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Perfect Beaches Make for Perfect Vacations...
on the beach, avoiding all-inclusive, family traveler, basking in the sunshine, kicked back in a hammock, slathering on the suntan lotion, relaxing with a margarita on the beach, fun-loving dad
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JAN
17
2008
Cancun is sometimes a victim of its own success. Its become popular for some people to criticize Cancun for being "too crowded", or "too contrived", yet the fact is that Cancun is popular for a very good reason: the beaches are simply spectacular and the area offers an amazing wealth of activities to delight every member of the family, from the youngest toddlers to the most venerable grandparents.
Cancun is what you make it. Cancun can be a wild party if that's what you really seek, or it can be the most tranquil, sedate, soothing relaxation you could possibly imagine. THAT is the reality of Cancun.
Cancun has exclusive 5-star luxury resorts where pampering and spa treatments can spoil you rotten. It also has places downtown where you can spend a night for $10 (though if shoestring is your budget, I'd recommend staying in one of the little cabana huts out on Isla Mujeres, or maybe moving westwards towards Holbox --- you'll get a whole lot more ambience for the pittance of a price).
Cancun's party reputation and "spring break" reputation are likewise rather like an unendowed young woman stuffing toilet paper in her bra. A whole lot more image than reality.
Cancun does have bars where the music throbs all night long and the liquor is stronger than a sumo wrestler with an attitude problem. But for every one of them, there's ten casual family eateries, 20 local family restaurants, and a half dozen upscale, romantic restaurants.
The reality doesn't make for very exciting "reality TV", but let your neurons fire just briefly, and you'll realize the obvious: drunken college students won't ever fill 25,000 hotel rooms, 365 days a year...in fact, they don't even represent a major chunk of the market during the infamous "spring break week". Who does then? Families and couples looking for romantic getaways. Now there's a "real" marketplace for you (and of course, that's who most of the "partiers" going to Cancun REALLY are). Cancun has a reputation for wild parties, nightlife, and spring break, but like Santa Claus, full bras, and free beer, those things often prove more plentiful in Hollywood than in the rest of the world.
Crowds too are something of a double-edged sword. Yes, Cancun is popular and thousands of people arrive from around the world every single day. There aren't any stretches of "deserted beach front" in Cancun itself.
But think about that too: that popularity also means that Cancun has enough traffic to guarantee that good restaurants remain in business and that popular nightclubs can exist even when MOST Cancun visitors worry about tucking the kids in by 9. The popularity means that there are enough people to keep the upscale shops along Kukulkan in business and to make sure that more and better quality activities are available IN Cancun than in any other resort destination in Mexico. It guarantees that there's a critical mass to support constantly running buses so you don't have to rely on overpriced taxis. The constant influx of visitors means Cancun can give people the GREAT vacation they really want.
People are free to love their remote Mayan Riviera megaresorts if they wish --- but they do so with blinders on (or an unhealthy belief in megaresort marketing literature). The fact is that no walled-in resort on the Maya Rivera can offer even 1/100th of the possible options that Cancun properties offer --- and what they do offer is often of lower quality and higher price.
Maya Riviera megaresort patrons end up having to jump through hoops to go off site for worthwhile activities, shopping, nightlife, etc. And while the beaches of the Maya Riviera are often spectacular in pictures, they are NOT better than Cancun's: in fact, the surf is often rougher as you move south, and Cancun doesn't have the steep dropoffs that some of those beaches have. (You're also more likely to find a richer array of watersport activities and more beaches with lifeguards on them in Cancun than you are as you move south....something to think about if you've got active kids.)
TV reality doesn't have much to do with real reality...and the same is true of Cancun. In Cancun, the REAL reality is still all about the BEACH, and Cancun simply rocks Mexico as its VERY BEST beach resort destination. There are destinations with more "Mexican character", there are places with better sport fishing, and there are places with better scuba diving....but NO other Mexican beach destination has a beach that's even HALF as good as Cancun's, and no other beach resort destination has the sheer variety of activities that Cancun offers.
