About Cancun

In the 1970s Mexico's ambitious tourism planners decided to outdo Acapulco with a brand new, world-class resort in the Yucatan Peninsula. The place they chose was a deserted sand spit offshore from the little fishing village of Puerto Juarez, on Yucatan's eastern shore. The island sand spit was shaped like a Lucky 7 and its name was Cancun.

In the last two decades Cancun has grown from a tiny jungle village into one of the world's best-known holiday resorts. The Mexican government sunk vast sums into landscaping and infrastructure, yielding straight, well-paved roads, drinkable tap water and great swaths of sandy beach. Cancun now attracts planeloads of divers, Mayan archeology buffs and sun-seeking resort tourists.

Destination Facts

Population: 400,000

Country: Mexico

Time Zone: Central Time (GMT/UTC minus 6 hours)

Telephone area code: 9

Orientation

Cancun is situated in the state of Quintana Roo on the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, a seal-head shaped land mass that stares longingly towards Cuba from Guatemala and Belize. Cancun is on the northeastern tip of the Peninsula, fronted by Bahía de Mujeres (Bay of Women), the Caribbean Sea and two lagoons.

Cancun is actually two places in one. On the mainland lies Ciudad Cancun, a planned city founded as the service center of the resort. The main north-south thoroughfare is Avenida Tulum, a long tree-shaded boulevard lined with banks, shopping centers and restaurants. The smaller, low to medium-priced hotels and restaurants are within the city center.

The 23km (14mi) long sandy island, Isla Cancun, is known as the Zona Hotelera or Zona Turística. Boulevard Kukulcan, a four-lane divided avenue, leaves Ciudad Cancun and goes 9km (5mi) westward to Punta Cancun. The boulevard then heads south for 14km (9mi) to Punta Nizuc, where it turns eastward, rejoins the mainland and heads inland to the airport.

Cancun International Airport is 8km (5mi) south of Ciudad Cancun. Puerto Juarez, the port for passenger ferries to Isla Mujeres, is about 3km (2mi) north of the center. The busy bus station is just west of Avenida Tulum.