Cancun vs. Cabo – How to Pick a Winner

March 31, 2008 on 3:01 pm | In All | No Comments

To the virginal Mexico traveler, the difference between the two [Cancun and Cabo] can be murky, infinitesimal at best. They’re both synonymous to oceans and unruly partying, but other than that, there is much left to the imagination. For things to do, places to visit, and sights to see, my only suggestion would be to visit TripAdvisor.com and any travel blog and begin some investigatory work of your own.

But what about the basics, the snippets of useful information that will inevitably dictate your vacation whether you’re aware of it or not, and will help you to choose one location over the other?

Airfare

• A roundtrip flight on a Friday in May, New York City (JFK) to Cancun - $306
• A roundtrip flight on a Friday in May, New York City (JFK) to Cabo - $400

Hotel Rates

In a mock stay at two Sol Melia resorts, an average night in similar-style suites were about the same.

• Deluxe Lagoon View @ ME Cancun in May - $180/night
• Deluxe Garden View @ ME Cabo in June (May was booked) - $254/night

First Impressions

• Cabo had been gentrified into a Miami-esque party zone with fast-food restaurants, a BlockBuster, and even a Home Depot. The city seemed geared more toward the 18-35 crowd and was fairly busy.
• Cancun slowed things down, just a bit, and offered more to do in terms of eco-tourism.

Language

• Generally, everyone in Cancun and Cabo spoke English

Weather

• Compared to Cabo, the weather in Cancun was a bit more tepid and muggier during the summer.

Oceans

If you ever get the opportunity to travel to both—and I recommend you do—you will notice the oceans are opposite shades of blue.

• In Cancun, the waters were generally a bright and clear all along the shore.
• In Cabo, the ocean is medley of blues, greens, and grays.

If you are one of the picky breeds, meticulous in everything you do, even down to the fine tuning of your vacation, then these are the tidbits worth knowing; the ones that won’t lead you to flimsy expectations but, instead, set you up for making the most of your first visit to Mexico.

Meetings in Mexico - Impress at the Best Hotels in Cancun

March 26, 2008 on 12:07 pm | In All | No Comments

You’ll go to amazing lengths to impress a potential client. From specialty binding of presentation material, to polishing your shoes, to using extra starch when pressing your shirt. So it would seem a bit peculiar, then, if you were to found a new a relationship at a location that is not as prepared as you are.

What better way to add that finishing touch than by hosting at a serene ocean-front location of white beaches and palm trees that sway with the breeze. It’s an image that can almost guarantee you a successful meeting, function, even a social event. However, deciding on where in Cancun can turn into a dilemma.

At ME Cancun, the meeting rooms and banquet halls all share a chic, minimalist atmosphere, infused with an earth-tone motif (lots of deep reds, browns, taupes, and blacks); all colors that resonate Cancun’s natural history.

The Evolution room provides an intimate setting where the room is symbolic of a universe and you and your guests are at its center. The table is marble and reminiscent of Arthur’s round table, forcing communication and interaction, and establishing that fundamental bond necessary for all new business relationships.

Le Blanc Spa Resort will appeal to larger banquets and social functions. The sprawling meeting room is coated with white, flapping drapes and scattered with countless tables for seating 4-6 people. Prominent and at the front is a long, broad table that will elegantly serve a number of purposes, namely a signifier of importance.

The meeting rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Cancun share no common theme, serving as an eclectic sampler of Mexican-contemporary and traditional settings, ranging from the personal, in terms of accommodations, to the generous and inviting. The Ritz has over 27,000 sq. ft. of function-space and, certainly, a room that best suits you and your company’s needs.

There is a difference between just hosting your event and hosting your event overlooking a tropical shore and infinite ocean. If you work toward making the best of first impressions, but overlook the foundation of your presentation, you become the runner who has trained for meet, only to give up and stop short of the finish-line.

A Vacation to Cancun Could Save a Species

March 20, 2008 on 10:58 am | In All | No Comments

A Golden Eagle is stitched, prominently, into every Mexican flag; a symbol of the country’s nationality. It is only then, that the longevity of this large bird of prey is guaranteed; as in a sad case of irony, the Golden Eagle is one of the five species native to Mexico, teetering on the cusp of extinction. The culprit, as one could only assume, is the climate change and human interference—urban sprawl and illegal poaching.

There is a savior, however, an industry in Mexico that has seen a spike in popularity over the last 20 years known as Eco-tourism. National parks; reserves catering to the survival of specific species; and even tours that traverse the habitats indigenous to some of the worlds more elusive animals all contribute to their preservation. In fact, the trend intertwines this contemporary style of vacation with a regimen of luxury beach resorts, poolside lounging, and soaking in the laidback lifestyle of a traditional Cancun vacation.

