Cancún is a coastal city in Mexico's easternmost state, Quintana Roo. The city is actually split in two main area, the Zona Hotelera, which is a an 18 Km long island which is located facing the caribbean on one side along a long sunny beach strip with many large fancy hotels and on the other back side it is surrounded by a beautiful lagoon called Laguna Nichupte. The second part of the city is called Ciudad Cancun, which is in the mainland. This is where most of the Cancun local people live, and also where tourists can find more budget accommodations. There are many Maya sites around the Cancun area that offer a unique insight in the precolombian civilization of Mexico.