Caribbean resorts on a turquoise sandbar
Cancún's Hotel Zone is a long, narrow sandbar shaped like a number seven, with the calm Nichupté Lagoon on one side and the Caribbean's turquoise water on the other. The resorts are big and the nightlife loud, but the setting is genuinely beautiful. Ferries cross to Isla Mujeres for quieter beaches, the MUSA underwater museum sits off the coast, and the region's freshwater cenotes and Mayan ruins, including Chichén Itzá and Tulum, are within day-trip range. Downtown Cancún has cheaper, more local restaurants.