Info. please,Cancun, Mexico

Got a resort thru RCI for my son and his wife, it's a honeymoon gift. I own several timeshares but never used an AI or been to Mexico. Would like to know best way to pay for AI at check-in, US currecny, travelers checks or credit card? Also is US currency used mostly when off timeshare property. What is best way to get to timeshare from Cancun airport. Shuttle, bus, taxi...any other info much appreciated. thanks

jeffreya30 wrote:

Got a resort thru RCI for my son and his wife, it's a honeymoon gift. I own several timeshares but never used an AI or been to Mexico. Would like to know best way to pay for AI at check-in, US currecny, travelers checks or credit card? Also is US currency used mostly when off timeshare property. What is best way to get to timeshare from Cancun airport. Shuttle, bus, taxi...any other info much appreciated. thanks

There is a mini van service called Colectivo which charges like $10 per person . I think AI is a waste of money in Mexico..there are so many great places to eat so why limit yourself to only eating at your resort. I guess the only positive is that all your adult drinks are included. Taxis cant take you to your hotel by the way only bring you back.

tonye18 wrote:

jeffreya30 wrote:

Got a resort thru RCI for my son and his wife, it's a honeymoon gift. I own several timeshares but never used an AI or been to Mexico. Would like to know best way to pay for AI at check-in, US currecny, travelers checks or credit card? Also is US currency used mostly when off timeshare property. What is best way to get to timeshare from Cancun airport. Shuttle, bus, taxi...any other info much appreciated. thanks

There is a mini van service called Colectivo which charges like $10 per person . I think AI is a waste of money in Mexico..there are so many great places to eat so why limit yourself to only eating at your resort. I guess the only positive is that all your adult drinks are included. Taxis cant take you to your hotel by the way only bring you back.

========

Come again? "Taxis can't take you to your hotel...only bring you back"? From where? We are going to Cancun in January, so we really need information too.

I agree that AIs are very expensive and it's fun to eat in various places, but most of the resorts in Cancun seem to be All Inclusive. Perhaps the normal hotels are not. And Mayan Palace/Grand Mayan is not.

As to the question of how to pay for purchases outside the resort, some places will accept credit cards but most prefer cash. (Pesos) The problem we ran into in Puerta Vallarta was that the Money Exchange spots liked to give out large bills and some of the stores (nice ones) had trouble making change. Very odd. Maybe they thought that, if they fooled around long enough, we'd say, "Never mind." No such luck! MD

MD

The deal with transportation at the airport. There are van services called Collectivos that charge a flat rate per person to take you to your hotel/resort. Taxis can only bring back. That is the way it is set up.

Most hotels in Cancun are not AI. The Fiesta Americana's, Marriott, Ritz, Hyatt's, etc may offer you an AI plan but its not the standard. There are many that offer it but as a whole they are not strickly AI.

As far as how to pay, most places will accept US $ but will give you change back in pesos and the exchange rate won't be very good. The best place to exchange money is to go to an ATM machine and take out money. It will be in local currency and with the best posible exchage rate. There are ATMs everyone. I am not sure why those Exchange booths even exist since they charge a lot to change..sometimes 9% and their rate isn't all that good.

tonye18 wrote:

The deal with transportation at the airport. There are van services called Collectivos that charge a flat rate per person to take you to your hotel/resort. Taxis can only bring back. That is the way it is set up.

Most hotels in Cancun are not AI. The Fiesta Americana's, Marriott, Ritz, Hyatt's, etc may offer you an AI plan but its not the standard. There are many that offer it but as a whole they are not strickly AI.

As far as how to pay, most places will accept US $ but will give you change back in pesos and the exchange rate won't be very good. The best place to exchange money is to go to an ATM machine and take out money. It will be in local currency and with the best posible exchage rate. There are ATMs everyone. I am not sure why those Exchange booths even exist since they charge a lot to change..sometimes 9% and their rate isn't all that good.

