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Cancun, Isla Mujeres, Chichen Itza, PDC, Cozumel Quick Tips
Thanks to TC and Diana for all of their wonderful help! We just returned from our trip and had a great time! I have included some things that I thought maybe helpful w/out going into detail about our trip so if you have any questions feel free to ask!
Cancun- The buses run up and down from the Hotel Zone to downtown until Midnight and are really easy to catch. Isla Mujeres From Cancun- take the local bus (that says Punta Juarez) to stop #100. If you are unsure, look for a single tall white structure with a round disk at the top (you can't miss it- it kind of looks like the old cartoon the "Jetsons") I think it was called Gran Puerto Cancun. The stop is before the Punta Juarez terminal towards the end of the bus ride. Take the Ultra Mar over to Isla Mujeres ($7 roundtrip). *We were dropped off at the Punta Juarez terminal and we could have taken another ferry over but the cost is still $7 roundtrip and the UltraMar (big and yellow) is much newer and faster!* *The La Cazuela M & J restaurant we tried to visit on Isla Mujeres is closed on Mondays! Chichen Itza- We did not take a tour and visited the ruins on our own. We took Rt.1 to the downtown bus station and bought 1st class tickets to Chichen Itza. The air- conditioned bus leaves at 9:00 am and returns at 4:30 pm. The bus ride takes around 3 hours. On Sundays the entrance tickets to Chichen Itza are a little less than half-price per person. Playa Del Carmen- We stayed at the Playa Maya on the beach. For those visiting the location is a bit difficult to find but worth it. The Playa Maya is 4-5 blocks from the bus station. Walk up 5th Avenue/turn right at the TGIFridays (8th Street) and walk down to the beach and cross through the Hotel Ahambra?s restaurant on the beach and you will find Playa Maya. For those visiting soon, 5th Avenue is under construction and it appears to end where the road is broken up after the turn off to Playa Maya. We discovered that an abundance of restaurants (paved road) exists further up 5th Avenue past all of the roads blocked for construction. We ate dinner at Yaxche (across from TGIF) and it was excellent! They have a great back patio w/ music!! *The Cozumel ferry seems to run every hour but did not have a 2:00 pm ferry. When you walk out of the bus station you can wait for a bicycle taxi to carry your luggage. Unfortunately, there were none at the time we stopped at the bus station but it would have been helpful. Cozumel- The snorkeling, sunset, happy hour at the Presidente was incredible and the shopping in Cozumel at Los Cinco Soles was fun! Final trip: We took the bus from the PDC main station to Cancun airport. Note: it appeared most places (even McDonalds) didn?t open until around 8 am in PDC so if you are leaving PDC to catch a earlier flight you may want to make arrangements to settle with your hotel the evening prior to your departure. |
One more important thing about Cancun Airport:
After you pick up your bags and before you have to push the "stoplight" - on the right past all the people yelling at you at the Ground Transportation/Info. Booth desk- you will see three stations (Riveria, Green Line, etc.). You can buy your ticket to the Hotel Zone in Cancun ($9 per person) or I believe anywhere. We also saw people buying bus tickets outside but beware of all the people trying to sell you maps and information. The airline even warned us that the people in the information booth are trying to sell you timeshare information. |
So true! The very official-looking "information desks" <i>inside</i> the Cancun airport are actually timeshare scams! Exiting the airport is a hectic nightmare. Just keep you head down and get the heck out of there! |
I don't really find the Cancun airport to be anymore of a nightmare than many foreign airports but agree that it can appear hectic. And I agree with Gekko, just ignore the folks trying to get your attention and head straight for the front exit.
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You are most welcome TVL!
Glad you enjoyed your trip, and thanks for the trip report. You gave some valuable information that will be very helpful to folks. We also just got back and 5th Ave is a mess huh? Hopefully, it will all be fixed by our next trip! :) |
Diana,
Waiting patiently for Trip Report Part II! And thanks TVL for all your tips! |
Oh frankie!
You have given me the gentle push I needed! I'll try to do it today or tomorrow at the lastest. Have been out of town since Fri. morning - just got back last night. |
No pressure, Diana :)!!!
And TVL, do you think you could compare Cancun and PDC? Especially the beaches? (I'm planning a 1st time trip to PDC later this summer and have only been to Cancun.) Thanks so much everybody! |
Diana,
Ditto w/ Frankie! I am so excited to see your trip report! (= |
Frankie,
I don't want to give the wrong impression because we enjoyed both beaches! Cancun- as you know more of the white sand/rough blue water but where we were staying was near the middle of the hotel area so everyone on the beach was mainly from our hotel. PDC was a great town w/ our new favorite restuarant (Yaxche) and the beach was clear and blue but where the main area is seemed a little crowded. We were only there one evening so I would guess that there a parts of the beach a little less in the main traffic area but it is really pretty and calm. In my opinion, the quality of food is better and the atmosphere is a little more "upscale in a low key way" than Cancun. I hope this helps! |
Steve,
Thank you for having us at your hotel! Everyone was really friendly and very helpful! (= You have a beautiful hotel and a wonderful beach! It was our first trip to the town of Playa Del Carmen so we fought the "gravel" but I think next time it will be easier! (= I don't know if you saw it on the posts but somehow we didn't see the entire end of 5th avenue beyond the brick towers (we thought it ended at TGIF)(= or the patio of Yaxche when we went for dinner! (= I think we soaked in a little too much sun!! (= We enjoyed our stay and thanks again for all of your help! (= We will have to come next time and hang out at the beach/bar and have drinks! It looked wonderful and relaxing!! (= Take care and we hope to see you next time! |
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