Cancún

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Cancún was created in the mid-seventies by Mexico’s National Tourism Fund (Fonatur). Within a decade, it grew from being a relatively undeveloped island enveloped by verdant jungle and virgin beach to one of the top travel destinations in the world. With ten million tourists every year, thousands of hotel rooms, several 18-hole golf courses, and more than 300 restaurants, Cancún possesses the second busiest airport in Latin America and serves as an entry point to the rest of the Mexican Caribbean.

Cancún is primarily a sun and water sports paradise, with the Mesoamerican Reef just offshore. Heavyweight businesses, like Aqua World and Blue Water Adventures, offer such activities as windsurfing, parasailing, open-water and cenote (cavern) diving, deep-sea fishing, and snorkeling.

Cancún’s Zona Hotelera is endowed with 16 miles of white beaches made of coral sand, which absorbs less heat and is cool on the skin. It is within driving distance of several national parks, ecological reserves and Mayan archaeological sites, as well as Spanish colonial towns. Located inland 109 miles from Cancún, en route to Mérida, are the famed Chichén Itzá ruins. The grandiose site, declared Patrimony of Humanity in 1988, was built sometime between A.D. 650 and 800. Named after one of the tribes that dominated the city, Chichén Itzá means “mouth of the well of the Itzaes.” The power and majesty of the Itzaes is evident in the numerous structures, which at the city’s height covered 25 square kilometers and housed between 50,000 and 100,000 inhabitants. The most important ceremonial buildings—El Castillo, Tzompantli, Casa de las Aguilas, the Nunnery, and Caracol—have been restored. The biggest celebration days are the autumnal and vernal equinox, March 20 and September 21, when afternoon sunlight transforms the steps of El Castillo into a shadowy imitation of the serpent god, Kukulkán, slithering down to the base at the pyramid. Chichén Itzá is also a great launching point for reaching several other ruins, such as those of Tulum or Cobá, and ecological parks, such as Xel-há and Xcaret. Cancún is home to several five-star hotels and resorts. From the gargantuan Gran Meliá to the isolated Westin Regina, the city offers luxurious accommodations and top-notch service. Several hotels in and around town have top-notch spas, from the J.W. Marriott, Ceiba del Mar, Spa Palace and Paraíso La Bonita, North America’s only Thelassotherapy Center. Others have signature golf courses, such as the 18-hole, 72-par Jack Nicklaus golf course at Moon Palace, and the new Cameleón course at the glamorous Mayakoba resort, with its manicured fairways and greens. Notorious for its hordes of “spring breakers,” Cancún is world renowned for its party scene. Every year from February to April, hundreds of thousands of students from all over the United States descend upon the city and turn it upside down. Dance clubs, like La Boom, Congo Bongo, and Dady’O set the pace with 3-D laser shows, superstar DJs, and live music performances.