Hello folks, We just came back from TTR , we already started to missing it. We really had good time. Few of the thing I would like to share which may help first timers. 1. Currency - Don't Get Currency exchanged at your home country, rates are better in Mexico , specially outside airport. Never get exchange at airport. In fact if you have USD then dont think to exchange , everywhere ( literally everywhere) USD was accepted with better rate. 2. At Airport many well dresses people will try to grab you and they might look like helping people ,but they are not , they will try to sell you some presentation or something like that at cost of 40$. Just ignore them , head out straight outside airport where your transportation. 2. If possible Get lot of Cash , as Credit card charges are really high ( around 10% ). ATM charges is also high here. So better to get enough cash. 3. Shopping - if you are thinking for shopping, Cancun Downtown ( not hotel zone downtown ) is best place. Just be careful , as there are lot of competition so everybody will try to pull you aggressively , keep calm, you don't need to reply everybody. Other thing which you need to be careful is bargain, Yes you need to to aggressive bargain, at few places price may get reduced by 1/4 . We bought many things around 100 Pesos which initially prices around 300-400 pesos. * If possible dont buy anything from the shop in Isla Mujeres, they are completely Rip off. *shops in the premises of TTR are very costly , don't buy anything from there if possible, not even souvenirs. 4. Have basic Spanish words /sentences ready, as most of Mexican ppl don't speak English. 5. Have Waterproof camera , as it may cost lot in Cancun. 6. If possible don't wear branded costly sunglasses , there is high chance you may break it or lost it. 7. If you are planning for Scuba diving, reserve it before. don't wait for last minute. Spots goes very quickly. 8. If you don't have reservation of Asian or Italian restaurant for any day , you can try simply walk in, there is high chance they will allow you to dine in. Please fellow members.. add things if i have missed anything. Thanks Rupesh Mehta
Forget to Add 9.Get lot of $ bills, as you will need for tipping. Be generous about tipping , as wages are too low in mexico. People word really hard to make their living. 10. If you are interested, please have your professional portfolio shoot. Photographer at TTR is really professonal . Best pictures.
Agree with you on pushiness of people in downtown Cancun - did you go to Market 28? We're useless at bargaining and left almost as soon as we got there because just couldn't deal with the sellers there. I did manage to get a silver bracelet at what I believe was a bargain price (first price was 3000 pesos and left paying 500), so I guess if you've got the stamina for bargaining you would save going shopping downtown. Personally, we've found it difficult to walk even 5 minutes in downtown without people trying to get you to buy something. Even the short walk to Walmart from the bus we were stopped a couple of times. Last trip we got all our 'token' gifts at the resort gift shop, and to be honest it wasn't that bad. For things like sunscreen, hats, t-shirts, flip-flops etc they're extortionate, but for little gifts like shot glasses, candles, fridge magnets prices are not that more than you'd pay elsewhere, plus it was easy to just pop in and then back to the party!
Last trip In Dec, one fellows in the "VENDOR" section of the airport actually had some sort of badge and was pretending to be a policeman!! You would think that CUN would realize what a bad light that puts the whole airport in for first time visitors.
