Shopping in Cancun

As one of the world’s premier tourist destinations the shopping in Cancun is as impressive as one would imagine. You will find everything from ultra-chic designer stores and famous brand names, to flea markets and souvenir shops selling Mexican local handcrafts. Cancun shopping is duty free so you can find some real bargains on cosmetics and fine jeweler.

There are many shopping malls in Cancun all offering the avid shopper a real treat. Here is a list of just some of the great places to go if you fancy shopping in Cancun whether it be for a new designer outfit for yourself or a gift to take home to your loved ones 

La Isla Shopping Village, Cancun
La Isla Shopping Village is a glittering, ultra-trendy shoppers’ paradise on the banks of the Nichupte Lagoon in the Hotel Zone Cancun. You will find over 150 shops here all under a giant canopy with a series of canals and small bridges designed to create a Venetian look. There is an amazing aquarium here as well as fabulous restaurants and cinemas showing movies in English and Spanish…

Kukulcan Plaza & Luxury Avenue
Kukulcan Plaza & Luxury Avenue are adjacent to each other in the Hotel Zone. Between them they boast more than 250 shops and boutiques in exclusive and luxurious surroundings including word famous brands such as Louis Vuitton and Cartier. There are many specialty restaurants, bars and cafes and even a bowling alley if you are looking for something fun to do. 

Plaza Caracol
Plaza Caracol is situated just north of the Cancun Convention Center. There are over 200 shops and boutiques where you will find everything from Ralph Lauren and Sunglass Island to chic perfumeries such as Ultrafemme to souvenir and silver jewelry stores. There is also a great choice of restaurants and cafes if you need to take a rest from shopping in Cancun…  

Plaza Las Americas
Plaza Las Americas is found in downtown Cancun. There are three large department stores as well as more than 50 stores – fashion shops – bookstores – sportswear – just about everything you might need. There are also two fantastic cinemas here showing movies in English and Spanish as well as a choice of restaurants…

Market 28
Also known as the Mercado 28 this is a huge flea market situated in the heart of downtown Cancun. It is a fun place to buy your souvenirs, Mexican handcrafts and silver jewelry at half the price of the Hotel Zone. Next door you will find Plaza Bonita, built to resemble a small Mexican village with colorful architecture and shops selling good quality Mexican handcrafts and pieces of art. You can easily get there by bus or taxi…

Cancun Shopping Malls and Businesses

Malls

Clothing

Gifts & Crafts: 

Golf/Tennis: 

Health/Beauty:

Cancun Supermarkets:

Chedraui

Downtown, on Av. Tulum, facing the first traffic circle as you enter town. Ruta 2 Hotel Zone bus stops near entrance. Plaza Las Americas; López-Portillo. Claims to have the lowest prices in town and tries hard to do it. Hectic supermarket discount store.This big, unpretentious store has a little of everything at excellent prices. See description of San Francisco de Asis, below, for a fairly accurate comparison of downtown branch, which is not for the claustrophobic. Plaza Las Americas branch is cleaner and better organized. Good buys on dishes, house wares, cheap jeans and other clothing items.

La Comercial Mexicana

Downtown, facing 2nd traffic circle. Ruta 1 Hotel Zone bus stops at entrance. Good bargains on specials. Main store at Av. López-Portillo and Kabah has better prices and is less crowded. Crowded and busy supermarket with all the usual stuff. Specials sometimes cheaper than San Francisco de Asis, better selection of goods in general, excellent delicatessen. Meat is edible. Good bakery section. About the best liquor selection in Cancun, especially good on imported wines. Clean, modern supermarket. Small, clean, with an assortment of mostly Mexican goods, this supermarket is a service of the Social Security system, but is open to the public. Prices are about routinely at least 10% lower than major supermarkets.

San Francisco de Asis

Hotel Zone, Plaza Quetzal, across from Hotel El Presidente Prices higher than downtown store, no specials.American-style supermarket in hotel zone. Arctic air-conditioning. Ample selection of Mexican brands, plus some American deli items. Small vegetable and fruit section and rudimentary meat counter. This is the best all-around shopping resource in the Hotel Zone, with a full assortment of Mexican and imported goods. The service, however, is quite irregular and it is always important to check dairy items such as cheese for freshness.