==

So you are saying that one takes a collectivo from the airport to where you are staying and a taxi back to the airport. HMM. I suppose different vans go to different areas, since the resorts are pretty spread out. Guess they don't have guys offering to drive you to your resort if you will visit theirs for a presentation the next day! Would you recommend renting a car if you are going to be out of Cancun proper along the Costa Maya? Think we will actually be closer to Cozumel. MD

The timeshare people are there but do you really want to spend 90 to 3 hours just to get a free ride. The resorts are not that spread out. They are all along the main road in Cancun. Its an easy ride to all the resorts in the Hotel Zone. Of course they will try to group people based on the location of their resort.

Renting a car is the best option in my opionon, especially if you plan to drive south to Playa del Carmen and Xcaret.

You state you are staying closer to Cozumel, you mean across the water from it because Cozumel is an island right across from Playa del Carmen. If so, renting a car is the way to go....for sure.

tonye18 wrote:

The timeshare people are there but do you really want to spend 90 to 3 hours just to get a free ride. The resorts are not that spread out. They are all along the main road in Cancun. Its an easy ride to all the resorts in the Hotel Zone. Of course they will try to group people based on the location of their resort.

Renting a car is the best option in my opionon, especially if you plan to drive south to Playa del Carmen and Xcaret.

You state you are staying closer to Cozumel, you mean across the water from it because Cozumel is an island right across from Playa del Carmen. If so, renting a car is the way to go....for sure.

====== Yes, I probably should have said Playa del Carmen. Since posting previously, we have set up 4 nights in the hotel zone and they will come get us at the airport! After that we may rent a car to go to the second location. (We stayed at two different locations in Puerto Vallarta last year and enjoyed the diversity.) This initial short stay will be All Inclusive, which we have never tried before. Since that place will not have cooking facilities, this seemed reasonable--though I'll have to drink a lot a pina coladas to come out even! MD

I think Tony might have a good point about the value of AI over going out and paying.

There is an entertainment card for Cancun....but I don't know how good it is. It isn't like the USA entertainment cards...I think it only is good for the time you are there.....but it has a lot of one free with one tours & foods:

http://entertainment-plus.net/Index.cfm

A lot of first time visitors will go for the AI....and feel its an ok value. When they return, however, they do not wish for the AI.....they are a bit more familiar with the area. ( If you are staying in a T/S, it is good to know where the Wal Mart is.)

Please...don't go to a T/S or Holiday Club sales pitch. Just remember, a USA travel agent can get you to many Mexican resorts with AI, room, and air for the price many many T/S ouwners must pay for the AI alone.

kekouri wrote:

I think Tony might have a good point about the value of AI over going out and paying.

There is an entertainment card for Cancun....but I don't know how good it is. It isn't like the USA entertainment cards...I think it only is good for the time you are there.....but it has a lot of one free with one tours & foods:

http://entertainment-plus.net/Index.cfm

A lot of first time visitors will go for the AI....and feel its an ok value. When they return, however, they do not wish for the AI.....they are a bit more familiar with the area. ( If you are staying in a T/S, it is good to know where the Wal Mart is.)

Please...don't go to a T/S or Holiday Club sales pitch. Just remember, a USA travel agent can get you to many Mexican resorts with AI, room, and air for the price many many T/S ouwners must pay for the AI alone.

====== We MUST go to a Summer Bay presentation as the price of the extra 4 nights in Cancun! The rest of the time (2 weeks) will be at Mayan Palace. We'll have enough time to burn on this trip! Mary

adahiscout wrote:

tonye18 wrote:

The deal with transportation at the airport. There are van services called Collectivos that charge a flat rate per person to take you to your hotel/resort. Taxis can only bring back. That is the way it is set up.

Most hotels in Cancun are not AI. The Fiesta Americana's, Marriott, Ritz, Hyatt's, etc may offer you an AI plan but its not the standard. There are many that offer it but as a whole they are not strickly AI.

As far as how to pay, most places will accept US $ but will give you change back in pesos and the exchange rate won't be very good. The best place to exchange money is to go to an ATM machine and take out money. It will be in local currency and with the best posible exchage rate. There are ATMs everyone. I am not sure why those Exchange booths even exist since they charge a lot to change..sometimes 9% and their rate isn't all that good.

