Cancun - A guide for those over 25 plus information on bringing kids.
Written: Feb 10 '03 (Updated Mar 20 '04)
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Pros: Hotel Zone is safe, beautiful beaches, lots to do
Cons: Americanized, everything is expensive
The Bottom Line: Cancun is a fun, although expensive, vacation. There are endless options for activities and the beaches are beautiful.
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| modernmarvel's Full Review: Cancun |
We spent the first week in February 2003 in Cancun. Cancun is very developed with hotels lining the beaches and lots of restaurants and attractions. Cancun is also completely Americanized and if you are looking for a foreign experience, you might be hard-pressed to find it if you are based in Cancun. Most of the people you encounter speak English, often with American accents. You can use American dollars all of the time, although you will usually get change in pesos (bringing lots of small bills will allow you to avoid pesos all together). In fact, American dollars offer greater bargaining power and seem to be the preferred currency. Many restaurants and attractions list their prices in American dollars. Many of the restaurants are American: Planet Hollywood, Hard Rock Café, Subway, Houlihan's, Burger King, McDonalds and Chili’s are there. The American flag is almost as prevalent as the Mexican flag.
Despite the lack of culture, Cancun offers a safe, clean, predictable experience with beautiful beaches and warm turquoise water. Cancun is divided into two areas. The Hotel Zone is shaped like a seven and is similar to a barrier island (sort of like the Outer Banks of North Carolina). Hotels and restaurants are clustered closer together at the top of the seven. This area is also closer to downtown Cancun. Along the leg of the seven, hotels become larger and there are fewer restaurants. Driving down this part of the Hotel Zone offers a nice view of the lagoon, although the ocean view is typically blocked by hotels. The infrastructure (roads, buses, taxis) in the Hotel Zone is all up to American standards.
Downtown Cancun is more Mexican as there are lots of businesses to serve the local population. It looks like a small city with buildings of about 2-3 stories and lots of storefronts. Of course, you can also find Wal*Mart and Sam’s Club here and many other American businesses. I didn’t feel as safe in Downtown Cancun but it may have been a perception more than reality – I didn’t witness any crime. The downtown area is run down and dirty in places. It reminded me a bit of downtown Montego Bay although downtown Cancun is bigger and offered more.
WEATHER
Our days were around 80 degrees, nights were in the 70s. We never needed coats or sweatshirts. However, we heard that the week before us was in the 60s and it rained a lot. I suppose it is best to be prepared for anything.
RESTAURANTS
We ate in several restaurants during our trip. I was shocked at the prices. Even with a strong exchange rate, restaurant meals were generally 20-50% more money than you would find in the U.S. Also, most restaurants do not have children’s menus so you have to order full-priced meals for children. You can get coupons in books. We found the books in the Kukulcan mall. Usually, the coupons are for a free appetizer or 10% off the bill.
OK MAGUEY is located in the Kukulkan Mall in the Hotel Zone. Our hotel concierge recommended this place to us and after we arrived, we became convinced that his recommendations were influenced by kickbacks. This restaurant serves bland Americanized Mexican food. Some of the meat in our tacos was undercooked and I lost my appetite after that. The service was very good and the décor was very elaborate: caricatures of Mexicans all over the walls, sombreros hanging from the ceiling. There was no kid’s menu, so we bought the kids one adult meal to share. There was no entertainment, although we ate at 6pm and the restaurant was empty. The waiter put sombreros and Mexican blankets on us, took a picture and tried to sell it to us for $10. Our total cost including tip was $50. I don’t recommend this place.
MANGO TANGO is located in the Hotel Zone across from the Ritz Carlton. It is rather small, about 40 tables. Most of the restaurant is open air with a beautiful view of the lagoon. A gigantic grass hut roof covers the tables. There is a show that starts at 8:30. The restaurant served dinner, however we only went for the show and drinks. The show is billed as salsa and reggae although it looked very Las Vegas with dancing girls in thongs and bra tops and fancy headdresses. The show and dancers were quite good and entertaining. After about 20 minutes they invited diners on the stage to make fools of themselves. Some of the guests were entertaining, some were gross. Then they started a conga line that ended on stage. Everyone got a shot of tequila. The shows and dancing went at least an hour and a half. The cover charge for adults was $10 and children were $5. Except for the dancing girl costumes, which only flashed tushy now and then (you can see much more flesh on the beaches), the show was G rated. I got my strongest and smallest Margarita here however they charge about $5 for drinks. I recommend it for the show and strong drinks but don’t know about the food.