Super Genny

Downtown, Yaxchilán, one block from Hotel Caribe Internacional.Small, well-stocked neighborhood supermarket.You'll find a little of everything here at prices competitive with San Francisco de Asis. Considerably less hectic, but can get quite crowded, as there is only one checkout counter. Usually has better stock of American cereals, such as Cheerios, and other items at somewhat better prices than other supermarkets.

Wal-Mart

Downtown. Across from Tel-Mex. All taxi drivers know where it is. Ruta 2 Hotel Zone bus stops at entrance. Very competitive prices. Open 24 hours.The classic Wal-Mart, well-translated into Spanish. Good prices in general, but specials at La Comercial are better. Has Price's American milk and other imported foods, including American beef. Best liquor prices in Cancun with a nice selection of Mexican and Spanish wines similar to La Comercial. Bakery has American-style cakes at budget prices. Best tortillas in Cancun.This is the most reliable butcher shop in Cancun. Even the packaged hamburger is acceptable. Look for "molido sirloin," which will have fat content and beef quality similar to American supermarket hamburger. If you want the best quality, select the cut you prefer from the butcher counter and have it ground. When buying meat here, take advantage of the fact that labels carry time as well as date and select the freshest meat. Domestic cuts of beef will be very tough and are not recommendable unless you are accustomed to dealing with this. Pork and chicken are ok. 

Cancun Open-Air Markets

Every Mayan city and village has at least one open-air market. These are colorful flea market type venues where you can find anything from iPods to live chickens. The further into Mayan territory you go the more "Mayan" they become culminating in the spectacular market in Chichicastenango, Guatemala. Of course the markets in Cancun are not as rich in cultural flavor as their southern cousins but they are the place to go to get great deals on arts & crafts, practical merchandise and souvenirs. 

There are three big open-air markets [Mercados], which are all located within walking distance of each other in the downtown area [El Centro]. Here you will find an assortment of goods such as silver, jewelry, clothing, rugs and blankets, Mexican pottery, leather, carved wood, hammocks, sombreros etc. etc. 

Venders in the market are more likely to negotiate prices as many venders in the malls are now fixing their prices in stone. 

Mercado 28

Lots of vendors selling inexpensive jewelry, sunglasses, clay pottery, Mayan artifacts [copies], chess-sets etc. etc. There are Mexican restaurants, beauty salons, a pharmacy and an upscale section called Plaza Bonita that features clothing boutiques, art galleries, cafes and ice cream stores. 

Mercado 23

This is more of a local market catering to the local economy. This is where you can buy fresh vegetables and produce, flowers, meat, household products and general merchandise. 

Ki Huic Market

Like Mercado 28 but not as big. Good place to go for the restaurants. 
Markets are located north of the ADO bus terminal in downtown El Centro Cancun. 

Mercado Coral Negro - Hotel Zone

Mercado Coral Negro is in the middle of the hotel-zone strip. Depending where you stay in Cancun you only have to ask any hotel staff in the lobby which direction to go to find the market. You can take the bus [6 pesos] or take a taxi.

Most of the stuff that you will see at the flea market you can also find at the malls. Depending on your bargaining skills the prices will vary. But be forewarned many of the market sellers are aggressive and you have to know how to handle it. They will badger you endlessly like jackals. You have to learn how to play the game to come out ahead. 

It has been our experience that when times are good the vendors are not as aggressive. After 9/11 and Hurricane Wilma, Cancun took major blows and tourism was down, way down. The vendors were hurting for business and aggressive, but things are back to normal now. 

Although the author of this text has never worked as a vendor I have spent hours hanging out with friends in their stalls watching them work. Some tourists complain that the vendors are rude and abusive however it is a two-way street and I have seen many a tourist treat the vendor with no respect what so ever.

The best way to get a good deal is to be nice to the vendor. It is all a game to them. Most work 6 days a week for little money. The majority of vendors you meet do not own the stall or the merchandise they are selling. 

These are our favorite vendor lines: 

• Hola, Senor, you are my final hope!
• Amigos, come in and let me rip you off!
• Hola Senor, we have exactly what you are looking for!
• You say, "just looking", they say, "just selling".
• Broken English spoken here perfectly! 
• Everything almost 100% off!