13 Awesome Things to Do with Kids in Cancún, Mexico
Whether you’re here for a day or a week, here are some great activities for kids and families in and around Cancun!
While many families travel to Cancun and stay in or around their resort in the Zona Hotelera (hotel zone, also known as Isla Cancun), there is so much more to see and do right down the road. No matter your family members’ interests, we promise there is something (or many somethings) here for them!
If you’re hungry for more, don’t miss the links at the end of the article for even more things to do within 30 minutes to a couple hours’ drive from Cancun!
Isla Cancun’s quintessential 7 shape
📍A Brief Intro to Cancun & its Zona Hotelera
There are almost “2 Cancuns”: downtown Cancun, which has few hotels and no beaches, and Isla Cancun (AKA the Zona Hotelera, or Hotel Zone), an narrow 7-shaped island 14 miles long that is connected to mainland Mexico by 2 bridges and populated almost exclusively by hotels and beaches. The Laguna Nichupte is the protected bay caught between the mainland and Isla Cancun and is most often used for water sports.
When we visit, we stay in downtown Cancun rather than at one of the resorts for affordability and because we know we’ll be out adventuring rather than staying at the the hotel/resort. For price reference, our Fairfield Marriott room was $80/night and the resorts were $400+/night (bonus points: the Marriott also had a wonderful breakfast buffet included).
🐚 Enjoy Beaches of Every Variety!
Even if you’re staying at a beachfront resort, its well worth a stroll or an Uber over to Cancun’s best beaches.
Isla Cancun is basically just a huge 7-shaped beach! For lovely calm and warm water that’s easy for the littlest ones to navigate, the easily-accessible-to-the-public beaches of Playa Tortugas and Playa Langosta located at the top part of the 7-shaped island and part of the Bahia Mujeres (Women’s Bay). The downside to these beaches, especially in recent years, is that they are often overwhelmed by seaweed. If you prefer bigger waves with your lovely views, try Playa Chacmool, Playa Marlin, and Playa Ballenas which are on the long/vertical side of the 7 and face the open sea. These tend to have less seaweed than the northern-end beaches because the current is stronger. Parking at these Playas can be very competitive - we recommend you walk, bike, or Uber if possible!
If, like us, you prefer wilder, quieter, and/or less seaweed-y beaches, we highly recommend driving/Ubering to Isla Blanca, a very thin strip of land (not actually an island) with natural virgin beaches on both sides. There is not nearly so much development there, so take some snacks/lunch and lots of water with you. If you don’t have a car, don’t want to Uber, or if you’re interested in some added fun, there are some great tours that visit Isla Blanca - you can drive a speedboat out there; do a bike ride/boat tour combo; or join a “3 island" snorkeling tour that includes Isla Contoy & Isla Mujeres, which we cover below, to name just a few options!
Two important notes for beachgoers:
“Private beaches”: While many hotels like to stake out beaches in a way that makes it seem they are private, all beaches are public under Mexican law. So: don’t feel even a little bit bad about setting yourself up in front of a hotel you’re not staying with!
Packing beach toys: You can of course bring your beach/sand toys from home, but many hotels and AirBNBs have toys (sand buckets and shovels, boogie boards, etc.) for guests’ use and the local shops offer a great variety at good prices.
🏝️Visit nearby islands: Islas Mujeres, Contoy & Holbox
The “Island of Women” is long and narrow with stunning beaches. Situated north of Isla Cancun close to the coral reef, its popular for diving and snorkeling. Ferries drop off passengers in town close to the swimming beaches at the north of the island - Playa Norte, Playa Centro and Playa El Cocal all have lovely clean white sand and warm shallow water. The southern end is rugged - Playa Garrafon is the go-to spot here for diving or snorkeling as its right off the reef; you can catch a taxi from downtown to Garrafon easily and affordably.
You can catch a ferry to Isla Mujeres from Puerto Juarez or Punta Sam, both north of Cancun - there are also a few ferries from Playa Linda’s dock in Cancun’s Zona Hotelera.
For nature lovers, Contoy is a tiny, protected nature reserve island off the northern tip of the Yucatan peninsula at the top of the barrier reef where the Caribbean Sea & Gulf of Mexico meet. It’s location in nutrient-rich waters supports abundant fish and bird life, and makes the island a prime turtle nesting site. If you’re lucky (and brave!) you can snorkel or dive with whale sharks off the island’s coast.
There are many tours you can sign up for to make the most of Isla Mujeres and/or Isla Contoy, and take the planning out of it on your end - here is just one tour that covers both islands, but do look around and pick whatever suits your fancy.
