Useful websites

http://www.docancun.com   Cancun Hotel and Vacation Guide Mexico

http://www.cancuncare.com    Cancuncare.com

http://www.cancunsteve.com/sitemap.htm    CancunSteve Site Map

http://www.locogringo.com    LocoGringo Maps

http://www.mapchick.com/Mapchick.com     home page

http://www.webkatz.net/Mexico/mexico.html   Our Adventures in Mexico

http://www.cancunmx.com/vacation/config.cgi   Vacationing Here - Message Index

http://cancun-hotels.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g150807-o20-i8-Cancun_Yucatan_Peninsula.html   Cancun
forum

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Chichén Itzá  http://www.isourcecom.com/maya/cities/chichenitza/generalchichen.htm

Location Map

Chichén Itzá is circled in the double-white
line. It is located just south of highway 180, 120 km east of Merida and 203 km west of Cancún,
about midway between the two cities and about a two hour drive west from
Cancun. It's a lovely, if slightly isolated, drive. There are very few shops
and stands along the way on Highway 180 so you should make sure you are gassed
up and have extra water before leaving Cancun just in case. The
"road" is cut out of solid jungle and if you leave early in the
morning, for the total two hour trip west you may see a four or five other cars
along the way. Later in the day the tour busses and other rental cars populate
this road but if you plan on arriving for when they open at 8AM,  very isolated. And not bad if you don't
mind the fact that early in the morning is when the tarantulas wander onto the
road to warm themselves up a bit at the beginning of the day. The side of the
road was littered with these large black beasts, that reared up in what I
assume is a defensive position when the car sped past, Julie (my wife) being an
"arachnophobe" and gripping my arm did nothing to improve this
section of the trip and I still have the bruises from when I asked if we could
stop so I could take a picture.

The trip along the non toll road (highway 180) is slower but
much more pleasurable and the cities along the way have ample stops for water,
coke and gas as well as a snack or two. From Cancun,
the first gas station you see is 150 KM west. The max. speed on the toll road
is 110KM/Hr. Don't be surprised if at some point along the way you get stopped
by a man with a machine gun over his shoulder. The army has occasional
road-blocks set up to stop criminals. As most visitors are obvious
"Gringos" they typically peek into your car to make sure no one is
hiding in the back seat, then send you on your way with no appreciable loss of
time.

The route I have indicated here (in blue) is the toll road
and it is the fastest and most well-maintained route. The trip from Cancun to
Valladolid (In the white rectangle) in 1998, cost me 102 New Pesos, and from
Valladolid to Chichén Itzá there was another 27 New Peso toll for
a total of almost 130 New Pesos or about 25 Canadian dollars. The toll road
begins just as you pass west over the border from the state of Quintana Roo and
into the state of Yucatan..
Highway 180 runs parallel and  just
south of the toll highway, is free but a bit slower. If you wish to get to
Chichén Itzá as fast as possible then take the toll road. If you
wish a more leisurely drive, then take highway 180. If you have the time I
would recommend highway 180 as it will take you through Valladolid and some of the smaller towns
along the way. Much better for experiencing some of the beauty of Mexico away
from the tourist areas. English??? Never heard of it out here. My smattering of
Spanish really took a beating. There were pigs and chickens wandering across
the highway, and children "assault" you at any point where you are
forced to stop for the speed bumps (that resemble bowling balls half embedded in
the tarmac of the highway). The kids are looking to sell you fruits,
vegetables, and one enterprising youngster even offered a rather large turtle
for sale. (Imagine explaining THAT to customs!!).

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Alamo rent a car
Economy 2-Door/Manual/Air   confirmation # 719422883       $180.37
for 7 days

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Telephone card

http://www.telmexusa.com

PIN –
961007381xxx

How to use your card

1. Dial the toll free access number:01-800-123-2112

2. At the prompt enter your PIN number + Pound Sign (#)

3. Follow the system instructions:

- To call from Mexico to the U.S. or Canada dial:

001 + Area Code + Phone Number

- To call other international destinations dial:

00 + Country Code + City Code + Phone Number

- To make additional phone calls, just wait in

line until the other party ends the call.

