Cancun (Mexico)

...see below.

Cancun is to Mexico as Benidorm is to Spain. Despite this, we went and had a great time. Here’s the op:

The place we stayed was an all-inclusive resort, the Moon Palace, so some of this opinion will relate to the specific resort. See http://www.moon-palace.com/ for more information on the resort.

The flight and arrival:

Very long – the longest I’ve ever been ...
...have your suitcases searched at Cancun airport when you arrive, and again when you leave. They don't have a scanner for baggage, other than a handheld one for carry-on luggage, so they search it all by hand instead. Including your dirty laundry on the way home, nice. So check that you have the key handy when you get there.

Make sure you have enough US dollars on you when you leave to pay the exit tax, something like US$40 per person. ... more

*Update* pictures added - see below.

Cancun is to Mexico as Benidorm is to Spain. Despite this, we went and had a great time. Here’s the op:

The place we stayed was an all-inclusive resort, the Moon Palace, so some of this opinion will relate to the specific resort. See http://www.moon-palace.com/ for more information on the resort.

The flight and arrival:

Very long – the longest I’ve ever been on. It took 11 hours from London Gatwick to Cancun. We flew with My Travel, although our holiday was booked with JML.

Tip for the unwary: be prepared to have your suitcases searched at Cancun airport when you arrive, and again when you leave. They don't have a scanner for baggage, other than a handheld one for carry-on luggage, so they search it all by hand instead. Including your dirty laundry on the way home, nice. So check that you have the key handy when you get there.

Make sure you have enough US dollars on you when you leave to pay the exit tax, something like US$40 per person. Your hotel rep if you have one should be able to tell you the exact amount.

The resort:

If you're staying all-inclusive, check whether any day trips are included in the price of your accommodation. We should have had 2 free trips while we were there, but didn't take them up, which we kind of regret. Also if you're staying all-inclusive, you shouldn't have to tip while you're in the hotel.

The sand around Cancun isn't silica-based like UK or European sand, it's mini-fossils that are hollow inside. This means that even in the searing midday sun it will feel cool on your feet, a very refreshing experience compared to scorching your feet in mad dashes to the sea (or bar)!

Many hotels offer non-motorised water sports for free to guests. We used a catamaran, kayaks and a floating bike type thing a bit like a pedalo, we just had to book them earlier in the day, although you can just turn up and see what’s available. Our hotel also offered wind-surfing lessons, although we didn’t try this.

As far as hotel facilities go, I can only really talk about where we stayed. It was all inclusive, part of the Palace Resorts company, which operates about 6 different resorts in the Cancun area. Our room was in the “Orange” block of the Moon Palace (all the blocks are named after fruit). The blocks are no more than 3 storeys tall, and are all angled towards the sea so you may have a view of the Caribbean. Between the blocks are plenty of palms and planting, landscaped ponds and the like, so the rooms are secluded.

Inside the room, there is a * huge * double bed – about 7 feet wide at least. All rooms have a balcony, which has a couple of plastic patio chairs and a small table on. The minibar in the room is complimentary, but only refilled every other day. However that’s not a problem, since all drinks at the bars are free too. The bathroom has a shower and toilet in it, with a sink just outside. There’s air-conditioning in all the rooms, and we found that the maids tended to crank it up to arctic temperatures most days.

However, the best thing (to my mind anyway) about our room was the double Jacuzzi sat in front of the patio doors that led onto the balcony, giving it a sea view. And the small bottles of bubble bath left on the side every day. And the towels, carefully folded into different shapes every day (swans, fans, all sorts!). Note: do not put all of both bottles of bubble bath in the Jacuzzi and then turn the jets on. Five feet of bubbles take over a day to disappear…

The food at the resort was very good, there are four restaurants, most running on a buffet system with all sorts of cuisines available, from American, European, oriental and Mexican. However the Mexican food is not very authentic – think Mexican for tourists and you’re close. One of the restaurants was a la carte, and we only went to it on our last night, more’s the pity. It was oriental cuisine, and the food was superb. We are vegetarian, and although it wasn’t on the menu, I asked the waiter if they could make a dish with tofu instead of chicken, and they did.

As veggies, we managed quite well, eating quesadilla and salads when we weren’t in the resort (and quite often when we were).

There is entertainment available at the resort, something different each night. We saw Karaoke, a quiz night, and a Mr Moon Palace competition (tortuous). It was much nicer to sit at the bar in the centre of the pool, on the swings, and drink cocktails.

There are activities in the pool throughout the day, from aquarobics to scuba lessons, water polo and loads more. However, I didn’t take part in any of them. Well, I was on holiday after all!

