Chedraui
Downtown, on Av. Tulum, facing the first traffic circle as you enter town. Ruta 2 Hotel Zone bus stops near entrance. Plaza Las Americas; López-Portillo. Claims to have the lowest prices in town and tries hard to do it.
Hectic supermarket discount store
This big, unpretentious store has a little of everything at excellent prices. See description of San Francisco de Asis, below, for a fairly accurate comparison of downtown branch, which is not for the claustrophobic. Plaza Las Americas branch is cleaner and better organized. Good buys on dishes, housewares, cheap jeans and other clothing items.
La Comercial Mexicana
Downtown, facing 2nd traffic circle. Ruta 1 Hotel Zone bus stops at entrance. Good bargains on specials. Main store at Av. López-Portillo and Kabah has better prices and is less crowded.
Crowded and busy supermarket with all the usual stuff
Specials sometimes cheaper than San Francisco de Asis, better selection of goods in general, excellent delicatessen. Meat is edible. Good bakery section. About the best liquor selection in Cancun, especially good on imported wines.
IMSS
Downtown, Cobá behind Seguro Social hospital. Ruta 2 Hotel Zone bus stops at entrance.
Clean, modern supermarket
Small, clean, with an assortment of mostly Mexican goods, this supermarket is a service of the Social Security system, but is open to the public. Prices are about routinely at least 10% lower than major supermarkets
San Francisco de Asis
Hotel Zone, Plaza Quetzal, across from Hotel El Presidente Prices higher than downtown store, no specials.
American-style supermarket in hotel zone
Arctic air-conditioning. Ample selection of Mexican brands, plus some American deli items. Small vegetable and fruit section and rudimentary meat counter. This is the best all-around shopping resource in the Hotel Zone, with a full assortment of Mexican and imported goods. The service, however, is quite irregular and it is always important to check dairy items such as cheese for freshness.
Super Genny
Downtown, Yaxchilán, one block from Hotel Caribe Internacional
Small, well-stocked neighborhood supermarket
You’ll find a little of everything here at prices competitive with San Francisco de Asis. Considerably less hectic, but can get quite crowded, as there is only one checkout counter. Usually has better stock of American cereals, such as Cheerios, and other items at somewhat better prices than other supermarkets.
Wal-Mart
Downtown. Across from Tel-Mex. All taxi drivers know where it is. Ruta 2 Hotel Zone bus stops at entrance. Very competitive prices. Open 24 hours.
The classic Wal-Mart, well-translated into Spanish
Good prices in general, but specials at La Comercial are better. Has Price’s American milk and other imported foods, including American beef. Best liquor prices in Cancun with a nice selection of Mexican and Spanish wines similar to La Comercial. Bakery has American-style cakes at budget prices. Best tortillas in Cancun.
This is the most reliable butcher shop in Cancun. Even the packaged hamburger is acceptable. Look for “molido sirloin,” which will have fat content and beef quality similar to American supermarket hamburger. If you want the best quality, select the cut you prefer from the butcher counter and have it ground. When buying meat here, take advantage of the fact that labels carry time as well as date and select the freshest meat. Domestic cuts of beef will be very tough and are not recommendable unless you are accustomed to dealing with this. Pork and chicken are ok.