Cancun Travel Overview

Cancun is located on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, and is probably Mexico's most popular vacation destination hosting 2 million guests a year in 25,000 hotel rooms.  Its white sand beaches and turquoise blue water has attracted tourists from dozens of nations since the early '70s.  The tourist destination features a 19 mile stretch called the hotel zone where you can find stately villas, upscale 5 star hotels, as well as budget accommodations.  Scattered throughout are places to dine, dance, and shop.  Cancun is also close to the Mayan Riviera (e.g. Playa del Carmen, Tulum), Isla Mujeres, and Cozumel as well as tourist sites such as Xcaret and Xel-Ha.

View Map of Cancun

What to do outside the resorts:

Aktun Chen (www.aktunchen.com) - Aktun Chen is an eco-park containing almost 1,000 acres of rainforest.  The name means "cave with an underground river inside".  There are three main caves to explore.  Inside the caves you can view stalactites and stalagmites and cenotes, while outside there are many different species of animals to see, including a serpentario (snake observatory).

AquaWorld (www.aquaworld.com.mx) - AquaWorld's mission is to provide the best watersports experience known to man! The best Cancun Scuba Diving, the best Cancun fishing. The largest variety of Cancun tours and the most fun!

Centro Ecologico Sian Ka'an (www.cesiak.org) - Centro Ecologico Sian Ka'an was established in 1986 as part of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Program.  It encompasses 1.3 million acres of protected habitat.  The center contains 23 known archaeological sites, and is home to 103 known mammal species, 336 known bird species and is an important nesting site for two species of sea turtle.

Chichen Itza - The world famous Mayan pyramids at Chichen Itza are probably over 1500 years old.  The site is divided into two main areas, with the Maya-Toltec style (10th-13th century CE) represented in the north section, the central / south area being from the early period (7th-10th century CE). click here for more details

Cobá - Cobá ("water stirred by wind") is a Mayan archaeological site that may have been the largest city in the Mayan empire, and is the site of the tallest pyramid on the Yucatan peninsula.  Cobá is located 65 miles sw of Playa del Carmen.

El Eden Reserva Ecologica (http://www.uv.mx/CITRO/el_eden/) - El Eden is a 500,000 acre, privately owned, eco-park dedicated to conducting research in biological conservation of the Yucatan.  Visitors can experience the flora and fauna of the Yucatan peninsula first hand through on e of their many excursions.

Hidden Worlds Cenote Park (www.hiddenworlds.com) - Hidden Worlds Cenote Park offers diving and snorkelling enthusiasts the opportunity to swim amongst the world's best cenotes (freshwater sinkholes).  The park was featured in the 2002 IMAX movie "Journey into Amazing Caves".

Isla Mujeres (www.isla-mujeres.com.mx) - Isla Mujeres ("Island of Women") is an island off the coast of Cancun famed for its snorkelling, diving, and archaeological sites.  Visitors can catch one of several ferries that go to the island each day.

Ruinas del Rey - Located in the Cancun hotel zone, The Ruinas del Rey (Ruins of the King) dates back to the 2nd and 3rd century BCE, and was excavated in the 1950's.  Many experts believe that the site was used as both an astronomical observatory and a royal burial site.

Tres Rios Eco Park (www.tres-rios.com) - Tres Rios Eco Park Tres Ríos is where three rivers meet the sea.  Located just south of Cancún, north of Playa del Carmen and a few miles from the Island of Cozumel, Tres Ríos lies in the heart of the Riviera Maya. It is an exclusive retreat where the rivers and sea converge and the Mayan heavens meet the earth. Nestled within a 326-acre lot of natural resources, Tres Ríos is home to three natural rivers, an estuary, 10 cenotes (freshwater springs) thought by the Maya to be entrances to the underworld and a one-mile stretch of sandy white beach.

Tulum (www.tulum.com) - Tulum was the former Maya site of Zama ("city of dawn").  It  is also the Mayan word for fence, trench or wall and the walls surrounding the site allowed Tulum fort to serve as a defense against an invasion.  Today, Tulum is a popular tourist destination divided into 3 main areas: the town itself, the archaeological site, and the hotel zone. 

Xcaret (www.xcaret.com) - Xcaret Eco Theme Park is located in Playa del Carmen, 45 minutes from Cancun.  Xcaret  (pronounced SHCA-ret or EESH-cah-ret) means "small inlet" and the park offers guests over 200 acres where you can explore Mayan ruins, visit an aquarium, aviary, and zoo. and maybe even swim with the dolphins

Xel-Ha (www.xelha.com) - Xel-Ha (pronounced shell-ha) was once a part of an ancient Mayan sacred site, but has now been converted to a tropical water park with a series of connected natural pools, islands, and lagoons.

Articles: Cancun, Mexico Vacation

Consular Information

CANCUN, Consulate of Canada Address: Plaza Caracol II, 3er piso, local 330, Boulevard Kukulcán Km 8.5, Zona Hotelera, 77500, Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico Postal Address: Cancún, Mexico Tel.: 52 (998) 883-3360/1 Fax: 52 (998) 883-3232 E-mail: cancun@canada.org.mx Consular Agent in Cancun (An extension of the Consulate in Merida Segundo Nivel No. 320-323 Plaza Caracol Dos Blvd. Kukulkan Zona Hotelera (Hotel Zone) Cancún, Q. R. 77500 Phone: [52] (998) 883-0272 Fax: [52] (998) 883-1373 Mailing Address: Apdo. Postal 862 Cancun, Q.R. E-Mail: uscons@prodigy.net.mx

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