V, Gringation, Tori and others - apologies as I'm still new to this board and learning the ropes. But in line with the thread you guys mentioned being able to stay places during the low season for very good rates. Are there advantages to booking hotels etc because you live there or do you simply use the websites most others use (Expedia, bookit, alpharooms etc) and find the prices are just that much lower. We hope to move there at some point and are trying to tally all the pros and cons etc...if there is a way locals get better deals with the bigger hotels I'd love to know about this.
Sometimes places offer lower prices for those who live in Quintana Roo, but we often just use a booking website to find the best deals. When we stayed at the AI that I mentioned, recently, for $130 (2 people), we found the deal on the internet, and the offer was the same for everybody. We once stayed at an AI for $89, and found the deal the same way, using the internet. Both offers were during Cancun's long, low season. A small hotel we stayed at, recently, charged 750 pesos for guests, and 600 pesos for those who could prove they lived in Quintana Roo. Many of the theme parks in our state offer substantial discounts (up to 50%) for residents.
Yep, at this time of the year locals can get fantastic rates and day passes at lots of the hotels up and down the Riviera Maya, definitely a perk of living here. And like V says, the parks like Xcaret etc. also have big discounts year round. You can also get discount entry into clubs, discounts at some restaurants, and discounts at the golf courses.
Honestly, I hear about most of these deals from friends, word of mouth, and through my work (I work at a travel agency). My best friend is usually the one who tells me about a lot of them... she checks the different resort websites and calls to ask. After awhile, we now have an idea of which resorts we like that have good discounts (Sandos Caracol, Catalonia RM, Grand Coco Bay, all around $800 All Inclusive) Sometimes I'll also get messages to my personal e-mail from the resorts themselves around this time of year. Not sure what kind of list I'm on haha Cancun's Groupon page also has some very, very good deals! To expand on what MatKirk said, locals also only pay around half price for parks like Xcaret, Xel-Ha, and Xplor. The ferry to Isla Mujeres is half price for us on weekends, too (but only from the Puerto Juarez marina, not Ultramar). Open bars at the clubs are also much, much cheaper. I used to go to Dady Rock every Saturday for $120 pesos open bar, not to mention all the free ladies nights at different clubs.
Cheap travel, Mexico I guess we are experiencing yet another reason to live in Cancun- we are traveling in Guanajuato! Living in Cancun gives us access to cheap tickets on Mexican discount air carriers: this time, we are traveling with Volaris. Going round trip to Mexico City for $175 we took a luxury express bus to Guanajuato, a most amazing place! A UNESCO World Heritage City, it lives up to the billing. Walking the narrow streets you could easily imagine yourself to be in one of the historic centers of a Spainish city. Every corner turned unveils another feast for the eyes: couple that with amazingly courteous people and great service everywhere and you have yourself a nice recipe for a four to five day get-a-way (more would be better!) Guanajuato is where the Mexican Revolution practically began, with Father Hidalgo leading the charge. His motive was to free the Indian slaves who labored in the silver mines there and he succeeded in doing that, though it cost him his life. The silver mines still operate, but now under the direction of a Canadian Company with normal mining and labor standards applied to the work!
Why do you continue to live in Cancun? I suppose this fits in the category of, "Why do you (continue) to live in Cancun? Although we are beset, daily, by the annoyances of living in the city (noise, more than anything else), we also have things happen, from time to time, which reinforce our decision to live here. Many of them occur at my workplace. For example, I got a 13th month, year's end bonus for the first time, this year. I wasn't expecting it, so it seemed like Christmas when I checked my bank account. There was a reason I'd gotten it, unknown to me at the time. On Thursday this week I learned I'd been made a permanent employee of the university, an honor I also hadn't been expecting. (I had been on contract, before that.) Having things like this happen, often unexpectedly, helps keep us here just a little bit longer.
a) Presumably USD or are there some zeroes missing? b) No roots yet V? I had hoped this was home by now.
Baseball season starts in 3-4 weeks and that is a great, inexpensive form of entertainment. Interesting food, cheap ice cold beer, tickets for great seats were only $80 or $90 last year, half price if you have the INAPAM card. I think bleacerh seats can be had for $25. And our team, Los Tigres de Quintana Roo, won the league championship. I prefer to say that we won the "Mexican World Series."
