ATM fees are too high, over $6 usd on top of whatever your bank will charge you. If you have cash, just take it with you, there is a safe in the room. Each ATM transaction after exchange fees could be $10 to $14usd ouch. Don’t buy anything breakable at the Cancun airport Duty Free shop IF you have a connecting flight back home…you will have to put that nice bottle of tequila in your luggage or you will not be allowed to get on your connecting flight and it will most likely break and yes that $70 perfume you bought must go in your luggage and not in your bag. The “you must wear biodegradable sun screen” is BS….your own sunscreen is fine. Be aware that the hotel zone is something like 27km long, there is a lot to visit and do should you decide you need a break from the party. The guys selling the Cubans can also sell you Jamaicans if that’s your thing. If you are a habitual Redbull drinker, go across the street and stock up. If you meet someone you end up getting along with, get their email on the spot, time flies and before you know it people have left and you were not around. If you are looking to buy authentic Mexican crafts such as jewelry and other things beware of China made items, I mean, what’s the point. Go to Mercado 28 and make sure you don’t see any foreign labels or foreign type packaging that is if you are want authentic Mexican craft…. When you are about to exit the Airport everyone warns you about the people try to grab you and sell you stuff so you think you are prepared until the groomed folks in uniform tell you that they work FOR THE FEDERAL GOVT AND SIMPLY WANT TO WELCOME YOU AND GIVE YOU FREE USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT CANCUN. They got me for about a minute and then realized that despite the fancy “Airport name tags” it was to sell stuff…despite everything I read, these guys look legit and are polite and did tell me that they were not sales people but rather government employees greeting tourists. I still stuck around joking with them for about 5 minutes until my wife pulled me away….(my voice was fine when I arrived, oh how I wish I had not gotten a sore throat) These folks are very well dressed, with official greeting area and fancy name tags….it will not be rude to walk briskly and simply ignore them, once you see the car rental kiosks RUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN And lastly, if traveling into the US....do not arrive eating an apple, little old lady turned out to be an Agriculture dept agent that wanted to send me away to Alcatraz for eating a "Mexican apple" while I waited for my luggage. She began writing up the fine but a much nicer human being understood that I was not bringing in illegal seeds or monkey meat and sent me off without a fine..... Just remember, if you are not use to wearing life vests, keep your tshirt on or you may regret not going so. Just keep your shirt on and put the vest over it, you will thank me later...
I'd like to hit on two of your points.... As far as ATM's, I have never paid more then $4 for a fee. The other day at Walmart, in USD, it was $1.42. Make sure you use a bank atm, not just some shlep atm on a corner or in a pharmacy. Sunscreens... Unless you have read up on Mexican Law, it is actually required to wear biodegradable sunscreen when swimming anywhere near our reefs. And I personally know captains that have been fined and lost their license whom allowed their passengers to apply regular sunscreen. It is to protect our sensitive ecco-system.
When I needed cash you walked to what was available to me which was ATM machines, it did not cross my mind to go all the way into town or Walmart. I found 4 ATM machines it all were about $70 pesos to use. As for the bio stuff, did not know it was a law, however, the tour place does therefore they should be more responsible. They sell the little tube of coppertone so expensive that everyone that brought lotion basically used their own and the staff did not say a word. If its truly a law then bio lotion should be made avaialable at reasonable prices and it should be enforced, this is why I made the comment, because 35 of us were offered a small tube of lotion at a very high price and since it was not explained as a real law with real consequences, we all saw it as a ploy.
ATMs: My US bank charges me $5 per transaction, plus whatever the Mexican ATM charges. That being said, some US banks charge no fees. Sunscreen: The high price was probably because the sunscreen was being sold on a tour, not because it was biodegradable. If memory serves, biodegradable sunscreen at Cancun's downtown Walmart isn't more expensive than regular sunscreen. (If it is, it's a very small difference.) I'd recommend any tourist visiting the area to buy biodegradable sunscreen for their entire trip to protect the reefs and the local wildlife. If they don't sell it in your country/city of origin, you can easily purchase it at stores in Cancun. Salespeople at the airport: Gotta agree here... avoid eye contact and keep walking toward the exit!
Gotta love the fact my bank not only doesn't charge me, they reimburse me for whatever the atm chgs me. And you have to be careful when using non bank atm's as they are targets of scanning devices ontop of the largest fees. Same as the US. There are bank operated atm's all over the hotel zone. Just wanted to point out where I got a very low rate at a place frequented by tons of tourists. My job here is of a Suncare Advisor. I deal with plenty of operators who do overcharge and do not follow the laws. Welcome to Mexico...money talks. As for cost of sunscreen, its sunny and warm most of the year; suncare products are a necessity. Supply and demand. People need it and people will and do pay for it. You will pay about double the price for the same thing in the US. And even being a law, Biodegradable even here is hard to find. And knowing what I do know about products, most that say they are on the front, truly are not once you look at the ingredients. Again, welcome to Mexico.
Not sure about now, but a few years ago when we went to Xel-Ha they did give people little packets of the biodegradable sunscreen, it was free. The only problem was you didn't get enough of it and some of the bio sunscreen washes off so you need to reapply more often. We bought a small bottle at the park, and yes, it was expensive. Now I buy it other places cheaper before we go. I have a copy of one of my atm receipts from around the first of the year from the HSBC atm on Isla Mujeres, that shows the fees and taxes. http://www.mapchick.com/travel-tips/mexicoatm/ My bank charges me $2.50 per transaction, but if I call them and complain, they always take them off I just love Mexican atm receipts...I feel so rich!
Just so you know, no matter the lotion brand or factor, it must be reapplied every 30-45 min, here. The sun should be melting lotions right off
I always make sure I get a good amount of money out when I use an ATM in Cancun to make sure I don't get hosed on fees. For example if you take out 4,000 pesos instead of 1,000 then you don't get 3 of the per withdrawl fees etc. But we all have our own ways of handling it.
