Cancún itinerary: 1, 2 and 3 days

Cancún works as a short beach base or as the start of a longer Yucatán loop. The city itself is a strip of resorts and malls on a sandbar, with the ordinary Mexican city of Centro on the mainland side. Most first-timers use it for two or three nights, then move on to Tulum, Valladolid or Mérida.

One day is a taste: beach in the morning, a half-day ruins or Isla Mujeres trip in the afternoon. Two days covers the two things people come for — Caribbean water and a Maya site. Three days lets you add cenotes, Tulum or a dive day on Cozumel without spending the whole time in a van.

Day 1 — water. Swim early at Playa Delfines or the beach in front of your hotel, when the sun is low and the sand is quiet. Afternoon: ferry to Isla Mujeres from Puerto Juárez, rent a golf cart or walk to Playa Norte, eat, and come back for sunset. If you would rather stay put, swap in a snorkel or dive session on the reef.

Day 2 — ruins. Chichén Itzá is the big site and the long day: leave before 7am, arrive near opening, and you get cooler air and far fewer coaches. Tulum is closer and pairs well with a cenote on the way back. Either way, carry water and a hat; shade at both sites is limited.

Day 3 — pick one. A cenote-and-Tulum loop by rental car, a Cozumel ferry-and-dive day, or a slow beach day with a late lunch in Centro. If you are heading onward, use the morning for the trip and the afternoon for the bus or flight.

Cancún is priced for visitors. Hotels and beach clubs are the big variable; transport and food can be cheap if you use the bus and eat in Centro. The ADO bus and local R-1 and R-2 routes cover the hotel zone and downtown for a few pesos, while taxis and hotel-zone restaurants cost many times more.

Stay in the Zona Hotelera if the beach is the point and you want to walk to it. Stay in Centro if you want cheaper food, local buses and a shorter ride to the airport. Both are on the same bus routes, so the choice is about money and atmosphere, not access.

Book airport transport before you land or use the ADO bus; unofficial taxi touts inside the terminal are a known problem. Carry pesos for buses, cenotes and market stalls. Sargassum seaweed can pile up on Caribbean beaches from May to August, so check recent reports if swimming is the main reason for the trip. Hurricane season runs roughly June to November.

Two nights in Cancún plus four to six on the coast or in the Yucatán is the standard shape of a first Mexico trip to this region. Tulum and Bacalar give you ruins, cenotes and a lagoon; Mérida and Valladolid give you colonial towns and Uxmal. Cozumel is the diving base, reached by ferry from Playa del Carmen or a short flight.