A lot of places, when you pay in US dollars they give you change in Pesos, try figuring that out after a few drinks,lol
If you are traveling outside the resort its nice to have a few peso's...Especially if you are taking public transportation or even a cab..The malls and Walmart take have no problem taking American, Canadian and European currencies.
For those of us that don't live in the USA it's better to get some Pesos before you leave home for immediate needs, then when you land use the ATM to get Pesos as you require more cash. Your funds will go farther by using Pesos than an intermediate currency like USD As an example most local Cancun business, taxis etc only offer a 1 to 10 conversion for USD to Pesos - so if a taxi trip costs 200 Pesos and you pay in USD it will cost you $20 USD. By converting directly from £ to Pesos, here is how much the taxi ride will really cost you 200 Pesos @ 21.57 to the £ = £9.26 By converting £ to USD and then paying in USD, here is how much the taxi ride will really cost you $20 USD @ 1.59 to the £ = £12.50 So you would be saving £3.24 that you could use for something more important, like clubs and drinks ! Pesos are the official currency of all of Mexico (yes, including Cancun) - even if some tour operators list prices only in USD they have to accept Pesos - by law Pesos are the official currency of the country. If you to to France and try to pay in £ or USD rather than in Euros some may accept it but you will get definitely ripped off on the conversion rate - same thing in Cancun
I like Kragers post too we are about to get the same bills here as the new pesos, they are a plastic bill and weather the pool way better than us paper It was hard to get 20 peso bills for tipping though, if i could get 2000 pesos in 20 peso bills i would be set for tipping the entire trip.
