my hubby and i are headed to cancun in two weeks to celebrate my 40th birthday and this site has been very helpful in our planning process! i've got a few questions and am hoping for some guidance. 1. we're booked at the Imperial Fiesta Club at Hotel Casa Maya. is this considered to be in the "hotel zone" i've read about in other posts? is anyone familiar with this hotel who can offer any personal experience stories? any input re their on-site restaurants la veranda and las brisas? i "walked" around the hotel using google maps and see that there are several hotels nearby - any of those have recommended restaurants? i've read about several recommended restaurants already - calenda oaxaca, cambalache, a groovy sandwich joint and a couple of places on la isla. i'd love a recommendation for a 4+ star spot for my b-day dinner - a place that specializes in fresh sea-food would be ideal - romantic would be a plus. :icon_biggrin: 2. the hotel offers roundtrip private airport pick-up for $70 - that sound reasonable? any airport service particularly recommended? 3. we don't want to rent a car during our week-stay, so is there a shuttle that we can utilize to travel to cancun proper or any "must-see" spots? i read about a shuttle to the hotel-zone, but would appreciate any specifics pertaining to our location... there appears to be a busy retail area a couple of miles east/south-east of our hotel - that have any decent dining options? the hotel site mentions isla mujeres - with great snorkeling at el garrafon. anyone else recommend isla mujeres? would we make a day trip of it? would we need to bring chairs, towels, etc? any tips re good snorkeling outfits? 4. can we rent bicycles or scooters to get from the hotel into cancun or to above mentioned retail area? are there any scenic bike/scooter paths recommended? would anyone recommend NOT bicycling? we're from new orleans so no strangers to heat/humidity, although i would imagine cancun would be "a bit" warmer/moister... :icon_wink: oh - big question - what about bugs? i.e. bloodsucking mosquitoes? sun block will be an obvious necessity, but what about bug spray? 5. our key goal for this upcoming vaca is relaxing and enjoying the beach. we're not looking to do any major "touristy" things other than a snorkel trip. a groovy zip-line would be cool though - anything nearby that's recommended? we zip lined in belize this past january (for my hubby's 40th!); it was our first foray into zip-lining and we absolutely loved it! basically we want to chill out, but wouldn't be adverse to a couple of days of "activity"... 6. i've seen a few posts re safety issues - anything especially important to know? besides "be smart, be aware of your surroundings, avoid dark alleys" :icon_wink: 7. my hubby and i took highschool spanish, but as i said, we're both 40 so those classes and memories are pretty dusty. should we bring a pocket dictionary or are most folks relatively conversant in english? we brushed up on some french phrases when we went to paris but found that most folks did speak english. don't want to be the "rude american", though, and assume everyone will cater to our lack of knowledge... thanks so much in advance for any advice anyone cares to offer. this site has been very useful and all the forum posters seem to be up-and-up folks. looking forward to enjoying cancun in two weeks!!
1. Your hotel is nicely situated on the 'bay' calm water side. I personally have not stayed here but also have not heard any bad stories from anyone that has. For a nice seafood dinner (when not going all inclusive) we have gone to the Crab House. It is quite a distance though from your hotel on the 'Gulf of Mexico' side - down Hotel row. 2. I think you can do better searching around. I know that Steve (site administrator has a link for a shuttle service). 2 weeks ago we stayed at Temptations right down from where you are going and we decided to take a one way shuttle from airport to hotel ($26 for 2 of us) and a taxi from the hotel to the airport ($25). If you do get a shuttle service (pretty much the ONLY way) and have never been to Cancun - you MUST IGNORE all the folks in the terminal that are 'talking' to you and go straight outside and look for your company name\or your personal name on a board. They will attempt to convince you inside that your 'transfer' company is inside the terminal (which is timeshare folks). This in my view is the worst part of Cancun... keep your head down and get 'outside'... 3. If you want to go to Tulum, Chitzen-Itza, or any of the parks (Xel-ha, Xcarat, Xplor) you are better off booking ahead of time through one of many companies. If you are travelling around to go to the downtown (28 market), nightclubs (by the point), etc... Catch the bus - IT RUNS constantly and is safe and best part only $7.50 pesos (less than $1 US). For Isla Mujeres - you are a walk away from the El Embarcardero were the ferry takes you over to the island. You can either book a tour or go over yourself and rent a golf cart for $15 (they will need your driver's license). You can then do what you want on the island - beautiful beaches with snorkelling available. They have a nice restaurant there (I forget the name). Was just there (and going back in 3 days) did not need bug spray though based on my pictures - I should have used more sunscreen ;-) 4. Again ride the bus (you see Rt 1 and Rt 2 buses ALL over the place) 5. Zip-line is closer to Playa del Carmen (Selvitica or something close to that spelling is the best). We went last year and they were great. Again best to look at tour operator to do this (look online for best deal). Xplor (park) also has this - we (5 of us) are planning on doing that this upcoming trip and have locked down Monday, July 19th 6. Not too many safety tips to give someone from New Orleans. Definitely try to be careful if you both are a little drunk while out (you will in all likelyhood get taken money wise for cab fare, drinks, etc..) If you go to the nightclubs and it is 'all inclusive' - the SHOTS are NOT!!! all inclusive. Make sure you ask the bell person the cost of something (like a taxi ride) etc... before getting the taxi. Then verify the price once getting in the cab. 7. You do not need Spanish unless you are going to shops downtown... It is nice to at least say things in Spanish... such as Buenos Dias, Buenos Tardes, Gracias, etc.... If y'all get a wild hair day - walk down to Temptations and see if you can get a day pass down there (probably $70 or so - includes all the food/booze you can drink). Its Adults Only and alot of fun at the Sexy Pool. My wife and I typically don't go to places like that but really had a blast and will be going back. They have a quiet pool as well. For this trip coming up (July 17th-25th) we (with teenagers) are going to the Gran Caribe Real - we wanted big waves side of Cancun this time + all inclusive
