Cancun, Cabo or??

[TRD270]

Probably should have mentioned this earlier but..... check out

https://www.cheapcaribbean.com/

http://www.applevacations.com/

and then the normal travel sites

Also i've only rented a car once in Cancun and maybe Greg can chime in if his experience was the same. Rental car rates are stupid cheap, but we were forced to purchase insurance that was about 3x the rental car price per day. So be aware of that, we didn't know until we were already at rental car place. I wish I had done a bit more exploring that trip with the car like Greg did. I purchased an Garmin car GPS unit and bought the map pack for the region to get around.

 

[Houndoc]

Check out Isla Mujeres. Not as busy, plenty to do right there.

Quick glance looks like a place my wife would vote for.

If we stayed there or in Cancun proper (unlikely) would we be happier renting a car for Chichen Itza and doing day trip on our own or group tour?

Like doing things on own, but can learn a lot from a good guide.

 

[Homefryy]

Yeah watch out for super cheap car rentals and then they hit with expensive mandatory insurance (it actually is mandatory per Mexican law) when you go to pick up with car. This spring I rented a car through America Rental Car. We picked it up in Playa del Carmen and dropped it off in Cancun. All the insurance was included up front and we had a good experience.

We stayed in a 2 bedroom apartment in downtown Tulum through AirBNB and it was very affordable. That is a good option if you aren't looking to stay at a resort.

 

[Greg]

Booked flights last night to Cancun. Was for sure planning on renting car. Still need to finalize lodging but leaning towards Tulum.

Will report back post trip!

You'll love Tulum, there are many ruins to check out. When we were there, it was mid-Summer, pretty hot & humid. Swimming in the Cenotes was the perfect break from the heat. You shouldn't have to worry about that so much, but try to go swimming!

Some stuff to help get you excited about the trip...

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10155796493457746

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10155800675282746

 

[Greg]

Probably should have mentioned this earlier but..... check out

https://www.cheapcaribbean.com/

http://www.applevacations.com/

and then the normal travel sites

Also i've only rented a car once in Cancun and maybe Greg can chime in if his experience was the same. Rental car rates are stupid cheap, but we were forced to purchase insurance that was about 3x the rental car price per day. So be aware of that, we didn't know until we were already at rental car place. I wish I had done a bit more exploring that trip with the car like Greg did. I purchased an Garmin car GPS unit and bought the map pack for the region to get around.

Hmmm... our insurance was included in the rental & we paid $200 for 8 days. We did have to put a credit card on file for an insurance deposit and the total amount they held was $5k. I did walk around with the rental guy and we looked at all the damage to the car, which I took photo's of right in front of him. I was worried about getting billed for someone else's damage (I've seen it before from shady rental places) and wanted to let them know I had pics of everything.

I used Google Maps on my phone for getting around in the car and saved a handful of interesting locations we wanted to see before the trip. Taking a GPS unit is a good idea, though.

 

[Greg]

Quick glance looks like a place my wife would vote for.

If we stayed there or in Cancun proper (unlikely) would we be happier renting a car for Chichen Itza and doing day trip on our own or group tour?

Like doing things on own, but can learn a lot from a good guide.

We did Chichen Itza without a tour guide... I don't feel like we missed anything. You can go there, buy your tickets to enter and there are guys at the entrance asking to give you a tour, if you want to set one up then. We overheard quite a bit of information from other tour guides, which was nice.

 

[ID Bronco]

Quick glance looks like a place my wife would vote for.

If we stayed there or in Cancun proper (unlikely) would we be happier renting a car for Chichen Itza and doing day trip on our own or group tour?

Like doing things on own, but can learn a lot from a good guide.

You will like Alma Tours - check them out. We loved them.

 

[Houndoc]

Post trip update.

We ended up flying into Cancun, renting a car and staying in Tulum. Used a place found on Airbnb that on the hotel road along the beach, but quiet and felt far more remote than it really was. Was right across from the beach, with access by buying a couple soda's at the beach club there.

Spent one day going to Chichen Itza, eating in a small town along the highway and hitting a cool cenote.

Drove one day into a large bio-reserve just south of town (an accidental find by misreading my map). Hired out a boat tour (cool birds, crocs and manatees) and found a great beach. Perfect away from the crowds place.

Tulum ruins another highlight.

Turned out to be a great trip. Will try to post a report with some photos in the coming days, but thanks for all the great input!

 

[Greg]

Sounds like a great trip!

 

[ID Bronco]

Here's a different idea to consider. Every year I go to mexico with a group called Builders without Borders. Its a volunteer organization that goes down and builds homes for families. Its a 501c(3) organization that 100% of everyone volunteers. The cost is $400 a person plus travel and hotel. We are going to Ensenada this year. We drive down and hotels typically run $50/night/room. We leave Christmas night, spend that night in Vegas, cross the border the next day and head back Jan 2nd.

Bringing this back, I remembered it when I was thinking about Christmas this year. I sent you a PM.

 

[Coco]

I am actually flying to Cabo on Sunday... Any recommendations? First time out of the country for me, and a little nervous ha.

 

[The_Lobbster]

I am actually flying to Cabo on Sunday... Any recommendations? First time out of the country for me, and a little nervous ha.

Don't drink the tap water, I'm sure you've probably heard that before. When I was in Cancun, I even went as far as to brush my teeth with bottled water, but I was on my honeymoon, and that would've been the worst time to get the runs.

 

[TRD270]

Don't drink the tap water, I'm sure you've probably heard that before. When I was in Cancun, I even went as far as to brush my teeth with bottled water, but I was on my honeymoon, and that would've been the worst time to get the runs.

I always brushed my teeth with tap water, the resorts filter it so much it’s no biggie. Drink the water at the restaurants never had a problem. Out on the town that’s a different story

 

[ID Bronco]

Personally, only bottled water and no ice. It can be made with bad water and then you get the bug from the melted ice.

My least favorite things about Mexico:

Only Coke

and

Warm coke. Yuck

 

[ChestonScout]

Going to Cancun in February. It will be our first Mexico trip

Excited and nervous

 

[Greg]

A few years ago we flew into Cancun and stayed in Tulum. The best thing we did was get a rental car and drive all over the place. We loved the ruins at Tulum, Chichén Itzá, Coba and Muyil. I'd love to go back and do it all over again.

 

[spaggyroe]

Personally, I prefer Cancun / Cozumel area. As others have mentioned, Tulum is killer.
We've spent 2 Christmases in Cozumel and absolutely loved those experiences.

I'm with you Greg, I'd love to revisit that area!

 

[Bart]

Careful down there. There was a gang war on the beach at the Hyatt in Cancun this morning. 2 gang members died and one guest injured.

 

[Kiel]

Killer Deals!

 

[Coco]

Don't drink the tap water, I'm sure you've probably heard that before. When I was in Cancun, I even went as far as to brush my teeth with bottled water, but I was on my honeymoon, and that would've been the worst time to get the runs.

Yeah, I have heard this too. But been told (and mentioned here) that the resorts filter it enough to not be an issue. Still probably going to hold off on drinking it though. More worried about this when we do Baja in February in the SXS's.

Going to Cancun in February. It will be our first Mexico trip

Excited and nervous

That's me too. You hear stories and such, so it makes me nervous to visit, but I have always wanted to go.