first time in America (Mexico)
My husband and I gathered to relax, booked a tour 2 months in advance. We prepared, read everything that was possible, watched all the popular science films about the culture of the Maya, the Aztecs, about regions, cities, etc. Go.
1. Flight. We flew British via London. Of course, VA is a good airline, but... It's better to fly with our Transaero directly, pouring cognac bought in Dutik under the seat. With connections, the flight is very long and tiring. Good thing there were no flight delays. Connections take from 5 (there) to 9 hours (back from Mexico City). Smoking!! ! There are no smoking rooms in London, Cancun, Mexico City, take electronic cigarettes. As a result, we arrived on time, that is, in the evening. Cancun customs officers are big fans of rummaging through someone else's underwear with or without reason, especially in women's suitcases. Medicines were thrown away. And so no problem.
2. Hotel. They settled us for 8 days in the Great Parnassus 5 * hotel. The hotel does not pull on 5 *, somewhere 4 *. Large, American character. There are Russians almost constantly, either ours or emigrants from America and Canada. The room was ordinary, without a refrigerator and a jacuzzi on the 4th floor. View from the window to the sea and the lagoon. On some floors there were rooms with refrigerators and jacuzzis, they were probably considered 5 *. They fed well, watered even better. The restaurant with varied cuisine was open from 7 to 21.30. A la carte restaurants worked longer, I don’t remember how long, but they didn’t kick me out until they were fed. Many bars, 2 on the beach, Atlantis on the 1st floor worked until the morning. So you can live in a room with a bottle of water. Drinks from bars and food can be brought to your room.
3. Animation. There was practically nothing for Russians to have fun in the hotel. Karaoke and all cultural program for Americans. In the evenings, they had fun with Russian gatherings and shopping trips (until 22:00). We played volleyball, water polo and tequila volleyball. Tequila volleyball is very fond of my husband. After drinking the first bottle of Sangritta, no one kept score, but only splashed, laughed, joked and sometimes threw the ball over the net. Water motorcycles, parachutes for a fee on the beach. You could buy water activities from the guys on the beach: fishing (men, I recommend!! ! from $125 depending on the number of people), all kinds of diving (snokerling, diving, submarine), as well as the COCO-BONGO disco, etc.
4. Excursions. We were hosted by ARMINAS. The guide Manuel, who met us, kindly wrote Dina's phone number on the voucher and asked us to contact her regarding the purchase of excursions. The girls at the reception connected us with her, the meeting was scheduled for the 3rd day of our stay. But we did not wait for the guide. As it became known later, very famous Russian businessmen and cultural figures arrived in Cancun, there was no time for ordinary tourists. Thank God we didn't lose our heads and bought a $100 excursion to Chichen Itza with cenotes, drove six of us in a Mercedes minivan rather than a big bus and saved about $40 a nose compared to Arminas prices. We bought a shkaret at the hotel from Best Day for $118 and we were given certificates for gifts: silver pendants with names in the Mayan alphabet. These excursions are full day and must be visited. Impressions are very vivid. We went to COCO BONGO. I had enough for a while - not mine. But it's also impressive. Who loves such a party, they will like both the show and the disco.
5. Shopping. The shops rode on regular buses. They go often, they cost 8-8.5 pesos. You can take a taxi back if the bags are heavy. The most expensive taxi was at night from Walmart (tequila, rum, T-shirts, works around the clock) - $ 10. There are several stops with shops in the Hoteler zone: La Isla, Kukulkan Plaza, and in the very center near the Rio Hotel. You can buy American brands. Attention! Do not forget to issue TAX FREE. Copy the migration card, it and the invoice from the store will come in handy at the airport. About 7% will return to your hands (or rather to a credit card). Take certificates for silver. They accept both dollars and pesos. VISA worked in large stores.
6. Sea. Amazingly beautiful Caribbean Sea. Miscellaneous. 3 days were relatively quiet. They swam. Then there were the waves. We jumped. We drowned caps and sunglasses, skinned our knees, we were swept out to sea, we returned along the rope that encloses the bathing area. Rescuers do not wait, they are not. Red flag type, warned, themselves to blame. A calm zone of water on Isla Mujeres, there are palm trees, too, like everywhere else, white sand that does not heat up, hammocks and all sorts of entertainment. The sun is very insidious, cream and an umbrella are necessary.
7. Mexico City. I did not like the city, dirty, gloomy, a lot of policemen. We stayed at the Best Western Zona Rosa hotel. The neighborhood is gay. Cool, but we took care of our men. There are a lot of prostitutes at night, they also liked our men. I really liked the excursion to Teotihuacan, the Aztec pyramids are different from the Mayan ones. The guide Natasha is wonderful. Respect to ARMINASU in Mexico City. An interesting anthropological museum, but there was little time. You need to spend a whole day on it. I wanted to go to Xochimilco, but we did not succeed. We were in Mexico City on November 20, and this holiday is the Day of the Mexican Revolution, and it also turned 100 years old. There was a great show at the Zocalo in the evening. With music, performances, laser effects. But we left early, because we did not want to return back with a huge crowd. The city center was closed. We took an auto rickshaw for $20 per person. and drove to the hotel by night in Mexico City (about 30 minutes). Another excursion. Cool.
Visa for 10 years. We will definitely return.
