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This was my 2nd trip to Cancun and the Riviera Maya. For info on my trip to Playa del Carmen and Cozumel, check out my other blog post: Playa del Carmen. There are so many things to do in Cancun, I need to go back soon!
Day 1: Arrival and Check In to Hostel
I arrived around 3p Cancun local time at the Cancun international airport. If you don’t already have your plans for how to get out of the airport, you will be harassed by a lot of people offering transportation. It is a bit disorienting, but your best option is to have it planned out in advance.
Your options are:
If you are going to a resort, try to take the resorts shuttle or their recommended option. It’s the best option for you since it’s what they recommend.
If you are going to downtown Cancun, like I was, take the ADO bus. They run about every 30 minutes between downtown Cancun and the airport. It takes about an hour to get from the airport to downtown because it stops at other terminals, but it’s the cheapest option.
If you are going somewhere that doesn’t have a shuttle, you can take a taxi.
Lastly, there will probably be people there offering you rides in their private vehicle. I would not do this.
I purchased a bus ticket to downtown Cancun with ADO bus (pronounced “ah-day-o”). The ADO buses are safe, clean, and reliable.
The ADO bus took me to the downtown Cancun terminal. From there, I walked to Nomads Party Hostel. I love hostels and I always book through Hostelworld! They are cheap and great ways to meet people. Since I am saving money by staying in a hostel, I just try and find the highest rated hostel in terms of cleanliness.
After I had checked in at my hostel, I went looking for food. I found a restaurant and ate, and I was approached by a girl who was probably about 8 years old selling small wares.
Later that night, I took a Collectivo to the Hotel Zone. The Collectivos are low-cost transportation vans. You can get on for 12 pesos and ride until you want to get off. I find the Collectivos hassle free and easy, but also kind of bumpy. You need to ask around to know which Collectivo goes where you want to go.
The beaches in the Hotel Zone are dominated by the resorts, but there are also public access. The night that I went, Playa Forum was popular and Playa Chacmool was very quiet.
Day 2: Chichen Itza Tour, Valladolid, and Chichikan Cenote
On Day 2, I was picked up by the Viator tour to do a day-long trip to Chichen Itza. The website says it is 12 hours, and YES, it really does take 12 hours.
The bus was on-time and the tour guide spoke great English. It was a wonderful tour! It was very affordable and it was incredibly professional and safe. I considered renting a car, but I had a lot of fun on the tour. I talked with other people on the bus and got to know them. I asked them what they thought about the tour. I also learned a lot on the tour that I wouldn’t have if I’d gone by myself.
Our first stop was at Valladolid, where we had about 30 minutes to walk around the historic plaza and adjacent streets. There were a lot of vendors there, so if you are looking to buy souvenirs during your trip, this is a good place. Just make sure you practice your bargaining skills, and don’t buy anything full price. In fact, any price someone says, ask for at least half of it.
Valladolid was cute, but I think a couple of people felt like the 30 minutes was a bit rushed.
We next went to Chichikan (Grandma Snake) Cenote. This was an absolutely beautiful, deep, mystic cenote. The cenote park includes tequila tasting, a buffet lunch, showers, changing rooms, and lockers. You do have to pay for a couple of things like the lockers and the life vests, but it is all absolutely worth it!! The buffet lunch was absolutely delicious and worth it! I ate my fill. A couple of people ate first and then went in the cenote. They felt like they didn’t have enough time, unfortunately.
The main reason I came to Mexico early (before a conference) was to visit Chichen Itza. I had been to Coba and Tulum during an earlier visit to Quintana Roo, and I had heard Chichen Itza is more technologically advanced, even though you cannot walk up the pyramid.
On the way to Chichen Itza from Chichikan Cenote, it started to rain. By the time we got there, it was raining cats and dogs. The tour guide was not at all deterred, and made everyone get off the bus, even though the lighting was hitting close by. Right as I stepped off the bus, there was a vendor there ready to sell me a rain poncho. After rushed bargaining, I bought one and put it on.
