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5-day itinerary in Cancun

See how to do a 5-day itinerary in Cancun. Find out which are the most unmissable tours and attractions for your 5-day schedule in this Mexican city. We are sure that with the tips that we will give below, you will be able to elaborate an excellent planning for this period of your trip. Enjoy!

Cancun

After reading this article, check out our tips about how to save a lot of money on your trip to Cancun. It is the most accessed article on our blog and will help you a lot with all the trip planning. There are several unmissable tips that will save you A LOT of cash and set up your entire trip to Cancun.

Is it possible to make a good 5-day itinerary in Cancun?

5 days is certainly not enough for you to explore Cancun in its entirety, nor visit many tours and sights there. However, this short period of time is ideal for you to get to know a little of the city, have fun on one or two of its beaches, enjoy some all-inclusive hotel and its services, take several photos in the midst of an inexplicable scenery and still feel the surrounding atmosphere that it presents. Therefore, it is very worthwhile and the chances of you wanting to go there with more time will be many and very likely.

Attractions in Cancun

First day of a 5-day itinerary in Cancun

Morning

To start your 5-day itinerary in Cancun well, our tip is that you go to Riviera Maya. For those who do not know, this is one of the most tourist regions of the city, and responsible for most of the tours and cinematic attractions that we see in photos and websites there. The cool thing about enjoying an entire morning in this area is that the options of places to visit there are many.

Riviera Maya in Cancun

Beaches such as Carmen Beach and Akumal Beach, for example, can be ideal for you to sunbath, enjoy the crystal clear sea water, take lots of photos and even relax with the people you love. Another incredible tour in the region is the visit to the ruins of Tulum, in which the site is an archaeological space that houses ruins built by the Mayan people, which reserves very interesting and appreciative cultural and historical contexts.

View of Tulum ruins

Afternoon

Continuing your 5-day tour of the beautiful Cancun, the suggestion is that you spend the afternoon in the splendid and best known archeological park in the world, called Xcaret Park. This place has many activities for tourists and you can choose which ones best fit your profile and itinerary.

Xcaret Park in Cancun

A really cool suggestion, for example, is to enjoy the view from the rotating panoramic tower located there. Another nice tip is also to make the dives in the underground rivers of the locality and to have a greater contact with the fauna and flora present in the area. This is a unique experience, so don’t miss this chance and have fun.

Underground rivers in Xcaret Park

Night

To close this first day in Cancun with a flourish, be sure to enjoy a delicious night stroll through the streets and downtown. Also, take the opportunity to stop at one of the delicious restaurants that it has and try the most authentic local cuisine accompanied by a good drink or tequila. Also read our article about the best restaurants in Cancun.

Dinner in Cancun

Second day of a 5-day itinerary in Cancun

Morning

On your second day of travel in Cancun, our first tip is: go to one of the seven wonders of the world, called Chichen-ItzĂĄ. For those who have not yet heard about this place, know that it is a beautiful archaeological space, which features a series of articles and monuments from the Mayan era.

Chichén-Itzå in Tulum

The main attraction of the place, which is requested by tourists from all over the world, is the KukulcĂĄn pyramid. Among the advantages of getting to know it, the ones that stand out the most are: beauty rarely found anywhere else in the world, conservation of a place of great historical importance for the city, possibility of taking a series of photos in the middle of the monument and totally differentiated atmosphere and energy.

Kukulcån Pyramid in Chichén-Itzå

Afternoon

After enjoying an immersive morning in a totally cultural and historic place in Mexico, be sure to check out the beauty of the caves and cenotes on a pleasant boat trip. Among the main lakes that you can enjoy on this magnificent tour in Cancun are: Casa Cenote, Chac Mool and Grand Cenote. Be sure to look for a company that makes these tours there, make your reservation in advance and have a camera on hand, to record every moment of this extreme fun in the caves of the locality.

Cenote in Cancun

Third day of a 5-day itinerary in Cancun

Morning and afternoon

Following with tips for a good 5-day itinerary in Cancun, be sure to enjoy your third day at the Cancun Wax Museum. As in Los Angeles, this museum is a space where more than 100 wax characters can be found in 23 different scenarios, ranging from the world of cinema to sports, music, television, politics, children and terror.

Cancun Wax Museum

Another museum option that you can explore in Cancun is the Mayan Museum, located on Boulevard Kukulcån, one of the main avenues in the city. In it, there are several contemporary installations that overlook the Nichupté Lagoon, and there is also a complex that has a beautiful architectural design, a collection with 3,500 pieces and more than 400 pieces on display.

Mayan Museum of Cancun

Also take the opportunity to visit the San Miguelito archaeological site, which is next to the Mayan Museum of Cancun. San Miguelito was inhabited for more than 800 years before the arrival of the Spaniards and has about 40 pre-Columbian buildings, so a mandatory stop for any visitor who is on a tour there in the region.

Night

Finally, in the evening, enjoy dinner at the magnificent and sought after Señor Frog’s, which is none other than one of the most famous Mexican food bars in the city, and they even prepare gigantic cocktails that make your night a great Caribbean party.

