The city of Cancun sits on the Caribbean Sea in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. It was the first city in Mexico we visited together, and we loved it! While it’s best known for it’s all inclusive resorts and famous “hotel zone”, we chose to have a more authentic experience and opted out of the resort style vacation. There is so much more to the city of Cancun, and it’s the perfect spot to base yourself for day trips around Quintana Roo and Yucatan. Nearby are world famous Mayan ruins, small idyllic islands, beautiful beaches, and incredible live shows. If you’re looking for more information on a fun adventure in Mexico, keep reading for our lesbian guide to Cancun!
What To Do
Cancun El Centro
Downtown Cancun is a lot of fun to explore. There are tons of great cafes and restaurants to check out (keep reading for great spots to eat and drink!), and overall we found it to be very safe and laid back. Locals are friendly, it’s easy to get around, and there’s a lot to see. Be sure to check out the big street market, Mercado 28, and enjoy the many outdoor restaurant patios. The city is very walkable, and it’s also very easy to get around by taxi. See below for more information on transportation in and around Cancun.
Day Trip to Chichén Itzá
Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula is very well known for it’s ancient Mayan Ruins. Chichén Itzá is the most notable archaeological site in the Yucatan, and is a wonderful day trip from Cancun. The ancient city, which thrived from 600-1200AD, includes the pyramid El Castillo, which was named one of the new Seven Wonders of the World in 2006. The entire area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which hosts millions of visitors each year and is truly remarkable to see. You can visit Chichén Itzá with an organized tour from Cancun, or you can drive yourself to the site (which is what we did). The drive is about 2.5 hours from Cancun el Centro if you take the toll highway, which is well maintained and safe. At the site, you can hire a local guide to take you around the structures, or you can explore the park on your own. We spent a wonderful afternoon at the ruins and thought it was well worth the drive from Cancun. It’s definitely a must do in this part of Mexico!
Cirque du Soleil
If you enjoy live theatre the best show in the Cancun area, in our opinion, is Joya by Cirque du Soleil. We are huge Cirque fans and have seen nearly all of their resident and travelling shows. They are a Canadian theatre company (another reason why we love them!), and they’ve become the largest theatrical producer in the world. Their stage creations are incredible, and absolutely worth seeing if you have the opportunity. Their resident show in Riviera Maya at the Vidanta resort, is just 45 minutes from Downtown Cancun, and it’s styled as a dinner theatre experience. You have the options of attending the show only, or adding in partial or full dinner service. The show is amazing, and the stage is beautifully designed. The theatre and the grounds are exquisite, and it all makes for a truly wonderful experience. We highly recommend checking it out!
Day trip to Isla Mujeres
When you’re in the city of Cancun, taking a day trip to Isla Mujeres is a great option! You can take a fast ferry from Cancun El Centro, which drops you on the island in just 15 minutes. Isla Mujeres is beautiful, with a rugged coastline on the east side, and beautiful white sand beaches on the north and west sides. There are tons of great cafes and restaurants, as well as a lively little downtown area. You can rent golf carts if you’d like to explore the rest of the island, and you can easily see it all in one day. It takes about 1 hour to drive around the entire island, and there are many beautiful view points. You can also snorkel and scuba dive on the coral reefs surrounding the island. There are hotels and accommodations on Isla Mujeres as well if you choose to stay for longer, but it’s worth doing as a day trip from Cancun at the very least!
Hotel Strip
Zona Hotelera, the famous resort area, is just a short distance from Downtown Cancun. You can easily get there by car, taxi, or public transportation, and it is worth a visit for it’s beautiful beaches! This area is very commercialized, so you definitely won’t experience much authentic Mexican culture, but the coastline is gorgeous. Marlin Beach and Playa Delfines are both popular public beaches with stunning views. There are also plenty of places to eat and shop in the hotel zone, so you could easily fill an afternoon here.
Where to Stay
If you want a more authentic experience in Cancun, we recommend staying in Cancun el Centro. It’s a great place to base yourself for day trips in the area, and you’re still close to the best beaches! We chose an Airbnb which was on the outskirts of downtown, and also close to Puerto Juarez and the ferry to Isla Mujeres, and we loved it. It was a quiet family neighbourhood full of locals and no other tourists, and we felt safe and comfortable during our entire stay. Our Airbnb host was a young Mexican architect who designed the building we stayed in. Her hope is to revitalize the neighbourhood with new sustainable infrastructure and encourage more tourism to the area. We loved being able to support the local businesses, and also explore the heart of Cancun in a more authentic way. We love choosing Airbnb for this reason, as it gives you such a different experience! If you’ve never used Airbnb, click here to save on your first stay.
Where to Eat & Drink
Cancun is full of great spots to eat and drink, and also has plenty of fresh, healthy options. We eat a plant based diet so we were happy to see so many vegan options at cafes and restaurants in the city, and it seemed that many businesses are health conscious and environmentally conscious. One of our favourite spots in the city was Sirena Morena, which is an adorable restaurant with a backyard patio and a health food shop in the front. Another was La Fonda del Zancudo, which is a perfect spot for dinner with the most beautiful outdoor space! If you head to Isla Mujeres there are also some great healthy food spots, our favourites being Aroma Isla, Chaya & Cacao, and Lola Valentina, and if you spend some time on the hotel strip Restaurante Natura is a great option.
