When considering a permanent move to Mexico, or at least a long stay as an expat, you might not count Cancún among the list of places to look into closely. Famously a destination for partiers (and more specifically American students on spring break), Cancún has a distinctly touristy reputation. When one hears the name, it’s easy to picture commercial resorts, beaches packed with people and kitschy beachside restaurants.

To be sure, places that fit this general image can definitely be found around Cancún. With that said however, it’s not necessarily accurate to think of it solely as a spring break hot spot. Cancún is also a beautiful area, home to gorgeous natural attractions and incredible remnants of Mexico’s history.

Much of the year, it’s more or less devoid of loud groups of college students, and living nearby or using it as an occasional getaway while you live in Mexico could be more appealing than you previously thought. Cancún has always been popular among Mexican nationals as a place to have a second home or retire.

Guest blogger and digital native Gloria Garcia travels across Central and South America while doing freelance writing, deck designs and events planning. To help you get a better feel for the area beyond its popular reputation, take a look at some of the things she recommends to see or skip in and around Cancun.

See: Playa Tortugas

As you might expect there are lots of beaches in the Cancún area. Many of them, as mentioned above, are crowded with tourists for portions of the year. Playa Tortugas, however is widely considered a beach spot for locals. Pristine sands, a calm atmosphere, and open-air restaurants that don’t look or feel like tourist traps make the whole area delightful to visit.

Skip: Nightlife

There are small, authentic bars you can find in Cancún, and they can be lovely for a beer or a cocktail as the sunsets and thereafter. By and large, what would typically be referred to as the nightlife scene in the area is made for the tourists.

Popular establishments like the Congo Bar and The City Nightclub set the pace for what’s ultimately a fun, brightly lit, but relatively unremarkable late night atmosphere. It’s not really a scene for locals. Save those for the occasional night if you need to dive into a little excitement.

See: Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza may be a destination for people from all over the world, but that doesn’t make it “touristy” in the conventional sense. Some, in fact, will likely be surprised to learn of its close proximity to Cancún, given the area’s aforementioned partying tourist reputation. Chichen Itza stands in stark contrast to crowded beaches and overblown resorts. It is basically the full layout of an ancient Mayan city, complete with what are sometimes referred to as North America’s only pyramids. It’s absolutely worth visiting. Skip the 80 USD tour and take the bus to Valladolid for $10 dollars, after which you’ll take a shared van for two dollars.

Skip: Casinos

The city’s casinos are really not worth your time for a few reasons. First, if you’re in Mexico for the long term you’ll probably be tired of this type of crowd. Second, casino gaming in person just isn’t as remarkable as it used to be. International gaming and betting markets online have gotten so sophisticated, and offer so many possibilities for free-to-play games that those who are interested in casino offerings can get them at home.

See: Tulum

Tulum, near Cancún, is by no means immune to the tourist crowds. It is, however, a more authentic vision of Mexico’s coast, in some senses. Tulum actually refers to another ancient city left over from the Mayan days, situated on what are essentially small, oceanside cliffs. The ruins are incredible to see, as with Chichen Itza, and the surrounding area comprises postcard-perfect paradise.

Skip: Downtown

A lot of destinations in the Caribbean - of which Cancún is practically a part - are known for having charming downtown areas, and quaint “Old Town” centers in particular. There’s a little taste of this kind of atmosphere to be had in the downtown area of Cancún, but it also functions as an extension of the more touristy side of the area.

See: Cenotes

The word cenote actually refers to what’s essentially a form of sinkhole. More specifically, they’re naturally occurring pits, but ones that give way to cave-like areas that house natural groundwater.

To describe them as they appear to people all over the Yucatan Peninsula though, they’re basically gorgeous underground pools of freshwater. Yes, they’re commonly recommended as places to explore for travelers, or even on exhibitions from cruise ships. But they’re also stunningly beautiful. There are thousands of them around the peninsula and they’re part of the fabric of the land, in some sense. Seeing them and exploring them can be a wonderful experience.

Skip: Playa Marlin

Playa Marlin may come up as one of the most recommended beaches in the Cancún area. Yet for your purposes, you should consider it somewhat opposite to Playa Tortugas. While Playa Tortugas is more of a haven for locals, Playa Marlin tends to be packed with visitors. There’s nothing with it, but its situation in what’s known as the “Hotel Zone” leaves it feeling like less than an ideal spot for relaxation.

All of the above should help anyone considering a long-term stay in or permanent move to Cancún make sense of the touristy reputation the area tends to project. These locations comprise much of the Cancún experience, not just for visitors but for those who live there as well.

Living in Cancún as an expat

Potential expats usually rank the proximity of an international airport high in their checklist of favorable features. The lack of one makes getting to and from more expensive and inconvenient, which is especially important to a part-time expat. Cancún’s modern international airport (CUN) serves expats from throughout the Yucatan Peninsula and is one of the busiest in Mexico. Cancún also offers an outsized number of excellent hospitals and clinics, another key criteria for retiring expats.

Cancún has expat communities from around the world, from the United States and Canada as well as Western Europe and Argentina. The American expat population is small.

Like larger expat areas, Cancún offers expats shopping conveniences such as Costco, Sam’s Club, Walmart, and Home Depots, as well as upscale Mexican department stores chains. Most of these are located in the Saint Tropez neighborhood. Top dining options are available featuring cuisine from around the world. Unlike many other cities and towns popular with expats, you will need a car to live here.

Great opportunities for long-term rentals for potential expats

A decade or so ago, Cancún started a program meant to attract Mexicans to move there. In a sense, it backfired. Instead of moving to Cancún, affluent Mexicans bought investment properties and vacation homes. Hence the area became at most a part-time home for many Mexican nationals. As a result, there are excellent opportunities for a good rate on longer term rentals on homes owned by Mexicans who have second homes there.

All in all it's a fun, interesting, beautiful and dynamic area to move to. It has its commercial components, to be sure, but they can be overlooked and you may well find the composite of features charming.

Related Links:

Daytrips from cities most popular among expats to live - Ventanas Mexico

How to dress in Mexico so you don’t look like a rube. - Ventanas Mexico

The Playa Times seems to be the best English-language newspaper in the area.

Most recent: The website italki offers an easy way to hire teachers or conversational Spanish tutors for Skype practice. Here I provide the best way to utilize the site.

About the author: Kerry Baker

Kerry Baker is partner with Ventanas Mexico, which provides insights and resources to people considering full or part-time life in Mexico. She has written three books, the Interactive Guide to Learning Spanish Free Online, a curation of the best learning sites on the web [under revision} and If I Only Had a Place, a guide to renting in Mexico. Her third book is The Mexico Solution: Saving your money, sanity, and quality of life through part-time life in Mexico, the only how-to book on setting up a life in Mexico that won’t leave you numb.