Cancun

Wanna be here?

but...

"Amazing Deals!""Montreal to Cancun, starting at 1100$ (per person)!"

For most people, visiting Mexico seems like a dream. Due to the cost for most all inclusive packages, it may be well outside of some of our budgets…

 

Have no fear; your budget travel expert is here!

Mexico can actually be extremely affordable if you know how to break down your trip. To help those of your hoping to take the leap and visit this lovely country, I have outline an itinerary and tips for the most fun packed, budget friendly trip ever!

And best of all…
for less than $700**!!!

The Itinerary:

Montreal to Cancun
Estimated Cost: $0 > $700

Sites:

·         Tulum

·         Chichen Itza

·         Ik Kil Cenote

·         Valladolid

·         Downtown Cancun

·         Plaza de Las Americas

·         Beach Zones

·         Playa del Carmen

Now, this itinerary isn’t a day by day breakdown of how your trip should go. It’s more like a suggestions list that you can pick and choose from based on how you feel that day. For example, I expected to go to Tulum the day after I arrived, but due to unforeseen, alcohol related, circumstances, we decided to stay on the beach the next day and get re-hydrated. 

I will be giving you practical information on how to effectively and practically use public and transportation, book flights, plan accommodations, budget meals; all while having fun and relaxing. It really isn’t as hard as it seems.

Flights

The first thing you’re going to want to look at before planning anything is flights. Start off by browsing your favorite flight tool (mines Google Flights).  Flights from Montreal to Cancun range from $390 - $500. This comprises of the bulk cost of your trip. Depending on the dates and of course, the flights you pick, this will increase the base cost of your trip.

I always suggest booking your flight between three and one month in advance. This is usually the best amount of time to book, if you haven’t booked and it’s within a month of departure, more than likely the price is going nowhere but up. As an example, the itinerary below is 390$CAD (taxes in) round trip;

Accommodation

Apart from your flight, this will be the other bulk cost of your trip. Luckily Cancun has a large range of accommodations to choose from! You could splurge a little and stay at an all-inclusive resort, or hostel, or AirBnB. Of course hostels will probably be the cheapest of these options, but you may be sharing a room with other travelers and may have limited access to certain amenities. If this doesn’t faze you, then by all means, it will reduce the initial cost of your trip by quite a bit and saves you more money to play with later!

However, if you prefer a little more privacy, AirBnB would be the next best option. There are a few really amazing properties in Cancun (pool included) that will cost you barely $20CAD a day! You get the option to do just a private room, or entire house apartment. Depending how many of you are travelling, you may want to opt for a house vs a shared room. If there are just two of you, sharing a bed, and it’s your first time in the country and you don’t speak the language, staying with a local in private room is a very good option as well.

During my trip I opted to rent a private room with a local’s roughly the same age as myself and travel partner. It worked out swimmingly! We had lots in common and were able to recommend some really great places nearby!

*IMPORTANT*

If opting for AirBnB, ensure you are in contact with your host, minimum, 48hrs before arriving and have agreed on a place to meet to swap keys. If you have already agreed on a location, still send a reminder 48hrs before you trip and ask for re-confirmation. If your host is MIA, and it’s 24hrs before your trip, get in contact with AirBnB customer service immediately. If you don’t heed my warning, you may be stuck, at night, in Mexico, with no accommodations, no transportation, unable to contact your host. (This happened to me).

Also note, AirBnB is the most soulless and unhelpful company I have ever had the courtesy of dealing with. And trust me when I say this, I work in the travel industry for years and have dealt with all walks of the earth. Nothing has disappointed me more than the service I received from this company. Don’t request to speak to a supervisor, there are none. Don’t request a refund; they won’t give it to you. And if my some magical reason they actually help you find somewhere else to stay, don’t expect them to pay the difference for the place if it is more expensive.

Also, there are a lot of horror stories about host’s being weird and depraved things to and with guests staying at AirBnB. Regardless of my experience and these, this won’t stop me from booking with them for now. I always highly recommend staying at places that have a high positive review rate. But you better believe the moment I find a new alternative; I’m throwing them to the curb.

In a realistic world, have a backup plan. Keep an eye on other places available nearby and always have extra funds available (emergency credit card) in case you have to stay at a hotel for a night or something.

Transportation

Cancun, unlike a lot of other central / South American countries, actually has a quite decent local bus service. It can be a bit confusing for the very first time you use them, and of course you have to be careful on which buses you get on, but once you get the concept, it’s quite easy.

To break down the bus service, we have to first, quickly, break down Cancun.  The city was built purposely to revolve around a booming tourism industry which is largely located on the coast in the “Hotel Zone”.

The tree major zones you will be in are the Hotel Zone, Downtown Cancun (El Centro) and the Residential “Supermanzanas”. If you stay in the Hotel Zone, there is a down in the hotel zone as well.

Local Bus

Most buses going to and from these areas have a big R2 or R4 on the front. If you stay in hostels, it will probably be located in actual Downtown Cancun. If you chose AirBnB, it can be in any of the locations but most likely located in a Supermanzana (which actually means Big Apple in English).

The city also uses major landmarks such as malls, avenues, and structures to indicate their bus routes. The easiest way to find your way to and from home is the find the nearest landmark, eg a large mall, and look for that printed on the window of the bus before you get on.

Also, to avoid missing your stop and getting on the wrong bus, always ask the bus drivers before you get on the bus if they are going to the land mark you need. Eg. My AirBnB was in the R2 zone, next to Plaza des Americas. I would always ask before I got on the bus to double check and the bus drivers will yell when you get the destination you need.

