In 2027 the sun sets in Cancun between 6:04 pm, around late November, and 7:33 pm, in early July. It rises between 6:05 am, in early June, and 7:27 am, in mid January. Quintana Roo stays on UTC-5 all year, with no daylight saving time since 2015. Evening golden hour lasts 29 to 33 minutes on the 15th of each month. The Caribbean beaches face east, so the sun sets behind the hotels; to watch it go down over water, go to Nichupté Lagoon.
When we plan a session in Cancun, the first thing we look at is the light on your dates. Here it is for every month of 2027: when the sun comes up, when the soft light starts and ends, where the sun actually goes down, and how we turn those minutes into family, couples and proposal photos.
Sunset and Golden Hour by Month
These are the times for the Cancun Hotel Zone on the 15th of each month of 2027, calculated with the NOAA solar algorithm for 21.135 N, 86.748 W, in Cancun time (UTC-5). In other years the same dates shift by about a minute or two.
We count golden light as the time when the sun sits less than 6 degrees above the horizon. In the morning it runs from sunrise until the sun climbs past 6 degrees; in the evening, golden hour starts when the sun drops below 6 degrees and ends at sunset.
| Date | Sunrise | Morning golden light ends | Golden hour starts | Sunset | Golden hour, min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 15 | 7:27 am | 7:59 am | 5:54 pm | 6:26 pm | 32 |
| Feb 15 | 7:17 am | 7:48 am | 6:15 pm | 6:45 pm | 30 |
| Mar 15 | 6:55 am | 7:25 am | 6:27 pm | 6:56 pm | 29 |
| Apr 15 | 6:28 am | 6:58 am | 6:36 pm | 7:06 pm | 30 |
| May 15 | 6:09 am | 6:40 am | 6:47 pm | 7:18 pm | 31 |
| Jun 15 | 6:05 am | 6:37 am | 6:58 pm | 7:30 pm | 32 |
| Jul 15 | 6:14 am | 6:46 am | 7:00 pm | 7:32 pm | 32 |
| Aug 15 | 6:26 am | 6:56 am | 6:47 pm | 7:17 pm | 30 |
| Sep 15 | 6:34 am | 7:03 am | 6:21 pm | 6:50 pm | 29 |
| Oct 15 | 6:43 am | 7:12 am | 5:53 pm | 6:23 pm | 30 |
| Nov 15 | 6:58 am | 7:29 am | 5:34 pm | 6:06 pm | 31 |
| Dec 15 | 7:16 am | 7:49 am | 5:35 pm | 6:08 pm | 33 |
The last column is worked out before the times are rounded, which is why November shows 31 minutes although 5:34 to 6:06 pm reads as 32. Looking for today? Find the rows on either side of today's date; today's times fall between them, give or take two minutes.
- Earliest sunset6:04 pm, around late November
- Latest sunset7:33 pm, early July
- Earliest sunrise6:05 am, early June
- Latest sunrise7:27 am, mid January
- Evening golden hour29 to 33 minutes on the 15th of each month
- ClockUTC-5 all year, no daylight saving time
Less than an hour and a half separates the earliest and latest sunsets of the year, but that is enough to matter when you plan around dinner, a toddler's bedtime or a surprise.
Where the Sun Actually Sets
Cancun's Caribbean beaches face east: the sun comes up out of the sea and goes down behind the hotels and the lagoon. If you pictured it sinking into the turquoise water, this is the part to know.
On the beach at sunset, the color happens in the sky behind the hotels while the sea turns cool and soft. Because the hotels stand between the sand and the setting sun, the beach in front of them can fall into shade before sunset, and in winter, when the sun travels lower across the sky, that happens earlier in the afternoon. It is one reason we choose the spot for your date, not just the hour.
To watch the sun go down over water, cross the boulevard to Nichupté Lagoon. It faces west, with calm water that reflects the sky and mangroves on the far shore. If you are staying on the sea side, we go to a public spot on the lagoon a short drive away. Our guide to sunset photos at Nichupté Lagoon has the details.
