Cancun North or South? Which Hotel Zone to Stay in?

Cancun Hotel Zone Layout

The Cancun Hotel Zone (Zona Hotelera) is a thin strip, about 13 kilometers (8 miles) in length where the major hotels, resorts, and white-sand beaches are located. The distance between the southernmost and northernmost points of the Hotel Zone is 13 kilometers. It is divided into two sections – North Hotel Zone and South Hotel Zone. Both zones have a good set of resorts, white-sand beaches, seafood restaurants, beachfront bars, and other things to keep you entertained and occupied.

There are a different set of advantages and disadvantages of staying in either zone. So, where should you stay? North Zone or South Zone?

Cancun North Hotel Zone

 

The advantages of staying in North Zone:

• You are close to the following popular beaches:
  • Gaviota Azul Beach, Cancun’s most popular public access beach
  • Chac Mool Beach which has silver sands and turquoise water minus the crowds
  • Tortugas Beach which has a bungee tower over the ocean to satiate your adventure cravings
• You are close to some of the most popular shopping destinations in the hotel zone – open-air shopping mall of La Isla Shopping Village, Plaza Kukulkan upscale shopping mall, and Plaza Forum Mall with one of its kind direct access to the beach
• You are within walking distance to the extraordinary nightlife at Forum by the Sea that has world-renowned nightclubs and bars like Coco Bongo, Senor Frog’s, Mandala, Cabana Beach, and The City
• You are close to Cancun Interactive Aquarium where you can swim with dolphins, manta rays, and sharks
• You are close to Cancun Scenic Tower, where you can enjoy a panoramic view of the Hotel Zone from 80 feet up
• You are close to Downtown Cancun which has popular attractions like Plaza Las Americas Mall and the colorful souvenir shops of Mercado 28. Downtown Cancun is also home to restaurants serving delicious traditional Mexican food and fresh seafood as well as global fare like Lebanese, Argentine, Indian, Italian, Chinese etc
• Reduces transportation cost because of shorter distance to diverse restaurants, hotels, shopping malls, clubs, bars, grocery stores, and Downtown Cancun
• Budget accommodation options are easier to find

The disadvantage of staying in the North Zone is that it can feel a bit crowded and it could be hard to find peace and tranquility amongst the crowds. Even the beaches can get crowded.

 

Cancun South Hotel Zone

 

The advantages of staying in the South Zone

• You can enjoy peace and tranquility at your hotel or one of the less-crowded beaches
• It has higher-end resorts and hotels
• It is closer to the popular Dolphin Beach (Playa Delfines). Dolphin Beach is exceptional because there are no hotels or restaurants on the beach but just miles and miles of golden sand and turquoise water
• It is close to one of the most important and ancient Mayan ruins – El Rey Archeological Site
• It is close to the popular Cancun Mayan Museum
• It is close to Aquaworld Cancun that offers snorkeling, scuba diving, fishing, parasailing, and jungle tours

The disadvantage of staying in the South Hotel Zone is that you are far away from the shopping malls, nightclubs, and restaurants. This means that you have to take a taxi to visit these places that are in or close to the North Zone. Taxis running the strip are comparatively expensive and adds to the travel costs.

Summary: To stay in the north zone or the south zone?

South Zone is great if you want to stay at your hotel most of the time, but not within walking distance to most of the popular places.  Therefore, there is little you can do without taking a taxi or bus up the strip, which is costly and time-consuming.

The North section has a retail area with shops, restaurants, nightclubs, bars, and even a grocery store.  Many hotels are within a 10-minute walk, making this ideal for those who want a bit more variety. Staying in the north can save travelers money: reducing transportation cost (taxi fares), budget accommodation options, and a better selection of restaurants.

Using Hotwire & Priceline to Book Your Cancun Hotel

Hotel booking sites like Hotwire and Priceline are good alternatives to book hotels in Cancun.  These sites are known as ‘opaque’ booking websites because they do not reveal the name of the hotel until after you purchase your hotel.  This is a win-win for both hotels and consumers — it allows hotels to sell off excess inventory at low prices while travellers save money on their hotel stay.

One risk with using websites like Hotwire or Priceline is that you may end up getting a hotel you are unhappy with.  To reduce the risk, travelers can use the Hotwire hotel list or the Priceline hotel list to help find out the name of the hotel.  These are collections of hotels other travelers have received on Hotwire and Priceline, giving others a general idea of what hotel they might receive when booking.