The most dangerous thing of all in the resort is that if you get a cocktail from one of the pool bars (mmm, swimming to the bar for a new drink had always been one of my fantasies…) and lie down on a lounger, when you look up your cocktail will have magically been refilled by one of the pool attendants. This can mean that you get rather tipsy very quickly, particularly since it’s hot, sunny and you get thirsty quickly.

The attendants are also happy to recommend a drink for you if you tell them the sort of thing that you like. And, of course, they do serve non-alcoholic drinks!

Tipping and Money:

Other than inside the hotel, be prepared to tip everywhere you go. Mexico is similar to the States in this way. Even, for example, the bus driver in the local or hotel buses.

Local buses will take Mexican money or US dollars, pretty much interchangeably, as will many shops (using the hotel buses is free). We didn't bother taking local currency with us when we went, although we did take some dollars. We used cashpoints in the resort and in downtown Cancun.

Travelling around:

If you travel with a tour operator you should have a bus service from the airport to your resort or hotel. If not, there are usually plenty of cabs at the airport, but make sure you check the price for the trip before you get in. It should take around 30 minutes to get from the airport to the hotel strip at most.

Some hotels run complimentary bus services into Cancun itself from the hotel strip, so that might be worth investigating.

If you're not hiring a car, don't be afraid of getting the local buses into and out of downtown Cancun. It’s around 6 pesos for a one-way trip. Be prepared for it to take a while though. Don't be surprised if a busker gets on and starts singing to you, and if they work out you're a Brit, attempting to sing Beatles or similar. They'll want a tip.

If you take a cab anywhere, check at the hotel before you leave how much it should cost. The concierge people at the front desk should call one for you, too. At our hotel there was a cab rank around the corner from the main entrance so there were always cabs aplenty.

Downtown Cancun:

We didn’t spend too much time in downtown Cancun. We went to WalMart to pick up some bits and pieces, and wandered around a couple of the flea markets, but that was about it.

If you go to one of the downtown markets, make sure that you haggle. Lots. It should be possible to get at least a third to a half off the starting price, depending on what you're buying. Actually, we found that for silver we got just as good prices by going to one of the malls on the hotel strip (eg Flamingo) as we did in the market.

Day trips:

If you've ever fancied a go at swimming with dolphins, I can't recommend the Parque Nizuc's dolphin trainer day enough. It's about 6 hours in total, in a group of about 6 people. Everyone gets the chance to swim with the dolphins, surf on their noses, feed them, pet them, and generally had a great time. As part of the day you get a t-shirt and a waterproof camera each, a large lunch, plus time to go on the water slides or in the wave pool if they happen to take your fancy. You get given a picture that they take of you during the day as you leave, and get the chance to buy a video and other pictures if you want to.

Other trips worth taking are to Chichen Itza (try to go on a cloudy day, and take mozzie repellent and plenty of water) or/and Tulum - there is a beach to swim at at the site too, by the way. We went to both, and I think on the whole that Chichen Itza is more awe-inspiring but Tulum a more beautiful location, being on the coast. The main pyramid at Chichen Itza can be climbed, but beware if you’re scared of heights or have vertigo at all. Going up is fine, but I found coming down again more of a challenge. The steps are so steep that there’s a rope that runs up the middle of the steps that you can hang on to, and believe me, I did. Also, although it may be still and warm at the base, when you get to the top it can be quite breezy and unsettling, as you climb above the tree canopy level.

Xel-Ha is an amazing natural lagoon where you can snorkel, explore, swim, relax and so on. We spent half a day there, and didn’t see half of it – mainly because we spent most of the time snorkelling, I admit. The funniest moment was when The Other Half lifted his head out of the water to demist his snorkel mask, put his face back in only to be confronted by a huge (well, huge to my mind) fishy. About 2-3 feet long. Shame I didn’t get a picture! Another amusing moment was trying to navigate the “bridge” that is made from pallets chained together. Fun!

Snorkelling at the reef just off the coast of Riviera Maya is a good half-day trip, the snorkelling itself lasts for around an hour and you're given a life vest to wear while swimming. The boat trip out and back lasts around 45 minutes each way.

If you want to escape mini-America but stay in the Cancun area, pop over to Isla Mujeres, a lovely small sandy island which is only a short ferry ride away (20 mins or so) – the north coast beach in particular is excellent and has a huge sand shelf leading out to sea, so the water's very warm and shallow.

Use protection!:

I can recommend P20 as a sunscreen – you only have to apply it once a day rather than every time after you go swimming, and jungle formula anti-mozzie stuff - I got loads of bites, although my other half didn't. I guess I just taste sweeter. ;o)

If you want to ask any specific questions about Cancun, then feel free to leave me a message! 

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