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last time I went to mexico we were in Jalisco, stayed at the Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit very nice place. people were cool there.
But I prefer to do all the tours by boat...because the folks that did the bus tours were all robbed during that week. It's not the way robberies here work though. The bus driver is normally in on it or someone at the transportation biz, and the robbers all have machetes. So you just give them your wallet and what ever jewlery you have on you and they take it and go. They are professionals so they really aren't looking to fuck anyone up. Unlike here in the US inner cities. anyhow...beautiful lawless land. |
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If it was in August I would say go for the Whale Sharks. Amazing experience. Cancun nightlife can be great. At the right time the beaches at night can have a lot of turtles coming out of the ocean to lay. Lots of outdoor activities. I like Mexico and also Belize. Can it be dangerous? Sure so be careful but have fun.
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I've been to Cancun a few times, last trip was at Secrets Silversands. Paid a bit more but was worth it IMHO. Adult's only and we were there mostly to partyy with a heavy drinking crew of 6 couples.
We all tipped like crazy the first 2 days and they were fighting over us to keep us happy the rest of the week. Been to both sides of Mexico, felt way safer in Cabo, and partied at night with the locals, but we did have a group of 16 so safety in numbers and allot of us speak Spanish or at least enough to stay out of trouble. Only negative I've had was a cab ride to the Marina at 4AM for a fishing charter. Myself and 3 buddies almost got rolled by the cabbie dropping us off in the middle of the road with 2 guys waiting for us. I think they underestimated our size and our ability to communicate in their native tongue as my ex marine friend and I asked them for directions to the marina and if there was going to be any problems ? They told us to fuck off and we ended up walking to another resort and getting another cab who took us to the marina. I'm glad they're were 4 of us and not 2 or it may have escalated... The fresh bullet holes in the police guard towers are also a nice touch, but just stay smart, and you'll be fine and have an awesome time. Just remeber it's Mexico and no longer the US. |
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Write your names and home addresses in sharpie on your torsos for identification
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Quoted: We loved our last trip there. Never felt unsafe, and the staff/facilities/food were great. https://i.ibb.co/F0xVm6R/CAD96-E5-A-ADBF-4-C55-8-F6-A-F345-AF10-A121.jpg https://i.ibb.co/FmrHnQF/E1-CE64-D4-6-EE0-40-E0-A09-D-FD06-D1-E122-B2.jpg https://i.ibb.co/k5nQLGk/735-E7876-366-D-4425-9350-2-DFCCDFB167-C.jpg https://i.ibb.co/ypDnwzs/5089-C77-E-AF4-E-48-B3-9214-A261031053-F1.jpg View Quote Which resort is that? |
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You are gonna have a great time. I've been just a mile further north. Your zone is quiet and you can relax entirely within the resort.
Do these things: Quoted: 1. DO NOT talk to anyone inside the airport in the zone after customs exit through airport exit. Anyone one in that zone will try to sell you a timeshare. 2. If at all possible, arrange transportation with the resort / travel agency. 3. By the local Mexican law, you theoretically will not be able to use $USD currency for any purchases / payments unless paying by credit card, YMMV. 4. DO NOT drink ANY water (unless from the sealed bottle) outside of resort. View Quote If you want to do more than the resort, that's great too. Go scuba. Do a cenote. Go birding. I usually go to Coz for diving or Isla Mujeres for relax. The whole area is great. Quintana Roo is one of the safest zones especially if you stay in the tourist areas. Primary danger is someone is gonna try to sell you something. |
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Quoted: You are gonna have a great time. I've been just a mile further north. Your zone is quiet and you can relax entirely within the resort. Do these things: If you want to do more than the resort, that's great too. Go scuba. Do a cenote. Go birding. I usually go to Coz for diving or Isla Mujeres for relax. The whole area is great. Quintana Roo is one of the safest zones especially if you stay in the tourist areas. Primary danger is someone is gonna try to sell you something. View Quote Pretty much. It's Mayan Disneyland. |
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I've been doing some travel in Mexico lately including the Yucatan Peninsula. There is some good advice in this thread from those that have actually been there. Ignore the ones that haven't. Outside the Cancun airport can be pretty crazy so like others have said, get your transportation sorted out ahead of time. I don't stay at resorts so I can't help you there.
