Tips for Mexico

[MellieBellie]

Hi

We're off to Maya Riviera next week for an all inclusive 2 week family holiday. I've researched the area and the hotel, and I think I have a reasonable idea of what to expect. As this will be our first trip to this part of the world, I wondered if anyone has any useful tips?

Tipping seems to be very common. Should we tip everyone? Also, how safe is it to wander around? I love walking along the beach, will I be safe to go a few miles away from the hotel?

Thanks :)

I've noticed that a few of the tours on sites like Viator say that you need to use biodegradable sunscreen. Should I buy some before I leave?

Yes to bio suncream if you intend to do any trips, esp the X parks and Ceynotes. It's a lot more expensive over there.

@Sundaychiller We went last August for 2 weeks. One week in Riu Yucatan, one week in Riu Palace Mexico. We went out all the time. DD gets bored just sunbathing so we walked all the time, up and down the beach, around the Playacar resort.

If you are in the Palace you can visit all the other Riu's so we did that as well. There's a small shopping area just opposite so we went there, bought souvenirs and had a couple of excellent massages (cheaper than in the hotels).

The Riu Tequila does a White Party and Neon Party which were great.

It's easy and safe to walk into PdC, takes about 20 mins. We went for one afternoon and a couple of evenings. Shops are good, prices ok and bars and restaurants decent.

We did Xel Ha, XCaret and XSenses plus a Ceynote and snorkelling trip. All very much worth it. Def tip well on trips as most of the staff money comes from tips. Official photos can be costly, but worth it I think. CocoBongs (like Cirqu de soleil) was a lot of fun as well.

If you get an upset stomach buy a medication called Treda from the hotel shop and take it at the first sign. It's miracle stuff. UK Imodium isn't that effective over there. We ended up seeing the resort doctor the first year we went (been 4-5 times) and he said to buy that, it's a combination of the amount of alcohol/sugary drinks and rich food that does it as your system isn't used to it. We buy it as soon as we arrive now then we've got it just in case. Love Mexico!!

They used to give you them in sachets when I was there and yours went into a locker. You got as many as you needed. I'm like Casper so was given about 5 sachets everytime I asked for some.

It's some time since I was in that area, but I spend 3 weeks in Mexico every winter (usually based on the west coast) and travel around a lot. You've had plenty of good recommendations about places to go already, but I'd just comment on the safety side of it. If you are as sensible in Mexico as you would be in the UK, you have very little to fear. Don't display flashy and expensive stuff, be aware of the risk of pickpocketing, don't walk through unlit dodgy areas at night, that sort of thing. And don't assume that the risk is from Mexicans - all too often it is other "tourists" who are the risk and blend in better because people don't think of them as risks. There certainly are areas of Mexico that have very high profile "troubles" but you will be nowhere near them, and shouldn't let that worry you. Yes, there is (usually) low level crime in touristic areas of Mexico - there is in London or Manchester too, but nobody thinks to worry about going there in the same way. Somehow it always seems more thereatening when we talk about crime in other countries, but the reality is that most toursist travel in complete safety and without incident. So soak up the country, enjoy the place and the people - you will find them very welcoming, and it would be a shame if your entire experience of a wonderful country was limited to the area within four walls.

Oh and another thing - possibly won't apply, but I'll mention is anyway. For people that vape (I don't!) you aren't allowed to take them into the country.

We've been several times. At a 5* resort tipping won't be expected as such but appreciated. We tipped the bellboy, the waiters at end of meal at the restaurants, the bar staff at the end of the day by the pool or beach and the housekeepers at end of stay. You don't need to tip every drink etc. We took Pesos, I'm not sure why Brits would take dollars unless left over from a previous trip from the US I'd use the national currency 🤷🏼‍♀️

Thanks to everyone who replied. We leave on Sun and I'm feeling prepared and very excited!

take loads of inspect repellent!!!!!!!

We’re going in just over a week for the first time and I have pesos rather than dollars. I assume that’s also fine for tipping etc?