- For further assistance call from 8AM to 8PM CST

to Customer Service Department in Mexico:01-800-123-0303

Ferry to Isla
Mujeres

sosmiley

We will be in Cancun Mar. 31-Apr4 and will be
staying at the Gran Melia. We are wanting to spend a day at Isla Mujeres. I've

been told to not take a tour, but to take a ferry and see
the island on our own. What ferry would be best to take from where

we are staying---we are about in the middle of the hotel
zone. And, usually how much does a ferry cost?? Any advice would be

appreciated!! Thanks

CancunJoe

The best ferry service leaves from Puerto Juarez and the company is called
Ultra Mar. Ride across takes about 25 minutes,

departs every 30 minutes and costs $35 pesos each way.

TXCHIC78

Yes!!! Go to Puerto Juarez and take the ferry from there. Last time I went to Cancun I did my research. My girlfriend and I

were told by the people who sell you package deals not to do
this from Perto Juarez. He said it was 30 minutes away and that

it would cost a lot of money for the cab ride and the ferry
trip. He almost had me convinced to go against my research and do

it his way - the expensive way. My girlfriend steered me
back to the right direction and we took a cab to Puerto Juarez that

cost $5 from our hotel and then took the ferry that cost
like $7 round trip to Isla Mujeres. The ferry ride was awsome by the

way. Then once we got there we tooled around the island,
went shopping( by the way save your all your shopping for Isla

Mujeres! ...much ceaper if you don't shop on the beach), and
laid out on the beach. Went to this awsome bar on El Note Beach

... they had hammocks to swing in lazily and swings instead
of barstools. Then when we were done we jumped back on a ferry

and hailed another cab back to the hotel for $7. Also, note
that the ferries come and go every 15 minutes or so from Perto

Juarez till 7 or 8 PM where the Cancun ferrys have only 3
dropoff and pickup times and are very limited and have very early

cutoff times.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Airfare, DFW to
CUN

Confirmation:JGQKPU

Thu, Apr. 7, 2005

Departure: Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas at 10:20 AM

Arrival: Cancun, Mexico at 12:55 PM

Flight SY503 (2hr 35m) Coach Class, Boeing 737-800

Check-in Location:Terminal E, Gates E21-E38, Delta icket counter

Thu, Apr. 14, 2005

Departure: Cancun, Mexico at 1:45 PM

Arrival: Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas at 4:15 PM

Flight SY504 (2hr 30m

) Coach Class, Boeing 737-800

Check-in Location:Terminal 1

Passengers (2 Seats)

1. Terry Shaw 2. Cynthia Shaw

Airfare, DFW to CUN$416.00

Subtotal$416.00

Taxes and Fees$176.92

Total$592.92

Customer Service at 1-800-FLY-N-SUN (1-800-359-6786).  www.suncountry.com

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Cancun forum free snorkeling advice

You can Snorkel free by following these steps. Take your
snorkel gear with you on your trip or, buy gear when you get to Cancun. Take the bus to the Westin Regina, which is at
the southern edge of the Hotel Zone. Then cross Boulevard Kukulkan to the Regina.

Go up the drive between Club Regina and the Westin Regina.

Bear to your right and go down the sidewalk to the beach.

Turn right at the bottom of the steps and take the beach to
Club Med.

Get into the ocean on the other side of this peninsula and
start snorkling!

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Cancun forum: Do many rent a car to do self tours???
http://tinyurl.com/6x8ud

koiboy

Joined: Jan 2005

just returned from my first trip to the Yucatan.
We rented a car and drove up and down the coast for snorkelling,

sightseeing, and dining out. IT WAS AWESOME. I had no
glitches at all with having a rental car. I did a fair amount of

research prior to going and leaned a few things (both before
the trip and during). Yep, the locals drive a little crazy ---

but they aren't on a suicide run and they don't want to play
bumper cars --- if you freeze up or stop to squint at road

signs, your chances of getting into an accident are probably
a lot higher.

