5 within 3½ hours · 3 under 2 hours
Cancún is a beach resort first, but three Pueblos Mágicos are an easy day away. Isla Mujeres is a short ferry ride from Puerto Juárez, with Playa Norte and golf carts instead of cars. Tulum pairs clifftop Maya ruins with the Riviera's best beaches, about two hours down the coast. Inland, Valladolid is the colonial heart of Yucatán, with cenotes in town and Chichén Itzá and Ek Balam nearby. Keep going for a weekend in Izamal, the yellow city, or little-visited Espita.
Best months for the area: Jan, Feb, Nov, Dec (when most of these towns are dry with comfortable afternoons)
Day trips (under 2 hours) 3
Close enough to drive there and back from Cancún in a day. Closest first.
~40 min incl. ferry · 14 km
Best: Feb, Mar, Apr, Jul
Fiestas: May, Aug, Dec
1 h 55 min · 157 km
Best: Jan, Feb, Nov, Dec
Fiestas: Jan, Feb, Apr, May, Oct, Nov
Weekend escapes (2 to 3½ hours) 2
Worth a night or two. Closest first.
On the map
Getting there
Cancún has its own airport, Cancún (CUN), so you can fly in and rent a car there.
A car is the easiest way to reach most of these towns; the bigger ones also have direct buses from Cancún. Each pueblo's page has its own getting-there notes.
Drive times are from OpenStreetMap routing without traffic. Times marked ~ are estimated from the distance and may run longer on mountain roads.