Where to stay in Cancún

The mainland city around Avenida Tulum and the Parque de las Palapas: taquerias, Mercado 28 and the ADO bus station for Tulum and Playa del Carmen. The cheapest rooms by far, and the R1 and R2 buses reach the beaches in half an hour.

A small town twenty minutes south of the airport: a square, a leaning lighthouse and a protected reef a short boat ride offshore. Guesthouses and boutique hotels, the Ruta de los Cenotes inland, and none of the Hotel Zone's noise.

The top of the island from Playa Linda to Punta Cancún: calmer water on the bay side, the ferries to Isla Mujeres and the clubs of the Party Center. Mid-range all-inclusives, closest to downtown.

A twenty-minute ferry across the bay: the shallow turquoise water of Playa Norte, golf carts instead of cars and small hotels. Stay a night or two to have it once the day-trippers have gone.

The long Caribbean-facing stretch from Punta Cancún past Playa Delfines to Punta Nizuc: the widest sand, rougher water and the large resorts, with the lagoon restaurants across the road.

Forty-five minutes south: Mayakoba's lagoon resorts and the beach town of Playa del Carmen beyond. Better placed than Cancún for Tulum, the cenotes and Río Secreto.