Photo: Michael Tsutsui · CC BY-SA 3.0
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Cancún Itineraries: How to Spend 1 to 7 Days on Mexico's Caribbean Coast
These Cancún itineraries help you plan anything from a single day to a full week. Cancún is easy to organize around three bases: the beaches and ruins of the Hotel Zone, the local life of downtown and the ferries to Isla Mujeres, with day trips to the cenotes, Chichén Itzá and Tulum. The R-1 and R-2 buses connect the Hotel Zone and downtown day and night, and tours or a rental car open the rest of the peninsula. Each plan below is built to limit travel time, avoid the midday heat at the ruins and end with a good sunset.
1 Day
One Perfect Day in Cancún: Beaches, Ruins & Downtown
One day in Cancún is enough to see the Hotel Zone's best beach, its Maya heritage and the lagoon at sunset, before heading downtown for the evening.
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Weekend (2 Days)
A Cancún Weekend: Hotel Zone, Ruins & Isla Mujeres
A weekend in Cancún combines a day of beaches and Maya ruins in the Hotel Zone with a day on Isla Mujeres, the calm island across the bay.
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3 Days
3 Days in Cancún: Beaches, Isla Mujeres & Chichén Itzá
Three days give you the essentials of Cancún: the Hotel Zone, Isla Mujeres and a day trip to Chichén Itzá, one of the great cities of the Maya world.
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5 Days
5 Days in Cancún: Islands, Underwater Art & Maya Cities
Five days let you see both sides of Cancún, the Hotel Zone and downtown, add Isla Mujeres and the underwater sculptures of the MUSA, and reach Chichén Itzá.
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7 Days
7 Days in Cancún: The Complete Caribbean Coast Trip
A week in Cancún covers the city, Isla Mujeres and the MUSA, then the great day trips: Chichén Itzá, the reef and cenotes of Puerto Morelos and the ruins of Tulum.
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