Cancun a Second Time Around

With so much to do in and around Cancun, we weren’t able to see and do it all the first time we were there a couple of years ago so we returned for more. We had our hearts set on doing the Jungle Tour (wave runners and snorkeling) at Aqua World again, but didn’t have time for it with new activities and some relaxing by the water added in (plus a little rain).

This time we headed for Isla Mujeres (the island of women) and the archeological ruins of Tulum. For shopping, we bypassed downtown Cancun and headed for the flea markets about 15-20 minutes before you get to town. While we bought a few souvenirs there, we preferred the downtown area so on future visits we would skip the flea market for shopping. All of the booths were so similar, if you've seen one, you've seen them all. We ventured into some of the shopping malls within the hotel zone, but didn’t stay long. I can shop at malls at home, while in Mexico we prefer the smaller ethnic shops.

June is a nice time to head to Cancun normally. We had temperatures in the 80s with strong cooling breezes constantly blowing. The locals told us September is normally very rainy and stormy, and that the weather that blew in at the end of our week was unusual…a tropical storm with strong winds and rain, more rain, and more rain took away our last couple of days.

Quick Tips:

Pesos vs. dollars -- all the shops will take either form of money. They were taking 10 pesos or US. The hotels will trade your dollars in for 10 pesos = , so with the stores accepting the same, it doesn’t make sense to trade your money in there. At the money exchange booths, we saw the exchange rate anywhere from 10.15-10.60 pesos per dollar.

Best Way To Get Around:

You will need pesos for the public bus rides. Anywhere you hop on the bus to get up and down the hotel zone or into downtown Cancun will cost you 6 pesos per person. This is a much better deal than the outrageous prices the taxi drivers charge which ranges into the hundreds of pesos. While on the bus, just watch for your stop though. You have to know where you’re getting on and off from because the bus drivers stop, load, and drive away very quickly! Hang on!

Best Things Nearby:
The Sun Palace is a very nice resort in a good location that is laid-back and relaxing. The airport is approximately 10 miles away, town is about 30 minutes away, Aqua World about 10 minutes, Moon Palace in the other direction is about 25 minutes away. Within a short bus ride distance (for 6 pesos each person) you can go to two shopping malls, visit Senior Frogs, or grab a Domino’s pizza or Subway sub sandwich. It’s all within reach from the Sun. Come and enjoy, kick back, and relax!

Best Things About the Resort:
The Sun Palace is one in a line of six Palace resorts in Cancun (Sun, Aventura Spa, Beach, Cancun, Moon, Xpu-Ha). Within the next three years, they will be building three more Palace resorts with one being on Cozumel and one in the Cayman Islands. While in Cancun, if you stay at one Palace resort, you get to enjoy them all.

The Palace resorts are all-inclusive. When you arrive, you receive a wristband that you must wear at all times. This band allows you access to any of their other resorts, food, and activities. If you lose your wristband, you will be charged $100 to get another one. Their theory is they don’t want someone else finding your band and using it to get free food and access to the facilities. As we were standing at the front desk checking in, a Sun employee presented me with a large flower for my hair he had just picked from outside. Soon after, I was given a small flower necklace and my husband and I both were handed a champagne glass filled with an exotic drink. Nice way to get a vacation started!

The beach at the Sun Palace has beautiful sparkling aqua water splashing against the shore. There are, however, rocks spread out along this area so they do not allow boogie boarding here. But if you walk just a few feet in either direction, there are no rocks and you can enjoy the ocean. We found the waves to be fairly good size and a bit strong pounding against you if you stood in the break area. If you get beyond the break, it was fairly smooth and still shallow enough that you could touch the bottom. There were very few vendors combing the beaches. I only had one ask if I’d like to purchase some jewelry. The Sun Palace has curved lounge chairs that are provided on the beach along with small huts if you’d like to place yours under a hut to get out of the bright sun. The brochure for the Sun states there are non-motorized water sports available. We looked and looked and couldn’t find any until we finally asked about it. They do NOT offer these at the beach here due to the rocks. They do, however, have a marina directly across the street from the Sun. If you walk over there, you can get kayaks and other non-motorized equipment and use it on the lagoon side at no extra charge.

