Before we talk about the differences between Cancun and the Riviera Maya, let’s look at the destination overall, since you’ll usually fly into the Cancun international airport for both.

The Most All-Inclusive Resort Options in the Caribbean

Between the 2 destinations, you have over 100 all inclusive honeymoon resorts to choose from. You’ll find over 50 in Cancun and over 90 in the Riviera Maya. The Cancun and Riviera Maya area has more all inclusive resorts than Acapulco, Cozumel, Huatulco, Ixtapa, Los Cabos, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta combined.

The Most Flight Options

The total Cancun area accepts more visitors than any other destination in the Caribbean. You have direct flights from so many cities to Cancun. This means your flight will cost less and you can spend more time enjoying your honeymoon and less time in airports. The Tulum area which is the at the southern end of the Riviera Maya just recently opened a new airport, so you have 2 options now.

TIP: Do not try to get a cheap flight to Tulum, if you are staying in Playa Mujeres or Costa Mujeres, the transfer time will be over 2 hours.

See and Do

No destination quite compares also with the options of sites and activities. You can view ancient Mayan ruins, swim with whale sharks, zipline, dance until the sun comes up and so much more. Take at look at Viator.

Great Value

Both areas are a tremendous value. A luxury resort in Cancun or the Riviera Maya will always be 25% to 50% less than a luxury resort in one of the exotic islands like St Lucia, Barbados or Grenada. I won’t get into all the economics, but this is a fact. You can see why Cancun  and Riviera Maya area is such a popular choice for a Caribbean honeymoon.

Once you fly into Cancun, you can go north to Cancun hotel zone, which we often call the Cancun strip. Just north of the strip, you also have Playa Mujeres and Costa Mujeres. Go south to the Riviera Maya and you have 81 miles of coast with an amazing variety of resorts to choose from.

Now that we’ve covered the destination as a whole, let’s look at what sets the 2 destinations apart.

Cancun Honeymoon Resorts:

3 Areas: Costa Mujeres, Playa Mujeres and the Cancun Strip

You’ll always be minutes away from trendy restaurants, bars and nightlife

You’ll have a great beach and have a resort to your left and a resort to your right.

The ocean on the strip has larger waves and is good for body surfing, where Playa Mujeres and Costa Mujeres is better for swimming.

More:

Best All-Inclusive Cancun Honeymoon Resorts

Riviera Maya Honeymoon Resorts:

81 Miles of Coast: Riviera Cancun, Puerto Morelos, Maroma, Paraiso, Playa del Carmen, Puerto Aventuras and Tulum

You’ll be closer to cenotes, rivers, Eco-parks like Xcaret, jungle and the big 3 archaeological sites of Chichen Itza, Tulum and Coba

You’ll have a great beach and chances are that you won’t see a resort to your left or right.

The ocean here is calmed by the 2nd largest barrier reef in the world, which makes the beach for great swimming, snorkeling, snuba and scuba diving.

More:

Best All-Inclusive Riviera Maya Honeymoon Resorts

We hope this blog makes your honeymoon planning easier. We’d love to help you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to one of our friendly and experienced travel advisors.

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