Cancun is known for its diverse shops and festive malls catering to a large number of international tourists. From large, air-conditioned malls to T-shirt stands and open-air markets filled with Mexican handicrafts, Cancun provides shoppers a delightful experience. Despite the surrounding natural beauty of the beaches and jungles, shopping has become a favorite activity of Cancun visitors.

There is no shortage of stores in Cancun to purchase one-of-a-kind items. In the Hotel Zone, the malls are spread out along the Zone's 21 kilometers, so no matter where you stay there is a mall nearby. The malls in Cancun are quite nice and sell most anything you can think of. The malls could also be thought of as tourist attractions since they all try to outdo each other by including entertaining attractions. Each mall usually has at least one large nightclub and a few restaurants. Cancun malls contain many up-scale shops where you will find the latest American and European fashions, expensive perfumes and lots of jewelry. You also find a large number of stores selling Mexican crafts.

Plaza Kukulcán is an extraordinary shopping center offering a wide variety of services from shopping, fine dining, movies and bowling, to contemporary art exhibits and international film festivals. This mall is home to the famed "Luxury Avenue", with the best of upscale shopping from the top designers. Plaza Caracol is a two-story mall with marble floors and attractive plant-filled atriums designed by internationally renowned architects. Plaza Caracol features shops, boutiques, restaurants and galleries. There is a Cartier Jewelry store located here. Flamingo Plaza is an excellent spot for shopping and eating. Restaurants such as Outback Steakhouse, Planet Hollywood and Pat O'Brien's are located in this mall. Plaza Forum by the Sea includes various shops but is mostly popular for its food and bars, including the Hard Rock Cafe and the Rainforest Cafe, which stay open after midnight. La Isla Shopping Village is the newest shopping center in Cancun. This is a very nice outdoor shopping mall and has a large variety of boutiques, restaurants, and an interactive aquarium that is a hit with kids. Guess, Swatch, and Benetton have stores located here.

There are two notable open-air markets in the Hotel Zone. La Fiesta Market, a small market center with Mexican crafts and silver ornaments, located in the hotel zone by TGI Friday's restaurant. Mercado Coral Negro, located across the street from Plaza Forum by the Sea, is a small open-air market with souvenirs, locals arts and crafts, henna tattoos, hair braiding and more.

Traveling into Cancun City, you will find it just like any other city, filled with stores catering to the people who live in Cancun. Also known as Centro, this downtown area is a nine-block square connected to Cancun Island by a causeway. The commercial heart of Cancun, Centro is where you'll find lots of restaurants and some nice little shops, particularly along Yaxchilan Avenue. Flea market lovers might want to visit the mercados, where silver items, handicrafts and bottles of vanilla are abundant. Mercado 28 is the most popular, while Mercado 23 is a little less tourist-oriented. Ki Huic Market, on Avenida Tulum, is the city's oldest crafts market, as well as the closest to the Hotel Zone. Souvenir shoppers will find a variety of serapes, blouses, shirts and curios at Ki Huic. Numerous duty-free shops also offer excellent values on European goods. The largest is UltraFemme, on Avenida Tulum in downtown Cancun, specializing in imported cosmetics, perfumes, and fine jewelry and watches. Shopping Malls are not limited to the Hotel Zone, however. Plaza Las Americas is a nice downtown mall with big stores such as Liverpool, Sears, Sanborn's and JC Penney's, along with numerous smaller boutiques, electronic shops, and a supermarket. This mall also offers 18 screens in two movie theaters, a big food court and several restaurants. This is where the locals go when they want to go to a large Mall. Plaza 2000 is the place to go for inexpensive footwear and clothing. Mostly locals shop here, and deals are plentiful.

Cancun truly is a shopper's paradise, as well as a natural one. Since the best part of a vacation is bringing home trinkets to remember the trip by, Cancun, and its unique shops and malls, won't disappoint even the most discriminating shopper.