Resort Experience:
The resort offers one main outdoor pool where most guests gather and it is located next to the beach. They have volleyball net, but no water basketball goal. They had a couple of activity directors, but they couldn’t get very many people wanting to participate in events. They did have a big turn out for Bingo by the pool though! With the location of the building around the pool, as the sun moves across the sky, the pool begins to get shaded in the early afternoon around 3 or 4pm. If you want more sun, sit in the pool chairs furthest away from the building. Next to the main pool just inside the building is an indoor pool. This is a nice area to escape from the heat or if the kids want to swim while the parents have lunch, this is the place to be. The lunch buffet area and tables are located next to this pool as are a few ping-pong tables and the restrooms. On the other side of the building, there is another outdoor small pool that is for adults only. Next to that is a Jacuzzi with waterfall.

The rooms were nice and clean and 90% of them have an ocean view. There were two double beds and the room stepped down into a small living room area with a couch, chair along with a small table, and two chairs. There was also a small refrigerator in this area that was stocked with Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, and beer. They restock the refrigerators every 48 hours (no extra fee, it’s included in the all-inclusive).

Their food at the Sun Palace was very good. Breakfasts are served beginning at 7am and dinners begin no earlier than 6pm. On our first evening, they were having a barbeque by the pool and were grilling steaks and chicken. They also offer an Italian outdoor restaurant, a nice sit-down order off the menu restaurant (dress code, no tank tops), and a buffet that runs each evening. They also put on entertainment shows each evening in their disco. Starting at around 8:30 or 9pm each night they will sing and dance and always do something different (Karaoke, Caribbean night, disco night, Mexican party). During the afternoon, the entertainers will walk around and talk to everyone about what they will be doing that evening and inviting everyone to attend.

This is a nice resort that couples and families alike will enjoy.

• Unit Type: Studio
• Activities: Very Good
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

Best Things Nearby:
Seclusion, privacy, isolation.

Best Things About the Resort:
Both sides of the Moon have a bicycle checkout area where you can sign out bikes until 8:30pm. The resort links all its buildings and areas by small walks and bikes are allowed to travel on all walks and hallways. At the Sunrise bike building, there are also rollerblades that can be signed out, foozball to play, and a giant chessboard. The resort also boasts tennis courts, racquetball, basketball courts and putt-putt miniature golf. At the beach, you can sign out tricycle paddleboats, kayaks, and windsurfers. The beach/water isn’t as nice as in the hotel zone because there’s seaweed and in the mornings they truck massive amounts of it out in dump trucks, so using the equipment is nicer than frolicking in the water.

Resort Experience:
What a huge, secluded resort! About 20-25 minutes from the Cancun hotel zone, you’ll find the Moon Palace. As you turn off the main road, you’ll enter a checkpoint where only guests are allowed to enter. From there, it’s another five minutes or more through lush greenery until you reach the resort with its secluded beach. This is an excellent place for an all-inclusive program so you don’t have to venture out.

The Moon is so big it’s divided into two sections with two separate lobbies. The first you’ll encounter is the Nizuc section which is the original building. Within this lobby area you’ll find seven restaurants and a bar area. There’s an indoor pool and large outdoor pool near the beach and close to the dock and pier on the beach. The other set of buildings and lobby is the Sunrise, which is where we stayed. There are three other restaurants in this area and the outdoor pool is touted as the largest in the Caribbean as it’s a mile around.

For all of Moon, the various restaurants are: El Manglar (Italian), Arrecifes (Mexican), Los Caporales (Spanish), Bugambillias (Mexican), La Gondola (Italian), Momonohana (Oriental), and several Palapa’s serving buffets. For Italian, the one at Nizuc is better, El Manglar and if you’re wanting to go to Momonohana’s, get there early because there was ALWAYS a huge line. The one thing lacking was room service. On a rainy night, I much rather would have preferred them to deliver my dinner rather than venturing out in the rain.

The rooms are either Jacuzzi or Presidential suites (various rooms, very large). The Jacuzzi suites are basic hotel rooms with either a king bed or two double beds and every room has a large Jacuzzi near the balcony. All of the balconies are provided with large netted hammocks which the kids thoroughly enjoyed swinging in nightly! There are three levels in each building and many buildings. Buildings on the outskirts will have a long walk to both the pool and the lobby for meals. Ask for a room away from the stairs or you will hear guests climbing up and down the stairs to and from their room all night! It’s amazing how loud people can be at 3am.

