I’ve watched MANY of your videos to prepare for my solo trip to Cancun. I just got back a week ago and I LOVED it!!! Thank you so much for the tips and tricks to traveling!!!
One of the most noticeable differences between Mexican beach destinations and other places such as Bali or Thailand is the people. I've found that in both Cancun and Cabo, if people try to sell you stuff on the street, a polite 'no thanks' is all you need to do for them to leave you alone. In Bali and Thailand they will follow you down the street hassling you in most cases which has really put me off. The best reply I ever received was in Cabo, after I declined the local said 'I will try harder tomorrow, have a good day'. What a great attitude!
We had our honeymoon in Cancun :) We didn't drive, just took buses. Strangely enough, the crazy-ness of the buses was one of the highlights of the trip for me XD
As a Mexican I'd recommend you to explore some places in the rest of the peninsula, like: Bacalar & Chetumal, Cozumel, Mérida or Campeche. I was in Cancún without my parents for the first time some months ago and damn! everyone just wants to rip you off! That airport is more expensive than Brussels'! How's that even possible!?
Extremely important: when taking the buses, always have complete control of your wallet. They have professional pickpocketers riding the buses that set up situations on the bus to steal your wallet. Never let go of it when riding the bus.
Weird last year i was getting ready to go to greece and i found your videos this year i am going to Mexico and i find your videos lol You really have me covered sir.
Wolters, I hate saying this but when I go to Mexico, I want to feel that I am in Mexico. Cancun is too Americanized. I have taken the bus running along the entire hotel strip and it made me feel that I was in America, the malls, etc. My favorite place is Puerto Morellos. It is a great Mexican village where they have great restaurant's which are also not Mexican if you don't want to eat Mexican somedays. I also enjoyed Playa del Carmen and Cozumel. More Mexican to me. I liked Bucerias and the Puerta Vallarta area. So much more like Mexico. Just my opinion. I hope one day that I will get to visit Merida.
@CV0808 • I hear that Monterrey is even more like the US (especially Texas, Southern California, etc.) than are Mexico City or Guadalajara. After all, Monterrey is just 100-150 miles from the US-Mexican border.
I like your videos because I can trust your coverage. I am unusual with my likes of destinations. You help me weed out places I would not like to visit, or have introduced me to more unusual places that I would like. You save me a lot of money and time!
Thank you Brian. That is one of the things we try to do in our videos. Just help fellow travelers make better travel decisions on where to go and where their traveling dollars may go. Great travels to you!
Mark, as usual your video is awesome and a great reminder of things to expect that Ive forgotten about when I head back to Mexico for my vacation. Helps me to get excited. You always seem to get every detail
Thank you so much for your tips! My husband and I are traveling to Cancun this June. I have friends that live in Playa del Carmen and they gave us many of the same tips you did. You speak like a local from Cancun. Great job Walter!👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Victor Melendez, sadly it’s gotten worse in recent years... but Cancun is still relatively safe compared to the rest of Mexico as tourism is the main source of income so they try not to scare away tourist. If you want to go, but you’re a bit afraid of crime, I’d suggest going on tours with xperiencias xcaret. They are the best tour company in all of Mexico, it’s a bit more pricey, but well worth it!
I love this guy and this channel! Before I travel to any new place I always lookup Wolters World for some very practical & helpful advice. So many thanks Wolter!
We had taken the busses everywhere fdim our resort. Downtown (markets) to the city center/shopping mall... our biggest shock was that the bus pauses-it doesn't fully stop!
The airport is pretty crazy- I just didn’t pay attention to people trying to sell me stuff. Act like a European that doesn’t understand English or Spanish. I bought a cheap bus ticket to the city center instead. Very comfy bus ride too, a/c and TV. I also managed to ride local buses around the hotel district (they’re a bit intimidating) but just hand the coins and they’ll give you change. Play it cool
Omg I just love your video !! My family and I discover your videos with the one from Switzerland it was so amazing and helpful we had an amazing time and here I am . Great videos thanks you ! 🙂
In Cancun airport I remember being FORCED to take a taxi. There is nothing walking distance from the airport. Do not expect to take an UBER, the taxis will physically scare them away (throw rocks). Taxis were charging $30-$40 USD for the trip into downtown Cancun. While in Cancun area, take the A.D.O. bus they only charge $5USD to take you all the way to other town like Playa Mujeres, Tulum, Valladolid etc. These buses are everywhere. Or if your trip is within town, just wave down the local bus Driver and they will pick you up wherever you are at $0.50USD. Also there are Vans known as Collectivos aka Collectivo. They are the cheapest way to get from town to town. They charge roughly $3.00 from town to town.
Hello sir.. as of now we offered 80% discount for our 5 star and 7 star hotel here in CANCUN MEXICO. Just for 7 days and 6 nights sir. Also the bahamas cruise and florida destination are include for our package.
Just got back from Cancun, never felt unsafe, and we weren't hassled at the airport but I'm guessing we were lucky. We road public transit and friends of ours went to the mall and no issues. That being said, I personally wouldn't feel great about renting a car and exploring... stick with the masses of tourists if you are inexperienced.
