Cancun Weekend Getaway — 48 hour Trip
We found last min deals on flights to Cancun so we snagged them! San Francisco was rainy and gloomy, some fun in the sun and a replenishment of vitamin D would a great way to fight the seasonal winter depression. So, we packed our bags and skirted off to the airport!
Cancun Score Card: 7.6/10
- Transportation: 7/10 (They have public transit, can rentals, scooter rentals, and taxis. Minus one point as they stopped servicing Ubers and one more point because getting around is time consuming — the car rental process takes forever as do the other methods to get from the airport into town)
- Price: 7/10 (The prices were good but not great for Mexico. The Coco bongo tickets were as expensive as event tickets in Vegas. But, we got a good deal on an all inclusive hotel which made up for it)
- Safety: 8/10 (We felt on the peninsula where all the hotels were and there weren’t locals trying to hustle us to buy things like there were in Cabo.)
- Food: 7/10 (The hotel had great food options and there were other restaurants nearby. We only ate at the hotel but there was a wide variety to choose from).
- Culture: 7/10 (Our hotel as well as the local excursion packages emphasized the Mayan heritage and culture)
- History: 6/10 (There are ample opportunities to learn about the history in Cancun and nearby, mostly through excursions.)
- Excitement: 7/10 (The beach and the excursions were there but nothing too monumental to get your juices flowing)
- Awe Inspiring: 6/10 (The sunrises, sunsets, and ocean views were the most awe inspiring things, it was a great place to relax)
- Technology Equipped: 8/10 (Service was better the farther into Yosemite we got but was still spotty at best with little to no free wifi options. Our hotel and most others have wifi as part of the package but most will want to unplug regardless.)
- Female Friendly: 9/10 (It’s a safe and friendly place for women to visit.)
- Solo Travel Recommended: 9/10 (If you are a hiker/backpacker/camper — this is the place for you. You can go on your own or meet people at the restaurants and join in on their hiking trips. Everyone seemed very friendly.)
- Language Barrier: 10/10 (It’s located in California, if you speak English everyone there does, too.)
Basics
Time zone: UTC/GMT -5 hours (EST)
Currency: Peso
Tourists: 21M+/yr
Where to go in Cancun:
If you click on the four corner icon to the right you can open it up in a new window and click on the icons to read the information for each location (pricing, hours, important details) as well as download it or save it to your My Maps for Google to reference during your trip.
Where to Stay
You’ll need to decide what type of trip you want. Most hotels are located in the Hotel Zone area on the peninsula. Alternatively you can stay a bit down from there in the area along the coast (about 15 min) between the airport and Bahia beach. Those hotels are a bit more secluded which gives it a different feel but there aren’t any restaurants or activities in walking distance which may be a downside (or an upside). All the properties in those areas should have restaurants onsite and on property entertainment so don’t let that deter you (but always double check).
Getting Around Cancun
Taxis are plentiful and Ubers are available. You are always one button push away from hailing your ride. We prefer Uber for the upfront pricing, rating system which makes us feel safer, and ability to put the destination in as to avoid language barrier issues.
Money
Most places take credit cards, USD is usually taken as well although they don’t give you a great conversion rate.
Restaurants
The all inclusive restaurants onsite were okay, not great. There is a downtown area of Cancun with tourist trap style restaurants. Some of the better ones in the area include Mochomos, Ilios, Ryoshi, Rosa Negra, Navios,
Packing List for 2 nights in Cancun:
- 2 laptops
- 2 backpacks, 1 duffel bag
- Toiletries: travel toothpaste, toothbrushes, contact solution, deodorant, comb, brush, hair tie (Jenni), shampoo & conditioner (Jenni), small makeup (Jenni)
- Jeans
- Shorts
- Belt
- Dress (Jenni)
- Button up shirt (Rodney)
- Workout clothing
- Sneakers
- Going out / nicer shoes
- Sunscreen
- Refillable water bottle
- Passport
- Swimsuit
Itinerary
- FRIDAY
- 9am took off from SFO (San Francisco) to Cancun
- 5pm arrive at the Cancun airport and headed to rental area to pick up our car (It was downpouring)
- 7pm Check into the hotel, Occidental Tucancun, drop bags
- 8pm grab a sushi dinner at the restaurant in the hotel
- 9:30pm go to the hotel bar for a cocktail while we enjoyed live music
- 11pm called it a night, it was still raining
- SATURDAY
- 9am wake up and grab breakfast at the restaurant
- 10am put on swimsuits and go into the ocean for snorkeling
- Noon grab lunch at the bar on the beach while we dried off
- 2pm grabbed cocktails on the beach from the hotel bar
- 4pm put on our workout clothing and played tennis at the hotel
- 6pm changed and got ready for dinner
- 7pm grabbed dinner at a different hotel restaurant
- 9pm walked to down area and checked out the local bars and took a look at CocoBongo
- 11pm walked back to the hotel and called it a night
- SUNDAY
- 8am woke up, packed up, and grabbed lunch – noticed how fried we were from the sun the day before
- 9am took the car to the Cancun sign to take a photo
- 9:30am stopped at El Rey Ruins to check out the local Mayan ruins. This area was part of the Mayan trade route and right off the Hotel Zone so very close!
- 11:30am headed to the airport to return the car
- 1:00pm boarded the flight home from Cancun to SFO
Costs: $1,127
- Hotel, Occidental Tucancun for 2 people for 2 nights (all-inclusive): $207 a night or $414 for 2 nights
- Car rental though Alamo: $25 for 2 nights
- RT Flights for 2 people from SFO to/from Cancun: $300 each or $600 for both
- Uber to/from SFO and home: $80
- Entrance fee to El Rey: $4 each, $8 total
If We Had to Do It Again
- Respect the sun! We were out on the beach for too long and despite having sunscreen on, we got sun poising and a nice lobster glow to take home with us. It ruined the second night because it was hard to move or walk and we felt sick the whole time. The sad thing is that we know better, too, but were enjoying the waves and the palm trees swaying in the breeze.
- If you are looking to rage and party, the downtown area where the bars and clubs are, are probably right up your alley. Keep in mind they’re like college bars, not fancy ones. We had fun walking and tried to pop our head into CocoBongo where they have drinks, snacks, and a crazy theatrical performance. But, we were overwhelmed just walking in because of the wall to wall people and quickly left. This was over spring break so it’s probably not that bad normally.
- All-inclusives aren’t really our thing. We felt obligated to eat on property and the food was good for the most part. It’s great to cap and plan for costs, but, I would rather stay somewhere that had food seperate and go out for lunch and dinner to get a better feel for the local cuisine.
