CANCUN SHOPPING

Due to the size of the Cancun Hotel Zone the shopping experience has been created in the form of large malls that occur every few miles along the hotel strip. No matter what hotel you stay at on the strip as quick as you can say "charge-it", you're at one!

These malls are quite trendy [Gucci, Bally, Cartier, Pelletier-Piaget, Ralph Lauren, Versace etc.] and sell almost anything you can think of.

The malls carry the up-scale shops where you will find the latest European fashions, expensive perfumes and lots of jewelry. You also find a large number of stores selling Mexican crafts.

The malls could also be classified as tourist attractions since they all try to outdo each other by including entertaining features. Each mall will have at least one hot club and more than a few restaurants.

Travelling into Cancun City you will find it just like any other city, filled with stores catering to the people who live in Cancun.

Almost every hotel has a convenience store and usually a boutique selling arts and crafts. Many hotels also have a store selling tequila and cigars.

CANCUN HOTEL ZONE SHOPPING MALLS

Malls also provide security, public washrooms, ATMs, money exchanges, public telephones, parking, taxi-stands and pharmacies. Malls are wheelchair-friendly.

La Isla Shopping Village
Blvd. Kukulcán, Km 12.5
La Isla shopping village is a charming shopping mall with a series of canals and small bridges designed to give the place the look and feel of Venice. There are loads of trendy shops, movie theaters, a disco, restaurants, and feature attractions like a marina and the Interactive Aquarium. Great place to spend an afternoon shopping!

Flamingo Plaza
Blvd. Kukulcán, Km 11.5 Across from the Flamingo Hotel
Medium sized mall good for practical shopping like beach gear, souvenirs arts & crafts and general merchandise. Restaurants such as Planet Hollywood and Pat O' Brien's are in the mall and Outback and Bubba Gump, are right next door.

Forum-by-the-Sea
Blvd. Kukulcán, Km 9.5
Forum-by-the-Sea is more of an entertainment complex than a shopping mall. There are a few stores scattered throughout this multi level plaza but the focus is more on the Hardrock Cafe and the Rainforest Café, which reside there.

Kukulcan Plaza
Blvd. Kukulcán, Km 13
Kukulcan Plaza is a large shopping complex boasting over 300 shops, restaurants, movie theaters and a bowling ally. You can find everything here from electronics to beach gear. A fun mall to visit.

Plaza Caracol
Blvd. Kukulcán, Km 8.5
Plaza Caracol is an up-scale mall featuring numerous galleries, and stores selling jewelry, perfumes and imported designer clothing and accessories.

Plaza Mayafair
Blvd. Kukulcán, Km 8.5
Plaza Mayafair was Cancun's first shopping mall in the hotel zone. It is a smaller open-air mall decorated in a Mayan/rainforest motif. The mall has nightly Mayan dance and music shows.

CANCUN OPEN-AIR MARKETS

There are three big open-air markets [Mercados], which are all located within walking distance of each other in the downtown area [El Centro]. Here you will find an assortment of goods such as silver, jewelry, clothing, rugs and blankets, Mexican pottery, leather, carved wood, hammocks, sombreros etc. etc..

Venders in the market are more likely to negotiate prices as many venders in the malls are now fixing their prices in stone.

Mercado 28
Lots of vendors selling inexpensive jewelry, sunglasses, clay pottery, Mayan artifacts [copies], chess-sets etc. etc.. There are Mexican restaurants, beauty salons, a pharmacy and an upscale section called Plaza Bonita that features clothing boutiques, art galleries, cafes and ice cream stores.

Mercado 23
This is more of a local market catering to the local economy. This is where you can buy fresh vegetables and produce, flowers, meat, household products and general merchandise.

Ki Huic Market
Like Mercado 28 but not as big. Good place to go for the restaurants.

Markets are located north of the ADO bus terminal in downtown El Centro Cancun.

Mercado Coral Negro - Hotel Zone
Mercado Coral Negro is in the middle of the hotel-zone strip. Depending where you stay in Cancun you only have to ask any hotel staff in the lobby which direction to go to find the market. You can take the bus [6 pesos] or take a taxi.

Most of the stuff that you will see at the flea market you can also find at the malls. Depending on your bargaining skills the prices will vary. But be forewarned many of the market sellers are aggressive and you have to know how to handle it. They will badger you endlessly like jackals. You have to learn how to play the game to come out ahead.

It has been our experience that when times are good the vendors are not as aggressive. After 9/11 and Hurricane Wilma, Cancun took major blows and tourism was down, way down. The vendors were hurting for business and aggressive, but things are back to normal now.

Although the author of this text has never worked as a vendor I have spent hours hanging out with friends in their stalls watching them work. Some tourists complain that the vendors are rude and abusive however it is a two-way street and I have seen many a tourist treat the vendor with no respect what so ever.

The best way to get a good deal is to be nice to the vendor. It is all a game to them. Most work 6 days a week for little money. The majority of vendors you meet do not own the stall or the merchandise they are selling.

These are our favorite vendor lines:

• Hola, Senor, you are my final hope!
  
• Amegos, come in and let me rip you off!
  
• Hola Senor, we have exactly what you are looking for!
  
• You say, "just looking", they say, "just selling".
  
• Broken English spoken here perfectly!
• Everything almost 100% off!

PESOS OR USD

Pesos are the way to go if you are any nationality other than American. In Cancun every store, restaurant and street/beach vendor accepts the US dollar.

The reason to use pesos if you are not American is to eliminate a currency conversion which can get pretty tricky if you have to convert the Euro to American because the vendors generally price everything in pesos then calculate the cost in American dollars if you ask. Of course most vendors will be able to convert the cost from pesos to Canadian or Euro. They ALL have calculators and know the daily exchange rates.

Over a couple of days you will inevitably end up having pesos in your pocket [change is always given in pesos] so if you are not American you will have pesos and American dollars and have to deal with not one foreign currency but two. Stick to pesos and you only have to make one conversion.

For more shopping information see: Cancun Mayan Riviera Shopping
[Includes tips on how to get the best deals.]

WHERE DOES ALL THAT STUFF COME FROM?

Most of what you see at the malls and markets is made in small villages around Mexico. A village will excel in producing a certain item like hats for example and they will become renown for their hat making abilities over time. Many artisans also work at home and the whole family pitches in to produce the goods.

Believe it or not many goods are now imported into Mexico from China, Guatemala, Indonesia, etc. and sold along side of Mexican goods.

For information on Mayan Arts & Crafts see: Mayan Riviera Arts & Crafts
For information on buying jewelry see: Jewelry Stores

CANCUN HOTELS

  Cancun Airport to Hotel Shuttle see:
Transfer Information

Cancun Vacations Info & Tips Cancun All Inclusive

If you are planning a trip to Cancun, the following articles written by Jules Seigel are recommended reading. Jules has lived in the area for over 20 years. A Quick Guide To Beach Hotels Corruption Isn't What It Used To Be Medical Restaurants Shopping in a Mexican Market Supermarkets Transportation