Leaving for Cancun tomorrow..wOOt!

[WA261]

Wife and I alone for a week! shweeet! No kiddies running around. We are staying at the Beach Palace. The back of the hotel in the beach! Should be nice.

Any of you guys been there on vacation before? What would you say is a must to see or do?

 

[SagaLore]

I've been thinking about taking my wife there for our vacation - care to have a discussion via PM about costs and such?

 

[slightlyhuman]

don't drink the water.

 

[Pliablemoose]

You know Cancun stands for snake nest right?



It's great see the Chichen Itza (chicken pizza) ruins if you like that sort of thing, takes most of the day if you take a bus.

Stay away from the condo sales pitches unless your cheap and want free stuff. If you do go to one, you can negotiate the prize pretty seriously, ask for more stuff/trips/etc... (they can suck up 1/2 a day easily)

Remember that ice is usually made from tap water & can give you the runs (easily kills 2 days to recover if you forget)

 

[WA261]

Originally posted by: SagaLore
I've been thinking about taking my wife there for our vacation - care to have a discussion via PM about costs and such?

We can chat here. Might give others some good info. =)


Cost was $2580 through Morris Travel. Includes air and youstay at a/ an "All Inclusive" resort. That means youdo not spend a dime there...except tips. All food, drink, spirits, activities (beach stuff...jet skies etc) are coverd in the cost. You can drink all the liquor and eat all the food you want. You can sit on the beach and have waiters come ask you what you would like. shweeet!!!!

While we are there we are for sure going scuba diving, Aztrec ruins & swimming with dolphins. They said most activites run you around $100. This is with transportaion to the area you need to be at. I am sure there is a ton of other things to do there. Many night clubs and things to check out, too.

 

[KoolAidKid]

Cancun is more Americanized that most American cities. I consider it a destination for travellers who don't really like to travel. It's great if you like that sort of thing, but you might consider venturing out of the tourist part. The downtown area has some good restaurants and shops. Playa del Carmen, Cozumel, and a variety of Mayan ruins might be good destinations as well.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: WA261


Cost was $2580 through Morris Travel. Includes air and youstay at a/ an "All Inclusive" resort. That means youdo not spend a dime there...except tips. All food, drink, spirits, activities (beach stuff...jet skies etc) are coverd in the cost.

I did the all inclusive gig once, unless you want to hermit out at the hotel, it's not that great a deal. The fixed meal times made it difficult to do what I wanted & then beat it back to the hotel for meals, etc... Usually ended up eating out instead of going back.

 

[WA261]

Yeah, that is what we are thinking. But it is nice to know the options are there if needed. =) We do not plan on staying in the hotel that much...well, except to...

 

[JulesMaximus]

I went there on my honeymoon 12 years ago. When you fly in you'll be looking out of the window at a thick jungle, wondering where the airport is and why you seem to be landing in a tropical forest. Just when you think you're about to scrape the tops of some trees an airport runway will appear seemingly out of nowhere.

I highly recommend you rent a Jeep and drive to some of the Mayan ruins. They are incredible. Do some snorkeling and/or diving if you are able to. The water is beautiful. I must have spent 2-3 hours in the water everyday just swimming around and exploring. If you go to Tulum bring your bathing suit. There is a beautiful beach there.

 

[frankie38]

be careful if you go out at night.. the crime rate is a problem.

 

[RU482]

I went 5 or 6 yrs ago. I recommend sitting on the beach, drinking beer.

 

[Amused]

Drink lots and lots of tap water. It's easy to get dehydrated down there.

:evil:

 

[imthebadguy]

yep went there spring break, last feb, fun time goto the clubs and get hammered

 

[WA261]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

I highly recommend you rent a Jeep and drive to some of the Mayan ruins. They are incredible. Do some snorkeling and/or diving if you are able to. The water is beautiful. I must have spent 2-3 hours in the water everyday just swimming around and exploring. If you go to Tulum bring your bathing suit. There is a beautiful beach there.

That sounds great. I did not think about renting an auot. I would much rather explore on my own.

 

[edro]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
It's great see the Chichen Itza (chicken pizza) ruins if you like that sort of thing, takes most of the day if you take a bus.

Stay away from the condo sales pitches unless your cheap and want free stuff. If you do go to one, you can negotiate the prize pretty seriously, ask for more stuff/trips/etc... (they can suck up 1/2 a day easily)

Remember that ice is usually made from tap water & can give you the runs (easily kills 2 days to recover if you forget)

Wow, you said everything I was going to say... Nice post!

I concur on everything.

On a side note, all water in Cancun is purified, so you should be ok... but when and if you leave the city (for Chichen Itza for example), ONLY drink bottle water or canned things. No fresh fruit or salad or anything with water on it... It definitely ruined the following 3 days for me. (Worst stomach pains of my life)

Chichen Itza was worth all that pain though... it was amazing.

I also agree to stay away from the timeshare crap. If you sit through a "1 hour" presentation, you get 2 tickets to parasail and crap like that. It's not worth it. Everyone says "Oh, I will just do it, then leave." Yeah... go ahead and think that... but just think back to the South Park episode. You can't escape them... Just don't do it.

Also, to get all the market trinkets and blankets and chess sets and crap, go downtown, not on the border markets. The prices are easily half or less, but it is kinda ghetto, so watch your back

 

[DainBramaged]

Originally posted by: Amused
Drink lots and lots of tap water. It's easy to get dehydrated down there.

