor sports enthusiasts, Cancun is the perfect place to catch some great waves, go parasailing or dive in the clear blue ocean.
From ancient ruins to beautiful beaches, Cancun has something for every visitor. Indeed, it would be hard to design a destination with better natural beauty, archeological riches and man-made attractions. No matter what you are seeking from a vacation, chances are you will find it in Cancun.
Before Cancun became the premier resort destination it is today, vacationing in Mexico meant heading to the beaches and resorts along the Pacific coast of Mexico. This area, also known as the Mexican Riveriera, stretches from Mazatlan to Acapulco. For many years, the Mexican Riviera was virtually the only region of the country with attractions and facilities to tempt visitors from abroad. Luckily for the Mexico vacationer, this changed during the mid 1980's, when a building boom made Cancun the renowned vacation spot it still is today.
Given the natural beauty of Cancun, it is hard to believe it took so long for it to become a vacation hot spot. The stunning beaches of Cancun simply must be experienced to be believed. Imagine silky smooth, sugar white sand being caressed all day by the warm and inviting emerald and turquoise waters of the Caribbean.
Beaches
Most visitors head straight for the zona hotelera and the beaches . Though you're free to go anywhere, and signposted public walkways lead down to the sea at regular intervals, some of the hotels do their best to make you feel like a trespasser, and staff will certainly move you off the beach furniture if you're not a guest. To avoid being eyed suspiciously by hotel heavies, head for one of the dozen or so public beaches : all are free but you may have to pay a small charge for showers. Entertainment and expensive water sports are laid on all around the big hotels; if you venture further, where more sites await construction, you can find surprisingly empty sand and often small groups of nude sunbathers.
Shopping
From the T-shirt stands to open-air markets filled with Mexican handicrafts, Cancun provides extensive retail shopping delight. Indoor malls and outdoor plazas feature stores carrying international brands and regional merchandise. Sparkling hotels also have allotted plenty of space for boutiques stocking cosmopolitan goods. In the Hotel Zone, Plaza la Fiesta is filled with crafts, and El Zocalo, across form the Convention Center, provides a bazaar-like setting for clothing, crafts, and more. Downtown Cancun, called Centro, is a nine-block square connected to the island by causeway where small shops are plentiful, especially along Yaxchilan Avenue. Flea market fans head to the mercados on Tulum Avenue, the main drag, where silver, handicrafts, and bottles of vanilla are abundant. Numerous malls, where credit cards are accepted, are along Paseo Kukulkan. Many Cancun businesses open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., pause for a siesta, and open again from 5 to 9 p.m., while others are operate from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Nightlife
Nightlife in Cancun is improving quickly, putting Cancun ahead of its Mexican Riviera counterparts. While several splashy discos dominate the Cancun Nightlife scene, most resort hotels offer live lobby music, ranging from reggae to salsa, to solo guitar. Comedy and offtrack betting are now on the scene as well. It's said that Cancun has something for everyone, and this is especially true after dark. At night the tropical island switches into high gear and Cancun nightlife starts in earnest. Here are some of the more popular discos and clubs. Note that most discos collect a cover charge of £5 -20 GBP per person.