With the seclusion of the area, the Moon does offer a shuttle. Since they are not in Cancun or the hotel zone, they are allowed to shuttle only from Moon and back and passengers must originate at Moon. From Moon to the Beach Palace is 35 minutes. The buses hold 45 people and the first one leaves Moon at noon, another at 4pm and leaves Beach at 6:30pm, 8pm, or 10pm. The driver will drop people off at Sun, Cancun, Beach, flea market, wherever, but you must go to the Beach for the pickup ride back. Get back to Beach a little early to get in line because it’s first come first serve and many didn’t make the 8pm bus and had to wait for the next bus.

This is a nice resort with plenty to do. I encourage everyone to visit.

• Unit Type: Studio
• Activities: Excellent
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Good
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

Best Things Nearby:
Nothing, you're out away from civilization!!

Best Things About the Resort:


Resort Experience:
Another secluded Palace resort located south of the Moon Palace, but it's before you reach Tulum is Xpu’Ha. We did not have the opportunity to stay overnight at this resort, but did visit the grounds. We were told the rooms are the same as that are at the Moon Palace.

The area has a spectacular beach and offers a playground area in the sand. The entire grounds are a jungle setting and there are individual two-story huts rather than a hotel building that most resorts offer. I do wonder with the jungle setting, if the mosquitoes get bad in the evenings. I would be interested to find that out prior to staying here. The grounds are large so a lot of walking is required. One path that goes past the beach ventures out into an area with a lagoon and river and on the other side, an inlet at the ocean. Both areas are available for snorkeling and the river offers kayaking. Xpu’Ha employees are at a hut near the area providing snorkels (these you get to keep), masks, fins and life vests. Life vests are required or you won’t be allowed to snorkel. On the walk from the hut to the snorkeling area, make sure to wear your shoes. We left ours in the cubbies provided at the hut and regretted it on the walk. The path is not smooth and some of the stones are sharp and protruding from the ground. It was difficult getting there and back for sure. The river didn’t sound very inviting to snorkel in, so we headed for the inlet in hopes to see beautiful fish. We weren’t disappointed. The entire area was filled with amazingly beautifully colored fish. Bring your underwater camera as you’ll have many chances for pictures here. The waves from the ocean were crashing against the inlet walls so the water isn’t calm, but it’s not too bad in the half of the inlet near the dock. When you get near the area where the water’s rushing in, it’s very rough.

The resort offers three restaurants: Ragazzi, Bambu, and El Mariachi. The lobby is totally open air under a palapa and buildings are scattered about through the entire area. If it rains, you will get wet because there are no covered areas between the huts since it’s not a typical hotel setting. It’s far away from town, about two hours. It’s 1.5 hours from the Beach Resort. From what the guests said, you’ll either love it or hate it here.

• Unit Type: Studio
• Activities: Excellent
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

Our tour started with a 1.5 hour drive from the Moon Palace to the Tulum archeological site. When you first arrive and leave the parking lot, there are several small stores with souvenirs and food. Outside of that area, you walk to a dirt road and can either pay $1.50/each for a roundtrip shuttle to the site, or you can walk a mile or so there. The walk is easy enough, except if it starts to rain and you’ll wish you had paid for the shuttle (trust me!). To enter the site, you’ll pass through a large opening in the wall that once stood to enclose the city. As you enter, you’ll view several buildings spread amongst the area. The buildings were roped off so we were not allowed to enter them.

Previously the "City of the Sunrise", the name soon changed to the Wall City or Tulum. Tulum is a city the Mayans developed. Only the high society and astrologers stayed here. The commoners were not allowed in except for celebrations. However, when they did visit, no knowledge was passed down to them.

As our tour guide took us around the ruins, he explained about the area and the people. The Mayans were a short people that understood and predicted solar eclipses and knew the alignment of the planets and were particularly intrigued by the Sun and Venus. With this knowledge came an obsession with time.

The city was built on a natural limestone quarry so they used this to construct their buildings. Since they were so intelligent and developed a calendar and understood the solar system, they constructed their buildings to assist in their time telling and which seasons they were in. They installed tiny windows in the side of certain buildings (first picture below) to indicate time. The sun would shine through the first window beginning at 6am and other windows in 15-minute intervals.