From there, we got tickets from our tour guide and went towards the pyramid. We followed someone holding a blue flag on top of a metal pole, even though there was a thunderstorm outside. I kept my distance from the man with the lightning rod.
The tour huddled up right in front of El Castillo, the main pyramid, and the tour guide gave a lot of really interesting information about Chichen Itza and the sacred historical site. It was impressive and quite moving to hear how innovative the Maya were. There is absolutely no shelter when you are walking the grounds, so while it is usually sunny and hot and you need sunscreen, we were getting soaked to the bone. The grounds flooded quickly and the lawn turned into puddles.
I think the most incredible feature of Chichen Itza is the ‘descent of the serpent’ optical illusion, in which certain corners of the El Castillo pyramid cast shadows on another part of the pyramid that make it look like a snake right around both the Spring and Fall equinoxes. It is spectacular to see and imagine.
After the guided tour, we had time to explore the grounds further, but I wanted to get out of the rain. There were also a lot of vendors at Chichen Itza selling crafts. I didn’t buy anything, but the prices I heard seemed pretty low.
A note on driving: I had considered renting a car to drive from Cancun to Chichen Itza. I wanted to be flexible and go on my schedule.
If this is your first trip and you are alone, take the tour. It’s fun! I talked with people the entire time.
If you are with a group and set on renting a car, the roads outside of Cancun to Chichen Itza do not have a lot of traffic. They are interstate roads for the most part, and there were a couple of tolls that we had to stop at.
The trip home took longer because there were a lot of people backed up at the toll booth. I was glad that I wasn’t driving after a long day of cenote swimming and walking in the rain.
A note about mobile/cellular service. As far as I can tell, both times I was in Mexico, my cell phone and all GPS services worked perfectly fine without me having to change or update any settings. It leads me to assume Mexico and the US have similar network infrastructures so that service works seamlessly across them. This was not my experience in Costa Rica as I had to purchase an International Plan and update settings when I arrived.
The tour bus arrived back in Cancun at about 9p, and I since I had left my luggage locked up at the hostel, I grabbed it and left. I found a taxi that drove me south to the Sensira Resort and Spa near Puerto Morelos.
The road for Sensira was hard to find in the night, and it was guarded by a Mexican marine. The road was long and dark, but after passing Margaritaville, we came to the resort.
The resort also had a guard, and they needed to verify that I was a guest at the resort before letting me in.
I was greeted at the Sensira with a wet towel to wipe my face. It was already after 10:00pm, so I was glad to refresh.
Day 3-4: Sensira Resort and Spa
The Sensira Resort was an absolutely, incredible, beautifully stunning resort right next to the beach. It has 4 pools, a kid’s pool, baby play areas, kid play areas, trampolines, massage, work out area, yoga, water aerobics, bars, restaurants, game areas, TVs all on site. It is like a little city. They even have a doctor. I could live there.
Quite obviously, Sensira is quite expensive, but beautiful and peaceful. If you want a more affordable option, check out Hostelworld!
Summary, Extras, and Observations
Cancun is world-famous because it delivers! People go back year after year because it is beautiful, close to the US, and safe.
I did not feel unsafe at anytime. I did not hear cat-calling to women, I was never confronted or looked at for being out of place as a light-skinned American.
I was at the beach in the hotel zone at night, and was mostly with locals. I did not experience any problems. I rode Collectivos, I walked down side streets, and I ate at restaurants. My Spanish is poor, and I had a great time.
That said, I do not really drink alcohol and I don’t do drugs. I did not go looking to engage in any illegal or problematic behavior. I kept an eye on my stuff and locked up my bags every time I stepped away from them at the hostel. I had to get out of a taxi to get money from an ATM. The taxi was going to wait for me, but I still took my bag with me anyways. I was mindful of my surroundings at all times.
I asked a few locals about safety. Almost everyone said, just don’t get in any fights with anyone in Cancun, and you should not have any issues.
If I were to go back, I would do the Sea Turtle Snorkeling Tour and go to more cenotes. A friend of mine did the Sea Turtle Tour and he said it was awesome with sea turtles getting really up close to him.
