Photos: Cancun by Tellez Erik, Pexels License; Essaouira by Manel Cusido, Pexels License.
Cancun or Essaouira?
Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.
Choose Cancun for
- nightlife
- beaches
- day trips
What lies behind each score is written up on Cancun’s own page.
Choose Essaouira for
- culture and sights
- getting around
- prices
What lies behind each score is written up on Essaouira’s own page.
Scoreboard
Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.
What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Cancun and Essaouira.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Wins on nightlife and beaches with your weighting.
Wins on culture and sights and getting around with your weighting.
What matters to you?
When should you go?
Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.
Cancun in July
Essaouira in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Where the figures come from
Cancun has no weather station within reach, so its figures come from a gridded climate model rather than a measured record, and read a broad area rather than the city itself.
Essaouira has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.
Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Cancun: 2001-2020 normals, NASA POWER reanalysis grid, no weather station within 90 km. Essaouira: 1991-2020 normals, Essaouira (1.4 km from centre).
Before you go
| Measure | Cancun | Essaouira |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | Spanish, Nahuatl, Yucatec Maya | Arabic, Standard Moroccan Tamazight |
| Currency | Mexican Peso (MXN) | Moroccan Dirham (MAD) |
| Sockets | AB127 V, 60 Hz | CE50 Hz |
| Driving side | Right | Right |
| Time zone | UTC-5 | UTC+1 |
| Emergency number | 911 | Police 19/112, ambulance 15, fire 15 |
| Elevation | 5 m | 11 m |
| Main airport | Cancún International Airport (CUN)14 km from centre137 non-stop destinations | Essaouira-Mogador Airport (ESU)15 km from centre13 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | 9 days | 11 days |
By the numbers
| Measure | Cancun | Essaouira |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 888,797 | 82,962 |
| People per km² | - | 16,592 |
| Museums within 10 km | 1 | 2 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 0 | 1 |
| Swim season, months above 21 °C | 12 months | None |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Cancun or Essaouira somewhere new.