The Hotel Zone is the most practical area to stay in Cancun for first-time visitors, due to its vast number of amenities at hand. This is where you’ll find the majority of Cancun’s restaurants, nightlife, all-inclusive resorts and tourist attractions. Playa Mujeres is also a great area to stay for first-timers. It’s about 35 minutes away from the Hotel Zone, so you might need to hire a car if you want to see the best that Cancun has to offer. Downtown Cancun is more of a residential area, and we wouldn’t recommend first-time visitors stay there for the duration of their trip.