PERICOS: This restaurant is located in downtown Cancun and is very popular. We arrived at 6pm and it was full by 7:30. I strongly recommend reservations. The restaurant food was actually very good. I had tequila shrimp and my husband had fish. There was no children’s menu but our kids split an adult portion of BBQ chicken. It was all tasty and cooked correctly (not an easy find in Mexico). The drinks were very weak. The main attraction of this restaurant is the entertainment that occurs all around you. The wait staff will put rubber bugs on patrons, wear funny costumes, pretend to spill coffee and other tricks. There is also a stage and two different Mexican bands performed in the 3 hours we were there. Despite the popularity, there was no pressure to leave our table so they could turn it for someone waiting. We were there for 3 hours and the bill was $90 but this was our best dining experience for everything: décor, food and service.
SHOPPING
The main things to buy in Mexico are silver jewelry, crafts (blankets, sombreros, ceramics and blown glass) and liquor. All of these things can be found all over Cancun and the prices don’t vary much once you bargain for them. My suggestion is to shop a little to get a sense for prices and then buy what you like when you see it. The flea market was a little cheaper, but not by much. We heard prices were cheaper on La Isla de Mujeres, but they were about the same as the mainland. We found good prices in the Kukulkan mall.
MERCADO 28 is the biggest flea market in downtown Cancun. We went in the late afternoon because we were told it closes down by 6-7. There are many stalls selling all kinds of handcrafts including silver. You can get your hair braided ($10 a head was the cheapest I heard). You have to bargain for everything and we found the prices were most reasonable here. I bought a few silver pieces. Most vendors can be bargained down to about $1 per gram of silver. However, they went even lower in the market. There are a few food stalls that offered juices and snacks much cheaper than the hotel zone. Surprisingly, we were not hassled at all. A few vendors asked us to look at their wares but that was it. We felt completely safe.
KUKULCAN MALL was located right next to our hotel so we stopped in a few times. The mall is similar to a run-down American mall although they were doing renovations when we were there. It is quite long and two stories tall, although most of the stores on the second floor were vacant, perhaps due to the renovations. There are lots of stores selling silver and Mexican handicrafts, t-shirts and bathing suits. Everyone bargains and prices are flexible, although not as much as in the flea markets. There are also some clothing stores and Luxury Row with Fendi and other just a few other upscale vendors. www.kululcanplaza.com.mx.
LA ISLA is the upscale shopping mall and is located in the Hotel Zone. It is designed to look like a village and is located on the water. Since the mall is open air and the ground is cement, it gets very hot here during the day. There are a few restaurants, but mostly stores including ones you know such as Nike as well as some local ones. Prices are highest here. This mall also hosts some attractions including a “terror house” and an interactive aquarium (which I describe under attractions). I don’t recommend a visit to this mall unless you are going to the Interactive Aquarium for a dolphin swim. Most of the merchandise can be bought at home cheaper. The restaurant we ate at was ridiculously overpriced and why go to a foreign country and hang out in an American style mall?
ATTRACTIONS AND DAY TRIPS
Cancun has so many attractions including theme parks, water sports and day trips that you could not do everything if you had a month. Since we had small kids in tow, we limited our expeditions.
