Museo Maya de Cancún
Photo: Museo Maya de Cancun — CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Museo Maya de Cancún exhibits over 350 artifacts from the Maya civilization, including pieces from Quintana Roo, Chichen Itza, Palenque, and Comalcalco. Designed by architect Alberto García Lascurain, the museum offers panoramic views of the San Miguelito archaeological site and Nichupté Lagoon.
Planning your visit
The Museo Maya de Cancún opened in 2012 to replace a museum destroyed by Hurricane Wilma, and its building is raised on stilts several metres above ground level as a direct response — flood protection built into the architecture.
The collection holds over 350 objects from across the Maya world: material from Quintana Roo sites, Chichén Itzá, Palenque and Comalcalco, covering ceramics, stelae, jade, and the skeletal remains known as the Woman of Naharon, among the oldest human remains found in the Americas, recovered from the flooded cave systems of the peninsula.
The ticket includes San Miguelito, an archaeological site immediately adjacent — a small Maya settlement occupied into the sixteenth century, with a pyramid and residential structures set among jungle vegetation directly behind the hotel strip, which surprises most visitors who did not know it was there.
Allow two hours for museum and site. Bookable options include skip-the-line tickets. Current availability is shown below.
Before you book
Where is Museo Maya de Cancún?
Museo Maya de Cancún is in Cancún, Mexico. The map on this page marks its exact location.
How long should I allow for Museo Maya de Cancún?
Allow two hours for museum and site. That is the time the collection itself takes at an unhurried pace, before any queue.
Do I need to book Museo Maya de Cancún in advance?
Skip-the-line entry is worth booking ahead here: the saving is the queue, which is exactly what sells out.
