Cancun is one of the best-designed tourist destinations in the world.

Cancun's 2 busiest times are during the winter and in March/April, during Spring Break when college students by the thousands descend on the beach hotels for sun, sand and sex. The nightlife during Spring Break is notorious.

In summer months, Cancun becomes a real bargain, as hotel prices drop by as much as 30-40 percent.

Read Cancun Restaurant Reviews from our partner Trvelocity.com. Go to Mexico & The Caribbean and check the Cancun Restaurant Index.

Cancun is one of the most popular destinations for North Americans. Location has everything to do with Cancun's popularity. The blue clear waters of the Mexican Caribbean are a year-round delight for swimmers, divers and fishermen.

The miles of beachfront are perfect for sunning, walking or just plain loafing. And not far away are some of the most fascinating ruins in the New World.

Cancun was built from scratch after Mexican officials saw how many tourists kept flocking to Acapulco on the Pacific coast. They decided to create a made-to-order city on the Caribbean coast.

Their studies pointed to one locale, Isla Cancun, a strip of sand 14 miles long shaped like the number "7" situated just off the Yucatan coast, across from the already well established tourist destination of Cozumel.

Cancun's beaches are advertised as having "air conditioned" sand, and there actually is some truth to the claim. The sand is made up of broken down limestone rock containing billions of plankton fossils. The sand grains are a brilliant white and a polished surface that doesn't absorb heat the way ordinary sand does. Even on the hottest day, Cancun's sand remains comparatively cool.

Cancun is actually divided into 2 sections. Ciudad Cancun, or Cancun city, is located on the Yucatan mainland and contains a large concentration of banks, restaurants, shops, hotels and travel agencies.

Most of the activity takes place in the Zona Hotelera (also called Zona Turistica) out on the 14-mile long beach joined to the mainland by two bridges.

The hotel’s are a Mexican version of Las Vegas. Their architecture resembles Mayan pyramids, Moorish castles or something futuristic.

Book Cancun area hotels at a discount: Click here.

Next page: Cancun Part 2

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