The Spas of Cancun

When deciding among resorts, there are specific amenities that have to power to swing your vote to either nix it or book a stay. For larger families, an extravagant pool might be that deciding factor; honeymooners—a suite looking out to the ocean. But what is universal to all of these preferences and the goal of any good vacation, is the desire to relax.

By definition, relaxing is anything not work related. This can be achieved in a number of ways; swimming in a pool is a great start; feeding on succulent butter-sauced lobster tails, complimented by a glass of sauvignon blanc, slightly chilled, is stepping things up a bit; but to root down to the heart of relaxation, you’ll have to purge everything demanding of physical activity and soak in the pure, soothing effects of a spa.

It is what resorts like to flaunt when attracting their customers; how extravagant their spa is, the many levels, and treatments, and Jacuzzis, and so on. To water down the field a bit, we visited a number of Cancun spas, tested their facilities, and condensed all of our data down to one precise guide. Enjoy.

Spa at Paradisus Riviera Cancun

Provides numerous treatments including aromatherapy, Thalassotherapy, massages, beauty services, and Temazcals, a traditional Mexican steam bath.

Facilities

• (2) Whirlpools
• Men and Women’s Saunas
• Steam Room
• Relaxation Room
• Health Club

Spa at Ritz-Carlton Hotel

Is known for its lengthy list of massage therapies including Swedish, shiatsu, deep tissue, aromatherapy, reflexology, neck and back, and couple’s. Services also extend to facials, body wraps, body masks, fitness center, and a salon.

Spa at The Royal Sands

Geared towards organic and holistic therapies, featuring:

• Aromatherapy Salt Glow
• Seaweed Body Wrap
• Cooling Aloe Body Treatments
• and ‘Moon & Stars’ Night Massage

Spa at Le Meridian Cancun

A 15,000 Sq. Ft. spa with steam and inhalation rooms. Saunas and Jacuzzis litter the facility and a chilled plunge pool and Swiss showers will clean you off when you’re done. The spa houses 14 treatment rooms including hydrotherapies, and skin and body treatments.

10 Dollar Flights to Cancun

Going to the movies will typically set you back 8 dollars. That’s assuming that you don’t have a family or that you can withstand the gravitational pull of the concession, in which case, multiply accordingly. Expect to spend about 5 dollars for a trough-sized popcorn and 4 dollars for a bucket of carbonated sugar-water. Yum. Inflation is never fun. That’s why when an airliner offers 10 dollar one-way plane tickets to Cancun, your ears should perk up. Of course, after fees and taxes that number becomes something like $55, each way; but still, $110 for round-trip? No one else can come close to matching that.

I took a jumbled approach in planning my vacation. Instead of making arrangements in a methodical and logical order, I just went with a pick-and-choose course of action; like a kid with a dismal allowance, left in high-priced candy store. I wanted to swim with the dolphins, so I made reservations at the Xcaret Eco-Park. But where would I sleep at night? I did my research and squandered the last of my budget on Gran Melia Cancun. How was I going to get there? And that’s how the 10 dollar airfare at Viva Aerobus saved a vacation that had appeared predestined for disaster.

Let me just say that my round-trip ticket was not 110 dollars; instead, I was able to find a package for $160. The second cheapest alternative was a little over $400 with Orbitz.

So what’s the catch? Your parents always told you there’d be one. “Remember, there’s no such thing as a free meal,” they’d say, and they were right (in more ways than one, but I’ll touch on that later). Well here it is. Are you ready for it? Viva Aerobus’ low rates, at present, only service Austin, Texas with flights beginning in May. It’s either Austin to Cancun, Cancun to Austin, or Nowhere to Nowhere. So imagine my delight when, only hours prior to making cancellation calls to Mexico, I read about the Viva Aerobus offer.

If you still manage to fit the demographic—within a reasonable distance from Austin and planning a vacation for sometime after April 30—you should be aware of the compromises that come with flying at these rates. The airline doesn’t use jet bridges, meaning that passengers climb stairs from the tarmac to the plane. Only one bag can be checked, per passenger, with additional bags at additional cost. Finally, there are no free food or drinks on the flights; laughable, since they’ve only offered peanuts and soft drinks on most bargain-flights for the past decade.

It is unknown just how many 10 dollar plane tickets will be sold, or how one will go about obtaining the rate. But one thing is for sure, a lower airfare equates to more change in your pocket and more to do while you’re on vacation in Cancun.

Plaza La Isla Shopping

There is something about vacationing in a foreign country that convinces you of imaginary wealth; as though any bridling financial problems are temporarily lifted for that one week so you can live the way you’ve always imagined. Cancun splurging comes in the form of oceanside lounging, or soaking in the amenities of a luxury resort, or even casting out large sums of money on things you could have probably purchased back home, but for reasons unknown you don’t think twice about it.

