Cancun truly sparkles at night, and travelers will have a challenge selecting their evening activities. Maybe you want to start with a margarita or martini at one of the hotel lobby bars. Varying in style from hotel to hotel, these lobby lounges are usually breezy, sophisticated venues – perfect places to ease into the night – often with live music setting the tone.

Dancing till dawn is not uncommon on a trip to Cancun. Nightclubs vary from mostly American disco, to live jazz, to those with a Latin flavor, for visitors who want to salsa the night away. Cancun is now home to The City, reputed to be the largest nightclub in all of Latin America!

Clubs like Coco Bongo, Dady’O, Roots Jazz Club, Basic, and others keep the nocturnal beat going until the last patrons call it quits. The bars, clubs and discos are constantly in tune to the latest in music craze. This includes dazzling light and laser shows, hip DJ’s, live shows, and the spontaneity that has made Mexico THE party destination for decades. All types of music can be found: rock, salsa, disco, jazz, reggae, techno jam, and lounge acts. For a more cultural bent and a firsthand look at many customs that make Mexico so rich in tradition, there are Ballet Folkloricos offered nightly at many hotels and enjoyed by locals and tourists alike.

Much more than a ballet, these lavish productions, complete with extravagantly colorful costumes and a skilled lariat twirler, are a collection of traditional dances and music representing different Mexican states. These evenings offer much more than an education; they literally absorb the spectators into centuries of Mexican life, dating from pre- Hispanic times. Some even encourage audience participation (can you say, “conga line”?).