• Moderators, please send me a PM if you are unable to access mod permissions. Thanks, Habsy.

OT: Vacations

Going to Cancun in July for a wedding. I'm not a huge all-inclusive resort fan (someone else is paying), any suggestions to get try to get in a more authentic experience? Into good food and photography.

Or is it just too touristy there?
 
hockeylover said:
Going to Cancun in July for a wedding. I'm not a huge all-inclusive resort fan (someone else is paying), any suggestions to get try to get in a more authentic experience? Into good food and photography.

Or is it just too touristy there?
Click to expand...
There is definitely some authentic areas but you’ll have to weigh that against some real danger in that area.

I always like heading over to Playa del Carmen and then Cozumel for some diving when I’m in the area.
 
hockeylover said:
Going to Cancun in July for a wedding. I'm not a huge all-inclusive resort fan (someone else is paying), any suggestions to get try to get in a more authentic experience? Into good food and photography.

Or is it just too touristy there?
Click to expand...

- Hit up the little towns along the riviera coast (puerto morelos & akumal I've been to, both are little and mexican and cute)
- Isla Mujeres is an island just off the coast and is touristy, but way more laid back and mexican than Cancun.
- Chichen Itza is about as good a way to kill an entire day as you're going to get and if you're a photographer is kind of a must
- Playa Del Carmen is the more authentic Mexico you're looking for. It's not really known for it's food (the yucatan is like the one region of mexico that doesn't really have it's own distinct cuisine), but most of the popular staple dishes from the best food regions (veracruz, sinaloa, michoacan, jalisco, Monterrey) are done well enough there. Avoid the tourist strip ("5th avenue"), but their pier is a nice spot for photos. Bonus points is the ferry to hit up Cozumel leaves from here. City is safe, but it is pretty scammy so mind what ATM's you're pulling cash out of (they still use the false plate on the front of the ATM trick down there), mind your camera, etc. 45 minutes down the highway, don't take a cab directly from the resort unless you really dislike your money.
 
MindzEye said:
- Hit up the little towns along the riviera coast (puerto morelos & akumal I've been to, both are little and mexican and cute)
- Isla Mujeres is an island just off the coast and is touristy, but way more laid back and mexican than Cancun.
- Chichen Itza is about as good a way to kill an entire day as you're going to get and if you're a photographer is kind of a must
- Playa Del Carmen is the more authentic Mexico you're looking for. It's not really known for it's food (the yucatan is like the one region of mexico that doesn't really have it's own distinct cuisine), but most of the popular staple dishes from the best food regions (veracruz, sinaloa, michoacan, jalisco, Monterrey) are done well enough there. Avoid the tourist strip ("5th avenue"), but their pier is a nice spot for photos. Bonus points is the ferry to hit up Cozumel leaves from here. City is safe, but it is pretty scammy so mind what ATM's you're pulling cash out of (they still use the false plate on the front of the ATM trick down there), mind your camera, etc. 45 minutes down the highway, don't take a cab directly from the resort unless you really dislike you're money.
Click to expand...

jackpot. figured you'd know.

thanks!
 
24fa9f171e9709b31c70a2e2a9b4c5ff.jpg
 
Nothing says authentic mexican like a guy in a spiderman suit swinging from the fucking roof.

It's like Applebees with foam parties.
 
Last edited:
Never been to Cancun proper, but spent time in Playa. Agreed with Mindz on the above, but I don't think Playa is really much authentic until you get well outside the tourist zone. Maybe some day I'll venture out, but I like to call Playa "Mexico-lite" - you get some feel of Mexico but not really.

Definitely try to hit up some Cenotes while there. They're beautiful and there's a bunch of different types too, some open, some more like a hole, some cave, etc... from Playa I know you can get to a bunch even just from a Collectivo, I don't know what Cancun is but worst case there'll be day trip tours. A few of them are dirty holes, some of them are absolutely stunning.
 
Not a long time… was there maybe a week (mostly taken up by rellies in law. 😵‍💫)

While Taormina is touristy, it is a good base to visit Etna. They have these moon buggy tours up there, it’s pretty cool.
 
CH1 said:
Noice!
I've never been....but Sicily is on my list , and once there, I'd be tempted to hop over to Malta for 3-4 days.
Click to expand...

Malta is great, and fairly easy to do within a week with how small it is. Outside of the capital Valletta there are some cool historical sites if you're into that in Mdina, Rabat, Gozo (different island, but worth visiting), and one of the oldest archaeological sites in the world at Hagar Qim. If anybody ever has any questions about Malta let me know as I'm part Maltese and have been several times.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top