Very informative video Mark! This has to be one of my fave videos you've done yet. I haven't been to Cancun yet but some day! For now, I will just continue to live vicariously through you :) Keep up the great work.
Wait- what’s wrong with drinking tequila and hanging on the beach😄 we are doing a sailing tour to Isla Mujeres, a fishing trip, a Mexican Cooking Adventure, and à spa day at Lagunamar! We love Cancun!
you forgot to mention that the main Street is pretty cool. alot of steakhouses and nice places to visit. there is a bus that will take you through town for a few cents. The taxi prices are pretty well fixed to take you to the center of town. Funny story. I staid at an all-inclusive. Everyone in my hotel seem to be Oriental in the lobby and elevator, but in the pool they were all Americans. Never figured it out. On the balcony of the room there was a sign that said " Do not hang your clothes from the balcony". So I didn't. I put my wet clothes on the chairs behind the sun table. When I went down to the pool. I looked up-- and every balcony had clothes hanging from them.
PS paying your ticket on the spot is paying a bribe. Always ask for a ticket and most of the time they will drive away. Also Mercado 28 is about as bad as the shark tank at the airport.
Watching our 30 minute natural sound walk through's might be helpful? We have one of Cozumel, a nice day trip. There's no ad's or presenters, they're just offered freely, as we found these kind of video's very helpful ourselves, especially alongside the informative video's Mark offers. Thank you again Mark for sharing your ever helpful advice. We always look forward to seeing more from you and have subscribed.
A couple of shocks I would add: 1. Most rental car prices you see listed online don't include Mexican insurance, which you have to have and it adds about $25 or so a day to the online prices. That said, while the traffic in Cancun is a bit crazy it is great to be able to drive down the coast to Playa del Carmen, Akumal, Xel-Ha, Xcaret, and Tulum all in about 80 miles -- and also great to go 25 miles into the peninsula and visit the big Mayan ruins at Coba. These roads are quite good and the people are friendly. 2. There's lots of great food in the Riviera Maya (and Cozumel) area. Lots of good Mexican food, lots of good seafood, and also good Mayan food -- and most of it at really good prices. All-inclusives can be nice and hassle-free if you just want to chill out in one place, but there's so much cheap, good food there that you don't want to just eat at the A.I. the whole time.
Carolina I think it depends on what you intend to do. For us, a family of 4, we rented a car for 3 of the 7 days that we were there and used it for day trips to Coba, Tulum, Akumal, Xel-Ha. While we hear the ADO buses that run to those parts are cheap, clean and safe, we were lugging our own snorkeling gear and bags with extra water, snacks and dry clothes, so it was nice to just have our own vehicle. The other days we didn't rent a car we either just relaxed at the resort or we used taxis or walked. You can reserve online or rent there, but if you reserve online just be mindful that most rates don't include the required insurance. Basically, even the smallest car will be right around $40 a day with all coverages. You can see a good example of this, and scroll down and read about all of the coverages, on this website for Isis Rentadora who we have used in Playa Del Carmen and Cozumel (they are good to deal with): www.isiscarrental.com/playa-del-carmen-rates/ P.S.: Hope this helps, have a great trip!
I went in Sept of 2007..I was surprised by how humid it was when disembarking the airplane. I shouldn't have been though as it is the Yucatan . I went on an excursion to Chichen Itza.. and the tour I was on did stop by a sink hole and also a restaurant with more authentic food. You pass many small villages that are how most people of the region live.
Ok, it took me to tip one to decide to never go there ... A holiday is for relaxing and not to constantly fight of these thieving a-holes ... I understand poverty and the need to make money for living, but this feels more like work then going on holiday ... oh ehr, great video I guess :)
Just don't leave the resort then. We go every year with our 2 young kids and it's a relaxing vacation for us. We have our shuttle waiting and go straight to the resort and straight back when done
Khalid Carrillo so true! We managed to avoid a lot of the crazy tourist stuff and really enjoyed our time. If you ever go and want to escape the all inclusive mayhem look for smaller hotels or apartments to rent on the lagoon side.
I’ve been watching your videos of different places and I wanted to compare them to a place I’ve actually been to multiple times to see how accurate you reflect a particular place. I have to say you have a great summary of Cancun for a non-Mexican tourist. You forgot nightlife, but since you’re with a family it makes sense you skipped that.
So Timely. We're headed down in a month though further down south. We're planning on getting a rental car and I'm a bit scared of that now. Lots of great tips as always. -Henry
Been going to Cancun since about 1995 when there were MAYBE 5 hotels. Not big name resorts either. Cancun NOW is a clone of Las Vegas. Palm trees, Designer stores, EXPENSIVE restaurants! Be ESPECIALLY careful around the middle of the hotel zone where The City, Dady-O's, Coco Bongo are. Like any place EVEN the US, common sense about flashing money, accepting "treats" or walking in suspicious areas should be observed. All in all, it's a great place to visit with proper research and good sense. Oh, and TIP the WAITSTAFF or Cleaning brigade in your hotel. For the most part they work EXTREMELY hard & aren't compensated
Thanks for all your tips! My whole family really want to go to Cancun but Im worried about safety. Is it safe there? At least in a hotel zone? I don't mean to be rude or anything like that, but I hear it all the time how dangerous Mexico is, but most people I know say it's not true and it's all fine. So sitting here and checking all these Cancun videos to find out.
