Cancun Fast Facts
- There are about 140 hotels in Cancún with more than 24,000 rooms and 380 restaurants;
- Six million visitors arrive each year with an average of 190 flights daily with 60% of those flights coming straight from the USA;
- Great weather most of the year;
- Sand is made of white coral, never hot to the touch;
- The Caribbean sea has 7 different colors of turquoise;
The Hotel Zone of Cancún is shaped like a 7 with bridges on each end connecting the mainland. The Hotel Zone offers a broad range of accommodations, ranging from relatively inexpensive motel-style facilities in the older section closest to the mainland, to high-priced luxury hotels in the latter sections. There are great malls, theme parks, innumerable adventure activities, and a wide variety of ancient Mayan architecture located within a short distance.
On the opposite side of the island from the Caribbean Sea is the Nichupté Lagoon, which is used for boating excursions and jet-ski jungle tours. Cancún is also the gateway to the Riviera Maya, and within a 1 hour drive one can see numerous archaeological sites such as Cobá, Chichen Itza, and Tulum. There are innumerable cenotes (subterranean clear water rivers where you can swim or dive), charming towns such as Playa del Carmen, and theme parks such as Xcaret Eco Park, Xel-Ha, and Xplor.
Cancun is a safe city for tourists and locals. Cancun residents are friendly and most speak English. Cancun International Airport receives direct flights daily from the USA and Canada, and there are also direct flights from Amsterdam, Milan, Paris, Glasgow, London, Dublin, Rome, and Madrid.