I've had no problems driving a rental car down there. I don't know where all these roadblocks and police are. I didn't see any of that and I was last in the Yucatan in November. If it's your first time, maybe just do the bus tours from the resort but you can probably rent a car at the resort. For anyone wanting to rent a car in Cancun I use Avant car rental. Ive had nothing but a positive experience with them. It's about 5 minutes from the airport and they will pick you up from the airport and drop you off there when your trip is over. |
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Quoted: You are gonna have a great time. I've been just a mile further north. Your zone is quiet and you can relax entirely within the resort. Do these things: If you want to do more than the resort, that's great too. Go scuba. Do a cenote. Go birding. I usually go to Coz for diving or Isla Mujeres for relax. The whole area is great. Quintana Roo is one of the safest zones especially if you stay in the tourist areas. Primary danger is someone is gonna try to sell you something. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: You are gonna have a great time. I've been just a mile further north. Your zone is quiet and you can relax entirely within the resort. Do these things: Quoted: 1. DO NOT talk to anyone inside the airport in the zone after customs exit through airport exit. Anyone one in that zone will try to sell you a timeshare. 2. If at all possible, arrange transportation with the resort / travel agency. 3. By the local Mexican law, you theoretically will not be able to use $USD currency for any purchases / payments unless paying by credit card, YMMV. 4. DO NOT drink ANY water (unless from the sealed bottle) outside of resort. If you want to do more than the resort, that's great too. Go scuba. Do a cenote. Go birding. I usually go to Coz for diving or Isla Mujeres for relax. The whole area is great. Quintana Roo is one of the safest zones especially if you stay in the tourist areas. Primary danger is someone is gonna try to sell you something. Will be following all this advice. Likely staying in the resort the entire time aside from maybe a nearby water activity. Already reached out to hotel on advice here to arrange travel to and from respite. It’s not all that bad considering and seems like a no brainer. Hailing a cab a cab or driver at the airport seems like an invitation for issues for the uninitiated. I’m grateful we’re heading to a quiet relatively safe area. I checked the US travel advisories and it looks like the stretch we are in is among the safer low risk areas but we’ll be cautious nonetheless. |
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Quoted: Awesome. Looking forward to it. Do you really bring that solid foam floaty with you? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: F'n A. Sunday is the foam party/live music in the main pool and starts at 3? 4? and runs about an hour. Hope you get in early enough to catch it. Monday afternoon they set up a mechanical bull poolside and a good time is had by all. Activities start early and entertainment starts later in the morning every day. Entertainment on the plaza and in the theater daily. We get there later on the 25th so dinner and turn in. Starting Wednesday we'll be in the pool. Probably the oldest dude there. Taking the same hat. I'd buy dinner but, well, you know - included. We did a Sunday arrival once. The flight down was full of hungover Saturday wedding honeymooners. The plane went up and down, side to side but wasn't Airforce One for crying out loud. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/312702/P7040178_JPG-3127304.JPG Awesome. Looking forward to it. Do you really bring that solid foam floaty with you? A lot of people bring blow-up floats and the poolside place where you can book water-based excursions will blow them up for you. Pro tip - stick tape strips on the sides of your checked luggage if your luggage is a generic style and common color. Makes your black suitcase stand out on the luggage carousel or on the floor. Especially if the luggage comes off the plane before most passengers clear customs. The airport staff will take the bags off the carousel and have them in a big mass on the floor which can make it hard to see which bag is yours. |
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Quoted: I thought Chichen Itza was pretty cool. Coba is neat too and they still let you climb the pyramid there. It's slick as shit though. The Tulum ruins were the least impressive to me. There are a zillion options for a Chichen Itza day trip, most include a cenote swim and lunch. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: The ruins are...ok. Tulum was ok, Chichen Itza I would pass on. Midway between Cancun and Playa del Carmen is a cool little fishing village called Puerto Morellos, have lunch there and spend a little time walking along the waterfront. I thought Chichen Itza was pretty cool. Coba is neat too and they still let you climb the pyramid there. It's slick as shit though. The Tulum ruins were the least impressive to me. There are a zillion options for a Chichen Itza day trip, most include a cenote swim and lunch. Attached File Attached File Attached File |
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I’ve been there twice, other than the paranoid doombots advice, most of the posts here are accurate.