Cancun is one of the safest destinations IN THE WORLD. I really believe it's much safer than many European capitals. People who say that it's dangerous are people who have never been there. Yes, there is a part of Mexico that is not advisable to go, but it's in the mountains and way far away from the Riviera Maya. But again, strange how people who insist you will be killed by druglords and have your kidneys stolen and your head sent back to your house, are people who have never been to Mexico. Same goes for so many other places.
I told my husband hold onto your bag at the airport! Two seconds out of customs, man walking with his bag. I saw the taxi drivers totally scamming couples. Saying they had their transportation on the phone and they're running late. If they paid him to drive them the other company would reimburse them later. Saw them do this to multiple ppl who. Just volunteered info to the cabbies. DON'T TELL THEM ANYTHING. Just wait for your company 😁
Very useful info...i am going to cancun in june 2019 and since you said it is ridiculous to use the atm, what would you recommend as far as taking all money on me and locking it in the safe?? Or just taking half out in the u.s and keeping half on my card??
Excellent video on Cancun! I lived in Cozumel for a year and what is described in this video covers pretty much all aspects you need to be aware of when traveling to CanCun in order to enjoy it! BTW, do you know what CanCun means? "Nest of snakes" in Mayan :-) Beautiful pace indeed!
I'm looking forward to coming to Cancun and the Yucatan Peninsula early this coming February for a few days, and in preparing for this trip as a kosher traveller, I'm amazed and surprised at just how many kosher restaurants - and Chabad Houses - there are in Cancun along with Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, and Playa del Carmen.
Wolters World I am going tomorrow and I saw that a round trip would cost 40 USD and we decided to rent a car but the problem is there are no gas stations near Riu Dunamar
When I went to Cancun all I wanted to do was sit on the beach an drink tequila an that's exactly what I did! All my friends did the tourist thing, but me I enjoyed the beautiful beaches. 10/10 dont regret. They all lost so much money lol
Interesting video. Again, I might say. One thing I am missing, is a Video on smoking in the US. States where its more free, states where You do not, and what the general rules are in hotels, availability of smoking rooms or smoking booths in hotels etc. Alot of Europeans still smoke. I smoke a pipe. I noticed You touched on it in your Vegas Videos (thanks for those), but I really could do with a more elaborate video on the subject. If you have the time ofcourse. Best Regards From Denmark. PS: Your video on Copenhagen was spot on. Thanks for visiting my city.
Generally, there is NO smoking in hotels/restaurants in the USA. There are some exceptions, like Las Vegas (Honestly haven't ever been anywhere else you can smoke inside. Las Vegas is Native American Land, which is why the laws are different there.) To smoke, you must go out onto your balcony/outside. Also a general rule here is to be 20 feet away from all entryways if smoking-- Usually only enforced by deathly glares.
Regarding the tap water ... is it safe to wash your face with the tap water, or how do you shower without getting the contaminated water in your mouth, or do you just have to be careful all the time when wash yourself ?
I'm Mexican born there and raised the first part of my life there, always drank tap water and never got sick, here in Houston I use the Brita pitcher just in case, I remember in Cancun I used to drink regular tap water, don't worry, you'll be fine On the other hand, a couple of years ago I almost died for eating a Chipotles burrito here, lol
El agua potable no es para beber...Pero es perfecta para todo lo demas...Yo soy de Cancun y cuando voy a USA jamas bebo agua del grifo...una vez lo hice en USA y me enferme.
Kemi A he’s a college professor with a P h d his wife works as well and they travel during school breaks and summers I believe . They have talked about being smart and frugal with their money so they can travel
10:50 I live in Cancun. It is not true about them making you pay speeding tickets or infractions on the spot. They are supposed to give you a ticket and you go to the public building and pay. "Paying on the spot" is just those police officer collecting money for their own pockets.
@@JinaEzell I am a "local", I feel. I have lived here for 12 years. Me and my family are Christian missionaries here who live in a colonia/village west of the city. The reason people pay right on the spot so they don't have to go and pay and there is no ticket even issued, the police are just pocketing the money. The police will tell you that if they give you a ticket it will cost some huge amount of money. At that time people usually offer them some lesser amount. This is not paying the infraction. This is simply bribing the police officer to not give the ticket and pocket this money. If you ask them if they can let you off with a warning or if you can pay right there. They will say, "I can't just let you go. What do you want to do?" This makes you make the offer because they are not supposed to be asking you for money because they know that is not how infractions are paid. They must give you a ticket and your driver's license gets attached to their copy of that ticket. When you go pay at the police station you get your driver's license back. It is very tempting for the police to take these bribes since they make very little money. Also the main reason that so many of the police work for the cartels because they just won't turn down getting a good amount of money.
