janice

Going to Cancun for 1st time. Where's best snorkeling? Anyone hear of a place called Sloppy Joes? Going for 5 full days. Will be going to Chicken Itza via tour, Xcaret by bus (not tour), day in Couzumel, day for downtown & Isla Mujeres. Are there public buses that go to Chicken Itza, would that be better than a tour? Is this too much to plan for? Read all the books & most of the sites. Looking for any personal likes/dislikes/suggestions. Good restaurants you've been to? How long is the bus ride to Playa Del Carmen? How long is bus ride to Chicken Itza (not the tours)? Also, anyone go to the Mexican Balley Folklorica and how was it? Is there a place called Sloppy Joes in Cancun? Any messages welcome. Thanks to all!

C.Clark

Hi Janice, we just came back from doing the Yucatan. The bus station is downtown and as soon as you walk in go to the far <BR>left, that's where you get the bus tickets to Playa del Carmen, it costs just under $50.peso's for two and it takes about forty five minutes.You can also take a bus to Chichen Itza it leaves at eight and eight thirty am. Cheaper than taking a tour and just as easy. Save your shopping for Cozumel it seems to be quite a bit cheaper than Cancun. Definately not to much to do sounds like our vacation. Have fun!! <BR>

mexicodan

Try www.cancunmx.com. I'm at choice1.com/villamontana.htm <BR> <BR> <BR>adios! <BR> <BR>mexicodan

janice

Thanks C.Clark & mexicodan!

janice

Still looking for any other opinions or suggestions. Thanks!

Darin

Best snorkeling is in cozumel. sloppy joes is a bar. it's a chain, started in key west and made popular by hemingway. like much of cancun, it's more american than mexican. I would skip xcaret. although i've never been, every one I've talked to that has gone has used the words rip-off and cheesy. Cancun is made for drinking all nite and sitting by pool all day. cozumel is more geared toward scuba divers and beach lovers.

Carole

Darin, <BR>I agree with your post especially about Xcaret. We have a rental villa on a private 1/2 acre beachfront lot in Tankah. Located just north of the Tulum ruins, it's quiet and great for beach lovers. Check out our sites and also this site about cenotes in our area. <BR>http://CasaTropical.com <BR>http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smiths...r98/caves.html

case

Best Snorkeling: Don't really know. Xel-Ha had vast pretty water, but the fish were nowhere to be found. Saw an eel though. I would recommend more El Garrafon reef on Isla Mujeres. <BR> <BR>Chichen Itza: You should take a tour. If you go by bus or rental car, you still have to pick up a tour guide at the door. I doubt you'll be able to sneak around with a tour that's not your own. Plus, the tours stop at the Cenote on the way back which was my FAVORITE part... jumping into that wonderful fresh, fit-to-be-bottled water. <BR> <BR>Restaurants not to miss: Rosa Mexicano and El Pescador, both downtown. ($90 pesos from the hotel zone by taxi ($9.50 US)) Frommers recommends El PEscador. We never would have found it on our won-- excellent food. Never heard of Sloppy Joe's... heard of it in Key West. <BR> <BR>Definitely SKIP the Ballet Folklorico!! Nothing but old blue-haired people, bad food, only slightly interesting dancing and pretty-good music. Not worth it. It's better when they do it in HUGE arenas in Mexico City, not in a tiny ugly room at the convention center. DON'T BOTHER, I beg you. <BR> <BR>Email me if you want more.

Jacquie

We just got back from Cancun Today. We rented and car and went to Tulum and Playa del Carmen. We got to Tulum at about 12:00pm and spent the day there looking at ruins and laying out and swimming at the beach at Tulum. Later we went on to Playa del Carmen and spent the afternoon walking along the main strip which has quaint cafes, great shops and hotels off of it. Chichen itza is roughly 4 hours away from Cancun. I heard those ruins are better than Tulum. It's an easy drive to these places and driving in Mexico is not as hard as it sounds. Everything is marked very well. I would recommend driving yourself (make sure you ask for full collision damage waiver insurance with no deductible-that way if by chance anything were to happen you're not responsible for the car- at all!!) The only car rental places that has the waiver is Avis and Executive car rental ( we used executive $70 US for the whole day 11:00am-10:00am the next day ). I recommend renting a car so that you can explore places on your own time schedule. Tours usually charge a lot of money. For instance, we (4 of us) were quoted a price of $33USD/person to Tulum for 3 Hours. I would suggest if you don't want to rent a car- take a bus. One thing i didn't like about Cancun- I felt I was being ripped off every which way I turned. There are very few set prices in Cancun just about everything is negotiable. I would suggest you skip the Bullfight. Something i wouldn't miss is Coco Bongo I've never had so much fun at a night club before. It's wild.