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spring break cancun guide |
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How To Plan Your Trip To Cancun In 10 Easy Steps!
By Noel Gomez, Thu Dec 8th
Cancun has always been a popular spring break traveldestination. Whether you're a seasoned traveler or planning yourfirst trip, there are several important things to keep in mindbefore calling your travel agent and booking your next vacationto Mexico: 1. Time of year: While "Cacun in the Springtime" is very fun,the truth is that you're most likely to spend many days outside,because the weather can be humid and hot. Sometimes there israin, but if you're not sure of weather patterns, check withyour travel agent who can advise you on rainy seasons or otherweather-related issues for traveling to a specific spot. 2. Your Budget: Decide how much you've got to spend, and don'tforget to include extras like tourist attractions, gettingaround, souvenirs and meals (which are typically much cheaper inCancun than in the states). If your budget is smaller, considervisiting Cancun, looking for packaged tours, or, if you'reflexible, book a "last-minute" trip, which can often save you30% or more. Check out the current exchange rate between yourcurrency and that of the country you'll be visiting, to have abetter idea of what your vacation is going to actually cost you.Whenever possible, travel during an off-peak season to save evenmore.
3. Your secret dreams or "someday" wishes: For most of us,taking a vacation is something we get to do only once a year,and often plan and save the whole year for. So if you havealways wanted to visit somewhere or do something special -- whywait? Include it in your next vacation plans. 4. Political Climate: While most countries that rely on tourismmake every effort to ensure the safety of tourists, these daysit's always a good idea to keep up on the current politicalclimate of the country you're planning to visit, especially ifthere have been problems in the past. 5. Your own "internal clock": If you prefer sleeping in in themornings, and "doing your own thing" then a guided tour isprobably not for you. Most guided tours start early in themorning, and you're on the go until evening. You may visitseveral cities in a country or countries within a specifiedamount of time, and you're required
MEXICO HOTELS:
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HOTEL SEARCH...
What To Eat
The basic Mexican diet is essentially one of corn (ma? and its products, supplemented by beans and chiles. These three things appear in an almost infinite variety of guises. Some dishes are hot (ask ¿es picante?), but on the whole you add your own seasoning from the bowls of home-made chile sauce on the table - these are often surprisingly mild, but they can be fiery and should always be approached with caution.
There are at least a hundred different types of chile, fresh or dried, in colours ranging from pale green to almost black, and all sorts of different...
to stay with the group. On the other hand, if you don't like traveling alone, you enjoythe companionship of others and getting to see as much aspossible in the time you've got, a guided tour or cruise may bejust the thing for you. 6. How you like to spend your time: Take a little time to thinkabout what you like doing before planning your trip. Do youprefer the water, or the mountains? Lying on the beach, orrock-climbing? Adrenaline rushes or visiting a museum? While going outside your comfort zone and trying new things canbe a great experience, spending your time doing something thatbores you silly or makes you uncomfortable and unhappy justdoesn't make sense. Once you know what you want to do, figureout what you'll have time to do. Many times, in an effort to getthe "most bang for our buck" we tend to over plan the vacation,and end up needing a vacation from the vacation when we gethome! Prioritize your list, and be willing to save someactivities or attractions for another trip. 7. Use the resources that are available to make your tripspecial and save money: Today's travelers have numerous optionswhen planning their vacation. You can use the Internet to findout more about the cities or countries you want to visit, checkout prices, even book your flight or hotel room. If you'revisiting a place for the first time, check with a travel agent,talk to someone who's "been there, done that" on an InternetForum, or contact local chambers or commerce or travel councilsto get more information about where to go, what to see and whatto do. 8. Get organized: You can use trip-planning software, or yourown favorite organizing system to organize and plan your trip.Don't forget things like making sure your passport and pictureID are up-to-date, finding out if travel insurance is somethingyou need, and how and where to exchange your money. The moreorganized you are in the beginning, the better vacation you'llhave. 9. Pack lightly: Most of us take too much on a vacation, and endup lugging heavy suitcases and other bags along filled withitems that we either don't use or don't need. When planning yourtrip, look at your wardrobe and pack as lightly as you can. Takeonly what you'll really need, and remember that if you forget orend up needing something, chances are you can get it once youreach your destination. 10. Have fun! Get organized, make your plans and expect thebest. That way, once you're on your way, you'll be able to relaxand enjoy yourself. But remember, there are very few "perfect"vacations, so if something does go wrong, try to relax and "gowith the flow" as much as possible. Experienced travelers saythat sometimes their best vacations have been the ones where theunexpected happened. About the author:Please visit my website at: http://www.cancunvacationoil.com.For more tips please visit vacation today and relax inthe sun! |
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Here are some articles to start with. |
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How To Find Best Hotels In Cancun
Let us leap back to dig out the history of Cancun. On a fast paced & rough research, one will quickly discover that it isn’t a historical place. Cancun was just an untouched jungle village in the Read more...