However inevitable overspending may be, doing so is only the sign of a great vacation. And the route to you take to getting there is as long or as short as you make it in Cancun. Plaza La Isla, the Yucatan’s largest and most eclectic shopping experience, is proof.

The Plaza was erected around and along a lagoon and its architecture mimics villa-style design—lapping scales of terracotta shingles and a number of muted pastels coating the shops’ exterior. Either side of the lagoon is lined with palm trees and walkways, spoiled only by the occasional cross-bridge.

Populating La Isla are 150 shops, restaurants, and night clubs, as well as a movie theatre and an aquarium. Its most influential selling point to tourists is its diversity, as Plaza La Isla ranges from Mexican Souvenir shops, to retail clothing stores, to consumer electronic boutiques, to several well-known luxury jewelers. The shopping truly offers something for everyone, and of any budget.

Housed within this mass of shops and activities are a few of the mall’s more notable amenities that keep visitors pumping into the plaza and speaking high praise of their experience. La Madonna, although not the choice-recommendation as far as restaurants go, is unparalleled in its cocktails and lavish atmosphere. La Isla Aquarium, an unexpected attraction for many visitors, is home to turtles, sharks, sea anemone, and evening dolphin shows.

While providing tourists with an array of activities unique to Cancun, ones that could consume entire days and wallets, the Plaza also offers American-styled restaurant-favorites to its already toppling list of dining options. A Planet Hollywood, Johnny Rockets, and even two McDonalds are posted up in La Isla to satisfy home-sickness.

Plaza La Isla is conveniently situated among the resorts of Cancun’s Hotel Zone, at KM 12.5. From where we were staying, ME Cancun at KM 12, we simply walked along Main Avenue and arrived within minutes. It’s the one place that consistently tops the to-do lists, the travel logs, and the Cancun reviews—and for good reason, too. The proof is in the expansions, the empty pockets following a week’s vacation, the busses and taxis that spend their days ushering tourists from hotel to mall, mall to hotel.

Sian Ka’an Tours – The Authentic Yucatan

Twelve habitats comprise the 1.3 million acres of Sian Ka’an and with a human population of only 2000, visiting the reserve would allow you the chance to experience one of the few remaining vestiges of unspoiled earth. In 1986, the land became part of the UNESCO ‘Man and the Biosphere’ program, an attempt to “integrate human activities without compromising other forms of life contained within its boundaries.” At present, this cohabitation exists in coastal regions and small fishing villages. And at such an impressive ratio, the exclusive Sian Ka’an is sanctuary to both an array of ecosystem and the eco-savvy tourists that visit them.

At $4 a day, the reserve oversees a number of tours, escorting its visitors to the most traditional form of vacationing in the Yucatan. Canal and Bird-watching excursions provide a non-restricting means to explore habitats diverse of the flora and fauna, 103 mamalia, and 336 bird species that inhabit Sian Ka’an.

Canal Tour

• Follow a 1200 year old Mayan trade route.
• Visit ruins within the reserve.
• Observe lush flora and fauna unique to the reserve.
• Float down a freshwater river.
• Learn Mayan history.

All-Day Canal Tour

• Travel the waters by 23′ open-air boat.
• Experience the different ecosystems, plants, and birds.
• Navigate a natural canal Mayan trade route.
• Float along a freshwater canal as the current carries you downstream.
• Lunch and snacks provided.
• Walk through a Sian Ka’an garden.
• Cool off swimming at a cenote.

Price: $70/person. Transportation is provided to and from ME Cancun and other resorts of the Cancun hotel zone. The reserve limits its patronage to 12 people a day and recommends visitors bring a swimsuit, towel, and sunblock.

Sunset Bird Watching Tour
(Operates December – May)

• Tour of the largest natural protected area in the state of Quintana Roo.
• Includes bird watching, swimming and snorkeling in a cenote, and watching the sunset over reserve lagoons.
• Dinner

The Biosphere spans 75 miles, north to south, making up nearly one third of the Caribbean coast of Mexico. By visiting the reserve and taking any one of its tours, a typical Cancun vacation becomes personalized, something as unique as Sian Ka’an itself.

A Glimpse of Puerto Morelos

A quiet fishing town sleeps twenty minutes south of Cancun. The name is Puerto Morelos. Seemingly uninfluenced by the neighboring vacation-Mecca; the two are night and day, on and off. The locals prefer it that way. I like to think that they wake every morning with an uneasy pang in their stomachs; that maybe today will be the day that they open their shutters to a twenty-story resort in their backyards. But that is not the case. 30 kilometers is 3000 from Cancun.