In the example of the Golden Eagle, Pronatura, a non-profit conservation organization, has launched projects in the Cubres de Monterrey National Park and the Cuatro Cienegas Biosphere Reserve; both available for exploring and both within reasonable proximity to many Cancun Resorts.

Jaguars, the largest cats of the Western hemisphere, survive anywhere from the southern United States to as far south as northern Argentina. In Mexico, they stalk the jungles of the northeastern part of the Yucatan.

Pronatura suggests their extinction could evolve into a concerning state within 30 to 40 years.

With the potential to reach 16 meters in length and 26 tons in weight, the Gray Whale is undoubtedly the largest animal to rank among Cancun’s endangered list.

It is only by the excessive hunting of their species in the 19th century and sporadic cases of beaching that their number has plummeted.

Tours offered by many Cancun Resorts offer vacationers an opportunity to experience these mammoth sea-mammals closer than any commercial or photograph could ever provide.

Another species native to Cancun’s waters, the Vaquita, or “little cow”, was only relevant to the list 50 years ago. As soon as it was discovered, it was classified as endangered.

They are not directly hunted, but like the manatee, they are commonly bludgeoned by boat propellers or accidentally captured in fishing nets.

The Monarch Butterfly reserve caters to the endangered species of its namesake.

Deforestation, a common theme to animal extinction, is once again to blame for the rapid decline in  Monarch Butterfly populations. Pronatura estimates the forest populated by the butterflies to disappear within the next 20 years.

By making our Cancun vacations eco-vacations and feeding into the industry, we promote the survival of these animals and the conservation of what makes Cancun—the forestland and the animals that know it only as their home.

Your Vacation - How to Keep Your Health Without Losing Your Mind

March 14, 2008 on 1:03 pm | In All | No Comments

The most overly exercised advice to budding Mexico vacationers is, don’t drink the water—a warning that is commonly shrugged off with a chuckle, but is true; water contamination is the leading cause of intestinal malfunctions on vacation. While sticking to bottled water promises to fix just such an issue, what about other potentially vacation-destroying ailments that can come with foreign travel.

Abstaining from water, directly, is not the only and surest route to keeping healthy. It’s the things that are typically overlooked and never second-guessed that should be a source of concern.

The World Health Organization suggests you reconsider that salad or biting into that raw fruit or vegetable; as with any raw foods, the susceptibility for contamination runs high, and that is especially the case for an area of the world your body has yet to condition its immune system to.

“If you’re in the Four Seasons hotel, then eating the salad is probably not a great risk, says Dr. Mark Wise of Toronto’s Travel Clinic. “But if you’re in the little stall next to the youth hostel, then eating the salad is probably a great risk.”

When it comes to choosing a restaurant, look for one that is busy and attracts the locals. Another factor to consider is your geographic location. If you’re on an island or on the coast, seafood is probably going to be the freshest choice. If you’re inland, the other meats or a vegetarian cuisine is the way to go.

There are also measures that can be taken to ensure your well-being long before you ever step foot on a plane or boat. If you are traveling to someplace exceptionally exotic or third-world, the Public Health Agency of Canada recommends you immunize for a cocktail of illnesses, weeks prior to your trip.

But what about sicknesses that are known and can be anticipated? Catering to a pre-existing medical condition does not have to mean nursing it over your vacation.

“With allergies, there’s no being off-the-cuff,” says Gwen Smith, editor of Allergic Living magazine. “When you’re on vacation, you don’t want your allergies to be the only thing you’re thinking about, but you also don’t want to be sitting there wondering, ‘Okay, 20 minutes from now, am I off to a hospital?’”

A room with its own kitchen is one way to take control, as it allows you to cook if you’re a little food-wary. The most direct route, however, is to simply explain to the chef your condition. And as with any scenario that concerns your food allergies, an EpiPen is a necessary item that should be equipped to your person at all times.

Finally, and most importantly, do not be afraid to try new things. These precautions are merely suggestions to ensure your vacation’s success.

How to Have a Frugal Cancun Vacation

March 11, 2008 on 1:45 pm | In All | No Comments

Frugal Traveler, there is still hope for you. Inflation is not even a factor when those dollars are exchanged for pesos, and English for Spanish. In Cancun, you can keep a watchful eye and tight, roping shackles around your billfold, and still stuff your maw and water your liver. You won’t have to opt for a cot fashioned from palm thatch over a traditional bed and air-conditioned room; no, Frugal Traveler, there are still places in this world that will accept you, and Cancun, Mexico is just the one to do it.

