I just came back from a lovely trip to Cancun, Mexico and before I left for trip , I found that there are not a lot of resources that help describe the atmosphere of the city and found myself learning a lot when I went, so much that i did not know when i got there. So if your planning on going to Cancun or are going to Cancun – here are a few things you might want to know!

Flight Booking/Hotel

• Book your flight in advance and check multiple times before you make a final decision
• Search multiple websites, and search at different days and time of the week, since flight prices change all the time.
• Depending on which site you use its sometimes better to book your hotel with your flight (What I did.)
• If you choose to fly Aeromexico it is a great airline, the seats are spacious, food is more decent than other airlines I have traveled with and movies are included. (I mention this because some airlines don’t have personal movie screens)

Emporio Hotel      

• The layout of Cancun is basically a long strip of land filled with many hotels, so pretty much wherever you stay you will be by everything.(All attractions require travel)
• I stayed at the Emporio Hotel which was like a Spanish Villa, extremely beautiful and spacious.
• The Emporio Hotel has multiple pools, places to eat , a liquor store and easy access to the beach.
• The best part of the Emporio Hotel is that they have a great team- EVERYONE is extremely nice and respectful. The entire team helps guide you to the attractions you desire.

Link to Hotel:

http://emporiocancun.com/ 

HOW TO GET AROUND

• All theme parks are a drive! No matter what mode of transportation you choose it will cost you. SO the best thing you can do is book within the hotel.
• Booking within the hotel is cheaper than out on the streets and they provide you with comfortable transportation from the hotel to your desired destination and back.
• You can choose to take a taxi however there are pros and cons. Pros- You can talk to the taxi man and get your price lowered. Cons- If you are traveling in a large group its harder to fit in one taxi, thus you will be extremely uncomfortable. Taking the bus to destinations is more comfortable and less stressful.
• You should know that Cancun is VERY TOURISTIC, so no matter where you go they will take care of you. You will be guided to each location as easy as possible.

MONEY/ SPENDING

• It had been a while since I traveled to Mexico, so I was at a lost with currency exchanges. Here is my best advice and needs to know.
• You can exchange your money prior to your trip, a Western Union is a good place. Try to get the most value. Call ahead of time and find out at what value they are giving the peso at. (Ex. I want to exchange $278 dollars USD, they are giving the peso at 14.00, that means I will get 3,900 pesos.)
• They typically give the peso at between (13.00-16.00) so try to get the most possible.
• If you want to get more value out of your dollar I would exchange your money to pesos.
• Please note that you DO NOT NEED TO CHANGE YOUR MONEY… MEXICO ACCEPTS US DOLLARS AND VISAS.
• However, they may only count your dollar at 13.50 pesos, so exchanging your money gives you more for your buck especially if you get it higher than 14.00 pesos.
• I found that flight tickets to Cancun are way cheaper than other locations, however do not let this fool you, Cancun is EXPENSIVE when it comes to paying for attractions. But there are ways to not spend so much.

BEST PLACES TO VISIT AND THINGS TO DO: 

Best Location(My favorite): Isla Mujeres——– Zip Lining

2nd favorite: Xel-Ha——— Swimming with Dolphins

LOCATION REVIEWS:      

