2015-10 Oct - Cancun (Mexico)

Laguna Nichupte from Ice Sushi

If you're looking for a resort hotel with its own private beach, Cancun's "Zona Hotelera" is the place for you. It is a strip of land on the other side of the Laguna Nichupte from Cancun. The sand is soft and doesn't heat up with the sun. The ocean is lush turquoises and blues. It is definitely a resort-goers' paradise. You should also expect resort prices. The food in the surrounding restaurants isn't cheap; and, the restaurant that I ate lunch at efficiently added an American appropriate 15% tip onto my bill. (10% is the usual tipping percentage in Mexico.)

Painted piece in Museo Maya

Hieroglyphics in Museo Maya

If you only have a couple days to see the Mayan Ruins around Cancun, you will also want to make the drive into Cancun's "Zona Hotelera". It boasts the best museum of Mayan artifacts in the area. The Museo Maya de Cancun has three galleries. Two of them contain artifacts from several archaeological sites around the Yucatan Peninsula, including Tulum and Chichen Itza. Neither Tulum or Chichen Itza had museums on site (that I could find); therefore, it is interesting to see pottery, jewelry and other artifacts at Museo Maya de Cancun. In addition, the stelae and hieroglyphics at this museum are in much better condition than any found at the archaeological sites. The final gallery had a special exhibition while I visited. It was Mayan folktales accompanied by a plethora of photos of the Mayan people today. 

Mayan pyramid at San Miguelito

The other draw of the Museo Maya de Cancun are the San Miguelito ruins. These were the first Mayan ruins that I saw in person. There is a nice walkway through the site with informative panels in Spanish and English. There wasn't much left beside a bit of mural painting, and a small pyramid. However, it was a good prep on Mayan background and building styles.

Travel Notes:

Rental cars: 

- Hertz rental car does not honor any reservations that you try to pay using credit cards from banks. (It doesn't matter that you used the same credit card to make the reservation.) Check that your credit cards do not have "debit" printed anywhere on them.

- Fox rental cars did accept my credit cards. However, the refundable deposit couldn't be placed on a Mexico bank's credit card. I was able to use a U.S. bank's credit card for the deposit and pay for the rental on the Mexico bank's credit card.

Taxis:

- Approximate taxi cost from Cancun Airport to Zona Hotelera is $60 USD.

Restaurants & Parking:

- Le'Natura -- my desired lunch stop, is sandwiched between an OXXO and an Ahorro Farmacia. There are five parking spots and no parking attendant. OXXO and Ahorro Farmacia do not allow parking in their lots to eat at the restaurant.

- Mocambo -- my back-up lunch stop, is situated on the beach between resort hotels. There are two large parking entrances, both chained off and no parking attendant.

Lunch at Ice Sushi

- Ice Sushi -- where I finally ate lunch. It is in La Isla Shopping Mall. I had a mango lassi and the Kyuiri Maki roll. My table looked out over the Laguna. It was a beautiful setting with delicious food! Total cost (with 15% included tip) = 300 MXN. Parking at the mall is 15 MXN/hour. Make sure you pay for your parking at the cajilla at the walking entrance into the parking lot BEFORE you try to drive out.

Museums and ruins:

- Museo Maya de Cancun + Ruinas de San Miguelito: 64 MXN. Free parking. Right next to a major resort stoplight; however, the parking lot is not accessible from the stoplight. For Mexican nationals and residents, the museum and ruins are free on Sundays.