If you love to travel, Mexico is well worth a visit. Among its many destinations, Cancun is one of the most popular. Here, you can find endless beaches, warm weather, and vibrant culture. The following are five of the many awesome things you can experience in Cancun.
Dream Destination: Cancun, Mexico
Cancun is one of the easternmost points of Mexico and one of its major tourist destinations. Its location on the Caribbean Sea, the warm weather, and beautiful beaches, attract many tourists each year. Most of all, Cancun is known as a party location, dubbed ‘The Las Vegas of Mexico’. It does, however, offer much more than that. It is full of culture, history, and natural wonders.
If you’re planning on spending some time in Mexico, the beautiful Cancun luxury resorts are a great spot to stay. Most of them can be found in the city’s Hotel Zone. It is Cancun’s primary tourist area and offers any kind of accommodation you are looking for. The all-around service and potential spa treatments of the resorts around here balance the exertion of your exploration and activities.
NIZUC Resort and Spa is another resort which overlooks the Caribbean Sea from the coastline of Cancun. The hotel’s sleek and modern façade incorporates elements of ancient Mayan architecture.
With your base set up, you can check out these five awesome things to do in Cancun:
Maya Archeological Sites
All across Mexico, you can find traces of the Maya. The Maya city Chichen Itza is the most famous example. The UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the seven world wonders is located about a 2.5-hour car or 3-hour bus ride away from Cancun.
- For non-citizens, the entrance fee costs around $26 USD.
Some of the oldest buildings in the ancient site date back to the 5th century. The most impressive among them is the Temple of Kukulkan, a 98-foot-tall pyramid with nine terraces, which are symbols for the ancient Maya’s beliefs.
While there are many other Mayan sites in Cancun’s surroundings, Chichen Itza is the most popular. Both its size and the great level of preservation are reasons for this. Here, you can spend an entire day exploring and still get glimpses into how the Mayan people lived.
Make sure to bring protection from the sun and avoid the hottest hours of the day. The pyramid structures do not provide a lot of shade.
Floating Gardens & Trajineras
Xochimilco is originally one of the boroughs of Mexico City, which includes several canals and artificial islands. Here, citizens and tourists travel on boats (trajineras), which include floating markets, restaurants, and more. The Xoximilco near Cancun is a kind of theme park based on this attraction.
You can ride on the many colorful boats and enjoy music, food, drinks, party, dance, and social games.
- A ticket for adults currently costs about $90 USD.
Museo Subacuatico de Arte
The MUSA, Museo Subnautico de Arte, is an extraordinary museum. Instead of enjoying art pieces in a quiet gallery, the 500 statues that are part of the exhibition are submerged three to six meters deep in the ocean at the Cancun National Marine Park.
- Visitors can look at them on glass-floor boat tours, when diving, or snorkeling, for around $30 USD.
The founder of the museum is Marine Park Director Jamie González Cano. Since the underwater biotopes in the National Park were damaged by the many divers and snorkelers visiting the area, he came up with an ingenious solution. To lure tourists away from especially endangered reefs, he, and sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor, created artificial coral gardens with the help of underwater concrete statues.
International and local sculptors have created the concrete art pieces that are submerged in three galleries. They offer us art in a one-of-a-kind location, while also providing an artificial habitat for animals, reefs, and underwater plants. The PH-neutral concrete allows coral, seaweed, and algae to grow on them and give reefs a stable structure. Additionally, the material has holes, which allows marine wildlife to colonize and feed on the coral.
Over time, the statues will be taken over by nature and barely visible. However, the ‘damage’ to the statues is planned, and considered a welcome transformation, to create new reefs and protect underwater biomes. While this process goes on, the museum expands and adds more sculptures for tourists to admire.
Temazcal Ritual
The Temazcal ritual is a traditional Mayan ceremony, meant to purify. You can find similar traditions in touristic eras and marketplaces, where Shamans purify you with burning herbs and singing. The real deal, however, is held in complete darkness in a sweat lodge.
You strip down and take a seat in the sauna, where a shaman pours water over hot rocks, using chanting and herbs to summon helpful spirits, for spiritual healing and health enrichment. The ritual is meant to put you in a state of meditation and clean your body, mind, and soul.
- You can find several offers for Temazcals. They typically cost a little over $100 USD, depending on the scope of service.
Isla Mujeres Day Trip
The Isla Mujeres is a small island you can reach with a 20-minute ferry ride right from the Hotel Zone. It is 4.3 miles long and 2,130 feet wide. Despite its size, there are many things to do here that easily justify a day trip or two.
- A round trip costs around $22 USD and is cheaper than two tickets to and from.
Since it is an island, it offers a lot of great activities in the water. Between May and August, you can swim with whale sharks or take a boat out snorkeling. The MUSA can be accessed from here as well.
At the southern tip, you can visit the ruins of a Mayan temple dedicated to Ixchel, the goddess of medicine and midwifery. Sadly, hurricanes have left little of the actual temple, but it is still an interesting spot with a great panorama view.
In the evenings, you will find many party locations. Check out the local Isla Brewing Company on the northern end of the island for a great selection of craft beers.
Conclusion
Cancun is a major tourism magnet in Mexico. The vibrant city is famous for its Spring Break parties. However, you can find countless activities and stunning nature in the area. These five awesome things to do in Cancun are just a small selection of many natural, cultural and historic sights, or simply fun events.
