Hoping people can help me out - we've got a group of 5 lads going away, average age 23 on October 26th for 2 weeks. We're from England, stopping in the Barcelo Costa. Just wondering if people can help with whether it's better to take travellers cheques, the best bars other than the obvious ones and also where to go to during the day, we're looking into things like the sea fishing, the zoo and open to any suggestions. Thanks in advance people
Hello there. Well not sure how much time you have taken to read up on the layout of the Riviera Maya. Barcelo Costa is a fun ressort, but it is somewhat secluded. Besides hanging out at the resort there isn't much to do right around that area. To go bar hopping and what not you would either have to head up north to Playa Del Carmen (PDC) or South to Tulum. I wouldn't bother with travelers checks. Usually you are better off using your ATM (debit card) to withdraw pesos from a local ATM machine. I am pretty sure your bank will add fees for using an ATM machine that is not from your bank, but you still will get a much better exchange rate this way. Exchanging travelers checks might be a hassle, specially if they are not in USD. If using ATM card to withdraw money is not an option, then I would consider using Xoom.com to set up money transfers. You can send money to Mexico under one of your friends name, and he can send you some money. Once in Mexico you go to one of the locations indicated by Xoom and pick up your money. Bringing cash or travelers checks would do the trick, but you would end up losing much on the exchange rate. Since you guys will be here for 2 weeks, I would recommend going to Tulum to party at least once, on a Friday or Saturday night (the better parties are on the cabins by the beach). The rest of the party nights you probably will want to go to PDC. Everyone has different preferences for bars, but in PDC most of the bars are located on 5th avenue, or on the side streets. Basically once in 5th Avenue you will decide what type of vibe interests you guys. Your resort does offer AI, but try to go hand out at least one day in Playa mammitas in PDC, I am sure you guys will really enjoy that. As far as things to do during the day, there are way too many. There aren't any zoo's in the area, but one place you might want to check out is the Jungle Palace. It is a monkey sanctuary, and they charge $30 USD for a one hour tour, and at times you do get to interact with monkeys. You guys are pretty young, and might not be interested in visiting some of the local ruins, but one thing you guys definitely want to do is check out some cenotes. If I understand correctly this is one of the few places in the world where centoes can be explored. You didn't mention what your budget is, but if you guys have somewhat of a budget, some places you guys will really enjoy are www.RioSecretoTours.com www.HiddenWorlds.com Xcaret is pretty kewl, but might be a bit mellow for 5 young lads, instead you could check out Xplor, which is the new park opened by Xcaret (http://www.xplor.travel/) Since you are down south, a place you guys should also visit is Akumal. If you have your own snorkeling gear, you can snorkel in Yal Ku Lagoon and in Turtle bay (both in Akumal). If you do snorkel Turtle Bay try to do so later on the day, about 1 or 2 hours before sunset, as you will have a better chance to run into sea turtles.
Manny, thanks for that some real good info and tips. I think I will take my debit card and use the ATMs. In regards to budget I would say for 2 weeks were looking at taking £1000 across which i'm thinking will be plenty. Thanks again Manny, any other suggestions welcome
So you guys will be here 2 weeks, so 1000 pounds across would mean 1000 pounds each right? that is about $1600 USD each. It is a decent budget, about $115 USD per day (sorry I keep quoting in USD, but that is what most people use here for pricing) With that budget you won't be able to party (bar hop) every night plus do tours, but if you guys plan correctly you should be able to have a great time. Your resort is AI, so you should spend some days there (not spending money) taking advantage of the amenities, and at the same time you don't have to be "trapped" there. Being that you guys are a group of 5 might make it difficult to all share one taxi, as most of them only allow 4 passengers. Usually I tell people that the best way to save money is to rent a car. However, being that you guys are 5 young men, which will probably be drinking a lot, not sure if renting a car is a good idea for you guys unless you have a designated driver. Here in Mexico they don't mess around. Not sure how it is where you are from, but here they don't have breathalizers and things like that. If they pull you over, and you have alcohol breath, they will take you to jail, or you would have to pay a hefty bribe. Being that you guys are tourists, the bribe would be much higher than what we would pay. The best way for you guys to move up and down the rivera would be via collectivo, but again, might be hard to find a collectivo that would have enough room for all 5 at the time. If you guys want to stay together most of the time, then your best bet will be the Mayab bus. This is a mostly white with orange lettering bus (2nd class) that will stop pretty much anywhere on the main highway. You can flag this bus outside the resort, and they can take you south to Tulum or north to PDC and/or Cancun. The price for Mayab and colectivos (small vans) is pretty cheap, usually less than 35 pesos. I am not sure how much you guys drink, but I guess people from UK are known for enjoying their drinks. Another suggestion I would make is for you guys to pay your drinks as you go. If you guys start a "tab" for all 5 of you guys, more than likely you will be overcharged and there will be little you can do about it. If paying as you go is too much of a hassle, then make sure you agree with the "count" after each round. What I mean, is when the waiter/waitress brings the "next" round, ask them "this makes it 15 beers right? " then the following round ask again "this would make it 20 beers right?". I somewhat look like a tourist, and my spoken english is pretty clean (I sound like an american). About 4 months ago, at a bar in PDC we had 17 drinks, yet we were getting charged for 24. I had an exchange of words with the waitress in spanish, and eventually they ended up correcting our bill. The ADO bus station in PDC is right on 5th Avenue. So you guys can party all night long, and when you have had enough make it to the ADO station and take the Mayab bus back to your resort. The Mayab bus runs all night long, and the longest you would have to wait would be less than an hour. Can't think of any other suggestions, but if you have any other questions feel free to post them, or you can PM directly if you want
Hi The Barcelo Costa is not where near Tulum or Playa del Carmen- its right in the thick of things on the hotel zone Cancun. There are plenty of bars and clubs around and your budget should be fine. Have fun Tracey ps a fellow Brit who now lives in Cancun.