Cancun is simply a spectacular destination for families, for romantic couples, or even (dare I say it), for college students on spring break. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
QUICK THOUGHTS ON ACTIVITIES IN CANCUN
Lots of people will love spending their whole vacation relaxing on the beach...after all, that's what vacations are all about, isn't it? And the beaches in Cancun ARE second to none!
But if you've got other activities in mind, Cancun has a wealth of opportunities for you to get up out of the hammock and go do something else. Duffers will find several beautiful golf courses in the region, including at least two big 18-hole courses right in the Cancun hotel zone, not to mention a whole string of them along the Mayan Riviera coast to the south. Kids will absolutely go bonkers over the Wet N Wild waterpark: it's convenient to everything on the hotel zone and the water park itself is best for the younger kids, though teens will love swimming with dolphins or sea lions in their Atlantida area. There's a place called Loma Bonita just south of Cancun where you can ride horses on the beach or do ATV jungle treks, though one of the most fun activities is to do the Cancun Jungle Tour, which basically gives you a speed boat to cruise through the mangrove swamps and then head out to a reef for a taste of some snorkling.
This is just a smattering of what's out there though: Cancun has EVERYTHING you could possibly want to do. There's also trips into the underground rivers and lakes (called Cenotes), there's Jeep treks, there's day trips to ancient Mayan sites, there's canopy zip-line tours, there's deep-sea fishing trips, and there's even bullfights in the downtown bullring if you've got a taste for a little gore in your trip. Don't worry about getting bored in Cancun: it can't happen. The only thing that can happen is that you might realize how much stuff you don't have time to do when you only stay for one week.
You can take a boat to Isla Mujeres for the day, get certified as a scuba diver, or explore some cultural events (check out the Museum of Arte Popular perhaps). You can rent a car and zip down to Tulum, Playa del Carmen, or the Belize border, or head inland to Chichen-Itza, or Merida --- the "White City" of the Yucatan. Heck, you could even do one of the big eco theme parks, like Xcaret or Xel-Ha.
SEASONAL CAVEATS
Some people avoid Cancun at spring break....I don't, not even for wholesome family trips. If you get a deal, go for it! Early summer can be an excellent time to visit Cancun because Americans often think it's too hot, even though the softer, whiter sand of Cancun never burns the feet like the browner, gritty sand that you find along most Atlantic coast beaches of the U.S. --- summer on a Cancun beach can actually feel COOLER than summer on a New Jersey beach! Winter and spring are always fabulous times in Cancun, with near constant perfect weather. The one "gotcha" season is late summer and early fall, when the risk of hurricanes should not be taken too lightly (as Hurricane Wilma proved in 2005, when it decimated many Cancun resorts).
CANCUN CAN BE THE CHEAPEST "GREAT" VACATION YOU EVER TOOK
Cancun can be expensive, but it doesn't have to be. Although "list prices" on hotels, restaurants, and excursions sometimes seem high, it is actually VERY easy to find bargains, deals, discounts, and even freebies. Here's five tips to help you save BIG bucks on your big trip, and maybe even make Cancun into one of the cheapest GREAT vacations you've ever taken:
1. Go ahead and book the "package deal":
At this time of year, the travel section of every major newspaper in America will have ads for tour operators offering airfare and hotel package deals to Cancun. These can often give you the biggest bang for your travel dollar (though always compare pricing airfare and hotels separately, just to make sure you're not the sucker who pays too much). East coast residents can often snag the best deals by booking through Apple Vacations. In Minneapolis, Denver, and Dallas, cheapo charter operator, Worry-Free Vacations always has discounts on packages and air-only trips. Don't forget that almost all the major airlines also have package deals: I've seen air-hotel deals out of Detroit on the nwa.com site for as little as $400. Just remember that some of the "cheap" hotels aren't that good, and it might be a better value for you to pay a little more for a MUCH better hotel room (read reviews and ask questions of people who know).
