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47 Reasons To Visit Cancun: Blue Flag Awards Crown Beaches Among World’s Best

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Cancun is home to more Blue Flag-certified beaches than ever in 2024 as the coastal city continues to improve the quality and cleanliness of its stunning shoreline. 

This week, Cancun kicked off the 2024-2025 Blue Flag season, and many of the city’s famous beaches received prestigious distinctions. 

aerial view of cancun's long coastline and blue water

Despite the city’s soaring travel numbers, Cancun has implemented a number of environmental policies to shore up beach cleanliness, ensuring pristine conditions for millions of visitors. 

As Cancun heads into the record-breaking summer travel season, here’s the latest on the city’s Blue Flag certifications for the 2024-2025 period.

Blue flag sign in Cancun beach

Cancun Welcomes New Blue Flag Certifications Amid Improved Beach Cleanliness 

Cancun’s appeal as a resort destination has always been closely tied to its stunning white-sand coastline that spans the city’s booming resort zone. 

That’s especially the case this year as city officials implement and launch new initiatives to bolster the state of Cancun’s prestigious beaches. 

Worker Cleaning Sargassum From a Beach in Cancun, Mexico

On a busy summer day, it’s not unusual for a single beach to welcome over a thousand travelers who flock to enjoy its powdery sands and crystal-clear waters. 

While Cancun’s beaches have generally been among the cleanest in all of Mexico, the city’s shoreline is gradually improving amid new cleaning efforts.

This week, the state governor of Quintana Roo welcomed a new round of Blue Flag beach certificates for a number of Cancun attractions, including a handful of public beaches as well as several private ones. 

People in the Water Snorkeling Near Yachts in Cancun

Overall, beaches & private businesses received a total of 47 Blue Flag awards for the 2024-2025 season – 4 more than last year – ranking Cancun number one in Mexico in the number of total awards. 

Each year, the Blue Flag organization hands out hundreds of certificates to beaches that comply with stringent environmental, cleanliness, and safety standards, ensuring optimal coastal conditions for travelers. 

Some of Cancun’s most renowned Blue Flag attractions for the 2024-2025 season include the famed Playa Delfines, perhaps the city’s most popular beaches.

Recently declared a Natural Protected Area, the white-sand stretch of shoreline is home to more than 10% of all animal and plant wildlife in the Mexican Caribbean. 

cancun's colorful resort zone at night

Other Blue Flag-awarded beaches for the new season include Chac Mool, Ballenas, and Marlín, among others.

In addition to numerous public beaches that dot Cancun’s resort zone, several private businesses also received Blue Flag certification, including the Fiesta Americana Condesa, Live Aqua, and Iberostar resort areas. 

Travelers staying in one of these prestigious resorts can look forward to top-notch beach conditions, ensuring minimal levels of trash & sargassum seaweed. 

a small bridge in cancun with a boat and water

Cancun officials have highlighted the importance of shoring up beach cleanliness amid skyrocketing travel numbers as well as the growing threat posed by sargassum seaweed

Although new estimates suggest Cancun will only see minimal traces of the foul-smelling macroalgae this summer, weather patterns are unpredictable, and the city is gearing up for more seaweed to wash up on its shoreline. 

Cancun relies on a contingent of more than 120 full-time beach cleaners to ensure that the city’s shoreline remains in top-notch shape.

The city is also benefiting from new technologies that transform seaweed into sand, fertilizers, and other industrial uses.

a large patch of sargassum on a playa del carmen beach

While Cancun has stepped up beach cleaning policies, officials have also called on travelers to act green when visiting the coastal hotspot.

Travelers are urged to recycle and opt for Blue Flag-certified businesses, such as Cancun Sailing, which offers top-rated excursions to Isla Mujeres and beyond. 

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