Tips for Travel to Cancun On A Budget

How to travel & Save Money!

Cancun is a premier tourist destination with fine dining and four-star, all inclusive resorts to cater to you every desire. Some of us cannot afford that kind of vacation, and others are searching for an experience that will acquaint them with real like in the Mayan Riviera. A recent article in The Yucatan Times details a few tips to make your next trip to Cancun safe, cheap and an authentic experience of Mexico’s Caribbean coast.

Transport from the Airport

Travelers staying at a resort will likely be picked up from the airport and taken to your hotel in Cancun. For everyone else, the cheapest way to get to downtown Cancun is the ADO bus. The bus leaves every half hour until 11:30pm at costs $5 (62 pesos). There are also direct buses to Playa del Carmen that leave the airport every half hour and cost $12 (140 pesos).

Hotel Accommodations

Budget hotels can be found in downtown Cancun or a few blocks from the beach in Playa del Carmen. Staying in downtown Cancun means better prices on everything including prices per night and restaurants. Many places only have rates posted behind the desk and not everyone speaks English. Take the time to shop around for the best prices and to take a look at the rooms to make sure everything is in order. If you are staying beyond five nights, you may be able to negotiate a discount. During the down season, you should be able to book a room for between $20 and $40 per night.

Find Authentic Mexican Food

Cancun is an international tourist hub and tries to appeal to foreign tastes in the more touristy areas. To find real Mexican food, look for restaurants in the downtown area that cater to locals or Mexican tourists. You can usually identify these places by the chalkboard menus out in front of the place. If it is crowded, it is probably worth your time.

Travel to Cultural and Archeological Attractions By Yourself

If you stay at a resort, a pricey tour package will be assembled for you. But you can plan your own tour with only a bus schedule. ADO buses leaving from downtown Cancun move all over Mexico including Valladolid, Chichen Itza, Merida, Chetumal, and Palenque. Write down the destination and time you wish to depart just in case the bus attendant does not speak English and you should have no problem getting around.

For more tips, check out The Yucatan Times

Tip 4: Communicating with the locals

Many people speak English in this part of Mexico, especially those who work in tourism. But once you get off the beaten path, you’ll need a little Spanish.

Whether the person speaks English or not, it’s polite to start the conversation in Spanish. Start with one of these at the right time of day:

Buenos días (good morning)

Buenas tardes (good afternoon; used until after sundown)

Buenas noches (good night; a greeting, not a goodbye)

Then say ¿Habla usted inglés? (Do you speak English?) and No hablo español (I don’t speak Spanish).

That’s easy enough, right? Just 5 phrases.

After than, learn more Spanish. Mexicans are friendly and patient, which is good for the foreigner struggling with Spanish.

Tip 5: Visit archeological zones on your own

The two most common forms of public transportation in the Mayan Riviera are buses and colectivos, big white passenger vans.

From the ADO bus station downtown, buses go all over Mexico, including Valladolid, Chichen Itza, Merida, Chetumal, Palenque, and beyond.

Valladolid, Yucatán Market

Use the website (www.ado.com.mx) to get an idea of prices and routes, and then buy your tickets at the bus station. Most workers at bus stations speak English, but just in case, write down the destination and the time you want.

For example, here is the schedule from the airport to downtown Cancun:

ADO Cancún Airport

If you are on a budget (and speak Spanish or have a helper), ask at the station for a second-class bus. They can be much cheaper than ADO and go to the same destinations. Be sure to ask how long the trip will take, and compare it to ADO, because the second-class bus could take much longer.

For points south, like Playa del Carmen and Tulum, take a colectivo. The ones for Playa del Carmen leave from just outside the ADO station. They are cheaper and faster and leave more frequently than the bus.

You can take a guided tour to Tulum and Chichen Itza, and though they will explain everything in English, they may rush you through it. If you go on your own, you can get there early and have lots of time to explore.

For example, inside the archeological zone at Tulum is one of the most beautiful and iconic beaches in Mexico. If you go on your own, you can stay and swim as long as you want.

Tulum

If you have the time, I recommend staying in Valladolid before going to Chichen Itza. Valladolid is a beautiful colonial town full of local culture. By staying in Valladolid, you can have several hours at Chichen Itza in the morning before all the tour groups from Cancun arrive.

Colectivos go to Chichen Itza from several parking lots a block or two from the ADO station near the central park in Valladolid.

Chichen Itza Ball Court

Tip 6: Safety concerns

The good news is that the Mayan Riviera is one of the safest regions in Mexico. However, it’s a good idea to ask at your hotel what the neighborhood is like, especially if it’s safe to walk at night, and if there are any places to avoid.

Besides that, regular common sense for travel applies: Don’t wear expensive jewelry, don’t pull out large wads of cash in public, keep your wallet in your front pocket, don’t let your purse or camera bag out of your sight, and don’t look at a map in public – take it indoors.

 

Cancun Offers Three Internationally Certified Beaches

Cancun, Mexico

Any visitor or resident of Cancun can confirm that the area has some of the best beaches in the world. Now that claim has been made official, The Yucatan Times reports.

Roberto Borge Angulo, the governor of Quintana Roo, the state in which Cancun resides, has announced that the city will receive Blue Flag certification for three of its beaches. Blue Flag certification confirms that a beach has met a set of criteria in terms of water quality, infrastructure, management, security and environmental education. The certification will be awarded to the beaches of Chac Mool, Las Perlas, and Playa Delfines.

The beaches were scored by a panel of international judges who evaluated them on thirty-three separate specifications before bestowing the certification. The beaches gained their newfound status large because of tourist infrastructure and air connectivity for both domestic and foreign visitors. The Blue Flag certification will become official in July and is expected to increase the traffic to the already popular area.

The judges for the Blue Flag certification come from the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). The FEE is a joint operation of the World Tourism Organization, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the United Nations Environment Program

Cancun will be the only area in Mexico with three certified beaches.  Sergio González Rubiera, the executive president of the Mexican Association of Travel Agencies in Quintana Roo, has said that the certification is a priority in the area because it raises the profile of Cancun as a tourist destination. He says that by the end of 2014, Cancun will feature eleven Blue Flag certified beaches.

To read more, check out the article in The Yucatan Times.

Cancun Tops Top Travel Lists

Fly.com recently released the data for their Top 50 International Summer Destinations for 2014. London, Paris and Rome all ranked highly, but the number one spot went to somewhere a little closer to home: Cancun, Mexico.

Cancun is a popular travel destination for tourists in the United States, especially amongst college students looking for a spring break destination. But as the Los Angeles Times reports, there maybe other factors that  are attracting a more diverse set of tourists to the destination. Flights to destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean are down an average of 8% under last years prices. This stands in stark contrast to the 6% rise in flight prices for popular European destinations.

Cancun, Mexico

The longer flights and increased cost have made places like Cancun seem more within reach for many travelers and may have contributed to four other Mexican destinations making the list – San Jose del Cabo (# 7), Puerto Vallarta (# 10), Guadalajara (# 33) and Mexico City (# 35).

But Cancun has also been increasing its appeal in other ways. It has been broadening its appeal beyond its resorts and beaches, expanding promotion for adventure and ecotourism.  Airlines such as Delta, Southwest and Alaska have recently announced service expansions to Cancun and other places in Mexico and the Caribbean, potentially signalling the beginning of a long term trend in U.S. travel.

The data that informed the list came from destination searches on Fly.com from travelers in the United States for dates in the summertime months. The data included 5 million searches made between January 1 to March 19 of this year. The data only includes destinations searched, not actual flights purchased.

To read more about the increased popularity of travel destinations like Cancun, visit the Los Angeles Times report.