In a recent New York Times travel log, Matt Gross describes how he comfortably survives his Cancun-weekend in 210 dollars and 37 cents. Comfortable was three meals a day, a hotel room, and seeing the sites. Comfortable was not, however, extravagant Cancun resorts in the Hotel zone, 4am tequila-benders, or throbbing parties that consumed whole days; that is exactly what Gross had set out to avoid.

The initial step to a frugal existence in Cancun is not to stay in Cancun. Cancun is the product of sprawling luxury hotels littered with restaurants and spas and pool and even more restaurants; they tend to carry a sizable price-tag. Instead, Gross stayed at a quaint 45 dollar-a-night affair in Puerto Juarez, a swath of a town 5 minutes north of Cancun.

For lunch, Gross dined at Pozoleria Castillo where $6.50 provided him a large bowl of pozole (pork-and-homony soup layered with chilies and oregano), and a glass of lemonade. Dinner found him sharing a large feast with a community of Hasidic Jews, and the next morning’s breakfast, as with every breakfast he ate in Cancun, was a medley of coffee, orange juice, toast, fruit, and yogurt, served to him in bed.

By taking a 35-peso ferry to cross-water Isla Mujeres, a 5 mile long island, he was able to escape the bustling herds of Hotel zone beach-dwellers, and ease into an oceanfront lounge chair, some fish tacos, and a Dos Equis—totaling 75 pesos.

Upon Gross’ return to Puerto Juarez, he drove to Xbalameque hotel where he traded out 120 pesos for a 30 minute Nahuatl steam bath; “essentially a sauna, the temazcal was a small, brick-lined room illuminated by a single yellow filament bulb, the steam perfumed with mint that tingled my lips as I lay on a bench. When I emerged, every toxin had drained away, and my skin glowed.”

That evening, as he and a friend finished their travesty of a dinner at Labna—430 pesos—he was summoned by a force he had managed to avoid that entire weekend. Cancun, Coco Bongo specifically, had VIP cards for line-less entry, beckoning his retrieval. Although they would not save him from a 45 dollar entrance fee, once inside, however, he indulged in a cost-free evening of bottomless snifters and “various sweet drinks of unnatural colors.”

The link separating the reasonable from savings-squeezer, making an enjoyable trip out of a starving wallet, is by planning to overshoot the cost of Gross’ steal of a vacation. He arrived with a budget of 500 dollars; some insurance that would steer him clear of panhandling the streets for spare change. Planning a tight budget but arriving with some extra padding is going to award you that frugal Cancun vacation.

Cancun in a Day – Joe’s Jeep Adventure

March 4, 2008 on 3:22 pm | In All | No Comments

What do Cancun and a chocolate sampler share in common? Variety. Unlike a sampler, however, Cancun won’t try to pawn its undesirables off on you, wrapped in deviously chic chocolate shells; no, that pithy little saying, “it’s all good,” courses ubiquitously throughout the Yucatan.

But is it really all good? If it weren’t for that decoder opposite the lid, you could potentially choke back a few asparagus-creamed truffles on your journey to reach the best flavors. But Cancun keeps to the metaphor with a guide that lets you to easily sift past the dregs and indulge in the worthy; it’s called Joe’s Jeep Adventure, and it’s your only means to craming a slew of eco-experiences into one day.

The tour begins at a Starbucks at Plaza la Isla, a mall situated among the Cancun resorts of the ‘Hotel Zone’. The tour’s guide, Pepe, picks you up in a brand new 4-door jeep and guides you throughout Cancun and beyond its boundaries. You’ll wander the ruins of an ancient Mayan village and swim in underground caverns called cenotes (see-no-tays). And earlier, when I compared the tour to a box of chocolates, I wasn’t just reaching. You’ll also travel to a lush zoo with monkeys, crocodiles, deer, and other animals native to the Yucatan. Finally, Pepe delivers you to an authentic Mexican village while still allotting enough time to end the tour at a buffet feast on the beach.

Joe’s Jeep Adventure recommends the following for their guests:

• Swimsuit
• Sunscreen
• Insect Repellent
• Comfortable Shoes or Sandals
• Towel
• Camera
• Spending money for if you want to buy handicrafts at the village

The tour runs from 830am to 430pm. Oh, and one thing I may have forgot to mention, those tour-jeeps—you get to drive them. Pepe is only the guide that keeps you on course. Maybe now you see why Joe’s Jeep Adventure is worthy of chocolate-sampler comparison and why it consistently ranks among the top attractions in Cancun.

Prices

Adults - $119.99, Kids (Under 12) - $79, (Under 4) - Free!

To book a tour, visit Cancun care.com