Cancun in February

The beaches are beautiful, with white sand and the most awesome shade of blue water as far as the eye can see. Snorkeling off the coast of La Isla Mujeres (day trip) is cool, but be prepared to see barracudas. This island is great for shopping and getting local deals. A must-see is Chichén Itzá (and Tulum on the coast), the old Mayan ruins (pyramids and temples). It's a day trip that takes ALL day (it's inland), but you see some pretty cool stuff and you can climb the pyramid. Xcaret is neat if you want more relaxation than climbing pyramids, and you can see wildlife and waterfalls.

Quick Tips:

Lots of local shops, especially "flea markets", where the locals sell their goods and you haggle on the price. Don't pay asking price. Price is always negotiable. Behind Riu Cancun is a mall, and behind that is a large local market.

Best Way To Get Around:

Walking and buses are my choice. Buses are pretty clean and cheap, and make a lot of stops to get you where you need to go. For day trips you're on a bus and they are air-conditioned and have cushioned seats.

Very new and all inclusive, this resort has a Spanish contemporary feel with food ranging from Japanese to American. There are many restaurants to choose from, the problem is only one was open late and that was the buffet style restaurant, and quite frankly their food wasn't great. The sit-down restaurants had much better food, but you had to reserve a table early in the morning if you wanted to eat there that night.

The grounds are very pretty here with a great gazebo that overlooks the Caribbean. The place is huge, and the rooms are all a good size and you get a bar in you room with unlimited alcohol and water. The views from every room were outstanding.

This resort is pretty far down on the "strip" of Isla Cancun on the corner edge that juts out, like a number 7.

The snorkeling here is not the best I've ever seen, but I did see a couple of things I haven't seen elsewhere: barracuda as big as sharks and starfish as big as turtles. The current is very strong, and you drift away quickly: pay attention to your surroundings.

This place is really cool if you like history. There are plenty of things to see, and most are still pretty intact. The pyramid is at the end of the trail of sites, and it's quite impressive. There is an observatory and an old ball court where they used to play a game kind of like basketball, but the losers could end up dead. There is quite a view from the top of the largest pyramid if you climb it.

You can book this as a tour through your hotel and not have to worry about driving there yourself. On the way back from the ruins you stop at a natural "well" with warm, fresh water feeding into it, and you can swim there if you like.

The day is long and usually quite hot, so bring the sunscreen and water.

My husband and I, along with 50 family members, came to Cancun to be a part of my cousin's wedding. We stayed at the Riu Cancun, an all-inclusive resort, which is where all the guests stayed.

Her wedding was to be on the beach oh a Friday afternoon, but an hour before the wedding, a storm rolled in and the ceremony had to take place in the resort's outdoor covered patio. The ceremony was nice, but the resort didn't seem at all prepared for the scenario of rain and was a bit unorganized trying to set up on the patio.

After the ceremony, pictures were taken on the grounds, and eventually everyone ended up in the swim-up bar in their wedding attire... and it made for a great pic to end the afternoon before dinner.

The resort itself is okay, but my husband and I did venture out and do other things, and there are plenty of things to do if you want more than hanging around the pool.

Do plan on reserving room on a tour when you first get to Cancun, because a lot of the tours fill up and certain days of the week they don't do tours.