The international airport is about eight kilometers to the south of Cancun. Special vans, accommodating up to eight persons, are always available at the airport. They shuttle passengers to their respective hotels for about one-third the cost of a private taxi. If your party is three or more persons, a taxi is cost-effective. Most of the resort hotels, restaurants and nightlife are located on Cancun Island, which is connected to the mainland by a bridge at either end.

The business center of Cancun is on the mainland. Downtown bustles with activity as befits a city with a population of almost 300,000 people, the majority employed in the tourist industry.Getting around couldn’t be easier.

Taxis are bountiful and inexpensive, but be sure to negotiate the fare before getting in. Most hotels have a list of normal fare charges posted in the lobby. It is cheaper to hail a cab on the street going in the direction of your destination than to take one sitting in front of your hotel. Up to four persons can share a cab for the same fare.

For the more adventuresome, the bus is even cheaper. A myriad of buses constantly cruise the Hotel Zone, their destinations hand-painted in white on the front windshield. You usually have less than a five-minute wait before a bus comes ambling along. The bus stops, conveniently located near the entrances of the hotels and shopping areas, are marked Parada. The fare is cheap, enticing tourists to forgo comfort and go native. During the peak hours, don’t expect to get a seat. Just crowd on with the locals and enjoy the wild ride.

All beaches in Mexico are public, so you can spread out your beach towel and plop down wherever you fancy. Be mindful that the hotels provide the thatched palapas and beach lounge chairs exclusively for their patrons.

Watersports, snorkeling and scuba diving, deep-sea fishing and golf provide the sports-minded with a neverending list of choices. The less sporting can just kick back and relax by the hotel pool or go shopping.

Mexican art, handicrafts and silver jewelry are the most popular items to buy. When buying silver, be sure to look for the “925” mark that certifies that there are 925 grams of pure silver per kilogram. Silverplate is known as alpaca and is less expensive.

The days on the beach may be lazy and tranquil, but Cancun nights rock ‘n’ roll. A wide variety of restaurants tantalizes every taste: local seafood, European-style dining, Mexican fiestas, and dinner cruises are but a few. After dinner, hotel bar hopping provides a popular way to check out the hotel nightlife and the danceclub scene. Most danceclubs open around 10pm and the action picks up after midnight, with the beat continuing until dawn.But the Cancun experience isn’t just lazing the days away on the beach and partying at night.

To get an in-depth understanding of Mayan history and see more artifacts, visit the INAH Centro Cultural at the Convention Center. This museum is part of a network of Mexican museums located throughout the country. Closed on Mondays, the museum’s hours of operation are 9am to 7pm. Once the archaeology bug is under your skin, you’ll want to save at least a day to explore some of the famous Mayan ruins. All hotels offer guided bus excursions.

If you prefer to explore on your own, car and moped rental agencies hawk their best deal on sandwich signs outside their offices. Buses from the main station in the downtown area run frequently to Playa del Carmen, Merida, and other sites on the Yucatan Peninsula.

Chitzen-Itza, the best known of the Mayan ruins, blends the Mayan and Toltec cultures. It was the most important city on the peninsula from the 11th to the 13th centuries. Bus tours typically arrive around noon, the hottest part of the day. A better plan is to rent a car, stay overnight at one of the hotels at the entrance and visit the grounds in the morning and late afternoon.

The sound and light show in the evening— one performance in Spanish and a later one in English—vividly portrays the life and problems the ancient Indians faced. Another light show, this one staged by Mother Nature, occurs during the Spring equinox on March 20th and 21st, and the Autumnal equinox on September 21st and 22nd. The play of light on the pyramid El Castillo creates the illusion of the serpent god Kukulcan descending the steps of the north staircase and disappearing into the ground below. The illusion lasts for three hours and 22 minutes as the sun passes over the pyramid. El Castillo itself is a huge Mayan calendar with 52 flat panels on each of the facades representing the 52 weeks in a year.

The ruins at Tulum south of Cancun may pale in comparison to Chitzen-Itza, but the dramatic setting of the walled citadel, perched on a 40-foot cliff overlooking the Caribbean Sea, makes the trip worthwhile. Built in the 10th century, the temples were used exclusively for religious ceremonies. Only the priestly hierarchy lived within the walls. The ordinary citizens lived in the surrounding area. The site is small, taking no more than an hour to explore. Tulum means “City of Dawn” or “City of Renewal” in the Mayan language. After wandering around, you can take an afternoon’s respite and renew yourself by bathing in the small bay below.

Small fishing boats in the harbor shuttle tourists to the Playa Los Cocos on the northern tip of the island. Most have snorkeling gear aboard and even include a fish fry as part of the deal. Moped and bicycle rentals in town provide the more energetic an alternate way to explore the five-mile-long island.

Cozumel, Mexico’s largest Caribbean island, is worth a two- or three-day stay, if time allows. The easiest way to get there is by plane from the Cancun airport. Ten daily shuttle flights leave Cancun Airport every day. Flight time is around 18 minutes. For those with more time than money, first- and second-class buses run frequently from the main bus station in Cancun City to Playa del Carmen.

After arriving at the rustic bus depot, walk through town down to the dock and catch the passenger ferry that runs hourly to San Miguel, Cozumel’s only town. All in all, allow at least three hours each way to make this sojourn.

San Miguel flourishes as a shopping destination for cruise ships. Enterprising merchants try to lure you into their shops with promises of bargains and treasures. The town square, or zocolo, bustles with activity. From the sidewalk cafes and open-air restaurants, you can watch small children peddling chewing gum, locals passing the day sitting on the stone benches, cruise passengers shuffling from shop to shop in search of discounted bounty.

Cozumel’s claim to fame is its coral reef just a few feet offshore. After filming an underwater documentary there in 1961, Jacques Cousteau touted Palancar and Colombia reefs as one of the best dive spots in the world. Dive shops in town or at the hotels can arrange scuba expeditions. Chankanaab Park on the south end of the island is a good spot for snorkeling. There is an admission fee to enter the park.

Since there are no public buses on Cozumel, about the only way a tourist has of getting there is by taxi.Almost as spectacular is the reef off the Presidente Intercontinenal Hotel grounds, four miles south of San Miguel. Here you can lounge on the manufactured beach, snorkel off the shore and enjoy the amenities of the bar and restaurant. (Remember, all beaches in Mexico are public, even if they are manufactured and within the grounds of a resort.)

Today, the investment the Mexican government made in the island shaped like the lucky number 7 has paid off in a big way. Cancun is a thriving resort playground, one of the premier vacation destinations in the world, attracting the rich and famous as well as the every-day tourist. Cancun has become Mexico’s crown jewel, not only because of the phenomenal waters, the sandy limestone beaches and the dazzling nightlife, but because of the wide variety of attractions available within a short radius.

With so many options, a week in Cancun may be just the beginning of a lifelong love affair.