Shopping – Prices in Cancun

Tourist Traps in Cancun Shopping – Prices

Wherever you shop, do not use your credit card at market vendors in Cancun. You could end up with massive charges for purchases you never made.

Downtown Cancun / Mercado 28

In downtown Cancun, you’ll find a couple of markets (more on those shortly), some mega supermarkets, lots of lost-looking tourists and massive swathes of highway cutting through otherwise desolate surrounds. The markets are dour. Row after row of stands sell horrible souvenirs. Many stall owners offer drugs. Unscrupulous tourist agencies label these markets as an “authentic Mexican shopping experience,” however, they’re just a massive tourist trap. The vendors have little interest in bargaining, and all they sell is row after row of tacky Cancun fridge magnets or joke aprons.

One unlucky visitor used credit cards to pay for items from one merchant here, and when she got back home there were about $2500 of illegal transactions on her credit cards from this merchant.

Flea Markets

Flea markets are common throughout Cancun and the surrounding areas. You’ll definitelynotice them because they’ll be filled with blankets, hats, sculptures of bone, wood or limestone and other miscellaneous items. Just remember, NEVER pay FULL PRICE! Always Bargain!! You’ll do yourself a favor and end up saving a lot of money.

The prices at the flea market closest to the hotel strip and in the middle of the clubs are high, so make sure you negotiate! Hold firm – it make take some time, but most vendors sell the same things and someone will sell it to you for the price you want.

Hot Tip: Avoid taking the Chichen Itza guided tour, mainly because of its unavaoidable, high-pressure, outrageously-priced tourist market stop. Drive yourself or hire a private driver.

Editor’s note: The information contained on this page was compiled using real traveler reviews about shopping prices in Cancun.