Cancún Shopping: La Isla Shopping Village

La Isla Shopping Village (Plaza La Isla)



Opening times: Every day 10am - 10pm

Blvd Kukulkan Km 12.5,
No 262
Cancun 77500
Mexico
Website

How would you like to shop in paradise, with a break to swim with dolphins or look at the most extensive Aquarium on the continent? La Isla Shopping Village is for you. It straddles several canals on the Nichupte Lagoon, under a giant canopy which keeps you cool in the heat or dry in the rain. It looks like a little oasis of Venice, complete with gondola rides, and it opens up onto a marina. Even non-shoppers enjoy walking through this outdoors mall, pausing for a meal and maybe a movie at the huge cinema complex.

La Isla is a shopping mall with the familiar name stores. It is here that visitors will find a McDonalds, Haagen Daz, Hooters, Starbucks, Hertz, Benetton, Planet Hollywood, Zara and many other stores that might be found in the mall back home. There are also internationally known designer shops, like Bulgari, Von Dutch, Cartier and Chanel. But these are interspersed between stores selling the higher end Mexican items. Service shops include pharmacies/drugstores, car hire, trip booking, money exchange etc.

This isn't the place for haggled bargains, that is Mercado 28, but it is the location for luxury, quality souvenirs of your holiday. Items have a price tag on them and that is what you will pay. That tag can sometimes be expensive, though there are a smattering of the lower end souvenir traders too.

Shopping tours can be arranged too. See La Isla's website for more details. For those driving, there is a large parking area with a small hourly fee for parking there.

While the serious shoppers are distracted by the 250 stores, the rest of the family has something to see and do too. There are many activities to distract the children, from fountains that can be run through to bungee ropes and trampolines. Plentiful eateries, from snack bars to luxury restaurants, provide somewhere for chilling out and people watching. Some of those even overlook the dolphin pools of the Aquarium. Otherwise a boat trip into the lagoon can be booked, involving stunning views across the turquoise waters and the white sands of Cancun, plus the occasional sighting of crocodiles.

At night, La Isla becomes less crowded and the light shows begin on the canopies above. It might be a mall, but it's guaranteed that it's nothing like the malls back home.

Please note that people selling timeshare appartments do loiter around the mall. Just say 'no gracias' if you're not interested.