Enjoy yourself, you’ll have a good time. |
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Quoted: If it was in August I would say go for the Whale Sharks. Amazing experience. Cancun nightlife can be great. At the right time the beaches at night can have a lot of turtles coming out of the ocean to lay. Lots of outdoor activities. I like Mexico and also Belize. Can it be dangerous? Sure so be careful but have fun. View Quote MEXICO 2022 | Valentin Imperial Riviera Maya | 4K Turtles nesting time at the resort has the beach closed down at dark. The resort is situated to reduce the amount of light visible to the turtles. The resort collects the eggs and relocates them to a fenced/covered area to help more survive until hatched. I think the dates are date collected and date of the expected hatch. Attached File The darker-colored blotches are nests from overnight. They collect the eggs early every day before they run the beach grooming tractor. Attached File Attached File |
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Arrange your ground transportation before you leave the USA. A resort will or might have a shuttle. Expect to pay up to $40 each for the one way ride.
Don’t just hire a cab at the airport. The Cancun Airport is a mad house full of grifters driving cabs. |
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We did a daytime trip to Playa del Carmen 5th Avenue once. I thought the trip was worth it - once. We are not shoppers and the only thing we bought was souvenirs for the grandkids, lunch, and the occasional bottle of water as we walked around. I suppose the nightlife there is OK as long as you stay in the tourist area if that is of interest. We enjoyed the trip but we don't feel the need to go again. The natural and ancient touristy stuff is far more interesting.
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A lot of tourists going down there are kind of elderly plus there are all the horrific risks from poisoned booze, criminals, cartels, and tum-tum aches.
Some of the wildlife away from Cancun recognize this and have certain expectations. Patiently waiting... Attached File |
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Quoted: When I went several years back, the resorts were poisoning/killing people with tainted alcohol. Cozumel is great diving. Just plan on getting Montezuma's revenge. Even if you drink only sealed bottled water.... guess what they wash the dishes and vegetables in? Hope you don't die, OP! View Quote We went for a week for 18 years. Never got Montezuma's revenge. Cozumel's water isn't safe to drink due to heavy metals, not bacteria. |
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View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: last time I went to mexico we were in Jalisco, stayed at the Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit ... https://media1.tenor.com/m/iSQH4cdR6qoAAAAd/confused-im.gif Jalisco is the mexican state that the town of Rivera Nayarit is in and the Gran Velas is in that town |
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Arrange for a shuttle from the resort to take you to/from the airport. DO NOT get in a random taxi.
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Quoted: Jalisco is the mexican state that the town of Rivera Nayarit is in and the Gran Velas is in that town View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: last time I went to mexico we were in Jalisco, stayed at the Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit ... https://media1.tenor.com/m/iSQH4cdR6qoAAAAd/confused-im.gif Jalisco is the mexican state that the town of Rivera Nayarit is in and the Gran Velas is in that town The Riviera Nayarit is across the border, in... Nayarit. Hence the name and all. It's not a town, it's a marketing term to promote the state and pull tourist dollars away from Jalisco and promote tourism in Nayarit. A big hurricane a while ago helped a lot, as Puerto Vallarta's beaches were devastated and the ones up north were preserved. The Gran Velas is in the town of Nuevo Vallarta, itself an artificial construction named to suggest itself as an alternative to the other side of the Ameca (the river that denotes the state borders) It's one of those things like U.S. side / Canada side regarding Niagara Falls. People take this shit seriously. |
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Don’t take any weapons (happens all the time, people are dumb and take things on accident), stay in the resort and have fun. If SHTF hang low and acquire weapons there if needed
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Quoted: I rent a car every time I go down there. Not many people do that but I've never had problems. With your own transportation you're not on someone elses schedule, can do what you want, when you want and where you want. Some (most?) places take American dollars or plastic but best to exchange for some pesos when you get there. The ruins are...ok. Tulum was ok, Chichen Itza I would pass on. Midway between Cancun and Playa del Carmen is a cool little fishing village called Puerto Morellos, have lunch there and spend a little time walking along the waterfront. Rent a jeep on Cozumel and drive around the island. Get a manual transmission one. They're a blast. For dinner, ditch the all inclusive and go out at night. I can give you some recommendations for great dinner places in the hotel zone (Cancun) or downtown Playa. View Quote @pariahcarey I’d love dinner recommendations for Playa del Carmen. We are going there later this week. |
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Quoted: Links to Cancun-style resorts in the US ? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Fuck Mexico, spend your money in the US. Links to Cancun-style resorts in the US ? https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g60668-zff8-Guam-Hotels.html |
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View Quote That would be great if I could fly non stop, get there in under 6 hours and less than $1000. |
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Maroma Beach should have a catamaran called Happy Endings. They run a nude cruise out of there every week, which has nude snorkeling, a sail ride, and some good swim spots. They offer the same with clothes too for the other days.