Because mangroves and coral reefs are surrendering to the history books, Puerto Morelos becomes a secluded village, and you the anthropologist. It’s cushioned by national park land and water that serve as more of a fortress from the scathing affects of surrounding tourism. To walk from opposite poles of the town is a 15 minute stroll that exposes the antiquated living of the township and carries you back to a simpler time.

The plaza, the tranquil heart of the community, is enclosed by vestiges of a charming lifestyle. A Catholic church on one side, a grocer at another, a stream of cafes lining the third, and an opening on the fourth that feeds out to a marina.

Although not terribly exclusive to the area, the ocean still serves as an vital artery feeding Puerto Morelos. Sunken below the water’s surface, 300 feet from shore, the Mesoamerican reef—in all of its pinks and lapis and bioluminescence, branching in various directions—survives; home to 500 species of fish and on display for anyone with a snorkel or a scuba tank.

The cenotes are another brilliant source of underwater exploration. These underground canals circulate most of the Yucatan Peninsula and echo an array of blues unfamiliar to anywhere else in nature.

In the Puerto Morelos’ evenings, the window panes of its plaza’s restaurants broadcast a warm yellow light. Benches are lent to young couples and families eating ice cream cones. And the hypnotic shuffling of ocean waves carries through the air. It is almost a tragedy, then, that hotels and gift shops are casually creeping into the coastal region of the town; little reminders that tourism can not be restrained.

Like a volcano, fuming, the town of Puerto Morelos will only remain dormant for so long. She’s been deemed an ecological sanctuary and bridled by strict building codes. This, however, has never sheltered virginal land in the past; bits of reality will continue to seep in and destroy this dream land. And although not yet an amusement park or a mass of clubs, the influence is there, looming.

Exploring Mayan Cities – A Cancun Detour

It would be a fair assumption that most Cancun vacations are products of the media. Let me clarify that; what I meant to say is that Cancun is beaches and night clubs and water sports and everything of and under the sun. There isn’t necessarily anything inaccurate about that definition, but it is vague and lacks some of the oldest attractions that predate the city’s existence. I’m speaking of the cenotes, and the subtlety of cross-water Isla Mujeres, and—what serves as Cancun’s foundation—the remaining vestiges of the Mayan civilization.

The structures still survive; certainly not all of them or in their entirety, but a handful of Mayan sites remain open to tours and without all of the tacky connotation. There are no gift shops at the exits. The stone is aged 900 years. Loudspeakers are not hanging from the ceilings to guide the tour and there are no diners littering the premises. These sites have only spoiled by the decaying affects of time.

If you can recall anything about Mayan history or culture from middle school history class, then you are lucky. I cannot. All of what I remember lies in two facts; that they were the last civilization to be conquered and that the Maya, as a tribe, once existed. Should that negate every word here on out? No. Does this make me any less credible? Only if I were a historian. But I claim no such thing. I am just another tourist that discovered a part of Cancun the commercials fail to show.

My first stop was Chichen Itza; what was believed to be a social and political center of the Mayan empire and, at a fraction of its original size, it still remains the largest accessible site.

The structures of Chichen Itza were never as massive or looming in the brochures as they were in person. I’m not sure exactly what I had expected, but climbing the steps of El Castillo put the ancient city into perspective; watching as people the proportion of ants scattered all about the pyramids base and in and out the Temple of the Warriors.

I would advise planning a day around visiting Chichen Itza because, like it or not, it will consume a full one. Mine was a 12 hour excursion; a shuttle taking me from my Cancun Resort, to the tour’s drop-off, and then 3.5 hours in each direction. Be sure to pack plenty of water bottles and to wear comfortable shoes; the temperature is much hotter inland and you’ll be doing a great deal of walking.

While not the liveliest of attractions—excuse the pun—nothing compares to exploring one of the oldest surviving cities in the world.

Tulum is a beachfront Mayan city that overlooks Caribbean waters and was my second destination, the following day. Although it is much smaller than Chichen Itza, it is the most visited site by tourists. And at only 81 miles from Cancun, it is only a half-day commitment.

Tulum is structured as a fort; walls sealing in the city on 3 fronts, and the ocean-side cliff functioning as the fourth.

Neighboring Xel-Ha was once a key port to Tulum and has since been converted to an eco-park. The site is 75 miles south of Cancun and within 8 of Tulum.

The location was seemingly lost within the engrossing mangrove forest and now serves as a natural aquarium. It is a brilliant green setting of coral snorkeling and dolphin swimming. If you are planning to visit Tulum or Xel-Ha, separately, it might make sense to make a full day out of it and visit both.

Exploring the dilapidated sites of thousand year old Mayan cities is not intended to serve solely as an example of what once was but, instead, they evoke an odd sense of nostalgia; that by resting your palms on the warm stone of a building, you were somehow a part of that long lost civilization.