Cancún sits at the northern tip of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribbean coast. The hotel zone is a 25-kilometre L-shaped sandbar of high-rise resorts, while the older downtown (El Centro) and the broader Riviera Maya stretching south to Tulum offer cenotes, Mayan ruins, jungle, and quieter coastal towns. The climate is tropical with two seasons defined by rain and the threat of Atlantic hurricanes.
December through April is the dry season and the peak — sunny, warm, low humidity, but expensive. May and November are the best value-for-weather windows. Avoid September and October if hurricane risk concerns you.
December through February brings 28-29°C highs, sea at 26°C, low rain and excellent visibility for the cenotes and reefs. This is also the busiest season with US and Canadian holidaymakers escaping winter. Brief cold fronts (nortes) can drop temperatures by 5°C for a day or two.
March and April are the most reliable beach months — dry, sunny, and warm with low humidity. Spring break in mid-March brings a noisy but contained college crowd to a few specific hotels. Sea is at its warmest visibility for diving Cozumel.
June through August stays hot (32°C) and humid, with afternoon thunderstorms. Sargassum seaweed is most likely to wash up on Caribbean beaches in these months — an environmental issue beyond local control that can briefly affect specific stretches of coast.
September and October are the wettest months and peak Atlantic hurricane season — direct hits on Cancún are uncommon (a few per decade) but tropical-storm-grade weather is more frequent. November is the recovery month.
Yes — June through November is Atlantic hurricane season, peaking in September. Direct hits on Cancún are rare (a major one every decade or two) but tropical storms are more frequent. Travel insurance with hurricane cover is recommended.
Brown seaweed that has been washing up on Caribbean beaches in large quantities since 2011. Most prevalent May-September, smells when it decomposes, and varies enormously by location. Many resorts now run daily clearing operations.
Cancún is bigger, busier, has a wider range of all-inclusive resorts, and easier flight access. Tulum is smaller, chic-er, more expensive per night, with cliff-top ruins and a stronger boho aesthetic.
Yes — the Caribbean here is calm, warm and clear, with reefs offshore. Watch for occasional jellyfish and the sargassum issue.