The All-Time Best Beaches To Visit On Your Next Trip To Cancun
By SANJAY SURANA
Just 20 miles north of Cancun, Isla Contoy is a retreat into solitude. Just a touch over five miles long, it’s naturally beautiful with stately palm trees, sandy beaches, and striking turquoise seas. It's also an important roost for lobster, four types of turtles, pelicans, frigatebirds, cormorants, and mangroves blanket more than half of the island.
Isla Contoy
Isla Mujeres boasts many fine beaches, but the best is Playa Norte, where clear water and soft sand are guaranteed. Take a day trip — or stay at one of the many resorts — and visit the underwater museum MUSA, or take a snorkel tour of Garrafon Marine Park.
Playa Norte
The sea, water sports, golf, fantastic sunrises and sunsets, and the convenience of an all-inclusive resort are all in Costa Mujeres. Visitors that have a pooch in tow can take their beloved baby to the pet-friendly beach at Isla Blanca.
Costa Mujeres
At the north end of the hotel zone, Playa Las Perlas is a relatively quiet public beach, with calm seas, easy access, restrooms, and a playground, making it a sound choice for families and paddle boarders. The beach isn't very wide here, and high tide can be consuming, but the lack of crowds easily compensates.
Playa Las Perlas
Ranked highly by U.S. News & World Report in its list of things to do in Cancún, Playa Tortugas sits within the town's hotel zone. A few restaurants near the water enable travelers to enjoy a meal with views of the surf, while ferries to Isla Mujeres also depart from here — and this is the only place in the city where people can bungee jump.
Playa Tortugas