They were doing morning and sunset rides. Good crew and there are some decent snorkeling spots not far from the beach. Biggest issue will be the weather, as they won't push out as far with high winds. If you are experienced, they let you do your thing. Attached File |
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Quoted: Yeah. Worth it since on occasion all the similar provided solid foam floats at the pool are taken like when there is a crowd for the foam party or the mechanical bull party and some of the other events. We use it like a floating table - drinks, flip flops, a place to set the camera, sunscreen, whatever. It rolls up and fits in a large wheeled suitcase with room for more stuff. The headrest hollow works for bringing back booze - just poke the bottles in. A normal couple could make do with two big suitcases for two weeks there but with the float, we have to take three plus two carry-ons and a personal item since my wife brings a ton of unnecessary stuff. Having to dress for dinner doesn't help. I understand the resort's desire to keep it a bit classy at dinner the restaurants and the one fancy bar but lugging long pants, nice shirts, the wife's dresses, and extra shoes to the beach is a pain. Some of the dresses on some of the younger women make the evening so that helps offset the hassle. A lot of people bring blow-up floats and the poolside place where you can book water-based excursions will blow them up for you. Pro tip - stick tape strips on the sides of your checked luggage if your luggage is a generic style and common color. Makes your black suitcase stand out on the luggage carousel or on the floor. Especially if the luggage comes off the plane before most passengers clear customs. The airport staff will take the bags off the carousel and have them in a big mass on the floor which can make it hard to see which bag is yours. View Quote Appreciate all of the tips. Really looking forward to the resort and meeting you and your wife. Yeah, we've had colored duct tape wrapped around the handles of our suitcases for years. Definitely the way to go. Each member of our family has a different color... |
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I didn't read any of this thread before responding, so I'm sure I won't be the first to say any of this, but I did the all inclusive resort thing a couple years back and had a great time.
- I'd arrange all transportation through the hotel. There will be a ton of people outside the airport trying to get you to schedule things or buy things. Our travel agent told us not to talk to any of them and just get to the shuttle van. - We didn't leave the resort once we got there. I envisioned it being in a city that we could walk around... it was in a swamp, sandwiched between two other resorts. I wasn't the least bit interested in exploring the area. - I was nervous about the passport process, but it was no big deal once I went through both ways. - We didn't go on any excursions or leave the resort property at all. Didn't have the desire to. - Our resort was "all inclusive" so we didn't have to pay for anything. We brought cash for tips, which the staff was appreciative of. They will come around and ask if you want drinks more often if you do that. We took a couple hundred and didn't use it all. |
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Quoted: How safe are the roads from Quintana Roo down to Belize? View Quote Very good. Only one spot where there is a dumb cop out there trying to stop you. He is about 90 minutes south of Tulum. I have never been stopped by him since most of the cops only stop locals. This guy did stop a friend who had to argue about his speed. He ended up being let go. There is a nice law about being a tourist and getting a first pass on your violation but I have never had to use it. Border crossing is easy and there are a few companies that will let the rental car cross. If you go that far south, you need to hit Bacalar for some awesome water. If you are only looking at going south, the Chetumal airport is the closest. Tulum will likely impact a lot of the flights from the US though especially since our last flight from DFW had about 40 people on it. |
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Quoted: Links to Cancun-style resorts in the US ? View Quote Don’t know any, I guess kalahari and great wolf lodge may get someone close, but they aren’t all inclusive. I looked into renting a house for my family to go to Destin this summer. Guess the increase in property tax and insurance rates drove the price up. So it was going to be 3k dollars a day after fees and taxes. So flying to Cancun on points and the all inclusive resort for the 4 nights is 3k total. |
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I went last year and going back this year. Only take carryons. Dont stop inside the airport unless customs stops you. Book your transport before you arrive. Most resorts include transport. When you get outside, look for your resort guy and let them know you are there.
