Google Map To Cancún, In Quintana Roo
On The Yucatán Peninsula, México.

Cancún, pronounced CAHN COON, is a Maya word meaning, "land of the serpents."
When we first went to Cancún, it was just a small coastal town of the Benito Juárez Municipality, with its tourist industry in the beginning stages. We have seen it grow over the years into the world-renowned tourist resort of today.
The only older photos that we can find of our visits of Cancún, are from 1988, so we will place a few on this page.
Cancún is a coastal city in Mexico's easternmost state, Quintana Roo, on the Yucatán Peninsula. It is located on the Yucatán Channel that separates Mexico from the island of Cuba in the Greater Antilles. The Cancún area is also called, "The Mexican Caribbean."
During the 1960's, Mexico began studies of the tourism industry at a national and international level which revealed its importance as a source of revenue and new jobs for the local people of the area.
At first, due to a lack of financial resources, the Mexican government’s priorities were to promote its existing tourism destinations such as, Acapulco, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, and Cozumel.
Then after evaluating dozens of potential locations, early in 1969, the Bank of Mexico began the development of five specific tourism destinations: Ixtapa, Los Cabos, Loreto, Bahías de Huatulco, and Cancun.
The natural beauty of the area and its proximity to some of world’s most famous Mayan sites were significant factors in the decision to develop the area. The area’s magnificent beaches, and the need to foster development of the recently-created state of Quintana Roo, also contributed to the decision.
The Cancun Project was finially officially approved in 1969, and the first Infratur technicians arrived in January, 1970, to get the project started.
Now days, the results of the Quintana Roo Project are commonly known as the Riviera Maya, or Mayan Riviera. The Riviera Maya is a tourism district following coastal Highway 400 which parallels the Caribbean coastline of Quintana Roo, Mexico.
The Riviera Maya is famous for its large scale resorts and a historical tourism base of smaller hotels along the highway 307 and on or near the local beaches. Some of the best known resorts are the: Azul Sensatori, Barcelo Maya, The Blue Tulum, El Dorado Royale, The Occidental X-Caret, The Playacar Palace, Secrets Silversands, and The Royal Playa Del Carmen.
The major attractions throughout the Riviera Maya are its coastal and reef aquatic activities based upon the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System (also known as the Belize Barrier Reef) which begins near Cancun and continues along the whole length of the Riviera Maya continuing southward to Guatemala. This barrier reef system is the second longest barrier reef system in the world.
Cancún activities include Jet Skiing, snorkeling, scuba diving, swimming in cenotes, swimming with dolphins, zip-lining, horse riding, and guided jungle tours.
Archeology is also a big tourist draw into the area, especially the popular archeological sites such as; Tulum on the coast, and Chichen Itza and Coba located less than a two hour drive distance inland.
There are also the popular ecoparks of Xcaret, and Xel-Ha, operated by private business consortia which attract large crowds due to the diversity and range of activities provided, such as swimming with dolphins.
A well kept secret is that there are hundreds of very small ruins in Cancún itself, that can be visited for free.
The Riviera Maya is completely within the state of Quintana Roo on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. The terrain is flat and covered by low tropical jungle. The geology is of a high purity limestone to a depth of about 0.5 - 1.5 km below the surface.
Most tourists into the Riviera Maya arrive through the Cancún International Airport.
There are hundreds of web sites advertising Cancún, so we recommend that you research those sites if you are looking for a good place to stay and for things to do.
We use Cancún as an entry point or as an exit point; into or out of Mexico. We use the Cancún International Airport, which is approximately 50 km (30 miles) north of Playa del Carmen. We then either drop off a car that we have rented or rent a car for our tours of Mexico.
We also use Mexico City as our other entry point or exit point; into or out of Mexico. We use the "Benito Juárez International Airport" to enter or exit Mexico as our second airport when we travel into or out of Mexico. We then either drop off a car that we have rented or rent a car for our tours of Mexico.
On one trip we rented a car in Mexico City, drove it for over 6,500 miles and then dropped it off in Cancún. That was one of our easiest and most fun trips.
The Cancún hotels are great, the people are nice, the weather is warm, the water is clear and the breeze is refreshing. Enjoy!

We suggest getting a hotel in Cancún and then letting them arrange either a car or a tour of Cancún and/or the surrounding areas such as, Chichen Itza. If you call the hotels Concierge Services ahead of your arrival, all of this can be pre-arranged for you.
We do this all the time, when traveling in Mexico. It is safe and it works!!! We have never experienced a problem doing it this way!
Cancún International Airport (IATA: CUN, ICAO: MMUN) is located in Cancún, Quintana Roo, on the Caribbean coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. It is Mexico's second busiest airport, after Mexico City International Airport in Mexico City, but it is the largest in Mexico and Latin America for International passengers.

Therefore, we have placed a link to Expedia.com on this page so you can arrange your flights into and out of Cancún; as well as your hotel, when visiting this area.