Lesbian Friendly
This area of Mexico is very laid back, open minded, welcoming of travellers, and ultimately LGBTQ+ friendly. We had zero issues travelling to Cancun as a lesbian couple, and we didn’t just stick to the busy tourist areas. Locals in the city were very welcoming but at the same time kept to themselves, and we didn’t receive any unwanted attention. We felt extremely comfortable and safe in Cancun, as well as everywhere that we visited in the area. We walked around holding hands, showing affection, and in no way felt the need to hide our relationship. We referred to one another as our wife, and were out and open at all times.
Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Mexico for nearly 150 years, and they’ve had discrimination protection nationwide since 2003. Cancun is located in the state of Quintana Roo, which legalized same-sex marriage in 2012, and it’s a very popular destination for LGBTQ+ travellers. Click here for more on how lesbian friendly Mexico is.
While there isn’t a prominent lesbian “scene” in Cancun, we found that the area in general is very inclusive, and there is some gay nightlife. Similar to other cities, the bar scene caters primarily to men, but if you’re looking for a drag show, somewhere to go dancing, or a spot to have a drink in an LGBTQ+ space, there are some options! In downtown Cancun, there is Laser Hot Bar, Sexy’s Club, or 11:11 Club Cancun, which are all gay bars. And on the hotel strip there is Coco Bongo, and Palazzo Club which are both more mixed but gay friendly. Isla Mujeres is also a very LGBTQ+ friendly spot, and attracts a lot of gay travellers. Nearby on Riviera Maya are Playa del Carmen and Tulum, which are also wonderful LGBTQ+ friendly options! Click here for our lesbian guides to Playa del Carmen and Tulum.
How to Get Around
Rent a Car
We rented a car in Cancun and we’re so glad we did! After many warnings from people who told us it would be unsafe, we trusted our research and had absolutely no issues. We rented from Cancun Airport, which saved us airport transfers, and allowed us to drive ourselves to Chichén Itzá, and explore spots along the Riviera Maya without having to do organized tours. Renting a car gives you more freedom, but of course you need to determine your own comfort level and only do what you feel is safe and comfortable for you. We recommend doing your own research and deciding what is the best option! If you do rent a car, be sure to find out how much liability coverage is included in the rental. Unlike renting a car in Canada or the US, the minimum liability coverage required by law in Mexico is quite low, so often the coverage that’s included in the rental rate is only for a few thousand dollars. We opted to pay for supplemental liability insurance, because the base coverage would definitely not be enough to cover us in the event of a serious accident. You can purchase supplemental liability insurance through the car rental company itself, often for around $20 a day, or you can get coverage through a third party insurance company in advance. If you are using collision damage waiver (CDW/LDW) insurance through a credit card or other third party, confirm that it covers you internationally and in Mexico specifically. We brought a letter from our credit card insurance provider that stated we were covered in Mexico to avoid issues when picking up the vehicle. The roads around Cancun are well maintained and easy to drive on. Do some reading about driving in Mexico and be sure you feel confident with the local rules, but we found things to be orderly and easy to manage. We took toll roads when possible, which were fast and felt even safer than the main highways, and we had no issues with being pulled over or having to deal with local authorities. We went through several police checkpoints, which were stress free, and we were always waved through with a smile. When we filled up with gas, we were sure to be attentive and assertive, and didn’t have any problems there either. All gas stations are full serve in Mexico, so we ensured the pump was set to zero before the attendant started pumping. We also made sure that the amount we were asked to pay matched the amount on the pump, and we thoroughly counted our change. Please note that it is customary to give a small tip to attendants in Mexico, especially when they provide an extra service such as washing the windshield. Overall, we were very happy with our decision to rent a car in Cancun!
Taxi
For shorter trips around the area, taxis are a great option. There is no Uber in Cancun anymore, but you can use a taxi app called Easy – a Cabify App, which allows you to book cars. We found drivers to be friendly, and taking taxis felt very safe. Know where you’re going, know how much it should cost, and you should have no issues.
Public Transportation
We didn’t take any public transportation while in Cancun, but it’s very common for travellers and locals to take public buses. They can take you all over the city, as well as around the hotel zone, and they seem to be very safe and convenient. Fares are very inexpensive, and it’s a great option to get around!
Ferry
To get to Isla Mujeres, you can take the Ultramar Ferry, which leaves from both Puerto Juarez in Cancun el Centro as well as Zona Hotelera. Tickets are reasonably priced and you can buy them either online or in person before boarding. Sit up top on your way to the island to enjoy stunning views of the water as well as live music!
Has anyone else fallen in love with Cancun, Mexico? Let us know in the comments!
2 comments
I had no idea you couldn’t use uber in cancun! Thank you for writing this, I’ll be going with my girlfriend soon and I have been anxious about how our relationship would be perceived.
Thanks for reading and have a great trip!