Here's what I did:

1) one-week rental on-line ($92/week thu Thrifty with a/c)

2) declined CDW (collision damage insurance) - check the VISA website to see
how their coverage works -- i found it to be a

win/win to decline CDW ---- if u buy their CDW and u have an
accident (or they FIND a scratch when u return the car), u still

pay for the damage (up to the $500 or $1,000. deductible).
With my credit card coverage, they'll still charge you for any

damage (remember, it may be almost imperceptible but you can
still get charged for it), but u collect the paperwork and VISA

reimburses you - BUT there's no deductible.

3) paid for the Liability insurance ($4/day). That's to cover someone else that
might get injured in an accident and then

carry the proof of it in your car during your stay.

4) made sure my credit card limit was high enough to cover any unusual charges
- when I called VISA to inquire about

coverage, they made a notation on my account that I would be
travelling in Mexico for one
week (charges originating in Mexico

were OK during that time).

5) MUY IMPORTANTE - make sure every single nick, scratch, dent, chip, paint
fade, blah blah blah is noted on the initial

vehicle inspection. My inspector either could not (or would
not) speak English. But he saw the $5. bill in my hand and

understood that when i pointed at something and said
"escriba por favor" that his cooperation would lead to a decent tip.
The

inspection report is just a simple outline/diagram of the
car that the inspector will make hash marks on to note pre-existing

damage ---- if u looked at the inspection report of my car
you'd think it was a real junker (it was possibly the best $5. I

spent on the trip) -- then I made sure to hold on tight to
that report (they ask for it when u return the vehicle).

6) During the vehicle return/check-in, I knew there was no damage to the car,,
but half expected that there would be some

sort of charge. I really didn't care either way. I didn't
have any accidents, didn't get stopped by the police, and knew that

I had a plan to deal with any glitches during the rental
return inspection.

Total cost: $170 including taxes, insurance, rental fee. They even upgraded us
to a Nissan Platina (4D with a good size

trunk). We logged over 1,000 kilometers, drove to Chichen Itza (it's only
$9 to get in), and had the freedom to go where we

wanted, when we wanted, and we had a trunk to hide the
valuables. I thought it was a very small price to pay to allow that

kind of flexibility and comfort (the A/C was vital on a
couple of days).

Eastbayman

We rented a compact car from Alamo(at Salvia
Condominiums) so we could go on our own tours, and I would recommend renting a

car for tours in Cancun.
Decline the CDW if your card covers insurance , and get liability. Cost was $63
for 2 days.

We have 2 kids, so doing the tour to Chichen
Itza on a bus would have been murder on the kids (it
starts at 7:30 am and get

you back to the hotel at around 8 pm).

We got the car on Monday evening , and we got started the next day, at 8:30. We
went through downtown on the recommendations

of the rental car person (not the best route) and took the
toll road outside the city of Cancun.
It took us 2 and a half

hours to get to Chichen
Itza. Toll is 180 and 45 pesos (about $20) to Piste.
There is almost nobody on the toll road - we

passed 5 tour buses and about 4 cars passed us. There are no
checkpoints on the toll road. When we got at Chicehn Itza at 11

am, there were only 4 tour buses there, so it was not
crowded yet. By noon, the place was crawling with tourists, and the

restaurant was full. We had lunch , walked around some more
and left around 2:30. We got to downtown Cancun
at 5 pm, had our

pictures developed at Walmart and had dinner at La Parilla -
great place BTW.

If you want to get there faster, I would recommend getting on the toll road by
driving south of the hotel zone on Kukulcan

Bl. Ther are cops on the southern part of the hotel zone, so
do not speed. There are signs for Merida & Chichen Itza Cuota (

toll). Just follow the signs . It's pretty straightforward.

We drove the next day to Xel-Ha. Again, we were glad we had the car, as we were
able to leave when we wanted. There were 2

checkpoints where you slow down, but not really a big deal
as they are looking for drug smugglers mainly.

