Must Do's And Don'ts In Mexico!!

BRANCHWYNN

Senior Member
I Will Be Headin To Mexico Soon On My 15 Year Anniversary. My Bride Has Us Stayin In The Grand Mayan Riviera In The Mayan Riviera, Mexico. Near Playa Del Carmen. Always Like To Get Good Advice Before I Leave The Country, Going To A New Place. Any Tips Or Suggestions Would Be Much Obliged. Fun And Interesting? Car Rental? Things To Do And See? Do's And Dont's Etc.etc...... We Will Be There For A Whole Week So Nothing Is Timed Or Planned. Thanks For Your Help On This Friends Of G.o.n. And Members. With Two Kids And Full Time Jobs, We Have Waited Till Our 15 Year To Really Get Out And Go Somewhere Special. Thanks
 

The AmBASSaDEER

Senior Member
dont drink the water,,,,
 

HandgunHTR

Steelringin' Mod
Just some basic "Out of the Country" advice.

Make sure that you call the US Embassy and let them know you are in country and when you plan on leaving.
Make a copy of your passport and carry the copy with you while you are out in town. Keep your passport locked up at the hotel, either in your room safe or if possible a hotel safety deposit box. That way if you get robbed or pick-pocketed while out in town, they will not get your passport.
Always have a card from the hotel with you. That way if you get lost and have to take a cab, you can just hand over the card.
Take any recommendations by the hotel concierge with a grain of salt. Most of them get kick-backs from the businesses that they refer you to.
Separate your money between your wife and you and keep small amounts in different places. That way when you are shopping you are not "flashing cash" when buying something. Especially if you are haggling for stuff. If they see a wad of cash the price will increase very quickly. Also, if you do get pick-pocketed, they will only get a small portion of your cash.

Other than that, I agree with what secondseason posted about tripadvisor.com
 

Burl E.

Senior Member
Do not get in ANY Taxi that You didn't call for.
Also, Do Not, for any reason AT ALL, GET IN ONE OF THE VW "BUG" TYPE TAXI!!!!! :hair:

Crime is everywhere and most police are on the take. Stick to your set plans. Do not let locals lure you around any corners.

Keep ATM cards hidden well! Some people are kidnaped and driven around till bank accounts are empty. Then beaten and dropped off in VERY Bad parts of town. (See bug taxi above.)

Let family know times to expect calls from you. If locals find out your home info, they will call your family and say, "BRANCHWYNN has been in a accident, and needs you to wire $xx,xxx to his new buddy Jose' to cover his doctors bill before he can get his life saving surgery." Then the next day you call home and say, "We're having a blast!" Your next of kin won't be having a blast.

X10 on the water and ice thing. Check where you stay some places do filter their water, but I still wouldn't drink it myself.

Don't forget you are in a foreign country and you are the foreigner.

Have a good time and drink a cold Dos XX for me!:cheers:
 

jones

Senior Member
mexico

go to see the mayan ruins.take your swimsuit,because the beach there is awesome.get tickets to shell hai park.they have scuba,snorkel,if you are not certified they have a deal where your tank floats on a raft above the water and you can go down 50ft.with just the mask.swim with the dolphins and there is a place in the park where you can dive off cliffs and float a channel.the snorkeling at the end of the float trip is great .lots of fish and sea life in the water.if you want to get out one night and cut loose take a ride to cancun.go to senior frogs and be ready for anything.have fun.
 

4570

Senior Member
don't eat the salaid at any buffet bar. or any green stuff that has beem sprinkled with water.
 

MudDucker

Moderator
Staff member
In Mexico (or any third world country), always be looking around and be aware of your surroundings. Most thugs look for distracted tourist to prey upon.

Learn the money exchange rates backwards and forwards before you go.

Carry maps of the areas you are planning on visiting and a hand held gps.

Check on cell phone coverage. For instance, I believe Altel has a plan that covers Mexico as a roam like home area. Be sure your phone works where you are going or get one that does. Put the number of the local authorities into memory.

Stay in public areas. Don't wander down alleys where there are no other tourist. Mexico has an extremely high kidnapping and other crimes rate.

Remember, once away from the touristy areas, you are a gringo who stole their land (California/Texas) and most do not care for Americans.

Have a good time!
 

leo

Retired Woody's Mod 7/01-12/09
I was in Calica in March this year,

which is right next to Playa del Carman.
IMO here is a "Must Do" while you are there .... http://www.xcaret.com/

Calica is a cruise ship stop and very close to Cancun and Cozumel.

I Posted a few pics of the area in the pic forum you may want to ck out:)

If you have any ques, PM me and I will be happy to answer them if I can:)
 

dawg2

AWOL ADMINISTRATOR
Be aware of your surroundings and people.
 

Doyle

Senior Member
Everybody says "don't drink the water". It isn't that the water is really bad. The locals drink it just fine. It is that the water has a different set of bacteria than we Americans are used to. If you took someone from there and gave him our tapwater, he would get sick too.

I swear, all the vendors must train at the same place. "Come on man, my stuff is so cheap it's almost free".
 

chambers270

Senior Member
You hear dont drink the water because Americans will get sick when they drink it. When we stayed they told us not to even brush our teeth with the water. We used bottle water for everything and they had it at the local stores.

Watch out who you are talking to, I was going from store to store and was approached by a guy who offered us girls and drugs. Then we were looking for the best price on a blanket and was almost attacked by a shopowner since I said it was cheaper in the last store. He followed us out of the building fussing about it.

Next do not get into any trouble, when arrested most times they talk all your cash and then set a high cash bond to be released. The copy of a passport is a great idea, and dividing up the cash is also smart. The only other thing is I would keep the wife and kids with me in a group at all times just to be safe.

Have a good time!

Chris
 

win280

Guest
Leave a note everytime you leave your hotel to go shopping or sightseeing with the place you are going and time you will return.
 
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