Travel Tips for Cancun

 

Planning a trip to Cancun? Cancun, Mexico has beautiful turquoise waters, friendly staff with resorts and hotels for a variety of budgets. Enjoy these travel tips for Cancun that will help make your stay as smooth and relaxing as possible.

Travel Tips for Cancun from Start to Finish- 2021

These travel tips include Covid testing information, budget traveling tips and excursion tips for Cancun, Mexico. 

1. Pack Carry on ONLY

If your entire trip is only 3-5 days, try to fit all of your items in a carry- on suitcase. First, it’s cheaper if you don’t receive your first checked bag for free. Second, it eliminates the possibility that your luggage is lost during travel. It would be terrible to arrive in Mexico without your swimwear and personal items. Most airlines allow a carry on and a personal item like a backpack or large purse.

 

2. Arrive to the airport early

Depending on your travel time, lines can be longer than normal due to Covid protocols.  Flying international means that TSA and gate agents need to check boarding passes, identification cards and passports. TSA lines for early morning flights move fairly quickly even after Covid but arriving early can’t hurt.

3. All inclusive is the way to go

The idea of paying for just about everything before you even get on a flight makes you feel like you can relax even more. All food and drinks, except champagne, are completely covered. This saves time and energy on finding food and having the appropriate USD (United States Dollar) or pesos to pay for it.

4. Covid Testing

It is not required to provide negative Covid test results before flying to Mexico. It is highly recommend that you do not travel if you are showing any Covid symptoms or have received positive results from a Covid test. You are required to provide negative test results to the gate agent in Mexico before boarding your flight back to the US.

Without an email or printed negative results you will not be permitted to board the flight.

Hotels in Cancun provide free Covid testing and they email the results between 24-48 hours. They recommend that you schedule your test at least 2 days before your departure date. The US requires you to test a maximum of 3 days before your flight.

If you test positive while on your trip, many hotels offer a “Covid insurance”. This is where you pay an additional fee that reduces your  hotel charges for 2 weeks if you happen to receive positive results.

5. Don’t Drink the tap water!

The tap water can contain harmful parasites and bacteria that can be deadly. Hotels offer free bottled water. Use bottled water to brush your teeth and be mindful of drinks that contain ice. Opt for no ice if you can not tell if the ice was made with purified water. Refrain from fruits and salads as they may have been cleaned with tap water.

6. Tipping is a BIG DEAL

Staff members don’t mind receiving tips in dollars or pesos. Choosing an all inclusive resorts means that tipping is pretty much expected. No need to spend hundreds of dollars during your stay in tips, unless you want to. Leaving anything is greatly appreciated but we stuck with $3-$5 and even $8-$10 when we were highly satisfied with the service.

7. Don’t Stress over Pesos

You can completely avoid converting your dollars to pesos especially if booked an all inclusive resort. Taxis, shuttle drivers, almost everyone accepts USD. You can end up paying more for transportation if you pay in dollars so converting some money with your bank can be helpful. Avoid currency exchange at the airport and ATM’s; you can end up paying more in fees.

Also, beware of foreign transaction fees when using credit and debit cards. Inform your bank of your travel dates so that your card is not locked due to unusual activity.

8. Book Transportation Before you leave

Exiting Cancun airport can be very intimidating. There are tons of taxi drivers trying to convince you to choose their shuttle/ taxi service. Book your service before leaving so that your shuttle driver is waiting outside with your name on a card or wearing company uniforms.

9. Cancun Day Trips

Another way to avoid confusion and frustration is to book day trips and excursion prior to leaving for your trip. Some parks like Xplor may ask for a print out of your reservation.

Booking at home gives you plenty of time to get the appropriate papers printed and plan for shuttle pick up.

10. Be Safe

When traveling anywhere internationally safety is key. Store passports and traveling documents in a safe location in your suite. Don’t carry large amounts of cash and consider only taking identification cards when leaving the resort. Stay in well-lit tourist areas if you find yourself out at night and travel with a group.

 

Enjoy these tips and have a great vacation. If you have any additional tips please comment them below!