Shoppers can rejoice in Cancun, with a choice of seemingly endless shopping facilities, from ultra-modern malls with chic boutiques to street vendors, open-air markets and department stores. The Plaza la Fiesta is a favourite shopping venue in the Hotel Zone, and there is also a popular handicraft bazaar, El Zocalo, opposite the Convention Centre. Numerous malls line the main drag of Paseo Kukulkan that runs down the eight-mile (13km) hotel strip. Prices, however, are better in Cancun City itself, also known as Centro, on the mainland. There are some good shops along Yaxchilan Avenue, and the market on Tulum Avenue is recommended for buying silverware and Mexican handcrafts.Credit cards are accepted almost everywhere in Cancun. If you use cash you may have the 15 percent sales tax deducted if the shopkeeper is willing. Expect to bargain in the markets. If offered black coral, refuse, because it is an endangered species and you could run into problems taking it back home. Shops in Cancun are generally open between 10am and 2pm, and 4pm and 7pm on week days. Many stores choose to stay open during the 'siesta' hours from 2pm to 4pm, but some may close. On Saturdays most shops only open for the morning. A few open on Sunday until 1pm. Shops in malls tend to open weekdays only from 10am to 8pm.