2. Check for discounts on TravelZoo:
I love the TravelZoo.com web site: it lets me be sure I'm always sitting in "the cheapest seat on the plane". It also consistently pops up excellent hotel deals for Cancun (last week, they had an offer there for $109 per night in the Hyatt Regency Cancun...this week, they have $119 in the Presidente Intercontinental).
3. Get "the card".
For several years, knowledgable Cancun bargain hunters have looked to Brant's 2x1 Cancun Entertainment Card for deep discounts on everything Cancun. Meals are often the biggest expense of a Cancun vacation (with "list prices" that are similar to higher-priced American restaurants), and Brant's card slashes restaurant prices for you, AND it's good at some of Cancun's most popular spots (not just out-of-the-way places).
Some people recommend all-inclusive resorts as a way to manage food prices. That's a mistake. AI resorts often have terrible food, limited selections, and they rope you into their own on-site eateries, giving you an incentive to NOT get out and do the things you ought to be doing. Brant's 2x1 discouint cards let you eat locally for SIGNIFICANTLY LESS than All-Inclusive resort prices, while STILL letting you eat on your own terms. (Lots of other discounts with it too!) Buy it at: www.cancun-discounts.com (If you don't buy a card before you leave the U.S., Plan B is to grab many of those freebie discount coupon books that you'll be pestered with in the airport.)
If you want to save even more than you would with "the card", you can: you'll need to be a bit adventurous, and find the local restaurants that cater to local people. Do that and you'll get "real" Mexican food (not under-spiced for bland gringo palates) where you can realistically grab a decent meal for $5.
4. Call me, I won't call you.
Making phone calls from a Cancun hotel phone is just plain stupid. So too is making collect calls, using any service that "bills your credit card", or using any kind of service that doesn't give you a sure-fire way to control or limit costs. One call home, placed from a hotel room phone, can totally trash your travel budget. Believe it!
The best way to eliminate unexpected "gotcha" fees is to just not make any outgoing calls while in Mexico. Instead, have Mom call you at some designated time. There are inexpensive dial-around services from the U.S. that can cost as little as 2 cents per minute to Cancun from the U.S. and international prepaid cards are widely available wherever immigrants shop.
Cell phones can be a viable way for some folks to stay in touch, but many U.S. carriers have poor international support: if you have a GSM phone from Cingular / AT&T Wireless, you're probably A-hunkey dorey to get and place calls while in Cancun. If you have Sprint or T-Mobile, you're almost certainly hosed. You can rent a phone, or get a SIM insert, but that's more hassle than its worth, IMHO. (I'd just buy a LADATEL card for the couple calls I really need to make and forget the complications.)
If you must make phone calls, at least do it the smart way. Buy an international calling card locally in Cancun: some give you rates to the U.S. as cheap as 10 cents a minute. If you don't want to use dial-around services, just buy a TelMex LADAtel card in any convenience store and use it in any pay phone in Cancun: the rates to the U.S. tend to be about 50 cents a minute, but at least they're prepaid, so you can never get royally ripped off like you will if you use a "charge to credit card" phone or worse, a hotel room phone.
5. Use the buses.
Cancun has the most expensive taxis in Mexico. They charge almost as much as U.S. taxis do. Fortunately, they're easy to avoid since most air-hotel package deals include the "airport transfer" and from then on, you can rely on Cancun's excellent bus system, which has constant buses moving up and down the strip of Cancun's hotel zone. Get anywhere you want to go for 50 cents (there's even buses going direct to the Isla Mujere ferries at Puerto Juarez). If you don't have an "airport transfer", you still have a couple cheap options to avoid taxis and shuttles: there's a public bus that airport employees use, but the more comfortable and simple option is the ADO bus --- it takes you direct to the central bus station in downtown Cancun for about $3. (And yes, there are direct buses from the airport heading south, along the Maya Riviera to Playa del Carmen).
Any way you slice it, Cancun can be not just an EXCELLENT beach vacation, but a cheap one too.
Cancun is recommended by mrkstvns
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