• ISLA MUJERES————  This was my personal favorite and most relaxing place to visit. If you are traveling with kids, young adults or elders there is something to do for everyone here. First, you must take a taxi to the docking location, you can find out where that is within your hotel. Then, you pay when you arrive (PLEASE NOTE THERE IS ONLY ONE DEPARTURE TIME) and then a ferry will take you Isla Mujeres, it is about a 20-30 minute ferry ride, drinks are offered. Depending on the package you paid for you get different services and get taken to different locations. At Parque Garrafon is where I found it the most relaxing. There you will have an all day eating buffet, you can eat as much as you please, there are pools overlooking a beautiful view of the sea, and there are free activities. The free activities include snorkeling and kayaking. If you are not interested in neither, there are beautiful places for you to relax.  If you want more of an adventure I would strongly suggest zip lining, it is by far the best thing Isla Mujeres has to offer and probably my favorite part of the entire trip.The zipling only costs $12 USD which is SUPERBLY CHEAP considering that in the U.S you can pay close to the hundreds just to zip line. At Isla Mujeres you zip line across 3 points: from mountain to mountain, mountain to water, water to water. Also, I must inform you that even though the zip lining itself is cheap the photos are not. I spent around $50 USD for about 10 photos. But it was worth it! If you go to Cancun; Isla Mujeres is A MUST GO TO.
• XCARET MEXICO———– This next location is VERY BEAUTIFUL, LOTS OF WONDERFUL THINGS TO SEE , but one of the most expensive places to visit. Also, please note that this place is more for adventurous people that want to get thrills, for the elderly and children there is not as much to do, especially if the children do not swim. The prices to enter the park range from $99-$159 depending on the package that you choose, and this DOES NOT include the activities. I suggest the best package to get is the $159 pk because you get admission, buffet, snorkel equipment, locker and transportation. At Xcaret you can do everything from swimming in rivers , swimming with the dolphins, watch shows, sea trek, Scuba and adrenaline rides. They also had these most beautiful underground cave restaurant which is a must go to! Please note that this park is very huge, you must make reservations for all your planned activities at the start of the day. Also, a lot of the activities that are offered here are also offered in other parks.
• The Galleons of Captain Hook Pirate Show and Lobster Dinner———- EXPENSIVE, GOOD FOOD, PARTY SCENE.  If you’re expecting something like a Pirates Dinner Adventure you are mistaking. This adventure has its pros and cons. Pros- The food is good, the view is spectacular.This is a party scene, good if you were looking to party. Cons- Super expensive, $70 per person and an additional charge of $12 for each adult… PLUS finding your own transportation.  If you are not a “party person” you will be bored.
• XEL-Ha———  This was my second favorite place to visit. It was relaxing , smaller in size compared to Xcaret and lots of activities for children, adults and elders.  $89 for admission and $129 with transportation included/person. First off if you’re planning on swimming with the dolphins I would recommend you do it here because the atmosphere seemed very controlled and I saw more dolphin interaction here. One of the other attractions I would recommend doing is the bike zip lining, if you want to get an exercise, relax and enjoy a good view this is the thing to do. The best and scariest part of bike zip-lining is going through the bat cave, I was both scared and excited.(PLEASE NOTE YOU CAN TAKE YOUR SELFIE STICK ON THIS), don’t trust the photo they take of you, only my legs came out if it wasn’t for my selfie stick I would have gotten to know photos of this experience. Also, here at Xel-Ha you can eat all day at four different restaurants. (NOTE: the breakfast is horrible the rest is DELICIOUS)
• MUSEO MAYA DE CANCUN ——— As a traveler I like to enjoy the authentic Mexican Culture and learn of the history. Being in Cancun I felt like I was at some random beautiful island, not necessarily Mexico. So If you want to actually experience the culture I would suggest driving to the city. If you cannot do that and if you are the kind of person who enjoys museums (like me) i would suggest going to this museum. Its large rooms filled with stories and artifacts of the Mayan civilization. Then afterwards you can take a 5-8 minute walk through a beautiful archaeological zone and make your way to one of the Mayan pyramids. However, i must warn you of two things here….. THERE ARE TONS OF IGUANAS ALL OVER THE PLACE and YOU CANNOT TAKE YOUR SELFIE STICK. Either way I am really glad I visited this site, it was a lovely way of spending the afternoon  and only costs 64 pesos. 

SUMMARY:

Cancun, Mexico was a very beautiful place full of adventurous things to do. I definitely recommend this place for all travelers and would go back! If you have any questions on anything I might have missed please leave them below!

Thanks for reading!