Dolphin Discovery at the Interactive Aquarium: Interacting with dolphins is very popular and there are lots of options on how to do it and where to go. Some places don’t allow kids or have a height restriction so ask before you go. My daughter and I did a dolphin discovery program at the Interactive Aquarium in the La Isla mall. The program cost $50 per person and there is no discount for children. Our program sold out so make sure you make reservations. You arrive to the Aquarium about an hour early so you can enjoy the exhibits. There is a diver in a tank and you can talk directly to him while he points out sea life in the tank. There are about 10 display tanks inside the Aquarium that are interesting. Outside, there is a large tank with Nurse Sharks, Sting Rays and Sea Turtles. An employee feeds the animals and you can stand nearby and touch the Sting Rays, which was very cool. There is also a touch tank with starfish and other smaller animals. After that, you change into your suit to interact with Dolphins. The program lasts about ˝ an hour. There were 7 people in our group, a trainer and one Dolphin. You can touch the Dolphin and feed him. It was really quite amazing and worth the money. The Aquarium will take a video and photos and sell them to you (video is $30, large photos are $9) however you can take a waterproof camera for your own pictures. www.interactivedolphins.com
We bought a tour package to Maya Ruins at Chichen Itza. They are quite far away so you are on an air-conditioned bus for 3 hours in each direction. The tour included a guide that talked for almost 2 of the hours on the way there which was a little too much although he did have some very interesting information. There is not much scenery for most of the trip because you are on a highway however in the last half hour you drive by some Mayan settlements and can see how they live. There was also the obligatory stop at the overpriced craft stand. The guide from our bus led us around the ruins and was really quite good at explaining them. We had some free time to climb El Castillo, a very tall pyramid. It is very dangerous with 91 steep and narrow steps to the top. There is another pyramid inside that you can also climb but it is in dark, cramped quarters and the stairs are damp and slippery. There is not much reward to climbing the inside however, the view from the outside was amazing. We had read in our 2003 Frommer’s guide that the pyramid was closed to climbing because of how many people fell and were injured or died but that information was apparently out of date. Check before you go. We also got a decent buffet lunch at a nearby hotel called the Mayaland. The bus was modern and comfortable and the trip was $50 for each of us and the oldest child. The 3 year old was free. This was actually a decent value because adult admission to Chichen Itza is $11, the tolls to the ruins were around $30 and guides cost around $40-50. Plus, our package included lunch. If we had rented a car and done it on our own, it would probably have cost more. I thought the ruins were fascinating and highly recommend a trip to see Mayan ruins (there are lots of options) while you are in Cancun. My full review of Chichen Itza is at: http://www.epinions.com/content_92983103108.
La Isla de Mujeres: We took a day trip to Isla de Mujeres which is just off the coast of Cancun. There are public ferries that run, however we took a private ferry called the Mexicano that left from the Hotel Zone. The ferry cost $15 for a round trip for adults and children were free. The ferry trip was quite awful, it was very small, crowded and rocky. Also, the inside compartment filled with exhaust fumes. The last returning ferry was at 5pm which was still pretty early. The boat did not get very close to the dock and there was no ramp so you had to jump. This was not for anyone who has any type of physical limitation. The island itself was nice although not the bohemian paradise that people claim. There is a lot of dirt and not a lot of sidewalks. It is dirty and there are a lot of stray dogs and cats. We had heard that shopping was cheaper on the Island but the prices were about the same as the mainland. North Beach is nice. The water is very blue, the surf is extremely gentle and the water is very shallow until you get very far out. Some of the hotels on the beach are surrounded by chain link fence topped with barbed wire which detracts from the natural beauty. We rented a golf cart for an hour ($15) and also toured the turtle farm ($2 per person admission) which was worth the admission price but not much more. The day trip was nice but I don't think I would do it again. My detailed review of Isla is at http://www.epinions.com/content_90592808580.
OUR HOTEL
We stayed at the Royal Sands and thought it was wonderful. We had a one bedroom villa with a kitchen, the beach was huge and the pools were expansive and beautiful. I definitely recommend this hotel. My full review of the Royal Sands is at http://www.epinions.com/content_89517887108.
GETTING TO CANCUN AND BACK
We used Thomas Moore travel (also called TNT) from Boston to Cancun on a package deal that included charter, transfers and hotel. Thomas Moore is the worst travel agency I have ever dealt with and would advise all to stay away from them. The only thing that would have made our travel more difficult is if the plane actually crashed. The incoming flight was delayed from 3:30pm to 2:30am and the returning flight was delayed another 2 ˝ hours. Transfers were also awful. My review of TNT is at http://www.epinions.com/content_89517887108.
FINAL RECOMMENDATION
Cancun can be a wonderful experience. It has so much natural beauty and great beaches. The hotels are clean and new and there is more to choose from that any other place I have ever been. We found it to be very expensive, although we had a great time.
MY REVIEWS ON OTHER VACATION OPTIONS
Jamaica: Montego Bay; Ocho Rios.
Mexico: Cozumel.
Cayman Islands: Grand Cayman.
Cruises: Norweigian Sun.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Friends
Best Time to Travel Here: Dec - Feb
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modernmarvel
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Can anyone recommend a western family dude ranch for a vacation this summer?
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