LMAO Tracey is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO right! Barcelo Costa is the one in Cancun HZ, and Barcelo Maya is the one down south. My bad! Why do they make the names of the hotels so complicated! Ok, will post some good advice for being in the Hotel Zone itself in a bit Thanks for the catch Tracey!
Ok, being that you will be in Cancun's Hotel zone. As far as good "bars" you will get different responses, specially from locals like myself vs tourists. I personally don't hang out at the hotel zone much mostly because it is expensive, and I am a bit too old (34 yrs) to look for the one night hook ups with tourists. The 3 main clubs seem to be Coco Bongos, Daddy O and The City. The Basic also gets good reviews. Bull dog is another one that people mention, but I would advice you to stay away from that one, the waiters and bar tenders are real jerks, and you will have to pay for your drinks (even though it is open bar) via tips, otherwise you won't get drinks. The cover for these major clubs is $50 to $60 and does include open bar. Out of these clubs my favorite would be Coco Bongo since it is a night club with a vegas style show. If you guys are mostly beer drinkers, then open bar would be the way to go. If you guys drink other type of drinks, you will get much better service going VIP and buying a bottle. If you buy a bottle usually you don't have to pay the cover charge. You actually work out the cost of your bottles before going into the club, so do not be afraid to haggle, as they will try to get the most out of you. At one point I wanted to be a promoter for some of this clubs, but being that they are so shaddy with their price list I decided not to get involved. (I would hate to offer some of my clients what I think is a great deal, only to find out they are giving a better deal at the door). Sr Frogs is not a night club, but a good place to hand out at night and do some drinking. The hotel zone is relatively small, and there is one major party zone. Once you guys are there you can walk around and follow the music crowd that interests you. Also, it is perfectly legal to purchase beers at Oxxo's and Extras (Extra is cheaper) and walk around the hotel zone with your drinks on hand (don't walk outside the hotel zone with drinks on your hands as you might get arrested). If you guys want to venture out, and mix it up with locals, I can recommend Rush and Barezzito. There is a trick to saving money on Taxis/buses here in Cancun. If you use a taxi outside the hotel zone, to a location outside the hotel zone, the cost will be 20 to 25 pesos (ask how much your fee will be before they take you anywhere as they do tend to over charge tourists, us locals get around most of Cancun for 20 to 25 pesos). Inside the hotel zone prices go way up, I think it starts at 80 pesos. What many locals do is use Taxis outside the hotel zone, and the bus inside the hotel zone. Any bus going north in the hotel zone, will go outside the hotel zone and pass by "Chedraui", a supermarket on Tulum Avenue. If you guys want to venture in downtown cancun, I would recommend you take a bus, get off at CHedraui, and then flag a taxi down. To get back to your ressort, you would take a taxi to Chedraui, and then hop on a bus into the hotel zone. As far as tours, they offer many different tours in Cancun, but personally I don't enjoy them much, as they don't really show off the neat part about La Rivera Maya. They have a couple of speed boat tours, snorkeling I think, jet ski rentals, etc. If you really want to get the flavor of La Riviera I recommend you go down south, visit some cenotes, and make it to some of the locations I mentioned (Rio Secreto, Hidden Worlds, Xplor, etc). The locations are actually anywhere between 1 hr to 2 hrs away from Cancun. You guys definitely want to party at least one night in PDC. You can take the R-1 bus inside the hotel zone, and get off the ADO station in Downtown Cancun. There you can take the ADO or Mayab bus into PDC. I think the last ADO from PDC to Cancun leaves around 10 or 11pm, but the Mayab continues running all night long, so you wouldn't be stranded after 11pm. As stated before, you also want to spend one day at the beach in Playa Mammitas in PDC. Back in the day, Cancun used to be similar to playa mammitas, with lots of people hanging out on the beach, listening to music, mingling etc. Now since we dont have much beaches in Cancun, most of the mingling happens inside the resorts. A good day tour for you guys would going to Isla Mujeres, my personal drinking tour is this one http://islandertour.com/Islander/all.htm since it does include drinks, food, snorkeling, golf cart tour of the island, etc. The regular price is $78 but I could put you in contact with someone that can book it for $49 per person
i've been told to take dollars for things like excursions and peso's for the rest like going out etc cos you will get ripped off on the exchange rate changing from one to the other, plus paying in dollars for somthing you will get ya change back in peso's anyways so u wud need to be constantly working thing out to make sure your not getting had!! Just take sterling travellers cheques if you want be safe and change them or one of those new travel money cards (beware they charge each time u withdraw money though) I get back the 22nd so will try remember come on here and let you know what hotel and that is like plus any tips I pick up, we're taking £700 for 2 weeks and been told by loads of people who have been b4 (girls & lads) that we r taking plenty
Day tour Hey Manny, I would love to be put in contact with this person. Just one question: when things like this day tour include drinking or things are an open bar is it typically just beer?
