my wife and i are heading to cancun sept 30 for a week. we are staying at the royal sands. we are experienced travellers(thailand, aust/nz, sri lanka, lithuania, sweden, etc) but have never been to mexico. on most of our trips we like to wander but i don't think that cancun is that type of area. i hope that we don't have to stay in the resort area. what is the local city like? what to see? snorkling? tour company that you highly recommmend? thanks

there IS a downtown Cancun you can visit or stay in. i've not been to that side of Mexico myself, but i know from other budget travelers... well that there is in fact a real "downtown" somewhere away from the resort area.

Our one and only trip to Cancun was about five years ago. It wasn't our type of place, we ended up making a couple day trips over to Isla Mujeres. Short ferry ride, maybe 20 minutes. Lovely beach, great little town, cheap food and drinks.

You could also hop on a bus and be in Playa del Carmen in about an hour. Busier than Isla, but way more laid back than Cancun.

There are also numerous tours to the Mayan ruins in the area.

Cancun's a wonderful place to use as a base to explore the area.
If you're a confident driver, I highly recommend renting a car (check out Hertz or Executive) to explore the Riviera Maya. Around Cancun, don't drive, (too crowded) use the bus --there's a super easy bus system to use...65 cents a ride.
Make sure to get a map of the area, perhaps one of Cancun, and one of the RivieraMaya from mapchick.com The map is worth its weight in gold. Great restaurant recommendations, etc. I promise you, you won't regret it. Order it now, so you'll have it in time to study on the plane.

Go to Isla Mujeres, Tulum, Chichen Itza, and don't miss a stop in Playa Del Carmen to just explore, walk around 5th Ave. and have a drink at the Tequila Barrel or any number of places and sit and people watch...

What a beautiful area. You'll love it!

Oh, and Cancun is still recovering from last year's hurricane, it is not quite (but 85%) back to it's pre Wilma beauty. The beach and water are not quite the same. Still beautiful, though. I noticed this summer that downtown Cancun was much slower than before Wilma. It is in dire need of more business.

Two great restaurants in Cancun: Las Habichuelas (downtown), and Laguna Grill (hotel zone). Both fantastic.

thanks for the great ideas from all of you. still in the planning stage, so any other ideas will be appreciated.

is there such a thing as "happy hour" on the beach or in hotels, restaurants?