There are 2 things to watch out for when you are driving in Downtown Cancun:

1. Taxis stop in the middle of the street - do not follow them too closely.

2. The traffic circles (rotundas) are a bit tricky if you're not used to them.
The bigger rotundas have lights, so if you are

making a left or U, you get on the left lane, go on a green
light, wait at the other side of the rotunda for the cross-street

light to turn green and then go. If you're making a U,
you'll have to do it again.

The smaller rotundas do not have lights - the basic rule is that the
cars inside the circle have the right of way.

Hope that answers some questions.

--------------------------------------------------------

Playa to
Cozumel  Cozumel to Playa  Ferry schedule

05:00 am  04:00 am

07:00 am  06:00 am

08:00 am  07:00 am

09:00 am  08:00 am

10:00 am  09:00 am

11:00 am  10:00 am

01:00 pm  12:00 pm

03:00 pm  02:00 pm

04:00 pm  03:00 pm

05:00 pm  04:00 pm

06:00 pm  05:00 pm

07:00 pm  06:00 pm

09:00 pm  08:00 pm

11:00 pm  10:00 pm

1:30 am   12:00 am

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Directions from
Cancun International Airport to all major destinations in the Riviera Maya,
Mexico

You may want to print out these directions, so you have them for your trip!

Leaving the airport There is only one road that exits from the Cancun Airport.
As you leave you will pass a number of

billboards and approach Highway 307 and a highway overpass.

Straight across the overpass will take you to the hotel zone of Cancun.

The ramp to your right just over the overpass is the north on-ramp to Highway
307 and goes into the center of the city of

Cancun.

The on-ramp to your right before the overpass goes to the
Riviera Maya and is the ramp to go south on Highway 307. The sign

says Tulum and/or Chetumal. This will take you to all points
south on the Riviera Maya (the Cancun-Tulum tourism corridor)

including (in order from north to south): Puerto Morelos, Playa
Secreto, Playa del Carmen and Playacar, Paamul, Puerto

Aventuras, Xpu-Ha, Akumal, Jade Beach, South Akumal,
Aventuras Akumal, Chemuyil, Bahia Soliman, Tankah Tres, and finally

Tulum at the southern end of the corridor.

The highway continues south of Tulum but is smaller in size.
South of Tulum the next big town is Felipe Carrillo Puerto. Then continuing
farther south there are a number of small villages on the highway and
eventually the turn for Mahahual and Xcalak

just south of the village
of Limones. Turn left
there to get to Xcalak. It is marked by an over-head highway sign.

To get to Laguna Bacalar stay on Highway 307, following the signs for Chetumal.
Bacalar is also marked by a sign on the

highway. If you are going to Rancho Encantado on Laguna
Bacalar it is a left hand turn that switch-backs down a hill on the

left side of the highway, just before the town of Bacalar.

Towns and highway signs for destinations on the Riviera Maya in order
from north to south

Puerto Morelos- sign says Puerto Morelos

Playa Secreto- small sign on the right says Playa Secreto

Playa del Carmen- sign says Playa del Carmen (about 45 minutes from the
airport)

Playacar- sign says Playacar in stone, on the left

Paamul- sign says Paamul

Puerto Aventuras- sign says Puerto Aventuras

Xpu-Ha- sign says Xpu-Ha

Akumal- sign says Akumal (about 1 hour and 10 minutes from the airport)

Jade Beach- sign says Villas Akumal

South Akumal- sign says South Buceo

Aventuras Akumal- sign says Aventuras Akumal, on the left

Chemuyil- sign says CD Chemuyil, on the right

Soliman Bay- sign says Bahia Soliman, on the left

Tankah Bay- sign says Tankah Tres

Tulum- sign says Tulum (about 1 hour and 40 minutes from the airport)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

How is driving
in Mexico?

