Any of you guys been to cancun? Just got a call from a close friend. He is gonna renew his vows to his wife on their 10 year anniversary in cancun and he wants me to be a groomsman. Ive never been to mexico. What should i expect? Should i go for all inclusive?
I've been to Cancun. Very resort based. I love Playa Del Carman just south of there. I love exploring and doing things on my own, I'm not a fan of the resort based things where, "Tomorrow at 10am be out front of the resort and the bus will take you into town to go shopping, or take you to these ruins and on the wayback we'll stop at two overpriced junk shops so you can buy cheap trinkets. Playa Del Carman is very European, late night dinners in open air cafes, small open air bars on the beach w/ wooden dance floors and local bands. I just find it the resort thing at Cancun weird, you eat all of your meals there, you hang only with other tourists, you have dudes w/ mics running around the pools trying to get drunk tourists to play drinking games. One trip down there my buddy and I signed up with a college archeology tour out of the back of Archeology Magazine, very cool. There are some amazing ruins around there and we got private tours to all of them. We stayed in a really nice resort in Playa Del Carmen while everyone else stayed at some hostel. If you don't like Mexicans stay in Cancun, if you want to learn some history and culture stay in Playa Del Carmen.
Thanks for the info. They are having the wedding at excellence playa mujeres. Pretty steep. Looks like i cant even book for some of the resorts around there for how far out the renewal of vows are. My wife lived in puerto vallarta for two years teaching english and knows spanish fluently so hopefully that helps? Im more scared than anything because of the horror stories ive heard of mexico. Both of my work mentors have been to mexico and on the resorts saw swat teams run through restaurants going after guys in full attire. No problem with mexicans as long as they dont have a problem with me. My wife says the ones living in mexico are extremely nice.
Is that on the Isle Mujeras? I've stayed there too, fucking cool at night. It's an island next to Cancun, ferry boats bring tourists during the day, hardly anyone stays there at night. Just a bunch of locals and a few tourists partying.
Yep. Looking to see if finest playa mujeres or beloved playa mujeres just next door are a little cheaper. Right now it looks like its gonna be about $600/night total for all inclusive
You can find some good deals on Travel Zoo. http://www.travelzoo.com/ Isle Mujeres is pretty small, I would stay there 2 days tops and then take the ferry and then a cab to Playa Del Carman for 3-5 days. You don't really need all inclusive for either place. Some resorts offer a breakfast or breakfast and lunch only option instead of all of your meals and drinks included. Also you can go to the store and get bottles of booze cheap and bring them back to your room instead of playing huge money to get free drinks at your resort.
Ive heard to pay for the hotel through a website like orbitz, priceline etc and not to give the hotel your credit card because they will overcharge you on purpose. Any experience with that?
I've been there. If you want to see abject poverty, go outside the resort. You'll definitely see it if you take a bus to Cichen Itza and/or Tulum. Literally people living in huts exactly like those on Gilligan's Island. The locals who work in the resorts might make $300/month. Those are the good jobs there. I suggest you tip well. The money will do a lot of good. Beware of certain touristy things. If you go scuba, the boat might not be all that safe and almost certainly the guys aren't certified.
I dont scuba as i actually hate going in the water. Basically just going for a buddy. Wifey loves the tropical vibe though. Im more of a vegas kind of guy.
Don't take the buses, if you find a cab driver you like ask him for his number. Call him and he'll drive you there. It's faster and it's not a bus.
Scuba is an example of the sort of things that look questionable. They had guys with a boat on the beach selling parasail rides. The cabbie SPD tells you to call might leave you out in the jungle after robbing you. I would definitely stick with the group.
Never been to Cancun. Been to Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo. They are next to each other but while Ixtapa is a resort, Zihuatanejo had a fair amount of poverty. It was crazy to drive from Ixtapa where everything is nice and clean to Zihuatenejo just a few minutes away and see the quality of life some people were living. We wen't deep sea fishing in Zihuatanejo and when we returned to the dock there was a scrum of locals trying to be the ones to offer services (getting the fish off the boat and what not) hoping to get some cash from the American tourists. I wonder if in a place like Cancun the # of entitled assholes will be greater than your typical US city. I'd ask you to look for it and report back, but that could be a damper. So instead I'd say ignore the assholes and focus on your wife, friends, and the beautiful scenery and weather. Have fun!
Treat ALL Mexicans with respect; you will have a much better time. Never go into ugly American mode, you will regret 10x over. If a Mexican does something kind for you and you want give them a tip. Tell them the tip is for their family. Then watch the big smile you just put on their face. If you have any cloths that you no longer use, take them and give them away to the locals as tips. It probably will mean more to them than a couple of $$. Do not worry about size, they have big families in all sizes, and will find someone that can use it.
I use to love trading with the local fisherman, they craved vegetables canned or not. We got some great dinners swapping that way, our canned goods for a pile of shrimp, or few Lobsters. Many thank yous to boot. Of course this was out in the wild places, like Bahia Magdalena.
Traded a can of spam for a lobster many times. Good old Mag bay, real pirates still live there in a village on the south end.
I went to Playa in Feb. The most difficult thing (which wasn't that bad...) but could be a little stressful if unprepared, is getting out of the Airport. The taxi/shuttle mob is crazy. So.... either make sure you pay attention to your prearranged hotel shuttle information, or think about a rental car. As soon as you walk out of the Airport to the taxi/shuttle area its again , a sea of people (and luggage) trying to find their shuttles, taxis, etc and most of the staff out there will not speak that much English. The wife and I ended up going over to the non-international exit and got our shuttle situated there. Many Police on the freeways, in full gear, with MP5's, etc. Was pretty cool to see that. Driving is madness. Poverty everywhere except the resorts. Landscape is rundown (except the resorts and attractions). I stayed at a resort since it was our first time... Not sure I would go back there again even though it was beautiful and we had a great time. Maybe Cabo San Lucas. I preferred St.Martin over Mexico.
