Travel Tips

Fast Facts

Banks & Money Matters

Credit Cards.  Most credit cards are accepted in larger shops, hotels and travel agencies.  Many of the small businesses do not accept credit cards.  Major purchases are best made with a credit card. You automatically receive the bank rate of exchange, which is higher than the rates given in town or at the hotels.

Health & Safety

"Can I drink the water?"  Cancun is one of the few resorts that count with a potable water system. Furthermore, all major hotels in Cancun have their own system to re-purify the water. However, due to the salts and chemicals used, a lot of tourists and locals prefer to drink bottled water. In addition to the previous systems, there is another method used by many hotels and restaurants using a solution called "Microdin." This is a sterilizing solution. All you need are a few drops of this solution and then let the water sit for a few minutes. Many of the restaurants and households use this system to disinfect vegetables and fruits.

Fruits, Vegetables, & Seafood  Fruits and vegetables usually come direct to the store from local farms and are not washed well. Many vegetables are contaminated by fertilizer and can make you sick. Most of the restaurants catering to tourists purify their fruits and vegetables with iodine drops before serving them. If they go through this process, there will be a note about it on the menu. If it isn't written on the menu, ask or don't eat uncooked or cold fruits and vegetables.

One culprit for illness is salsa. In some restaurants it sits out all day and the same salsa is used for multiple customers. Even if the salsa is changed with every patron, remember that salsa is RAW VEGETABLES which is on the list of no nos. Resist, unless the menu says "our vegetables are purified".

Seafood can also get you sick if it is spoiled or mishandled. Cooked seafood is safest. Only eat raw seafood in nicer, very busy restaurants.

Guidelines to Avoid Illness

• Always wash your hands before eating.  
• When eating from open-air food stands, use discretion.  
• Drink plenty of non-alcoholic fluids and do not become dehydrated!  
• Drink bottled water.  
• Take Pepto Bismol, yogurt or papaya enzyme tablets throughout your stay.  
• Take it easy the first few days.  Take a "siesta" (nap) each afternoon.  
• Ease into local eating and drinking habits.  
• Respect the strength of tequila (take it easy with the "poppers").

Watch the sun and drink a lot of water.  The region is hot year round. Make an effort to drink more (purified, of course) water than normal or you could get dehydration sickness. It is better to drink water than sodas, because your body will get more benefit from it. If you feel dizzy, nauseous, weak or get a headache you could have heat stroke. Immediately sit in the shade and drink some water while you rest. If you get a slight headache, take that as a warning that you are getting dehydrated and drink more water.  By far, the greatest danger in Cancun is overexposure to the sun. Play it safe and apply sunscreen liberally, especially if you are fair skinned. If you don't, you will probably wish you did.

Safety  Cancun is the safest city of its size in all of Mexico and spends a good part of its yearly budget on different kinds of training programs for local police and promotional campaigns to protect all our tourists.  It has a lower crime rate than most small cities in the U.S.

There has been a lot of talk recently about crime in Mexico. We can only say that most of the violent crimes reported in the news are in the Mexico City area. The Caribbean Coast is relatively safe and most problems are petty thievery. You can have a great vacation free of incidents if you use common sense just like you would at home. Lock your car, take your valuables with you, or put them out of sight. We don’t recommend hiding your wallet in your shoes on the beach while you go swimming. It’s not a secure hiding place. Women should use the same precautions they would use anywhere, especially at night. Remote stretches of beach should be avoided after dark, especially for women in groups or alone.  Thieves are looking for easy targets. With a little common sense you can avoid having a problem. Also, keep alert when crossing busy streets in Cancun, where drivers may be less pedestrian-friendly than you are used to at home.

Telephones

Calling the U.S. or Canada from Cancun, dial 001 + area code + local number. Many US long-distance phone companies have access numbers that you can dial in order to use your phone card, usually through the Mexican telephone company public phones, LADATEL. Calls may be less expensive than direct-dialed calls from your hotel room. (Check with your hotel surcharges BEFORE calling.)

Phone calls from hotels can be very expensive due to Mexican taxes and surcharges. Before you call, make sure you know exactly what the cost per minute is. We've heard of $8 US per minute from some hotels!

Lower rates can be had by using Ladatel debit cars available in 30, 50, and 100 peso amounts ($3, $5, and $10 US) from nearly every cashier and money exchange in Cancun. Ladatel phones are located along sidewalks and in malls. Some phones accept charge cards but we understand they are very expensive. Some US cell phones work with a roaming surcharge per minute. Check with you cellular phone company before leaving home.

Internet Access

Some e-mail providers allow you to retrieve your e-mail directly through their web site - check with your e-mail provider.

If your e-mail is a POP e-mail account (i.e., you usually retrieve your e-mail using programs such as Microsoft Outlook or Pegasus, etc.), the easiest way to be able to access your mail while in Cancun is to sign up for a service that allows you to retrieve your POP mail over the web. If you sign up for a free Hotmail account or Yahoo account  you can also retrieve your POP mail for an additional fee, but all mail you send will come from your Hotmail or Yahoo e-mail address, not your POP e-mail address.

Check with your internet service provider to find out what kind of account you have and their recommendation for the best way to retrieve your e-mail when you are accessing your e-mail from a public computer.

Mexican Immigration & Customs

Immigration will give part of the form to you to keep. Do not throw this piece of paper away! Keep it with your passport. You need it to leave the country (or face paying a fine) and may be asked to show it at other times to prove you are in Mexico legally. 

Tourist cards are good for up to 180 days in Mexico (fewer days for visitors from some countries). However, visitors who enter Mexico through Cancun are generally given only a 30 day tourist card initially. If you enter through another Mexican city you are often given 60 or more days on a tourist card. 

If you will be in Cancun for longer than 30 days, we recommend that you very politely ask for more time from the immigration officer when you arrive in Cancun. If you plan to be in Mexico for longer than 30 days and you don't obtain an extended tourist card prior to your arrival or at the airport on arrival, it is usually a simple process that you will have to do at the Immigration Office in downtown Cancun before your 30 day tourist visa expires, but may vary depending on your country of citizenship and personal circumstances. Be prepared to show evidence that you can support yourself financially while you are in Cancun. 

Please check with your country's Mexican embassy to see if an entry visa is required. Information we have here could change at any time. 

Citizens of the U.S. and Canada need only a valid piece of identification (passport, certified copy of your birth certificate, or a voter registration card). 

Citizens of all other countries need a valid passport.  

Citizens of the following countries need a valid passport but do not need a visa, and can get a tourist card prior to departure or upon arrival in Mexico: Andorra, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela. 

Travel Documents for Minors

• A valid passport or your birth certificate with embossed seal
• When a minor is traveling alone, they must have a notarized letter signed by the parents or legal guardians giving them permission to travel.
• When a minor is traveling with one adult, provide a notarized letter signed by the parent or guardian not traveling giving them permission to travel with the other parent or guardian.
• If the minor is in the custody of one parent, a custody document should be provided.
• If one parent is deceased, provide the death certificate.

Departure Tax.  International departure tax from Cancun Airport is approximately US$40.  This tax is often included in the price of your airline ticket.  Ask your travel agent.  If it is not included in the price of your ticket, you must pay the departure tax at the airport when checking-in for your flight.  The tax must be paid in cash.  No credit cards or checks are accepted.

What to Pack

Tipping

Mail & Post Office