I just got back from a week in Cancun and Playa Del Carmen. It really felt good to get out of the cold Minnesota temperatures. The Cancun breezes and the cooler evenings are very enjoyable. I loved the whole vacation, but I learned a few things.
- I took my debit card so I could exchange money at the ATM. Make sure that you ask for the number of pesos you want. We are so used to thinking of dollars that it might confuse you.
- The exchange rate was 16.5 pesos to each US dollar.
- Some hotels do not exchange money for you, so make sure that you either bring a debit card or know where the exchange centers are. We found an exchange office right across the street from the RIU Playa car. They have excellent rates.
- We didn’t exchange a lot of money. We used the bus in Cancun frequently which is only about a dollar a ride, and you need pesos.We also tipped in pesos, but you can tip in US dollars as well.
- Really check out your hotel before you make a reservation. We stayed at the Oasis Sens and it has a lot of steps. Some places are not accessible by elevator. They have several pools, but you will need to walk up and down steps to get from one to the other and also to the beach.
- Determine what is most important for you in a hotel. Is it price, beach, restaurants, children’s amenities, ambiance, close to entertainment and activities, gym facilities, customer service, or friendliness of staff. Our hotel in Playa Car had everything except some of the evening shows weren’t the best. However, they had great daily activities such as yoga, bocce ball, Spanish lessons, beach volleyball, water aerobics, dance classes, scuba demonstration, pool games, horseshoes, ping pong tournaments, beach football, kayaking, catamarans, and bingo. The evening show was such a small part of the program that it didn’t affect how we felt about the resort.
- If beach activities are important, make sure you have the right type of beach. One of our hotels had very rough water and was not swimmable. However, some of the other hotels we visited had calm beaches with great sand, and swimming was very enjoyable.
- I recommend that you have your transfers prearranged. Some transfers are included in packaged products, but some are not. If you have not prearranged them, you can use a taxi, which is a little more expensive or the super shuttle. There is also a company called yellow transfers that is very reasonable.Their number in the US is 800-021-8087.All transfers companies were very timely.