Isla Holbox
Holbox is a small town on the very end of Isla Holbox on the north side of the lagoon, which you can reach via a 25 minute ferry from Chiquila here or join a tour (here is one good option). Holbox’s steets are sandy and lined with colorful Caribbean buildings, with incredible green waters due to mixing ocean currents, amazing birdlife, and whale sharks in the summer. The beach here is easily the most shallow and calm, so gentle that you will worry very little about even your littlest family members, with sand so fine its almost clay and is perfect for any sandcastle (or dump truck).
🫧Ride on a Little Yellow Submarine!
The SubSee Explorer
Take a highly memorable ride on a “submarine” boat - the SubSee Explorer - to visit Cancun’s famous Underwater Museum where they sunk a collection of statues years ago that have now been adopted by the sealife! Marvel at the fish, turtles, corals, rays, and more. This was an awesome option for us since our kids were too young to snorkel (or dive) when we visited - they still talk about it all the time: “Mummy, remember when we went on the submarine!?”
You board a regular boat out of the AquaWorld, situated on the lagoon side of Isla Cancun’s 7 shape and take a boat ride through the mangrove reserves out to the SubSee boarding platform near the Museum.
Note: if you (or your family members) are particularly prone to sea-sickness this probably is not the best option for you. In case its comforting to know, they do provide sick bags to everyone just in case!
🎆 Splurge on an XCaret Theme Park (or two!)
The XCaret company has expanded significantly from its self-titled theme park further south on the coast near Playa Carmen! It has 2 co-located theme/adventure parks near Cancun. Like everything XCaret, these are expensive but high quality and definitely make long-lasting memories! Note: XCaret parks are for kids 5 and older). Also, in case you’re wondering, the “X” is pronounced like a mixture between S and Z, so “Savage” and “Zo-chee-mil-co” :)
An outdoor adventure park offering an awesome kids splash zone, ropes course, monster trucking, jet boating, rafting, and zip-line flights (lying on your stomach for the feeling of flight). A buffet meal is included with entrance.
Here’s a good deal ticket option, but do compare prices across options.
This park modeled after the famous Xochimilco canals of Mexico City and their large flat party boats (trajineras). We highly recommend this if you haven’t or don’t plan to do the original trajineras in Mexico City.
This is a night-time party (starting at 7PM) where you enjoy traditional Mexican food and music as you float down a canal. Kids are absolutely welcome and embraced by the hosts (Mexico has incredible pro-children culture) - and the kids do have a lot of fun.
Here is one link to buy tickets; you should definitely compare across sites for prices.
⌛Explore El Rey, the local Pre-Colombian Ruins
If you and/or your kids are interested in local history & archaeology (or like to pretend that they’re Dora the Explorer/Indiana Jones/Tomb Raider) but don’t plan to go out to any of the (many) major sites nearby (e.g., Tulum, Chichen Itza, Ekbalam), you can visit the small Mayan ruins of El Rey (The King). This site was occupied from about 1200 AD to the Spanish conquest.
🌳 Two great indoor options for a sunshine break!
🗿The Maya Museum of Cancun
The Museo Maya de Cancun is small but modern and home to hundreds of sculptures, jewelry, and other artifacts found at the numerous ruins across the peninsula - another good option if you’re not planning to go out to the larger ruin sites and/or for a break from the sun!
🐬Cancun’s Aquarium
If, like us, seeing the wonderful local marine life by snorkeling or diving was not in the books (e.g., because you have small children along with you), the Interactive Aquarium of Cancun is a good option and includes a dolphin show.
🤿 Watersports (for older kids & teens)
AquaWorld Cancun (where the Subsee Explorer, above, leaves from) offers every kind of water-based sport (and the equipment for it) we can imagine including:
Scuba diving school and certifications
Surfing practice on FlowRider, and more.
TLDR: If you’d like to do things on or in water, this is the place.
Other posts you may enjoy!
There is so much more to do with kids within 30 minutes to a couple of hours from Cancun! Check out:
Puerto Morelos, just 30-45 minutes south - see our post on to-do’s in Puerto Morelos with kids!
Playa del Carmen, just an hour south - see our post on activities for kids in Playa!
….easily catch a ferry over from Playa to beautiful Cozumel Island - see our post on things to do with kids in Cozumel!
Tulum is about 2 hours south - see our post on family activities in and around Tulum
For the truly intrepid (and kids small or grown who think they are Indiana Jones), head inland into the heart of the Yucatan Peninsula’s jungle to discover incredible ruins and the beautiful town of Valladolid - check out our post here!
Keep in mind for getting around the Riviera and inland: Mexico has been building the Maya Train (Tren Maya) for the past few years, and they’re making speedy progress. Soon, visitors will be able to expediently visit all of these spots via the train. For more and updated information, go here.