A little help for Cancun Newbies please.
sonia Says:March 24th, 2006 at 12:31 pm
ok people!! need the info…what’s happening and the best hotel to stay for singles other than the oasis?
Explore posts in the same categories: Ask the Experts..., General Blog Entriesgreg & airese Says:
April 4th, 2006 at 6:10 am
Well, I have lots of questions, but will start with….What tours are the best to go on? We were looking at Chichen-Itza one day and Xel Ha another. Maybe some shopping one day, of course we are going to do the night life almost everynight, just don’t know where. ANy suggestions? We will be there from May 6th to May 13th. PLease help us “Rookies” have a little fun. We are staying at the Omni.
April 5th, 2006 at 11:41 am
Sonia, the Blue Bay Getaway and the Golden Crown Paradise are both Adults Only, but I don’t know if that necessarily means they are Singles oriented. Maybe someone else can give you more input.
Greg and Airese, my usual recommendation to Newbies for Tours are Chichen Itza, Xel Ha and Isla Mujeres. That is if you are staying 7 nights. Remember to get Lots of beach time in! Besides, you’ll be going back to Cancun, right?
You can do more Tours then. Tim
April 5th, 2006 at 12:58 pm
We will be staying for 1 week. Getting to Cancun on Saturday May 6th at 1630 hrs and leaving Cancun on Saturday May 13th at 1220 hrs. So we will be there for 7 nights. I was thinking that 3 tours will be plenty since you have to be up and ready by 0730 hrs(EARLY). The other days we plan on beach and pool lounging. ALso, what about money? Should we exchange USD for Pesos before we get there? Is there places that accept USD and not Pesos and vice versa. I noticed that ya’ll had some stuff listed in USD and some in Pesos. And should have about half of each as to not get caught with our pants down. We were thinking of bringing about $1000 cash and the rest we could charge on the credit card, like dinners and such. How does that sound? Thanks for the info Tim.
April 5th, 2006 at 1:54 pm
Greg & Airese,
You are arriving on my birthday! The location of the party has not yet been determined, but everyone is invited!
You are staying at the Omni. Guille is the entertainment manager there…and a good friend of mine!. He will take care of you and make sure you go to a fun club each night of the week. I can arrange for VIP tables and/or bottle service in the nightclubs if you’d rather not go out with the gang from the hotels. I can tell you which clubs will be fun on each night too.
There is really no need for you to exchange dollars for pesos prior to your trip. Simply remember to bring lots of small bills ($20’s or smaller) for shopping/eating in small restaurants that don’t accept credit cards, and plenty of $1’s and $5’s for tipping. The exchange rate is roughly 10.5 pesos=$1 US dollar. In the malls, most places take credit cards, but not in the flea markets.
When shopping, all prices will be listed in pesos…same for menus and the ATM. On vacations, I always forgot that and took out $50.00 pesos from ATM…thinking I was getting $50 dollars. Imagine my disgust when I realized I had paid high ATM fees for a withdrawal of around $5USD. The worst part is that one day I did it two times within about 3 minutes!
ATM’s are all over the place so if you don’t feel comfortable carrying $1000US in cash, you can always withdraw the money later. Make sure your bank is aware of your trip to Mexico. Many people forget to alert their bank before taking a trip and find themselves stuck in a foreign land without the use of their credit cards…or they have to go through a big hassle to say they are on vacation and want to spend money! I have a Bank of America account in the US and I can withdraw money from Santander Serfin bank ATM’s without any ATM fees. Your bank may have a similar agreement with a bank in Cancun.
3 tours should be fine, but remember that Chichen Itza is a FULL day tour. I wouldn’t recommend that you party the night before or have anything planned for the day after, other than lounging by the pool. It is very hot at the pyramids and the sun can really wear you out, as I’m sure you know. Xel-Ha and Isla Mujeres require less travel time and are more relaxing day trips, however. I love Isla Mujeres!
I suggest you purchase the maps from Cancun Can-Do Maps. They have one for Cancun, one for Isla Mujeres, and another for Chichen Itza. They are participating Merchants with The Cancun Club and you will get a discount on your order, if you are a Member. I recently ordered all of the maps except the dive map and I think they are great!
If you have other questions, you can post them here, or email me directly at susan@cancunblog.info.
Have a great Cancun vacation!
Susan
April 5th, 2006 at 2:10 pm
Sonia,
I have never stayed at CPC or Blue Bay, but I have found that ‘adults only’ hotels are usually filled with couples. There are plenty of singles at the Oasis resorts (there are several Oasis resorts…not just the Grand Oasis….and Riu Cancun seems to have quite a few singles, as well.
