gygulyas@... wrote:
> We are going for a week with two kids (10 and 12) before X-mas. Any
> tips/ideas that make the trip a wonderful experience are greatly
> appreciated!
>
IMHO,
- You certainly want to take a trip to the ruins. There are many tour
services that take vans or buses out there. But its over an hour on a
4 lane road with nothing to see but jungle. Make sure you get a tour
that actually takes you around the ruins, not just a trip out there.
- Many restaurants are really wild bars. Check places out before you
take your kids in.
- The bus system is OK, but really crowded with locals. Taxis,
generally Nissan Sentras, are plentyful and four can ride in a taxi as
cheeply as on a bus.
- Traffic rules are not followed. Don't try to rent a car and watch
the kids on the sidewalk.
- There seem to be two types of shopping there. Cancun is a popular
destination for middle-class Mexicans, and it has some kind of sales
tax break deal for them. There is a mall and a Wal-Mart (yes,
Wal-Mart) that seems to be just for them and has nothing to offer you.
Then there are several shopping plazas that deal in stuff like you will
see in the free ports of the Carribbean, such as watches, gold,
jewlery, electronics, and so on. The prices are not as good as in,
say, St. Martin or Grand Cayman, but still better than in the USA.
Non-narcotic drugs require no prescription, and if you have a written
US prescription, you can bring back as much as you want into the USA.
Prices are lower than in the USA for prescription drugs, assuming you
pay full price. Real vanilla is very cheep.
- The airport is NOT like a US airport. Arriving, you should have an
understanding of how to get to your hotel. Either a taxi, pooled van
or whatever. There is a gauntlet of desks that look like rent-a-car
desks or official tourist information people that you go through after
customs, but these are just time-share salesmen. Ignore them. Coming
back, they check luggage by hand with you there (not after you check
it, like the TSA does in the US), before you give it to the airline,
this causes LONG lines, and you will be there when they go through your
stuff (which can be embarassing) so pack accordingly. There are stores
both BEFORE and AFTER the metal detector, but ONLY the ones after it
are the real duty free shops. If you plan on bringing back any liquor
or smokes, remember that children cannot have any (but they do get the
full dollar amount limits otherwise, and the family is one pool) and
that Cuban products, which are openly sold, are contraband in the USA.
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