Cancun light and easy.

March 8, 2011 4:39 PM

I'll be in Cancun with my wife and two year old in mid-April. What should/can we do? We will be there for six days.

I asked a similar question a few months ago, but the focus of that was on where to stay. That part's been decided--for convenience's sake, we're staying on the Mar Cairbe. More crowded, I'm sure, but Isla Mujeres wasn't practical with the early morning flight back. Anyway, now I'd like to hear some suggestions on what we can feasibly do.

I should point out this is my first time to Cancun and I don't know the place at all. We'll probably spend a day visiting and hanging out at Isla Mujeres. We will look into going to Chichen Itza, but our two year old is sometimes very terribly two, and if it's a long and hot bus ride there, we may have to pass it up.

What are the places you would avoid in Cancun? The loud, crowed, touristy places? What are the places you like in Cancun, and how do you get there?

The wife has an interest in swimming with dolphins. Is this doable in Cancun?

Because of the kid, we're simply planning on relaxing around the hotel and the beach there. Anyplace we can go will be icing on the cake, but we don't really want to travel so far. And lastly, is there any place we can rent a stroller for a week or so? If it's expensive we might just by a cheapo stroller before we leave.

posted by zardoz to travel & transportation around Cancun, Mexico (13 answers total)

Chichen Itza is apparently a 1.5-2 hour bus ride from Cancun. We were there in January and ended up passing on it, because that and the combination of our 4 and 1 year olds would not have been good.

If you're in the hotel zone, there's a very small, but quiet and peaceful set of ruins called del Ray. They aren't super impressive, it's mostly just foundations, but there's a small pyramid and a couple of structures with columns about 1.5 yards high or so.

The ruins are right at the marker for kilometer 17 and marked on most of the tourist maps. It cost our family $7 USD to get in.

We also went on a fake submarine ride thing that was pretty nice. You get on a boat and go on a 30 minute or so trip out to the sea where you transfer to another boat with a lower level that you sit in for a 45 minute tour, then 30 minutes back to shore. The topside boat was more interesting for the kids on the way out - it is fast and there's lots of sea spray and such - and they slept on the way back to shore. I don't remember the name of the service, that one was a little more expensive I think it was $80 (the kids were free).

We stayed at an inclusive resort (Great Parnassus) that had a good kids-themed water park (and decent but not great everything else), and didn't really leave beyond the two trips out, both of which were very close (the hotel was at km 18, so it was a nice walk).
posted by cCranium at 4:48 PM on March 8, 2011

Oh, we brought a lightweight collapsable umbrella stroller, and it was more than enough. We didn't see anywhere to rent them, but also didn't look.

There are places that let you do swimming with the dolphins, some of them sounded really great but we didn't try them. One of the resorts is all about dolphins (I think the name was dolphinus?) and seemed to be the place to go for that.

My wife went to the market that is fairly well publicized, and said it was mostly full of the same trinkets and souvenirs available in the hotel gift shops as well as fairly pushy people. It isn't somewhere I would avoid, but it didn't sound particularly compelling either. Cancun itself is like 10 minutes away by bus, and there are buses running all the time around the hotel zone so that's definitely the best way to travel.

Since the city is so close you might be able to get a stroller there, there's nothing we might have wanted that we couldn't get pretty easily, the hotel stores are well stocked and amenities similar to any city in southern Ontario.
posted by cCranium at 4:54 PM on March 8, 2011

I'd just hang on Isla. There's a foot ferry from Cancun to get there, so that's easy. They do have swimming with dolphins on the island -- I've done it, it's fun. The little tourist market area is enjoyable and just about all the restaurants in that area are fine. You can rent a golf cart for very little and tool around the island. The beach is nice and walking distance from ferry. There's some day trips to other sites of interest in the area, though I wouldn't do Chichen Itza unless you get there right at opening, before the hordes of buses and tourists arrive.

FYI this is not a bad little web page.

I personally would avoid Cancun itself except for sleeping.
posted by bearwife at 5:23 PM on March 8, 2011

thanks cCranium. I suppose we'll be traveling by the local buses a lot. Are they convenient? Crowded? Frequent? We're staying at the Hilton on Mar Caribe, and as I understand it, they come by pretty regularly. I just kind of wonder how far they go, and what places are accessible by metro bus.
posted by zardoz at 5:24 PM on March 8, 2011

There are two good places to swim with Dolphins - I've done them both. One is at a hotel (Dreams Cancun, I think) at the tip of punta cancun, and the other is at La Isla shopping center in the middle of the hotel zone, at the aquarium. I'd suggest the latter.

