Mexico is the only sun destination that forces you to choose an ocean before you choose a hotel. The Caribbean coast and the Pacific coast do not share the same sea, the same rainy season or the same crowd. Plenty of travellers book Cancun by reflex when the Pacific would suit them better, and the reverse is just as true.
The essentials in four lines
Caribbean or Pacific: the Caribbean for turquoise calm water, cenotes and Maya ruins; the Pacific for mountain scenery, surf and no sargassum at all.
Best time to go: December to April on both coasts. The Pacific stays pleasant into November and May.
Entry: Canadian passport valid for the length of the stay, no visa up to one hundred and eighty days, digital migration form completed on arrival by air.
Sargassum: Caribbean coast only, mostly April to August.
Choosing your coast
The Caribbean coast: Cancun, Riviera Maya, Cozumel
This is the Mexico travellers from Quebec know. The sea is turquoise and shallow, sheltered by the second-largest barrier reef in the world. Cancun’s hotel zone sits on a sandbar between the sea and the Nichupte lagoon. The Riviera Maya then runs a hundred and thirty kilometres, from Puerto Morelos to Tulum.
It is also the only region where you can visit Chichen Itza in the morning and swim in a cenote in the afternoon. If Maya culture is part of why you are going, the coast question is settled.
The Pacific coast: Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, Riviera Nayarit, Huatulco
A different country. Mountains dropping into the sea, sunsets facing the water, a swell that surfers love and that calls for care with young children. Puerto Vallarta keeps its cobbled lanes and its Zona Romantica on the edge of Mexico’s largest bay. Los Cabos, in Baja California, offers desert scenery and whales from December to April.
The Pacific gets no sargassum. On its own, that detail settles the choice for many travellers who have lived through a bad week on the Caribbean side.
The quieter regions
Huatulco, in Oaxaca, spreads over nine bays in a lightly built region. Isla Holbox is reached by boat, has no paved streets and welcomes whale sharks from June to September. Mazatlan has one of the longest seafront promenades in the Americas and a restored old town. All three usually cost less than Cancun for the same hotel category.
When to go
From December to April both coasts are dry and the heat stays manageable. That is high season.
Hurricane season differs by ocean: mid-May to November on the Pacific, early June to November on the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. The real risk concentrates in September and October on both sides.
July and August are hot and humid everywhere, with a late-afternoon thunderstorm almost every day. Prices drop, families take advantage of it, and you learn quickly to do your outings in the morning.
Sargassum, stated plainly
Sargassum seaweed affects the Caribbean coast, mostly between April and August. Intensity varies from year to year and beach to beach: Playa Mujeres and Isla Holbox are often spared while Tulum takes everything. Large resorts rake their beach every morning. The Pacific is not affected at all. We track the situation in our sargassum guide.
What you need in hand
A Canadian passport valid for the whole stay. No visa is required for a tourist stay of up to one hundred and eighty days, but the immigration officer sets the length actually granted on arrival.
Arriving by air, the migration form is digital and completed on arrival. Migration fees are normally included in the price of the air ticket.
For the current official advice, see the country page on travel.gc.ca.
On the ground
Money
The currency is the Mexican peso. US dollars are accepted in tourist areas, often at a rate that does not favour you. Pay in pesos where you can and decline the conversion offered by payment terminals.
The Quintana Roo state fee
The state of Quintana Roo, which covers Cancun, the Riviera Maya, Cozumel and Tulum, collects a tourist contribution from foreign visitors. It is paid online. Check with your travel advisor whether it applies to your stay, because the rules have changed several times.
Water and food
Bottled water, including for brushing your teeth. Resorts provide it. Street food is excellent wherever there is a line of locals.
Getting around
For a resort stay, transfers are included and renting a car is hard to justify. On the Pacific, if you stay in Puerto Vallarta or the Riviera Nayarit and plan to explore, a car opens a lot of doors.
Who Mexico suits
Families who want calm water and easy excursions: the Riviera Maya. Couples looking for scenery and a town with real life: Puerto Vallarta. Travellers coming back from a week of sargassum and hesitating to return south: the Pacific solves the problem.
Less so anyone who wants a weather-proof holiday between June and October, or a deserted beach fifteen minutes from Cancun airport: that has not existed for a long time.
To plan this trip, see also Acapulco, Cancun, Cozumel, Mexico or the Dominican Republic and the All-inclusive vacations section.
