|
There's little to see in downtown Cancun . Most visitors head
straight for the zona hotelera and the beaches . Though you're free
to go anywhere, and signposted public walkways lead down to the
sea at regular intervals, some of the hotels do their best to make
you feel like a trespasser, and staff will certainly move you off
the beach furniture if you're not a guest. To avoid being eyed suspiciously
by hotel heavies, head for one of the dozen or so public beaches
: all are free but you may have to pay a small charge for showers.
Entertainment and expensive water sports are laid on all around
the big hotels; if you venture further, where more sites await construction,
you can find surprisingly empty sand and often small groups of nude
sunbathers.
To catch a bit of culture while you're out here, the Sheraton boasts
a small Maya ruin in its grounds, above the pool, while the Museo
de Antropologia , located behind the convention centre (Mon-Sat
9am-8pm, Sun 10am-7pm; US$2, free on Sun), has a small but absorbing
outline of Mesoamerican and Maya culture and history, with information
in English and Spanish. Cancun's largest Maya remains, the Ruinas
del Rey (daily 8am-5pm; US$1.70, free on Sun), are at Km 17, overlooking
the Nichupte Lagoon. They're not especially impressive - and, if
you decide not to take one of the guides at the entrance, there's
no information available to explain them - but the area is peaceful
and very good for bird- and iguana-watching.
The best snorkelling in Cancun is at Punta Nizuc, next to Club
Med territory. You aren't allowed to cross the grounds unless you're
staying there, so you have to get off the bus at the Westin Regina
Resort , cross their grounds to the beach, then turn right and walk
for about twenty minutes until you reach the rocky point. Walk across
the rocks and snorkel to your heart's content. A one-tank dive costs
about US$50 and a full PADI open-water certification course around
US$400. To view the colourful underwater life in a more leisurely
fashion, take a trip on the Sub See Explorer , a glass-bottomed
boat that leaves from the Aqua World centre at Blvd Kukulkan Km
15.2 every hour from 9am until 3pm (US$35).
Both jet-skiing (US$50 for 30min) and parasailing (US$40 for 10min)
are very popular in Cancun and operators are dotted at frequent
intervals in front of the big hotels on the beach.
|
