Shopping in Cancun
Shopping is one of the favorite pastimes in Cancun once you have had your fill of sun and surf. The shopping scene here is almost as attractive as the beaches are and Cancun's reputation as a fabulous shopping location is well earned. Be it the outdoor markets or the up-market shopping malls and boutiques, tourists as well as locals find them irresistible. Most visitors head for the glitzy shopping centres even if just to browse; and on those hot sunny days, the air-conditioned comforts of the swanky shops and malls provide welcome relief as well as entertainment.
Our Cancun Shopping Guide is a handy source of information for shopping whilst on your holiday. Re-energise for a day shopping by taking a break in one of the many Cancun restaurants and cafes that abound the shopping districts and malls. You can visit our Mexico Shopping Guide for information about shopping in Mexico.
[read more]
Cancun Shopping Guide
Many celebrated stores and brands have their outlets here and the product range is truly astounding. Designer label boutiques including Cartier, Ultrafemme, Louis Vuitton, Diesel, DKNY, Guess, Salvatore Ferragamo, Pineda Covalin, and Tommy Hilfiger are quite common.
The most popular area to shop in is downtown or Cancun City. Here you get all kinds of merchandise at reasonable prices unlike at the plush shops of the Hotel Zone where bargains are hard to come by. Local products, souvenirs, art pieces as well as modern stuff and electronic gadgets are available here and haggling is an accepted practice.
Markets in Cancun
While almost anything is available, Cancun is not noted for any particular product. A Mercado or Mexican market is the place to go to if one is looking for local Mexican products and for bargains. Mercado 28, or Mercado Veintiocho as it is also called, is one of the best places to shop in downtown Cancun. The market is a local favourite and sells plenty of local stuff including clothes, shoes, pottery, hardware items, and local crafts and jewellery. You will find that the prices here are much lower for similar products compared to most other shops, even food is priced lower. Mercado 23 is another market that the local population vouch for. On the other hand if one is looking for imported goods the best place to be in are the up-market stores and the scores of duty free shops where you get good prices for European products.
Shopping Malls in Cancun
The malls, which are very popular shopping and browsing venues, are invariably chic and classy with numerous shops in addition to amenities like restaurants, food courts, movie theatres, video arcades, clubs, art galleries, ice skating rinks and so on. The Boulevard Kukulkan in the Hotel Zone is packed with malls offering just about anything from cosmetics, perfumes, shoes, bathing suits and designer clothing to decorative objects, silver, fine crystal and jewellery. Some of the high-flying and prominent malls like the Kukulkán Plaza, Plaza Caracol, Plaza Flamingo, Paseo Cancun, Plaza Las Americas, Forum by the Sea, and La Isla Shopping Village are so much fun that you are prone to lose sight of time while hanging out in there. The Plaza Bonita Cancun next to Mercado 28 is another place you might want to check out. It is a charming mall that looks more like a Mexican village.
Local handicrafts
For handicraft items and souvenirs, the best options are the open air craft markets, especially those on Avenida Tulum in Cancun City. Markets near the convention centre in the Hotel Zone also sell excellent handicrafts. Coral Negro and Plaza La Fiesta, two of the biggest outlets for local goods and handicrafts in the Hotel Zone, are definitely worth a look in. You will find a collection of handpicked items that make good decorative items and keepsakes and can be compelling reminders of your Mexican sojourn.
