We were in the hotel zone and it was very easy to get to the market. Just take the R2 bus and they will drop you near the market. We walked around many shops and restaurants. Good place for souvenirs and some other shopping. There are restaurants that serve Mexican food, if you like. Cold coconut juice is available in the market and you should try them! Note, we found some items to be over priced. Test your bargaining/negotiating skills with the vendors as it appeared to be a normal practice. Tip: If you are in the hotel zone use R2 bus service to get to the Mercado. It is only 12 pesos( less than 1USD) per person. It is fast, convenient and easy. There is no waiting time at all for the bus. There is always one near you!. Compare this with a taxi fare which will be in the range anywhere between USD20-60, depending on where you are on the hotel zone. Happy shopping!

Restaurant Veracruz - Mercado 28 had the best shrimp tacos I have ever had in my life. Cane with chips a salsa. Read previous reviews and took a taxi all the way from hotel zone just to eat here. Well worth it.

When you get off the bus keep moving. The real Mercado 28 is 3-4 blocks away. Don’t go in the jewelry store right off the bus. They are scammers. Most stuff can be bought for about half of asking price. Have fun dealing with the merchants. They expect it. Most stuff could probably be bought cheaper at Walmart but what’s the fun if that?

Clean, well lit, pushy. Much better than the other place we visited (Ki Hiuc?), which was just dilapidated and depressing. Local food was delicious, and the service at La Portana was good. Warning - very little English, but the staff made it work! See separate review.

They vendors could let you browse without interrupting every second of your visit. Everything you say "no thank you", they keep on anyway. Right when you get away from one guy doing that you got another coming at you. Doesn't really create a good tourist experience.

Felt like a step away from the hotel zone. Fun souvenirs. Price bargaining is possible and worth the effort. Can pay US $ or MXN $. Mr. Habeneros was delish and staff was great! Felt very safe and taxi was approx $20 each way.

First off, some taxis and busses will take you to a large store labeled “Mercado 28” - this is not the market. It’s an overpriced souvenir shop that they get paid to take you to. The real market is tons of little booths with people constantly nagging you to come in. Never ever take their first price, haggle! My best go-to is when they say something like “I’ll give this to you for 50 dollars” - say “where im from we can get these for 12 dollars”. Then they’ll come back with way cheaper. Also, DO NOT take drinks from anyone if they’ve been opened. Check them good to make sure they are sealed. Anyway we got tons of good stuff for cheap! Oh, finally, they’ll try and sell you “the Mayan stone” which is a color changing stone set in jewelry. Overpriced. Mayans did not use this stone. It’s a type of tourmaline and some say it’s Zultanite. But it is beautiful. Just don’t overpay for it. Look it up online.

Really have to bargain hard. My rule of thumb - start at 1/4th the price they tell you, settle at 1/3rd. If you're close and no deal, walk away. If they want it, they'll call you back.

This is the perfect balance of experiencing local Mexico without going too far off the beaten path. Very safe but of course stick to daytime. Take an Uber for cheap and convenient transportation. For the people giving low ratings and referencing aggressive vendors I ask, "Have you ever left America?". Yes vendors will constantly ask you to come to their shop and trying to sell you. They are also very nice and not a single one bothered me after simplying replying "No gracias". Yes you will be saying that a lot. Only other thing to remember is this is a haggle zone. Never pay more than half of what they offer. If this sounds distasteful to you then its just not your cup of tea and you should probably stick to the resort.

We visited the market as a family of 5 during our stay in the Cancun area recently and had a good time. The people who worked at the market were kind, and wanted to have a bit of fun. It is a bit repetitive from stall to stall but we had a good look around bought some tourist bits. Definitely worth the trip, a lot cheaper than shop at hotel.