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The Affordable & Comfortable Tropical Cancun Honeymoon Checklist
By Noel Gomez, Thu Dec 8th
- Schedule your departure day two days after the wedding to giveyou ample time for rest after the activities and thecelebrations. If you must travel immediately, remember to leavein the middle of Read more...
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a popular island resort off the northeastern tip of the Yucatan peninsula
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MEXICO HOTELS:
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HOTEL SEARCH...What To Eat
The basic Mexican diet is essentially one of corn (ma? and its products, supplemented by beans and chiles. These three things appear in an almost infinite variety of guises. Some dishes are hot (ask ¿es picante?), but on the whole you add your own seasoning from the bowls of home-made chile sauce on the table - these are often surprisingly mild, but they can be fiery and should always be approached with caution.
There are at least a hundred different types of chile, fresh or dried, in colours ranging from pale green to almost black, and all sorts of different...Where To Eat
Basic meals are served at restaurantes, but you can get breakfast, snacks and often full meals at caf?too; there are take-out and fast-food places serving sandwiches, tortas (filled rolls) and tacos (tortillas folded over with a filling), as well as more international-style food; there are establishments called juger? (look for signs saying "Jugos y Licuados") serving nothing but wonderful juices (jugos), licuados (fruit blended with water or milk) and fruit salads; and there are street stalls dishing out everything from tacos to orange juice to ready-made crisp vegetable salads sprinkled with chile-salt and lime.
Just about every market in...Mexican food
Whatever your preconceptions about Mexican food, if you've never eaten in Mexico they will almost certainly be wrong.
It bears very little resemblance to the concoctions served in "Mexican" restaurants or fast-food joints in other parts of the world - certainly you won't find chile con carne outside the tourist spots of Acapulco.
Nor, as a rule, is it especially spicy; indeed, a more common complaint from visitors is that after a while it all seems rather bland.
Banditry: A Warning
You should be aware when driving in Mexico, especially in a foreign vehicle, of the danger of bandits.
Robberies and even more serious assaults of motorists do occur, above all in the northwest and especially in the state of Sinaloa. Sometimes robbers pose as police, sometimes as hitchhikers or motorists in distress, so think twice about offering a lift or a helping hand. They may also try to make you stop by indicating there's something wrong with your vehicle.
On the other hand, remember that there are plenty of legitimate police checkpoints along the main roads, where you must stop....Public transport
Public transport within Mexican towns and cities is always plentiful and inexpensive, though also crowded and not very user-friendly. Mexico City has an extensive, excellent Metro system, and there are smaller metros in Guadalajara and Monterrey, but elsewhere you'll be reliant on buses, which pour out clouds of choking diesel fumes; often there's a flat-fare system, but this varies from place to place.
Wherever possible we've indicated which bus to take and where to catch it, but often only a local will fully understand the intricacies of the system and you may well have to ask: the main destinations of...Hitching
It's possible to hitch your way around Mexico, but it can't be recommended - certainly not in the north. Lifts are relatively scarce, distances vast, risks high, and the roadside often a harsh environment if you get dropped at some obscure turn-off. You may also be harassed by the police.
Many drivers - especially truck drivers - expect you to contribute to their expenses, which you may think rather defeats the object of hitching. In short, hitching is not safe: robbery is not uncommon, and women in particular (but also men) are advised not to hitch alone.
You should wait...Accidents
Should you have a minor accident, try to come to some arrangement with the other party - involving the police will only make matters worse, and Mexican drivers will be as anxious to avoid doing so as you will.
Also, if you witness an accident, don't get involved - witnesses can be locked up along with those directly implicated to prevent them from leaving before the case comes up.
In any more serious incident, contact your consulate and your Mexican insurance company as soon as possible.
Spare parts and breakdown
Unless your car is a basic model VW, Ford or Dodge (all of which are manufactured in Mexico), spare parts are expensive and hard to come by - bring a basic spares kit.
Tires suffer particularly badly on burning-hot Mexican roads, and you should carry at least one good spare. Roadside vulcanizadoras and llanteros can do temporary repairs; new tires are expensive, but remoulds aren't a good idea on hot roads at high speed.
If you have a breakdown, there is a free highway mechanic service known as the ngeles Verdes (Green Angels). As well as patrolling all major routes looking...Parking
Parking in cities is always going to be a hassle, too - the restrictions are complicated and foreigners are easy pickings for traffic police, who usually remove one or both plates in lieu of a ticket (retrieving them can be an expensive and time-consuming business).