Some interesting facts about the Mayan people at Tulum that we found out from our guide were: the Mayans thought flat faces looked nice. So when a baby was born, from birth to one year, they would place a board on the front of the babies face to flatten it. Ladies died their hair red to look good. Teenage boys would get a string hung between their eyes to make them cross eyed –- that was thought to be sexy!

Unfortunately the rain started to come down pretty heavy, so we took off back to the bus and didn’t get to hear other interesting facts about the site or people.

There’s no record of why the people left Tulum. Through the years, the ruins became very decayed from the weather and jungle surroundings. It’s a beautiful location sitting high above the ocean with a trail leading down to the shore where trading took place with passing trade ships. The next time we return to Cancun, we want to return to Tulum on a nice day in order to spend more time taking in the area and learning even more about the people.

This is a tour not to miss. Isla Mujeres is a small island off the coast of Cancun. It was called the Island of Women according to varying reports –- girls were sent here to enter womanhood, statues of women were found here, it was believed to have been an ancient Mayan sacred place. A small temple on the island is dedicated to the goddess Ixchel. After the reign of the Mayans, the island became a stop for pirates to get supplies.

Since we were staying at a Palace Resort, our tour left from the dock at the Moon Palace. You are required to check in at a building near the dock to get a wristband, which is needed to board the boat. Make sure to arrive earlier than the time you are told. Our scheduled check in time was 8:30am. We arrived around 8:15 to check in and everyone else was already there and in line well ahead of us. I suggest arriving early not because you won’t have a seat because they don’t overbook the boat, but to get towards the front of the line so you have a choice on where you want to sit. The boat is a double decker with half the seats on top in full view of the sun and half are below which are shaded. This is a party boat and I highly recommend sitting below because that’s where all the action is. (If you’re not staying at a Palace Resort, there are water shuttles that depart from Puerto Juarez or Punta Sam running every 30 minutes from 6:30am-11:30pm.)

There are 4-5 "tour guides/party guys" that make sure your entire trip is entertaining. Not only do they serve soda, beer and tequila, but they sing, dance and thoroughly entertain.

As we boarded the boat, the theme to Titanic was playing. My husband said, "that’s not such a good tune to be playing on a boat". Well come to find out, it was intentional. As we pulled away from the dock, we were welcomed aboard the Titanic! The tour guides made everyone feel welcomed and found where everyone was from. There was then a song for everything. They played "Celebrate", "YMCA", "La Bamba", "Batman" theme, "New York New York", "Hey", "Play that Funky Music", "Rocky" theme, "Greased Lightening", "Grease", and many others. While the music played, they performed various skits such as Bob Marley and Jamaican musicians, bikini T-shirt dance, Mexican outfits and a bullfight, Batman and Robin fighting the Joker, Zorro showed up as did Rocky.

After around 45-60 minutes, we docked at Isla Mujeres. There were a variety of things you could do. We purchased a swim with the dolphins, you could also have a dolphin encounter, scuba with sharks and stingrays and snorkel with dolphins. Or, you could just enjoy the island and play beach volleyball, use the kayaks or walk around the area. As you depart the boat, they have you follow a tour guide with the activity you have planned. You go straight to your activity via taxi (get your towels before you go on your excursion. They told us to get our towel at the dolphin swim and when we got there found out you needed to get it when we docked). After your events, you’re taken back to the dock area where you have lunch in their open-air bar/restaurant palapa. The buffet lunch was excellent. They allow plenty of time for lunch before you get back on the boat and they escort you to the other side of the island where the shopping area is. They take you to the silver and gold factory stores, then you’re on your own to shop for about two hours. Make sure you remember the name of the pier where the boat dropped you off because they all look alike. In this area, there are golf carts and mopeds available for rental. The golf carts are (U.S.) $6/hour or $70/day and mopeds are $7.50/hour or $27/day. With the island only being around 4 or 5 miles long, these are a great way to see the sites.