Susan
April 6th, 2006 at 11:24 am
Just a “heads up” to everyone. This last trip I was surprised when I got my Visa bill a month after returning from Cancun. Seems they had a little unknown “transaction fee” they tacked onto every credit card purchase I made. My fiance also used her Visa for some meals and purchases. Her’s were all without this fee. Her Visa card was through Captial One, mine was (and notice that was past-tense) through InfiBank. I had notified them in advance that I would be using my Visa in Cancun and to expect charges coming from that part of the world. During that call they did not volenteer to me that this fee would apply. When I complained they claimed this was a fee to convert the purchases from Pesos to Dollars. So………..ask your card holder BEFORE you go if they also apply these fees.
April 6th, 2006 at 11:41 am
Tom,
I am charged the International Transaction Fees with at least one of my credit cards….but they did inform me of the fees before I saw it on the statement. The fees are minimal, but if I was not aware of them, it would not be a nice surprise.
Susan
April 6th, 2006 at 3:27 pm
Thanks Susan for the tips. Let us know when and where the party is and we will probably go to meet and greet and get our feet wet in the club scene. I already purchased maps from the site you mentioned and they should be shipped today to our house. I think that we do a tour on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday(Jungle Tour) since that one seems to be pretty short. Thanks for the tips on the ATM’s, I hope I remember it when we get down there, depending on my Tequila consumption….lol. I kind of figured on taking it easy before the Chichen Itza. Please let us know what the club scene is for that week, so we can take some of the guess work out of it. You and Tim have been really putting my mind at ease for this trip. This is our first non-US vacation. I really can’t wait to do some snorkeling. We will be taking lots of pics and will be posting them once we get back. My wife has already told me that this is the first of many trips to Cancun(She’s my boss).
Thanks for the tips Tom. I will be calling the credit card companies and bank to let them know. See ya in sun for some fun!!
greg
April 8th, 2006 at 1:35 pm
Greg, I’ve thought of another activity you might enjoy. That is doing the Waverunner at Tropical Amigos. Since they are one of a participating Merchants, you get a Discount!!
Click on the Merchant’s page to check it out. Tim
April 8th, 2006 at 9:06 pm
Sonia,
I stay at BBG all the time…..and I definitely wouldn’t call it a couples resort.
I think you’d find the ratio of singles to couples is about even but the atmosphere is all about hanging out and having fun with all the guests…couples and singles.
So even if there are couples there (and obviously there will be) you won’t find couples not mingling with the singles and just staying among themselves.
I go by myself most of the time and have never had a problem finding lots of people to hang out with….singles and couples.
Literally I have been to BBG 54 times with trip 55 coming in just over a month. So please e-mail me if you have any questions.
Karan
August 27th, 2006 at 4:00 am
Cancun Hotels
The motel began in the 1980s in major cities like New York, London,
April 1st, 2007 at 9:39 pm
Hello everyone!!!
My name is Elsa. I am 22 and going to Cancun for the very first time with my husband. We have never been on a vacation before yet alone by ourselfs so Im looking to get a good experience with your help. I want to know when is the BEST time to go to Cancun after July 1st. Im gonna stay at ME by Melia. Is that a good hotel? I heard that july august and september is hurricane season in Cancun but dont know if its true. When is the real hurricane season in Cancun? Im still young so I do like to go out clubbing and drink so what are the best clubs to go to in cancun for people in their 20’s? is it necessary to rent a car over at cancun or is it easy to get around in the bus? And by the way im staying for 4 days and 5 nights. So what would you advise me and my hubby to do during the day? Im only staying for 4 days so i want to make my stay as worthy as possible, because who knows when will be the next time I get to go on another vacation. I heard that you can go to timeshare mettings or something like that, and for your time you get a free tour and dinner is that true? Also where are some good places to eat in Cancun but not so expensive as tourist locations. As you can see im like completly clueless about cancun so hopefully you wonderful and helpful experts can answer my questions and give me other advise that I would not know the question to.
Thanks!!!
~*~ ELSA ~*~
July 4th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
HELP!!!
Me and my husband are going to Cancun in August and we are not sure where we want to stay. We have narrowed it down to two so far, Riu Cancun and Dreams, We do like to party but we also want time to ourserlves. We need help deciding which one is a better hotel! Please help..Dreams pics look so boring but secluded, and Riu’s too wild and crowded…We need a brief comparison and advise on these hotels please THANKS !!!!
t & w
July 5th, 2007 at 7:29 am
Buenos dias Akuaries. If it were me, I’d stay at Dreams. It is within walking distance to Party Central. So, you can go partying, and then come back to a quieter hotel. Keep in mind to, it often depends on who is staying at a hotel any particular date as to how much partying is going on at a hotel. Tim