Since theft is also a real threat, you'll usually have to pay extra for a hotel with secure parking. You may well also have to fork over on-the-spot "fines" for traffic offences (real or imaginary).
In the capital, residents' cars are banned from driving on one day of every week, determined by their licence number....Mexican roads and traffic
Mexican roads and traffic are your chief worry when driving in Mexico. Traffic circulates on the right, and the normal speed limit is 40kph (25mph) in built-up areas, 70kph (43mph) in open country, and 110kph (68mph) on the freeway. Some of the new highways are excellent, and the toll (cuota) superhighways are better still, though extremely expensive to drive on.
Away from the major population centres, however, roads are often narrow, winding and potholed, with livestock wandering across at unexpected moments. Get out of the way of Mexican bus and truck drivers (and remember that if you signal left to...Fuel
The government oil company, Pemex, has a monopoly and sells two types of fuel: Premio (leaded) and Magna Sin (unleaded), both of which cost slightly more than regular unleaded north of the border, at about US$2 per US gallon.
Magna Sin is increasingly available, in response to howls of outrage from US motorists who have ruined their engines using Premio.
Driving License
Drivers from the US, Canada, Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand will find that their licences are valid in Mexico, though an international can be useful, especially if yours has no photo on it.
It's important to remember you are required to have all your documents with you when driving. Insurance is not compulsory, but you'd be foolhardy not to take some out.
Renting a car
Renting a car in Mexico - especially if done with a specific itinerary in mind, just for a day or two - avoids many of the problems and is often an extremely good way of seeing quickly a small area that would take days to explore using public transport.
In all the tourist resorts and major cities there are any number of competing agencies, with local operations usually charging less than the well-known chains. You should check rates carefully, though - the basic cost of renting a VW Beetle for the day may be as little as US$15/£10, but by...Driving in Mexico
Getting your car into Mexico properly documented is just the start of your problems. Although most people who venture in by car enjoy it and get out again with no more than minor incidents, driving in Mexico does require a good deal of care and concentration, and almost inevitably involves at least one brush with bureaucracy or the law, although the police have eased up of late in response to pressure from above to stop putting the bite on tourists.
Ferries
Ferries connect Baja California with a trio of ports on the Pacific mainland: Santa Rosal?to Guaymas, and La Paz to Mazatl?and Topolobampo (for Los Mochis). For detailed information on fares and schedules see www.mexconnect.com/mex_/mexicoferryw.html (www.mexconnect.com/mex_/mexicoferryw.html).
There are also smaller boats to islands off the Caribbean coast: from Chetumal to Xcalak, from Canc?o Isla Mujeres and from Playa del Carmen and Puerto Morelos to Cozumel (the ferry from Puerto Morelos is cars only and doesn't carry foot passengers). Though not as cheap as they once were, all these services are still pretty reasonable.
Flights
There are more than fifty airports in Mexico with regular passenger flights run by local airlines, plus several smaller airports with feeder services. The two big companies, both formerly state-owned and with international as well as domestic flights, are Aerom?co and Mexicana, which between them connect most places to Mexico City, usually several times a day.
Their monopoly is being challenged by a handful of smaller airlines that are growing rapidly and offering greater numbers of destinations all the time. Of these, Aviacsa serves the Yucat? Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guadalajara, Acapulco, Canc?Tijuana and Monterrey. Aerolineas Internacionales and Aero California also...Trains
Rail travel is generally less than half the price of the bus in Mexico, but it's also far less common, much slower and rarely on time - that's hours late, not minutes. The few services which do exist are infrequent, with only one a day or three a week on most lines.
Most services have been cut since privatization in 1995. In general, train travel is only recommended in northern and central Mexico. The most popular journeys include those from the border to Mexico City (where sleeper services represent great value), Mexico City to Oaxaca, and the amazing Copper Canyon...Buses
Within Mexico, buses (long-distance buses are called camiones, rather than autobuses, in Mexican Spanish) are by far the most common and efficient form of public transport. There are an unbelievable number of them, run by a multitude of companies, and connecting even the smallest of villages. Long-distance services generally rely on very comfortable and dependable vehicles; remote villages are more commonly connected by what look like (and often are) recycled school buses from north of the border.
There are basically two classes of bus, first (primera) and second (segunda), though on major long-distance routes there's often little to differentiate the...Getting around
Distances in Mexico can be huge, and if you're intending to travel on public transport, you should quickly get used to the idea of long, long journeys. Getting from Tijuana to Mexico City, for example, could take nearly two days nonstop.
Although public transport at ground level is frequent and reasonably efficient everywhere, taking an internal flight at least once may be worthwhile for the time it saves.
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