We only left resort during the day, never at night. But mostly just stayed at resort. We booked a great resort with everything so why leave. We also will only go to adults only. Have fun and be careful. Not a place you want to take risks. |
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Quoted: That would be great if I could fly non stop, get there in under 6 hours and less than $1000. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: That would be great if I could fly non stop, get there in under 6 hours and less than $1000. Lol no, fastest route to Guam is flying through Japan then picking up the honeymooners' flight. Lots of legal machineguns to rent though. |
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This thread is relevant to my interests.
Any recommendations for fishing chartes in Cancun? I have been debating about where I could take the family, enjoy the amenities of a resort and catch some fish. |
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Quoted: This thread is relevant to my interests. Any recommendations for fishing chartes in Cancun? I have been debating about where I could take the family, enjoy the amenities of a resort and catch some fish. View Quote Sometimes it’s just cheaper going to the dock and looking for a local to take you, and you can bargain. We did it for scuba diving at playa mujeres. My brother in law chartered a boat a couple times for fishing, he just told one of the guys (like a bartender) that he wanted to and the guy said he can set it up. They literally came to the resort in their boat and took him. We even brought back the fish and had them cook it. |
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Quoted: Sometimes it’s just cheaper going to the dock and looking for a local to take you, and you can bargain. We did it for scuba diving at playa mujeres. My brother in law chartered a boat a couple times for fishing, he just told one of the guys (like a bartender) that he wanted to and the guy said he can set it up. They literally came to the resort in their boat and took him. We even brought back the fish and had them cook it. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: This thread is relevant to my interests. Any recommendations for fishing chartes in Cancun? I have been debating about where I could take the family, enjoy the amenities of a resort and catch some fish. Sometimes it’s just cheaper going to the dock and looking for a local to take you, and you can bargain. We did it for scuba diving at playa mujeres. My brother in law chartered a boat a couple times for fishing, he just told one of the guys (like a bartender) that he wanted to and the guy said he can set it up. They literally came to the resort in their boat and took him. We even brought back the fish and had them cook it. This... I was at an all inclusive and this guy came up wanting me to do a charter for something like $300. I passed, but we talked a while, we drank some cheladas and exchanged WhatsApp numbers (ALWAYS exchange WhatsApp info). I got a message a day later wanting to know if I wanted to go along with him, his buddy and his GF on Saturday, because his boss was letting him take the boat out and he'd take me along if I helped out with splitting the gas 4 ways. It came out to something like $40. I couldn't go because that was the day we were flying home. |
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View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Fuck Mexico, spend your money in the US. Links to Cancun-style resorts in the US ? https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g60668-zff8-Guam-Hotels.html Well played, I'm actually interested ha ha |
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Quoted: Well played, I'm actually interested ha ha View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Fuck Mexico, spend your money in the US. Links to Cancun-style resorts in the US ? https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g60668-zff8-Guam-Hotels.html Well played, I'm actually interested ha ha The main strip has shooting ranges on either end of the strip malls for the Japanese honeymooners, w/ full nude bars in between for the sailors & airmen stationed there, filled w/ Chinese gals wanting to get their Green Cards. The hotels look pretty nice, and the SCUBA diving for noobs is amazing. Several other 2nd WW battle sites are short airplane hops away. |
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