Your All Inclusive Resort



  

Enjoy beach chairs and cabanas in a lush tropical setting.



       When you arrive at an all inclusive resort in the Mayan Riviera, the first thing you will see are tall palm trees, beautiful gardens and colourful orchids. A sparkling pool and the long stretch of sandy beach will help you relax immediately.  Then someone from the hotel will offer you a drink.  I loved the Strawberry Margueritas! 

       Another great thing about an all inclusive is that you can eat anything you want from the buffet or from one of the restaurants.  If you plan to eat at the restaurants, though, you will have to make reservations and plan ahead. 

    



We played ping-Pong by the pool, basketball, and other water sports.



     During the day, you will be able to enjoy lots of activities.  Resort staff are there to provide entertainment and you can play water polo, basketball, ping pong, volleyball, and lots more! Also watch for the evening entertainment.  At our resort, Marina El Cid, we saw a fire dance, enjoyed a fun casino, sang Karaoke, watched a magician, and even saw an ancient Mayan dance show. 

Customs for Tipping, Money and Transportation in Mexico

Even if you are staying at an all inclusive resort, it is important to realize that tipping is customary in Mexico, so bring pesos.  It is recommended that you tip roughly 10 to 50 pesos (roughly $1 to $5 U.S.) for porters who carry your bags, and tip between 10 to 30 pesos (roughly $1 to $3 U.S.)  for your waiters at the all inclusive buffets or restaurants.  You will get better service if you tip a small amount at every meal.  The same applies for the staff who bring drinks to you at the beach.  At restaurants in Mexico, they will expect a 10 to 15% tip, but you should check to see if the tip is already included in the bill as that sometimes happens.  At your resort, if the maid did a good job keeping your room clean, you would tip roughly 200 to 500 pesos for a week.   

It takes a little while to figure out the differnet money you are dealing with. It is a good idea to have pesos for tipping and for buying small items.  Higher price items such as tours, and clothing are usually priced in U.S. dollars so you need to bring U.S. dollars for some things.  For pesos, your resort will be happy to exchange your pesos for smaller bills to help you manage.  To do quick mental math for figuring out the currency, you won't be too far out converting $1 U.S. dollar for 12 pesos or roughly 10 pesos to quickly figure this out in your head.

Another tip that we heard about, is that if you take a taxis it is a good idea to ask about the price before you get in the vehicle.  The price will be lower if you agree to what you are paying before you get into the taxi.      

The Airport Experience

 As the plane lands in Cancun Mexico, you will see sandy beaches, blue ocean and lush tropical jungle, then all of a sudden there will be a runway and you have arrived. Immediately you will notice the humidity and heat. Cancun has a very modern airport so you can expect that the steps for going through security, customs and getting your baggage, will work smoothly.  Everyone is very helpful.


One thing to be aware of is that there may be many porters, van drivers and travel representatives who are trying to get your attention.  They want to carry your bags for a tip or they want to sell you something.  Move quickly to the vans waiting to take you to your all inclusive resort.  Someone from the plane will direct you to the correct meeting spot.

Introduction

Hi, my name is Allison. I am a grade six student at New Horizons School and I am doing a project on the Mayan Riviera. I decided to do my project about the Mayan Riviera because I went on a trip to Mexico in November and had a great time. I decided that I wanted to learn more about the region and share this information with my class. 


In this blog I will give you tips about what to expect when you arrive in Cancun, what the region is like, what the experience is like at an all inclusive resort, and other tips about the culture, and fun things you can do as a traveler.


Hope you enjoy it!