:evil:

lol

 

[Preyhunter]

How many nights are you staying? Unless it's 7, that price seems kinda high.
All non-motorized activities are included. Don't count on jetskiing for free. Also, you can go to the other Palace resorts (Sun Palace and Cancun Palace) that are there (on the island) and eat and drink for free, too. Tips are included in the all-inclusive packages. They don't even have tip jars at the bars. I'd recommend the Jungle tour if you like jetskis and snorkeling. It lasts 2-3 hours. Use the buses to get around, it's much cheaper than taxis and they can get you just about anywhere you want to go. The water at the Beach Palace should be ok to drink, I believe all of the Palace resorts have onsite water filtration. You can ask your tour guide contact person (you're likely going through Funjet, MLT Worryfree, etc.) about drinking the water, bus routes (there are very few, 3 max), excursions, etc.
Anything else you want to know?

 

[rh71]

Aquaworld has a pretty good dinner boat with live music... you should give that a try. They also have packages for waverunners which we enjoyed also.

 

[WA261]

cool, thanks for the info guys...keep anything else comming. =)

 

[jadinolf]

Originally posted by: DP
don't drink the water.

Or eat anything.

 

[overclock]

http://www.xaac.com/playacar/ekbalam.htm


http://www.yucatantoday.com/destinations/eng-ekbalam.htm


Chichen Itza is cool too but if further away from Cancun.
http://www.mysteriousplaces.com/mayan/TourEntrance.html


We got to see both in one day but it was a long day.


If you go to Chichen Itza and you buy you tickets as you walk into the park there is the huge pyramid in the middle. Go to the left of the pyramid and position yourself in front of the stairs about 200 feet or so and clap. The echo is the sound of an eagle.


Also in Cancun is Xcaret (pronounced ish-ka-RET). It is a theme park style place with botanical gardens, various animals (like a mini zoo) and at night there is a re-enactment of the pelota game. The pelota game is a where they would hit the ball with their hips and the winner would be beheaded. Unfortunately they do not do the beheading ritual. You have to re-enact that when you get home. There is also a place to go snorkeling. If you've never been it is really fun. Especially when you get to see fish and such. Xcaret is picky on the type of sunscreen you can use.


If you go inland there are sinkholes called cinotes. You can go swimming and snorkeling there too. They usually cost a couple of bucks and are a lot of fun. The water is naturally cool.
http://www.yucatantoday.com/destinations/eng-cenotes.htm



There is a Wal-Mart in Cancun if you need something but is about 30-40 minutes from town on the bus.


I wanted to go to Cozumel when we were in Cancun but that didn't happen.


I've heard that Cozumel is way cheaper than Cancun. A lady from Mexico City said that Cancun is the most expensive place in all of Mexico to travel.


We were there for a week in March 2000. We had a blast.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I'm doing the all inclusive thing at Bluebay Getaway in August for a week. Should be a nice trip...but I think we're going to try to stick to the meal times and just enjoy the beach and the hotel. Of course we'll check out the strip too...but we'll be doing everything as cheap as possible.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: overclock
There is a Wal-Mart in Cancun if you need something but is about 30-40 minutes from town on the bus.

My God... that reminds me... when I was in there, I was looking for some cortizone cream for my bug bite on my foot. I asked one of the girls working there... man was she a hottie early 20-year old, pony-tail brunette... she didn't speak English but when I pointed to my foot with the red marks, she knew what I was talking about... she got the cream and I was ready to take it from her but she then opened it and proceeded to apply it to my foot for me. :shocked:

[There is no... 'and then I woke up' to this story]. It was a good thing my wife was off looking for other stuff at the time.

 

[Preyhunter]

Cozumel sucks compared to Cancun, unless you're there for scuba. That's about all Cozumel is good for. It's not all that much cheaper than Cancun, either. They do have a Jeep tour excursion there where you visit ruins and have lunch on the beach that was a complete blast. It's like the land version of the Jungle tour in Cancun.

As for eating times, that really doesn't apply other than the formal dining. The casual restaurants at the resorts are open all the time (early morning to late evening) and you can go in anytime and go back as many times as you want. I know this is the case with the Palace resorts. I've stayed at Cancun Palace twice and Moon Palace (the better of the two) once. If you're way into partying, this will be a good time to go. If you like it quiet and laid back, you may be a bit disappointed. This is the time of year when there are a lot of senior class trips and a lot of those idiots lose their freaking minds when they get down there. I'll never go back around Memorial Day again.

Go to the market in downtown Cancun, the buses go there as part of the route. I think it was mentioned earlier that you can get some good deals there. If you drink Dr. Pepper, you'll have to get it at Plaza Kukulcan by the can.

 

[xirtam]

I'll vote for Chichen Itza as well, and the flea markets are pretty cool too. If you want internet access, there's a pretty cheap internet cafe... more like a computer lab with a lan... that's pretty decent in the market. Your resort center should be able to tell you what water you can drink and what water you can't. Some of the tap water is potable, and some has bacteria in it. The beach is really nice there. The water is clear. Go parasailing if you're into that kinda thing, and "don't forget the tip, sir!"

Be prepare to spend a whole day out if you hire a guide to take you to ruins, but it's worth the trip. Also there's a snorkeling group that has a biweekly session. They go to a lagoon type place that has a lot of really cool-looking colorful fish. I'm not into snorkeling, so I didn't go, but I hear it's pretty cool.

Also, don't forget to wear sun screen. Kinda obvious, but I saw a lot of people get burned anyway for being retarded.

It's not hard to find good food while you're there.

There's a bull ring about half an hour from the resort center. If you want to see a bull fight, there's a good chance they'll have at least one while you're there. There are actually two bull rings... one main one downtown and then another by the market, if I remember right. Go to the one downtown.

That's all I can remember off the top of my head. Have fun... it's a great place to visit.