Helo, please for 1st timeTTR

Corrupt Police

We got pulled over in 2011 on our way back from Chichen Itza for speeding (which we were not), we had missed the turning for the main road and had ended up coming back the long way through towns and villages - bloody Sat Nav. He initially asked for $1000 but settled on $200, he threatened to take us to the police station if we didn't pay. We later found out from our Thomas Cook rep that we could have got away with $50.

 

In late April the wifi was great for us. $79 for the week. Worked well almost everywhere. Only works on one device though for the $79. We also got a small intnl package for calling from our cell carrier for $30. And another package for texting for $30. End result is we were covered on all fronts and it was convenient.

 

We have stayed in the 3200 block before and got a balcony with a nice view. It's above the Sports Pool, between Paty O's and above the Sports Bar where they do the nightly entertainment.

Looking forward to meeting you guys! :aktion069:
~Jill~

 

Phone cards use to be cheaper in town (El Centro Cancun)...not sure about now though. I've been to the three places you've mentioned. For me Xel-Ha was the best because there was more to do, and you explore at your own pace. Xcaret was more like a nature park/cultural park....while Xel-ha has more water activities.. Lazy river, etc. Chichen Itza is really awesome, but its also cultural i.e. Pyramids, history, etc. no real activities. I believe some tours use to include Xel-ha and Tulum. Tulum is a mayan beach front site. Very beautiful! and HOT! The Chichen Itza tour is also hot! but has more shade to stand in while listening to the tour guides. Chichen Itza is an all day thing, I believe you get back about 7pm. I remember it being about 3 hrs each way on the bus.

The easiest/most reasonable tour IMO to do a ferry ride to Isla Mujeres. Take a left out of the front of the hotel and walk for about 5 or 10 min to the El Embarcadero dock (Where the pirate ships are) and I believe its about a $15 round trip ride to the island. You can rent a golf cart or scooter and explore the entire island (its not very big) or shop. If you are really feeling adventurous...you can do what I've done on every trip to Cancun. I take the R1 bus to the ADO Bus station and catch a ($4 each way/runs every 10 min) Air conditioned greyhound like bus to Playa del Carmen (Its about an hour away and it drops you off in the middle of the action.. 5th ave). We sometimes take the ferry to Cozumel and go snorkeling at Dzul-Ha then take the ferry back and spend the evening and have dinner in Playa del Carmen. We usually rented a room a small hotel for about $40 to $50 for the night....then catch the bus back to Cancun in the morning.

Driving in Mexico is an adventure all its own...Honestly I would avoid it at all costs. Lets just say it can be dangerous. The rooms near the quiet pool worked best for me. The worst were rooms near Paty O's. We turned in early some nights (midnight or so) and music from Paty O's vibrated the entire room LOL.

 

I will say that Xel Ha is fun!

 

We went to Xplore last year and had fun. There were zip lines, cave swimming, rafting through a different cave, and driving an amphibious vehicle. Make sure that if you do decide to book a tour, do it through the links below so Steve gets credit. No matter what you do, have fun.

 

To all thanks again for taking your time reading this and all suggestion will be considered!!! For calling the us, I guess we will try Skype using wifi at the hotel for $5 for 30mins and if that does not work, will try buying a calling card and using the pay phone at the hotel. We only need to call every other day for about 5 or 10 mins. About the room, we will wait and see what room we get assigned to and if we don't like we will request to be changed!!! We will stick with standard room, since we have read the upgrades to ocean view are not worth it !! About the tours vs driving to Chichen Itza ?????? We tend to enjoy road trips a lot and like doing things at our own paste, eat when we want and spend the time we want at places we are interested in exploring, we don't enjoy being dragged to shopping places and stuff like that!!! Does any body know if driving is similar to Dom Rep, because if this is the case we will be intimidated by the idea?? Spanish is our first language and should be pretty easy for us to get around, we are used to aggressive driving coming from PR is kind of normal... We will definitely keep in mind all other suggestions, we want to spend must of the time at resort to take full advantage of all the fun.... Xel ha vs Xcaret a lot of mixed reviews??? We need to choose one, what ever we don't choose gives us an excuse to go back. Thanks again everyone, great forum by the way!!!

 

I've never been to the Dom. Rep. but the (very real) concern is being stopped by Law Enforcement for whatever reason, and being asked for a bribe....especially if your a tourist. There's also a chance of being stopped and robbed at gunpoint...this tends to happen more at night. I'm Mexican but from Chicago, and most people I know who drive down to Mexico, drive very cautiously, and especially avoid driving at night. If you are keen on driving,then a road trip to Xcaret or Xel-ha/Tulum could be nice. Its only about an hour or so away depending on traffic. There's basically one straight road from Cancun to either of these ( both are near Playa del Carmen) so there is less of a chance getting lost and the road is much more populated. Oh by the way, The ADO bus from Cancun to Playa del Carmen stops at the outside enterence of Xcaret but you will have walk to get to the main enterence. There is also a bus from Playa del Carmen to Xel-ha/Tulum. If you get stuck at any point on the main road, you can always flag down a "Colectivo". These are small white taxi's or vans that locals use to travel between Cancun and Playa del Carmen. Sometimes they are air conditioned, but not always. Good luck and have fun whichever you decide on.