We are going to hire a car for a few trips, excursions are outrageously expensive so it does make sense so interested to read the tips here!

Dollars are pretty much as widely accepted as pesos so we just found it easier as we had some left from a trip to the USA (and we’d be more likely to use leftover dollars in the future than pesos). The hotels seemed to be mostly American guests so I rarely saw anybody with pesos.

Yes, that is the national currency and what all the staff will actually use in their daily lives.

We’re just back and had an amazing time. Have lots of $1 bills for tips, we left them after every meal & drink at the bar.

Don’t waste your money on whale shark watching, $900 for 4 of us, saw literally nothing and all got sea sick. Terrible day. Snorkelling on reef was fab.

I suggest taking mosquito repellent, not many mozzies about but 2 of us got Dengue Fever when we got home and it wasn’t pleasant.

Enjoy.

@Spudlover have a look at trip advisor forum for advice on driving in Mexico and how to protect yourself against scams. We thought it wouldn’t happen to us and it did and we only drove twice 😂 we wish we had taken more notice of the advice we had read and been more prepared.

@Spudlover , pesos are best as a PP said that is what they use as its national currency, they'd generally have to change US dollars up to use ax they wouldn't use tourist haunts!

Be aware that the X parks keep sea creatures in captivity.

It’s possible to see these wonderful creatures in the wild instead - we did swimming with whale sharks off Cancun, and with turtles in Akumal plus snorkelling in Sian Ka’an.

Thanks, we were planning on doing that trip but I was worried about the sea sickness.

Have a fantastic time OP. DH and I went a couple of years ago and have booked to take the DC next year. It was brilliant.

As a PP said, Xel Ha has manatees and dolphins in captivity for people to have "experiences" with. We didn't go to Xel Ha because of that but did go to Xplor Fuego.

Trips we did:

• Snorkelling with the turtles and rays in Akumal. Just booked with the water sports desk at our hotel and took a boat right from the hotel beach. Brilliant and we did it twice. Better in the afternoon as the turtles dog up the sand more in the morning so the water is cloudy.

• Rio Secreto Plus. Loved it, but will just do the basic tour with the DC. Even though you're underground the water is bath-warm.

• Taco tasting tour in Tulum. Different and fun to go to places locals actually go. The food at our resort and other places we visited was just as good though TBH.

• Xplor Fuego (the evening one). We've already booked to take the DC next year! It's lit with flaming torches and very atmospheric.

• Hired a car and drove to Chichen Itza via Coba Maya. We hired a guide at Coba Maya just after the entrance turnstile - well worth the very modest fee - and afterwards hired a man with a trike to take us to the main pyramid. It felt very Indiana Jones compared to Chichen Itza - will go back for sure. The hire car was the cheapest automatic and was pretty knackered with interesting replacement parts but did the job. We've booked a nicer one for the DC trip with a company that will deliver the car to our hotel. There's no point trying to decline the extra insurance, just suck it up. No issues on the roads. We stayed at the Mayaland Hotel for a couple of nights at Chichen Itza and have booked there again. The full moon over the Mayan observatory was a spectacular sight. The hotel arranged a private guide for Chichen Itza but we felt that he ripped us off with his stall recommendations so we wouldn't do that again. Well worth going though. I'd like to see the light show next time but you need to be there at 3pm on the dot to get tickets. We also went to the Ik Kil cenote - very deep compared to the cenotes by the coast. Incredible experience and very well run. Get the buffet deal!

• Tulum ruins. TBH we felt all ruined-out by that point but it's so famous that we felt we had to. The beach was closed as it was turtle nesting season (fair enough). We wouldn't bother again but if you're really into history or not up for going to Coba Maya/Chichen Itza it's worth doing. The views are indeed beautiful.

We're planning a similar itinerary next year (skipping Tulum and the taco tour) but adding on:

• A tour to the Sian Ka'an biosphere reserve
• Xcaret
• Snorkeling on the reef off Cozumel
• Xkopek beekeeping park as part of our trip to Chichen Itza