Cancun Mexico

About 2 months ago my wife and myself traveled to Cancun Mexico. In short I liked it and will return given circumstances and no other travel options, after all there is a whole big world to see!

Cancun Mexico — The Good

We have never been to Cancun or Mexico before, so I was able to enjoy those first moments riding to our hotel taking new sights and scenery, I love that feeling! Brings me back to that ride Abubakr gave me from the Abu Dhabi airport to Al-Ain so many years ago!

Clean

I was pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness, granted I did not get very far off of the traveler’s trails still the cleanliness impressed myself, it was by no means sterile but it was not anywhere near a situation that would make one uncomfortable.

The Safety

I never felt in danger in terms of physical or material safety, though other did tell tales of tour buses getting pulled over and robbed. I suppose that is a danger.

The Food

Mexico has a reputation of causing GI distress to its visitors, not a hint of that with any of us. Granted, we have traveled all over the world and two of our companions reside in the Philippines. However, this meshes with what other less experienced travelers have told me about their visits to Cancun.

Transport

Despite the comments and jokes we all shared, I found Cancun and Mexican driving to be courteous and disciplined. I never worried about the bus I was on getting into a collision with a dope making a pass on a blind curve, those of you who have traveled a lot know what I am talking about.

The Weather

The first comment out of most people’s mouth when I told them of this trip was to ask about the weather and wonder why we were going in August. Well, it was hot, but if we were on the beach there was always a good breeze blowing, keeping tings tolerable. Even without the wind the weather was tolerable. Fortunately, we did not have any rain. In any event it was no warmer anywhere we went than it was around Wisconsin this summer.

All Inclusive

One may think this belongs up in the good category, but I would call it more neutral than anything else. We had an all-inclusive package at our hotel, and it okay, but if were not a timeshare deal I would not have wanted to pay for it. I suggest you do not go all-inclusive at your hotel but on your excursions.

Cancun Mexico — The Neutral

The Tipping

I firmly believe in taking care of those who take care of you, so we brought a big pile of $1 bills and tipped fairly liberally. I suggest you also take care of those who take care of you, you don’t have to tip 15% but make sure those who help you out get something. As a Mexican guide told us, typical daily wages are around $8.00/day so a buck to a waiter who goes out of his way for you makes a difference.

Party Town

Cancun’s draw is that of a party town. You don’t have to party to enjoy Cancun, but beware many people there are looking for that. Expect lots of loud music and DJs looking for you to shout.

No Real Deep Culture

Maybe you are not looking for a native experience, I know there are a fair amount of tourists looking to an authentic trip, if you are one of those, Cancun is a stepping stone to elsewhere and no more than that. Driving around the hotel zone you will see the usual resort spot hotels, bars, and restaurants. Yes, there is a Hard Rock Cafe. I did not spot a Believe it Or Not museum, but I bet there is one there.

Cancun Mexico — The Bad

The Food

While I have the food in the good category, I reprise it here because I was highly disappointed in the general lack of seafood. The place we stayed at had a top-notch breakfast buffet but the lunch and dinners served were not great, even at the other hotels in the group where we stayed were so-so. I had some good food on a trip we took, it was to Isla Mujeres and it was the soup they served.

The Vendors and Touts

I understand they are hungry for the business, but they are a real PITA, for the most part we just ignored them, but once in a while they would know enough to read our clothing and start a conversation based on that. Also, don’t assume because they look more like a Norwegian blond they are not a tout! We ran into a woman who would look at home in Norway and she started walking with us at a bus stop, I assumed she too was a tourist but she was a tout and delivered us to some shops.

No Research

This is all on myself, I did not do the prerequisite research on Cancun prior going. It would have made the trip a lot more enjoyable and would have allowed us to cut through a lot of the tourist trap stuff, oh well.