Coming from the UK in September and is it still customary to bring mostly US$ for tips and to spend in the shops? Are the local busses into town still 1$ per person? Cheers and see you all on the 6th Sept
We are from the US, so we only take dollars. Coming from the UK if you already have to exchange, I think it would be easier to just get pasos. If it is easier for some reason to get US dollars you won't have any problem, we haven't found anywhere in Cancun that doesn't except dollars.
I think it's relatively the same prices exchange-wise for dollars or pesos in the UK. If you're using money to purchase stuff in Mexico, you'll get a better deal in pesos though. Problem with pesos is the exchanges here tend to only give you high denomination notes, which is no good for tipping purposes. Not easy to exchange for lower-value notes in and around the resort either. It's easier to get smaller notes in dollars from the money exchanges here. Did that for a while until I discovered the best place for lower denomination pesos is M&S Exchange. Been at that counter many a time, draining them of $50mxn and $100mxn bills!
Use Pesos for things that are priced in Pesos, and Dollars for things priced in Dollars. Only tours, nightclub entrance fees and hotel services such as the Spa have prices in Dollars. Everything else is priced in Pesos. If you pay Dollars for something priced in Pesos then you'll likely end up losing 20% On the island, that would be closer to 30%. If you pay in Pesos for something priced in Dollars it's probably not quite so bad, but you'll be unlikely to get the true exchange rate. It will always bee rounded to the sellers benefit. Example - bus fare is 12 Pesos which is 60 cents. Pay in Dollars and you'll need to pay $1 which is 19 Pesos. It's similar for higher priced items. If you only bring one currency, bring Pesos.
My guess would be that if they had to chose, they'd prefer pesos to spend them elsewhere outside the tourist area. That's just my guess tho.
They prefer Pesos, can't pay your rent or electric bill with Dollars. However, they may say they prefer Dollars if that's what they think you have in your pocket when asked. It's also surprising how many people don't understand the exchange rate. Lots of people psychologically think 100 Pesos sounds like a lot of money when in fact it's only 5 USD, so there is a tendency to offer less monetary value when tipping in Pesos
We do USD. My feeling is that although it would be much easier for the staff to have Pesos. However, at 2 am when I'm counting the exchange rate on my 20 blurry fingers I don't want to short anyone. I figure a minor inconvenience is better than having less in your pocket. Just curious about how much does it cost to convert USD to Peso. I will probably throw in a little extra to cover it in the future. You would think the resort would convent it for their staff as a perk.
