Most Caribbean destinations have beaches with a beginning and an end. Anyone who has stayed at a Cancun hotel on the main strip will know that it is hard to tell where the entire beach begins or ends.

All beaches in Mexico including Cancun are considered public. Everyone walks freely along the beach by the hotels. Although it is possible to walk up onto the hotel properties, it is unlikely that visitors will be able to use hotel facilities or the numerous beach chairs on those properties.

Popular public beaches include:

• Playa Las Perlas
• Playa Langosta
• Playa Tortugas
• Playa Caracol
• Playa Chac Mool
• Playa Ballenas
• Playa Delfines
• Playa Nizuc

Several features about Cancun beaches are worth noting. First, at this writing in early 2008, the beaches were still heavily damaged from two previous hurricanes. A great deal of the sand was washed away, leaving the beaches much more narrow than most other Caribbean beaches. Several hotel employees said that after two expensive hurricanes in a row, a decision had been made to replace only some of the sand and not all of it.

Other noteworthy features include the waves, which tend to be higher than most beaches, and the strong undercurrents. We saw many people enjoying their time on the beaches, but relatively few spent much time in the bright blue water.