Mornings work the other way around. From Punta Cancun south, the open Caribbean faces the sunrise directly, while the north shore beaches get a softer sunrise from the side. For the sun itself rising out of the sea behind you, morning is the only option on these beaches. See sunrise photos in the Cancun Hotel Zone.
Through the year the sunset also moves along the horizon, toward the southwest in December and January and toward the northwest in June and July, which changes what sits behind you in the frame.
What Time to Start Your Session
The best time for beach sunset photos is the last hour of the day. For an evening session we usually start about an hour before sunset, so the session ends in golden hour: our collections run from 35 to 90 minutes, and a 60-minute session such as The Chapter, the one we recommend for families, finishes as the sun goes down.
Online booking at ivaestudios.com/book offers five start times, all in Cancun time: 6:30, 7:00 and 7:30 am, and 5:00 and 5:30 pm. Any other time is arranged on WhatsApp. Here is how those times line up with the table, using the 15th of each month:
- November to January. Sunset falls at 6:06, 6:08 and 6:26 pm on the 15th, so the 5:00 and 5:30 pm starts sit close to golden hour, and the 7:00 and 7:30 am starts sit around sunrise (6:58, 7:16 and 7:27 am on the same dates).
- February to April, September and October. Sunset moves between 6:23 pm (October) and 7:06 pm (April). In October, 5:30 pm is just under an hour before sunset; in the other months, aim for about an hour before your month's sunset and message us if that is not an online time.
- May to August. The sun sets between 7:17 and 7:32 pm, so a 5:30 pm start would come close to two hours early. For a summer sunset session, message us on WhatsApp for a later start. Mornings are calm and cooler: the sun is up between 6:05 and 6:26 am, and a 6:30 am start still catches the end of the morning golden light.
The table is for the Hotel Zone, and the times move a little every day. When you send us your dates and your hotel, we send you the light for those exact days and suggest the best hour. If your session is in Playa del Carmen, Tulum or elsewhere on the coast, tell us where and we will check that beach too.
Timing is the part of planning we care most about, and it comes from experience: Vianey Díaz, who founded IVAE Studios, has more than ten years behind the camera, and the studio has delivered more than 500 sessions, with 5.0 stars across 73 Google reviews.
Sunrise or Sunset for Your Photos
Families. The best hour is the one when your children are still themselves. Sunrise gives an empty beach, cool sand and rested kids; the last hour before sunset gives warmer tones but a busier beach. The table helps with bedtime too: on the 15th of November, December and January, golden hour starts between 5:34 and 5:54 pm, comfortably before bedtime, while on the 15th of May to August it starts between 6:47 and 7:00 pm and can run into dinner and bedtime. Our guide to the best time of day for family beach photos in Cancun goes through naps, heat and crowds.
“They organized a last minute sunset shoot for our family with great art direction, and made it fun, short and efficient”
Marouchka G., Google review
Couples. Sunrise is for privacy: an empty beach and calm, glassy water. Sunset is for color: warmer light and a sky that can turn coral and violet behind you. We compare both in sunrise vs sunset for couples photos in Cancun.
Proposals. For a surprise proposal, the sunset anchors the whole plan, because the question should come while the light is still warm. Tell us the date and place and we will send you the light for that evening; our surprise proposal photographer page explains the rest.
Still choosing when to travel? Our guide to the best months for photography in Cancun covers weather, water and crowds month by month, and golden hour photography in Mexico explains why this low light is so kind to skin.
A Note on Cancun Time
Quintana Roo stays on UTC-5 all year and has not used daylight saving time since 2015, so sunrise and sunset only move with the seasons, with no jump in spring or fall. The state moved to the Southeast Zone in February 2015, and Mexico's current time zone law keeps it on the 75th meridian west, with seasonal clock changes only along the northern border. In practice, Cancun shares the clock of the US East Coast in winter and runs one hour behind it while the US is on daylight saving time, from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November.
If an older forum post or guidebook gives you different sunset times, check when it was written; this page assumes today's all-year UTC-5. Cancun is two hours ahead of Los Cabos all year, and if your trip takes in the Pacific too, we keep a month-by-month sunset table for Los Cabos as well.