There is a four lane highway from Cancun to
Xcaret and then it narrows to a two lane highway that continues south to the

pueblo of Tulum. Tulum is the southern end of the Riviera
Maya tourist zone. The old two lane highway continues south of

Tulum toward Chetumal. This section is comparable to a
secondary county road. Just south of the town of Limones is the turn

to Mahahual and Xcalak. If you continue straight toward
Bacalar and Chetumal the highway widens again to four lanes.

A bit of advice driving: When making any turn in Mexico ALWAYS look in front
and behind to make sure traffic is clear before

you make your turn. Do not stop in the middle of the road.

Beware when turning left from the highway! Only if there is a special lane
provided for you should you do as you normally

would. These left turn lanes are marked by reflectors in the
road. Regardless whether there is a lane or not, it is

absolutely critical to look in front and behind to make sure
traffic is clear. When making a left turn from the highway in

areas where a dedicated lane is not provided pull off the
road to your right, put your left blinker or emergency flashers on

and wait for all traffic to clear in both directions. With
no one else in either direction make your left turn. ------ BEWARE

on your drive south from the airport..... At Puerto Morelos
and Playa del Carmen there are cement medians that divide the

highway. These are marked by reflectors in the road. Please
be careful not to hit them.

Click here for general directions from Cancun
airport to the coastal resort towns.

Click here for the Riviera Maya road map of coastal highway 307 and other major
roads/highways.

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Directions to Sams Club and Walmart.

From the airport, leave the airport and you will come for the turn south
towards Tulum, continue straight, over the overpass

and there is a ramp on the right. Take the ramp so you are
now heading north. The highway will take you into Cancun.
As you

enter the main part of the city you will see a mall, Plaza
del las Americas
on your right. After the mall watch for signs for

Sayil street,
a left turn. A VW dealer will be on your right. Turn left on to Sayil. Stay on
this side street. You will come

to a small rotary/cirle. Watch for traffic, go straight
across the circle. Tel Mex will be on the right. Sam's is on the

left. There is a U turn as you approach the light, pull a U
turn and then you can pull into Sam's. Walmart is in the same

plaza. Sam's Club: Membership is required, bring your
membership card or your passport.

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Checklist for Cancun

Documents>>>
Birth Certificate, Marriage License, Drivers License

Finance>>>
2 mastercards, Texteller, exchange rate chart

Literature>>>
Maps, Airline voucher, cancun_info.txt, hotel vouchers

Electronics>>>
Laptop(charger and briefcaes), gps, mp3, battery charger, flashlight

Toiletries>>>
2 toothbrush, paste, deodorant, kleenex, hair brush, shampoo, conditioner,
razors

Protection>>>
Hats, sunglasses, sunscreen, medicine

Fun>>>
Snorkel kit, beach towels, reading material

Footwear>>>
2 Tennis shoes, sandles

PESOS PER DOLLAR

10.5

10.6

10.7

10.8

10.9

11

11.1

11.2

11.3

11.4

11.5

D

O

L

L

A

R

S

$25 U.S.

262.5

265

267.5

270

272.5

250

275

280

282.5

285

287.5

$50 U.S.

525

530

535

540

545

550

555

560

565

570

575

$75 U.S.

787.5

795

802.5

810

817.5

825

832.5

840

847.5

855

862.5

$100 U.S.

1,050

1,060

1,070

1,080

1,090

1,100

1,110

1,120

1,130

1,140

1,150

$150 U.S.

1,575

1,590

1,605

1,620

1,635

1,650

1,665

1,680

1,695

1,710

1,725

$200 U.S.

2,100

2,120

2,140

2,160

2,180

2,200

2,220

240

2,260

2,280

2,300

$250 U.S.

2,625

2,650

2,675

2,700

2,725

2,750

2,775

2,800

2,825

2,850

2,875

$500 U.S.

5,250

5,300

5,350

5,400

5,450

5,500

5,550

5,600

5,650

5,700

5,750

$1,000 U.S.

10,500

10,600

10,700

10,800

10,900

11,000

11,100

11,200

11,300

11,400

11,500