On our trip to the island, we experienced 3-6’ waves, which made for a bumpy ride. Upon returning to Cancun, the waves increased to 6-10’ and the coast guard told the crew they couldn’t go back the same route, so they went straight across to the inlet and down the lagoon side of Cancun. The crew had radioed ahead and had a tour bus waiting for us at Aqua World where we docked, to take us back to the Moon Palace. It was nice they were so prepared and had everything ready so that we didn’t have to wait. That was service! We arrived back at the resort around 6pm, so it was a full day of fun and sun!

Discovery Cove is the name of the dolphin swim company, and they have programs in Cozumel, Cancun and Puerto Aventuras. We partook in the dolphin swim on Isla Mujeres.

For US$110 for each person, we were able to swim with the dolphins in a confined area of the ocean. Upon arrival, you are taken indoors to watch a short video about dolphins, their training, what you’ll experience with the dolphins, and how to correctly interact with them. You will then sign your name on a grouping list which places 7-8 people in a group, and you stay together for the duration. As your group is called, you walk outside to get fitted for a life jacket. In this area, there are also lockable lockers where you can store your valuables and clothes.

It’s now time to make your way over to what you’ve been waiting for, the beautiful creatures of the sea. As you step off the dock and proceed down the stairs, you cringe a bit entering the cold water, but you can’t help but smile at the prospect of what’s to come. At the bottom of the stairs, you’ll step onto a grid under the water. There’s a fence behind you under the dock that you will hold onto at times as the currents in the water push you around a bit. Make sure to smile and show your excitement because your every move is being videotaped (which we’ll get to later).

You’ll get to work with two dolphins and a trainer giving commands and rewards to the dolphins and instructions to you and a trainer out in the water in a wet suit, mask and snorkel that will get each person lined up and placed for the dolphins. Our trainer, Teri, was very good at remembering all of our names and instructed each of us what to do. We started with having the dolphins (Olimpia and Regina) give each of us a kiss on the cheek and we had to return the favor by kissing the dolphin on the nose. If you don’t give them a good enough kiss, they will make you keep trying until you do it well enough! After that, they vary the order that each person does their tricks, but everyone gets to perform each event. One trick is the dorsal pull-you swim out to the trainer, float straight up and down with your arms out to your side and the dolphins swim up to your hands, placing their top dorsal fin at your hand and you simply grab and off you go! Each time you get back to the grid, the trainer has both dolphins swim in front of everyone so you can pet them. Next, two people are given a silver pole and each person holds an end up in the air and the dolphins jump over the bar and do tricks for you. When everyone has completed this trick, the last person leaves the bar in the water and one of the dolphins brings it back to the trainer. The next trick was everyone’s favorite –- the foot push. You’ll once again swim out to the trainer, float on your stomach with your arms out in front of you. As the dolphins approach and place their nose on the bottom of your feet, you’re told to keep your legs straight and bring your arms straight up above your head. What a rush! The dolphins lifted me so high while they were pushing me across the water, you could see my feet at the top of the water. After the tricks are performed, the group floats in a circle and both dolphins swim around you and you get to pet them.

After a few minutes of this, everyone heads up the stairs and onto the dock for a final video shot of everyone waving goodbye. You’re then taken back to the building you started in, sit in front of a TV screen, and begin to watch the video of your encounter. As the music begins, the credits begin to roll with the trainers name, the dolphins names, then starring . . . and all of our names were listed. They got close ups of everyone and each person performing their tricks with the dolphins. They do an excellent job getting smiling close ups and running them in slow motion. You know they’re showing you this in preparation for telling you that you have an opportunity to purchase the video.

After watching it, you’ll almost pay any price to capture those moments. Of course, we wanted the video so they immediately hand you one and to pay for it ($50 US), you go downstairs to their gift store where they interest you in purchasing more. While kissing the dolphins, they also took still shot individual photos. In the store, they approach you with these pictures which are $14/each. They have "I swam with the dolphins" T-shirts for a good price of only US$15 and other trinkets.

After browsing through their store, we went back outside where our tour guide was waiting to give us taxi fare for the short trip back to the party boat dock for lunch.

This was a wonderful excursion. The dolphins were amazing and seemed to enjoy the interactions with us. They appeared in good shape and to be treated well by the staff. While we were able to perform tricks with them, we weren’t touching them or requiring a lot of contact for very long. It was enough that it was fun, but not too much to worry the dolphins.

What amazing and wonderful creatures. I recommend this excursion to everyone!