==

So you are saying that one takes a collectivo from the airport to where you are staying and a taxi back to the airport. HMM. I suppose different vans go to different areas, since the resorts are pretty spread out. Guess they don't have guys offering to drive you to your resort if you will visit theirs for a presentation the next day! Would you recommend renting a car if you are going to be out of Cancun proper along the Costa Maya? Think we will actually be closer to Cozumel. MD

I have just been to Cancun and rented a car there, be aware of the rental cars insurance policies, unlike the US or Canada where you can decline insurance using your credit card, they insist you get insurance, they have a minimum and max scheme, at Dollar it ranged from $ 11 to $ 25 per day. The roads are good along the coast, 4 lane highway, so its worthwhile renting. RL

robl54 wrote:

adahiscout wrote:

tonye18 wrote:

The deal with transportation at the airport. There are van services called Collectivos that charge a flat rate per person to take you to your hotel/resort. Taxis can only bring back. That is the way it is set up.

Most hotels in Cancun are not AI. The Fiesta Americana's, Marriott, Ritz, Hyatt's, etc may offer you an AI plan but its not the standard. There are many that offer it but as a whole they are not strickly AI.

As far as how to pay, most places will accept US $ but will give you change back in pesos and the exchange rate won't be very good. The best place to exchange money is to go to an ATM machine and take out money. It will be in local currency and with the best posible exchage rate. There are ATMs everyone. I am not sure why those Exchange booths even exist since they charge a lot to change..sometimes 9% and their rate isn't all that good.

==

So you are saying that one takes a collectivo from the airport to where you are staying and a taxi back to the airport. HMM. I suppose different vans go to different areas, since the resorts are pretty spread out. Guess they don't have guys offering to drive you to your resort if you will visit theirs for a presentation the next day! Would you recommend renting a car if you are going to be out of Cancun proper along the Costa Maya? Think we will actually be closer to Cozumel. MD

I have just been to Cancun and rented a car there, be aware of the rental cars insurance policies, unlike the US or Canada where you can decline insurance using your credit card, they insist you get insurance, they have a minimum and max scheme, at Dollar it ranged from $ 11 to $ 25 per day. The roads are good along the coast, 4 lane highway, so its worthwhile renting. RL

=====

Thanks for the information.

Cancun has number of beaches and famous hotels. It is also the best city for honeymooners to enjoy their honeymoon. There are also many travel companies providing the best packages for honeymooners. The best months to visit Cancun is Jan to March, these months have the best weather.

Having actually BEEN to Cancun since the exchange of messages above, I think there is one thing visitors should know. If you see a sign in your bathroom which says "Do not put paper in the toilet", this is not a mistranslation. You put the toilet paper in the trash basket and the maid empties it once, twice, or even three times a day. It seems that Cancun was designed with pipes too small to carry the burden of all the paper we are accustomed using. And you don't want to stop up the pipes at your hotel or a restaurant you visit.

They tried to tell us that this was the situation everywhere in Mexico, but that is not quite true. We have never encountered the probem at resorts elsewhere, including Mayan Palace a few miles down the road from Cancun toward Playa del Carmen. (It has its own sewage system.) Anyhow, read the signs and believe them. It isn't as awful as it sounds. MD

I see that transportation is a problem for too much people, and it was a problem too for us during the last years when we visited Cancun. This year we used Cheap Transfer Cancun as our transportation company, we wanted to have a cheap and private van to avoid all the fatigue of having a shared trip with other people going to different hotels. We went from Airport to Club Regina Cancun and the trip was comfortable and very secure. The driver even suggested us some tips for our holidays. When we arrived to our hotel, we enjoyed of our membership in Raintree Vacation Club to have a great vacations with our family. Our kids had fun with all the internal activities at the hotel, while we also had some couple time and visited the spa to relax from our daily routine. Cancun is a great place to visit!