Señor Frog’s in Cancun

Fourth day of a 5-day itinerary in Cancun

Morning

To continue your 5-day itinerary in Cancun, be sure to enjoy Isla Mujeres. In addition to being beautiful and totally paradisiacal, it houses the famous Underwater Museum of Art, which is a magnificent museum located in the depths of the Caribbean Sea. The cool thing about this attraction is that it reserves a huge amount of underwater sculptures that have already become homes for some marine animals. It is incredible and quite interesting for any audience.

Underwater Museum of Art in Cancun

Afternoon

In the afternoon, you can enjoy a delicious and pleasant stroll through some of Cancun’s main shopping malls. Some of them that stand out are:

  • Plaza La Isla mall
  • Kukulcan Plaza mall
  • Quinta Alegria mall
  • Plaza Forum by The Sea

Water channel at Plaza La Isla mall in Cancun

Night

To end your trip in style, it is clear that you could not miss a visit to one of the most incredible and fun clubs in the city, the splendid Coco Bongo. Located in the Hotel Zone, it is super requested for having already been the stage for the film “The Mask” (starring Jim Carrey), besides offering its audience many presentations and interactivity. It is sensational and you will come home with a taste of want more. We are sure of it!

Presentation at Coco Bongo in Cancun

Fifth day of a 5-day itinerary in Cancun

Morning and afternoon

For its fifth and last day in Cancun, enjoy the morning and explore and some of the beaches there. One of them that is incredible and super paradisiac is Delfines Beach. Later in the afternoon, be sure to stop by Palapas Park. For those who do not know, this is a park in which several establishments are concentrated that provide a lot of leisure and entertainment to its visitors. There, for example, you will have at your disposal: restaurants, craft stores and street show. It’s incredible!

Palapas Park in Cancun

Night

And, bid farewell to this great 5-day adventure through Cancun, enjoying a delicious and traditional dinner in one of the city’s restaurants. The cool thing is that Cancun has many of them, for all tastes, pockets and profiles, so it will not be too difficult to find that “ideal” to close your trip with a flourish. Among the best restaurants in the locality, the ones that stand out are: La Parrilla, Casa Rolandi, Hard Rock Cafe and Natura.

Hard Rock Cafe in Cancun

Tips to make the most of your 5-day itinerary in Cancun

  • The first tip for you to make the most of all the time you are in Cancun is: wake up very early, have a great breakfast, put on some very comfortable clothes/shoes and start your tour.
  • Another very important point is also to establish in topics each place that you intend to visit during your 5 unique days in the city. When you already pre-plan your trip, with more or less established schedules, tickets for purchased tours and other important items already provided, the chances of not wasting time and exploring the place even more are many.

Cancun sign

Important tips to enjoy much more your trip to Cancun

Now that we have given you all the tips about 5-day itinerary in Cancun, here are some more suggestions that will make your trip even better. Cancun is a big city and its tourist spots and beaches are concentrated in some regions, so being well located makes all the difference. If you haven’t already booked your hotel, be sure to check out our article Where to stay in Cancun, with tips from the best regions and also how to get a great hotel at a great price (and find all inclusive hotels and resorts on sale).

Hotel Zone in Cancun

Another good tip is that many people think it is not worthwhile to rent a car in Cancun, but it all depends on how your trip will be. If you are staying at the hotel every day, it really is not worth it. But, if you are going on tours, want to go to shopping malls and tourist spots, they are all a little bit apart and the car is great for getting around.

Even in the hotel zone that has everything there, the distance between the points is great, and without the car you need to take a taxi or public bus. With the car, you have more comfort and freedom, not to mention the economy, because with the value of the transport that you will spend from the airport to the hotel and vice versa, you have already paid the rent of a car for almost 5 days. If you want to know all the tips on the subject and how to get incredible prices, see our full article about how to rent a car in Cancun.

Travel car rental service

Where to buy the cheapest tickets for tours and tourist attractions in Cancun

A good suggestion to save money is to buy tickets, tours and excursions in advance online. It costs a lot less and you don’t waste time in lines there in Cancun. We have done a lot of research and the site that always has the best prices is this Cancun tickets website. They are the biggest tours tickets website in the world.

Xcaret Park in Cancun

The unmissable tours that cannot be left out of your trip in any way are: the excursion to Isla Mujeres, excursion to X-Caret or Xel-Hå (two incredible natural parks), the Coco Bongo party and the excursion to Chichén Itzå, which is one of the seven wonders of the world. It also has the swim with dolphins which is incredible. Virtually all tours pick you up at your hotel and drop you back there.

Don’t forget about travel insurance to Cancun

Another tip is to not forget to take international travel insurance to Cancun, as it is very important and no one should leave the country without one. If you want, read our article about travel insurance for Cancun and see tips on how to get good insurance at an incredible price. It is super cheap and very worth it.

How to use your cell phone in Cancun

Being able to use the Internet from your cell phone in Cancun is very worthwhile. The tourist attractions, restaurants, shopping malls and beaches have great applications. In addition, you save by not having to rent a GPS for the car with the rental company, you can search the addresses and times of the places, see the weather forecast to plan for the tours and beaches, stay connected with everyone through applications and post your photos of Cancun on social networks.

Woman using cell phone on the beach

If you want, see all our tips to use your cell phone in Cancun. It’s super cheap and you’ll be able to use your cell phone all day and anywhere. And, you can also search all about 5-day itinerary in Cancun for when you’re there.

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