Things are organized a little differently here. Outside the Hotel Zone the closest thing to a place you can stroll around, in a large area of concentrated shops and restaurants, is Plaza Las Americas, a very large mall on Av Tulum. There are scores of restaurants and hundreds of shops, large and small, within the territory of the mall, with names you'd recognize and others you wouldn't. Nearby (five minute walk) is a well known entertainment venue on two territories across Av Sayil from each other, the bull ring and Plaza Solare, with lots of bars and restaurants to choose from. For a "street" with shops and restaurants there is Av Tulum, between Av Coba and Av Uxmal: this is an area that had been in decline but the city has invested a great deal of money to create a pedestrian mall on both sides of the wide street and business is starting to revive. On weekend nights you can see hundreds of people strolling the area with their families, and tourists in open air restaurants just off the avenue. ____________________
How do you like living in Cancun ? Big city feel or smaller town , and does the city interact with the hotels or are they their own world ,the hotels that is.
Cancun is a pretty big city, but we still enjoy fresh air, owing to the sea being nearby and there being almost zero manufacturing or heavy industry (refining) here. It is the most convenient city I've ever lived in, but it helps that I live in the commercial center. There are five banks within five minutes walk of my house, two supermarkets within a half mile radius, the largest mall in town just a 12 min walk and it has something like a 14 theater movie theater. But the biggest plus, in comparing convenience, is the easy access to quality medical care that we enjoy here. Same day appointments to see a medical specialist of your choice is the norm here. As for the HZ, we get to enjoy all the attractions of the HZ without ever having to get on a plane.... The beaches and restaurants of the HZ are just minutes away by car; and, if we want to, we can book an AI for a "mini vacantion." Isla Mujeres is a 25 min ferry ride away and we often go there for an overnight visit: it's a completely different world, with its village atmosphere. Is Cancun a big city? It takes less than a half hour to drive from one side to the other, and there are no expressways! No, to me it does not feel like a big city.