The best thing to do in Cancun is enjoy the pool and beach at your hotel during the daytime and go out to some of the great restaurants at night.

I've run a few group travel programs there and have a local contact there in the tour business. If you want any additional advice feel free to email me. If you want to book any transfers or tours, my friend is trustworthy and works for a big tour company. I'd be happy to put you in touch with him.
posted by kdern at 5:52 PM on March 8, 2011

Also - the buses are easy and cheap but not much fun. They're mostly frequented by locals who don't have cars. I prefer and would recommend taxis instead.
posted by kdern at 5:53 PM on March 8, 2011

Chichen Itza is probably too much with a kid that young, but you might consider Tulum. It's still going to be crowded, but it's closer.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 5:55 PM on March 8, 2011

For someone with kids I would recommend Xcaret for a day trip if you're looking to get away from the hotel. Its about an hour by bus I think, maybe less. But the buses are nice (air-conditioned) and run from all the major hotels.

Xcaret is basically an amusement park/zoo/beach. Kids under 4 are free. There are huge turtles, manatees, dolphins to look at. Lazy rivers to float down on rafts. You can swim with the dolphins for an extra fee. There is a lot to do but plenty of room for relaxation if you are so inclined. Plenty of calm water swimming, sandy areas with shade trees and hammocks. Lots of restaurants; we did a buffet when we were there and enjoyed it. At night there is a big production show about the Mayans.

Its kind of touristy but traveling with a kid, somewhere like that would give you all of the conveniences that would make your day easier. Just remember to bring your own biodegradable sun screen! All others are confiscated & the the stuff in the gift shop is expensive.
posted by halseyaa at 5:55 PM on March 8, 2011

The buses in the Hotel Zone (I'm sorry, I don't really know where that is in relation to Mar Caribe but I'm guessing they are names for overlapping touristy areas) run every 5 minutes or so, and are standard city buses. A lot of the hotel workers take them so I think they tend to get fairly heavy during shift changes but there was no problem for our group of 11 (two families and grandparents) to find seats any of the times we used them.

The taxis were good and for a trip of any length I'd probably go for them too, but there's a lot to do in that part of the world and the buses are cheap.
posted by cCranium at 5:57 PM on March 8, 2011

PS - Tulum is beautiful but there are really no sidewalks to speak of so you will be carrying your kid and stroller over some rocky hills. There is a beach area there but the waves are very strong, so I would avoid planning on swimming with your little one.
posted by halseyaa at 5:57 PM on March 8, 2011

Oh, ha! I just looked it up and the Hilton was the big pyramid resort right beside Great Parnassus. So you're about a half kilometer away from del Ray. It's a nice little afternoon trip.
posted by cCranium at 6:00 PM on March 8, 2011

Seconding just staying on Isla - I was there last year and it was wonderful. It is sleepy and beautiful. The best beach is on the north end of the island, which happens to be a couple blocks from the tourist/downtown zone. Go south, and the beaches are very rocky. However, there is a bunch of interesting stuff at the southern end of the island as well. At the very tip of the island there is this huge art installation along winding paths down to the Mayan ruins. There is Garafon Park where you can snorkel, swim and zip line. Garafon can be a bit expensive, but right next to it is a little place where you can rent snorkeling equipment for $5 and swim with the fishes. There is also the ruins of a pirate's estate - including the garden he built for his true love.
posted by miss meg at 10:51 PM on March 8, 2011

There are set-up bus tours to Chichen Itza that have breakfast on the bus an such, a bit of a tour guide, etc. Not sure how it would be with a kid but its not as if you are piled onto some strange bus. It is a normal big tour bus. Frequently there is a stop or two along the way to stretch your legs. It might be a challenge to go with a 2 year old but also might very well be worth it. I cannot tell you the cool feeling of seeing the giant main structure when you get there. Just amazing. Or the fact that you can still see colored paint on some of the other ruins.

Tulum was nice but cannot hold a candle to Chichen Itza.
posted by UMDirector at 3:31 PM on March 9, 2011