Mayan Riviera-Tulum, cenotes beta etc. Por Favor....

Goin down in a few weeks. Staying in Puerto Aventuras, not my choice, in-laws 70th so whatev.

Tacos, fly fishing, snorkleing, are on my short list. Have to rent a car maybe for some of this so advice on this as it sounds like they rope you into expensive insurance and even if you say no they charge you anyway.
I understand the colectivos are good and bussing is pretty good and taxis are not too expensive. Uber?
Do I have to buy a new sim card with verizon or just turn on global or whatever.
120V ac plugs like 'merica?- was standard in Baja if I recall.

Doin some cenotes for at least one day and going to the super tourist chichen-itza on the last night.

So what are the not miss things? I will most likely be on my own for fishing have to get a flats boat (charter) or get down to Punto Allen?

Sharks and salty crocs?

My spanish is mostly read and poorly spoken but somewhat well understood. It usually comes back to me but its been quite a while.


Graci ASS!

I haven/haven't been in many many years, but Chichen Itza is more then well worth it, even with the tourons. Pro tip get there when the first open, and stay until they kick you out the first and last couple of hours is magical. All the tour buses have left and the place gets eerily quiet and is super cool. The light show at night was pretty hokey, but still kind of cool. We arrived early and wondered off (we weren't supposed to be nobody bothered us) so we got to walk around the ball court and a few areas in the dark by ourselves...pretty amazing. There is a cave a couple miles away which us worth visiting. We got a private tour since it was just my wife and I. We had to buy a few extra tickets to make it a full tour, but since each ticket was so.ethu g like a quarter we gladly paid it. It was well worth it.

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Originally Posted by lobstahmeatwad

Do I have to buy a new sim card with verizon or just turn on global or whatever.

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Shouldn't need to. Depending which Verizon plan you're on there are options. I have unlimited data plan which includes Canada/Mexico service. Though I recently found out they now limit the Int'l data. I don't recall the limit number but I recall burning through it surprisingly fast with not a lot of use. They also have another international thing that charges $10/day for international data roaming. Call Verizon and see what they can do for you.

Cool lagoon north of Tulum right off the main drag.......Cenote/Yal-ku

I thought the taxis were pretty reasonable, we shuttled from the Cancun airport to the hotel and just taxied around. I don’t remember any serious problems with cell service on Verizon.

One thing I’d recommend is to read a little on the recent history of the Yucatán and Quintana Roo. The locals are heavily Mayan and only recently subjugated by Mexico - 1910s - and there’s a little bit of antipathy toward Mexicans by the Mayans. I guess that’s more or less useful and interesting depending on how much time you spend outside the established resort circles.

I was there in early June last year, and there was some sort of algae bloom going on that was affecting the beach. Locals said they thought it was a climate change thing. Hope that’s not a problem this time of year.

Many of the cenotes that used to be “undiscovered” are now like theme parks with zip lines, ATV tours, etc. they are much easier to find, if not quite as exotic as they were. We also haven’t been for a number of years, but I remember Dos Ojos and Carwash as stand outs. I understand they now get very crowded. Cenote Cristalino and Azul were also nice.

We would stay on Half Moon Bay in Akumal. Again, we stopped going due to the crowds in Akumal proper. Bus tours and day trippers seemed to wipe out the ability to see the tortugas as the water would get very cloudy due to all the people. If you get to Akumal, go to the Half Moon side. Grab a cerveza at La Buena Vida. You can walk north along the beach and snorkel from there. There is a map of places to snorkel online. Also check out Yal-Ku. You have to pay there but on a calm day, before the crowds roll in, it’s an amazing place to see coral and tropical fish.

For any of these places, GO EARLY or LATE. Don’t bother after 10:30 am or before 5:30 pm. It’s easier to bring your own snorkel gear. Ours fit in our carry-on bags.

The collectivos are an easy way to get around, but they only run up and down 307. The 1/4-1/2 mile walk to the resorts and villages can feel like a long way in 85f weather.

In Tulum you can enjoy the beaches at the clubs for the cost of a few beers. We liked Zamas.

Don’t need to speak spanish. I’m fact from the perspective of a moderately fluent Spanish speaker it’s a bit of a bummer since most people in the resort area won’t speak Spanish to you.


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Loco Tulum, Mezzanine, Hartwood are good restaurants in the hotel zone. Akumal bay for snorkeling.

Thanks guys good info.
Still may want to rent a car, how do I avoid the super high insurance costs that they say are required?

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Originally Posted by lobstahmeatwad

Thanks guys good info.
Still may want to rent a car, how do I avoid the super high insurance costs that they say are required?

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Did you look at the non-big companies like Hertz? We used easyway. There are others.

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Originally Posted by lobstahmeatwad

Thanks guys good info.
Still may want to rent a car, how do I avoid the super high insurance costs that they say are required?

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Heres what i do:

Go to orbitz and do a rental search.

Pick the best two (make sure they are different companies) check for insurance policies. The best way around it is to use a CC with rental coverage. Call your CC provider and ask what their rental car coverage us in Mexico. Typically there is a $amount. Check against that companies official insurance requirement in that country.

Make one reservation in orbitz and the 2nd direct. Make sure neither has a cancellation fee

Youll show up and if the first one strong arms you on the insurance or something else, go to the 2nd reservation.

Ive had to use the 2nd reservation about 30% of the time. Several times b/c of their insurance BS.


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Search on line for foreign rental car insurance. I don't remember who I used, but used it in Europe, and glad I did...backed the rental into wall in an underground parking structure. It worked really well and was surprisingly easy to deal with the claim.

It think I got it when I reserved the car online and just used the insurance the website offered. It was a kayak like site, not a particular rental company.

Use Amex with the majors, and you are covered. No extra needed.

From Cancun drive down to Tulum and look for the little signs that say cenotes. Don't feel nervous when they tell you get into a van with someone who doesn't speak any English, drive you into the jungle, then point to a hole in the ground and tell you to get in. It's rad when compared to the advertised and modernized ones which don't do the experience justice. There's also a really cool nature preserve south of Tulum on the ocean. If you're a fisherman, here's a place located within the preserve on the ocean that does guided fishing. I highly recommend it.

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Originally Posted by Pow4Brains

There's also a really cool nature preserve south of Tulum on the ocean. If you're a fisherman, here's a place located within the preserve on the ocean that does guided fishing. I highly recommend it.

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Ascension bay is a very popular place to fly fish. Yes I’m hot spotting.

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Originally Posted by plugboots

Ascension bay is a very popular place to fly fish. Yes I’m hot spotting.

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Thanks guys went down to punta allen and got some bones. Now im quarantined by my business for intl travel.
Sad. Not sad. Prolly not gonna die.
Don't have covid yet.

Pics.

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Originally Posted by plugboots

Pics.

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Not sure why you want to see me in quarantine but here ya go.

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I'm the guy on your left.


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Back to work I guess.