april

stayed at hyatt regency (wouldn't recommend it). here's what we did:<BR><BR>Day 1 - got there, settled in, went to a Restaurant El Pescador in Cancun city. recommended by our frommers book (excellent, by the way) we both had a seafood dish and then shared ice cream cake. the waiter came out and lit rum on fire and poured it on the cake! it was soooooo yummy.<BR>Day 2. - got up at 6am. took bus (Ruta 1 downtown and then Ruta 13) to Puerto Juarez and then a boat to Isla Mujeres. i would defintely recommend traveling to isla mujeres on your own rather than paying $15.00 for someone to figure it out for you. we probably spent about $46 pesos, about $4.60 U.S. to get there. we rented bikes and rode around the whole island. it was awesome.<BR>we went to the giant sea turtle sanctuary, and wanted to free the sea turtles, they were sad and trying to escape. isla mujeres was beautiful. the beach was deserted cuz it was a cloudy day.<BR>we had dinner on the island and then took the boat back. got back to hotel around 7:00. rrrrrreeeeeeeelllllaaaaaaxxxxxxxxxxeeeeeeedddddd.< BR>Day 3 - got up at 5am. drove to Coba, Tulum and Aktun-Chen. a full, incredible day. a great drive. Coba was incredible. we went early and were the first people to explore that day. the beach at tulum is gorgeous. if you go, definitley plan on staying for 2-3 hours. Akutn-chen had limestone caves and a nice cenote. <BR>Day 4 - got up at 5am. drove to chichen- itza. spent about 6 hours there. drive there took about 1.5. the tour bus takes the non-toll road, so the ride is 3 hours in one direction. good shopping at chichen-itza. got back to hotel, layed in hammock and went down to beach at night.<BR>Day 5 - got up at 6am. went horseback riding on the beach. my horses name was golo. <BR>Loma Bonita Ranch. I wouldn't recommend that either. That night, we went to dinner in Cancun City at Restaurant Los Almendros. Excellent Yucatan food. first time i had it. it was very inexpensive too.<BR><BR>the hotel zone:<BR>filty, commercialized, EXPENSIVE (we paid $7.00 U.S. for a gallon of water!), tons of high-school kids drunk in the street. the air here stinks like bus fumes. not a place for children or people who care about anything else besides getting trashed and going to skeevy clubs. if i ever went back to mexico, there's no way i'd stay in the hotel zone at cancun.<BR>Day 6 - came home! <BR><BR>everyone warned us not to rent a car. "two girls driving around is too dangerous." we were absolutely safe. no one bothered us. i would recommend renting a car over a tour bus anyday. <BR><BR>we rented a car and drove ourselves around. i'm not a big fan of riding on a bus all over the place. we spent less money renting a car, plus we went at our own pace. <BR><BR>also, if you'll be visiting coba, bring along some things for the kids in the village, used clothes, crayons, paints, anything really. we gave them some things and the children were very happy. <BR><BR>if you have any question, let me know.

Susan

Sounds like you had a terrific trip, April - nice to see you getting out of Cancun!

Sant

Good report. Sounds like you had a lot of fun. I would like to point out that not all of the hotel zone is as you describe. I think the hotel zone south of, say, Palza Flamingos is clean, upscale, and relatively uncrowded.

Ana

April, great report. You confirm what I have sustained. Driving in Cancun and surrounding areas are a no brainer. Beats the bus tours hands down. You can take your time, go at your pace and stop if you see something interesting on the road. We were able to explore the Chichen Itza area well. We went to three cenotes the locals recommended, and were fascinated with the Blue Cenote.<BR><BR>About the Hotel Zone, it would also depend when you travelled. If it was spring break, long weekend, grad trip time, I would agree that it would be overcrowded with drunken teens. <BR><BR>We enjoyed eating at Cambalache, the argentinean restaurant located in the mall where the Hard Rock Cafe is located. Great service and food. The surroundings, were loud, not very nice, but the restaurant was well worth the trip.<BR><BR>PDC wins hands down for nite life. The open streets with the quaint restaurants are alluring. The music and laid back atmosphere beats the Cancun scene.<BR><BR>

Jim

Great report. It reminds me how much things have changed there. Do you have any pictures?