There are also two types of buses in Cancun, the large city buses that look like actual buses, or small white, privately owned vans. Both are pretty safe and driver’s are usually very helpful if you get lost and end up in the wrong part of town.

ADO

For most of the excursions; Tulum, Chichen Itaza, Playa del Carmen, you can take the local bus system called ADO. It’s sort of like the Greyhound of Mexico. Of course you have to make it to one of the ADO pick up areas or the bus terminus which could be a little bit pricey if you’re staying in the hotel zone. But the trips themselves are extremely affordable. For Tulum, I paid $30CAD for two people round trip in a large air-conditioned bus and it only cost about $5 Taxi fare to get to the bus terminus from my AirBnB. You can take ADO to any major tourist attraction of for day trips to another city such as Merida, Playa del Carmen.

Taxi’s

Another alternative if you’re not quite ready to foot it like a local and explore the Mexican bus routes are taxis. Now, important to note, most taxis are ridiculously overpriced. A drive from El Centro to the hotel zone on the local bus cost about $1CAD vs. a taxi will charge you about $20CAD for the same 20min drive. Most of these taxi drivers can be haggled with and I always recommend doing it before you get in the car and start driving. Set a price with your driver and he will respect it. Now in case you didn’t set a price, they will take advantage of you.

If you are coming from the airport, you can use a taxi, but expect a $50CAD fare. Rather, there are shared taxi services, or ADO, you can do for about $12CAD per person or less.

Uber & EasyTaxi

An alternative to regular taxi’s are Uber and EasyTaxi. These both run on the same concept, you order a ride via your phone with a preset destination and charged directly to your visa. This is the best way to make sure you’re not being over charged for your ride. Most local taxi drivers will argue that this is killing their industry etc, they even go so far as to put stickers on their taxis saying that Uber is illegal in the region of Quintana Roo, but that’s the same everywhere in the world.

The truth, Uber is a grey area. There is no law supporting it, no law banning it but most taxis hate it. Due to the now steady competition from these alternative ride pick options, it is forcing the taxi drivers to regulate their prices. I completely understand some people support their entire family’s on that, but not every foreign looking person hoping in a taxis in Cancun is a closet millionaire either.

Aside from Uber, my favorite app to use would be EasyTaxi. This is solely because the money isn’t paid to the driver directly, not via a credit card. The drivers tend to respect the price, and I also usually add tip on the fare as well. This app seems to be a happy medium between regular taxiing and Uber. In fact most of the Easy Taxi cars I got where actual taxi drivers in their little white and green cars.

Food & Beverages

Fortunately, Mexico is actually pretty affordable when it comes to food and drink if you stick to local products. I think total; I spent $150 for a week for two people, meals, alcohol and snacks included. Now, keep in mind, I was not going out to restaurants every day, more like once every other day.  And this could be reduced if you brought your meals with you more often. I bought turkey and bread for sandwiches, meals for dinner and usually toast and jam or eggs for breakfast. My initial grocery cost about 50CAD for the week. Then all the rest was spent on corner stores, restaurants and booze!

The most expensive thing I bought was a large bottle of rum. I took rum with me everywhere I went. I filled a water bottle with it before I left the house then headed to the beach zone and only ordered an extra cold coke, sat out on the beach and chugged away! Note: If you sit on the beach chairs they charge you the eqv of 20$CAD, not worth it. Instead, bring a blanket or your towel and sit under a nice tree or in the shade somewhere.

Excursions

Again, if you’re willing to step off the beaten path and use local bus services, excursions are super affordable. If you don’t however, you’re always able to book guided tours to a specific excursion in the hotel area but expect it to cost quite a bit more. Sometimes they are the same price or a only a bit more that the ADO options and you also have to weigh the pros and cons.

Tulum, Playa del Carmen, other cites, etc, I recommend using ADO. It’s a much more exclusive experience and you get to visit the area at your own pace and manage your own time. Of course you have to buy or bring your own meals but food in México, depending on where you eat, is pretty affordable. If you visit a city like Playa del Carmen, you don’t even need ADO, those little white van buses can take you there for about 35 pesos one way, per person (Like $1.50CAD).

Now, other excursions such as Chichen Itza, I prefer going via an organized bus route. For one, it’s a three hour bus ride and I want to sleep and not have to worry about missing my stop. Two, you learn more about the place besides and from a local perspective. And three, a meal is usually included and entrance to the attraction.

Cenotes

A post shared by Candie (@lunarlula) on Jan 21, 2017 at 6:04pm PST

When I did the math, ADO was only $10CAD cheaper that if I did guided excursion including lunch, pick up and drop off, and included extra attractions like Ik Kil Cenote and the town of Valladolid. For $10 extra dollars, it was 100% worth it. However, you only have a limited amount of free time in each place which I feel doesn’t really give you a chance to explore the place properly vs Tulum I took Ado and spent hours walking around the site exploring then went to the beach and swam a bit.

When the Aztecs took over the Mayans, they carved the image of skulls on the walls of thier ruins to remind them of thier fates if they rebel... #morbidmuch

A post shared by Candie (@lunarlula) on Jan 21, 2017 at 6:35pm PST

FYI, Tulum is like one fifth of the size of Chichen Itza and really is a wonder. I definitely recommend watching a documentary or reading up on it before you visit if you’re going solo so you truly grasp and understand what exactly you are seeing. The closest thing I think it sort of reminds me of is possibly Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

One of the new 7th wonders of the world !

A post shared by Candie (@lunarlula) on Jan 21, 2017 at 6:09pm PST

Regardless, Cancun is a super interesting and fun destination with tons of things to do!

Hopefully you all found this somewhat extensive guide to Cancun helpful and decide to visit for yourselves one day!

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