For those going/gone to Mexico on honeymoon! :)

Hi, excited for you i got engaged in mexico last year, loved it, going back for my honeymoon! best place ever!!! we went for two weeks all inclusive, stayed in the RIU tequila, over the two weeks we spent about 1300 pounds, i did alot of shopping though! we did quite a few excursions, they can be quite prices through the holiday reps, loads of people booked them through the local tour operators, way cheaper! what month are you going? xx xx

We're going 10th July

This is something I have been wondering about, we haven't budgeted for spending money as such with it being AI, but we know we want to do a couple of excursions - thinking we could stick them on the debit card if we book with our rep though. Not sure about cash for tipping in those types of hotels. Hopefully more OMs will answer then we can get ideas!

Im going to keep an eye on this thread as im wondering the same thing.....also who has been to see about jabs yet? i have an appointment in 2 weeks!

You dont need any jabs, but take mozzie spray, if you eat out, you should leave 10% of your bill as a tip, alot of the resturants include this on your bill, we tipped our cleaner as usual in the hotel and ther guy who carried the cases,, we did a trip to chicten itza which cost us around 60 quid each, the swimming with dolphins wwas the most expensive, cost us about 130 quid each, there are other ones cheaper though. It might be cheaper in july as this hurricant/wet season. We went in april and it was coming to the end of the peak season they told us, they said alot of british people go in the rainy season but not many amercians which are there main tourists so its quieter, i know a few people who have been in july and said it does rain pretty much everyday but only like a ten/twenty minute tropical downpour in the afternoons and its still hot, but you get more mozzie's!.. Its a fantastic place though, cant wait to go back Our friends went on honeymoon there aswell and the hotel upgraded them for free to the honeymoon suite as it was out of peak season, so you should definatly ask about that xxxx

I assume the 10% won't be an issue at an AI hotel though?

I was advised to get jabs by my GP. I have had tetanus, typhoid and another one I can't remember. Hep A possibly? One of them was in 2 parts, the second part hurt like hell - for the whole of last week my arm was stiff and sore!

Yeah you definately need jabs, I had hep A, tetanus, MMR and something else! Thanks for all the advice! No clue how much ££ to take with us!

I had already had these jabs at school to be fair so probably why i didnt need them,

no at the hotel you dont need to tip unless you want to, occasionally we put some peso's into the tip box on the bar for them barmen but if you are all inclusive you dont have to tip in your hotel. xx xx

About tipping at your resort -

First, make sure your resort allows it. Some AI resorts have a policy about this.

Second, my typical rule of thumb was to tip $1 for drinks and then $2 or $3 for non-buffet serviced lunches and $5 for dinners. I'll note that if you don't tip for drinks, especially for beach service, you may find that they get to you a lot slower...a lot slower. We also left $20 for the week for the housekeeper. And don't forget the guys who take your bags to/from your room (had heavy bags, so $5 each time).

Third, you might be better off tipping in dollars than pounds.

About excursions -

If you're up for the hassle, it's generally cheaper to book directly with the excursion company than through your hotel. I'd highly recommend the cave explorations/swimming. Chitzen Itza is also worth the trip (and climb to the top).

Yeah i would really recommend chitzen itza, thats where i got engaged! we werent allowed to climb it though, the guide told us they have now stopped this!

also the swimming with dolphins at the isla mujeres was fantastic, this one is dearer than the other as its on an island so the dolphins are in the sea not a pool, i dont normally like things like this as i dont like water but i really enjoyed it,.

I agree about the slow service when not tipping, when we went to coco bongo's we tipped a waiter and he just bought us drinks over all night!!

We changed out money to Peso's the mexican currency, but you can use doller's. some of the shops wont accept dolla's anymore though due to the problems they have in mexico with money laundering, but on a whole you should be okay if you use dolla's instead of peso's xx xx

Still looking at possible honeymoon options and Mexico is top of the list right now possibly twined with a couple of days in vegas. However we will be going in September which i understand is Hurricane season has anybody been in September? I know anything weather related is always a gamble.

One of my BM's went last september, said it rained everyday for about ten mins but that was it was okay, my OH best man was there during a hurricane for a wedding and said it werent as bad as you would think, just very windy,, if there isnt a hurricane you should be okay, just expect the rain, but if its only for like ten mins a day you should be okay, my BM said it was a welcome from the intense heat! lol.. im soo jealous of you all, cant wait for my honeymoon now!!! xx xx

Thanks we usually travel during rainy/low seasons whenever we go on holiday as we feel it offers better value and we have always been blessed with great weather like you say the odd brief but heavy shower which is often a welcome relief in the heat, i have friends that have paid double to go in peak and had weeks of non stop rain!

Thanks! I think the only thing I want to do is the swimming with dolphins and possibly the temples, I think we will mainly be happy just chilling out round the pool.

Can I ask when you went on excursions was it absolutely boiling, or was there air conditioned transportation and palces to get shade? I am terrible in heat and OH gets very coach sick on long drives, particularly up into wilderness-esque type places. I would hate to pay to go on a trip up to Chitzen Itza and spend it feeling ill.

And a mixture of dollars and pesos seems to be OK then?

I've not thought much about the Honeymoon yet, but this thread has got me very excited about Mexico!

Padora did they say you had to have them a certain amount of timeb efore travelling? my nurse is away until 20th june and soonest appointment i could get was 27th, only leaves 7 weeks before i get hitched x

I wouldn't worry too much about the shots. When I lived in the states I traveled to Cancun several times. I think they're recommended but not required for entry. That being said, you should be up on tetanus or hep a anyways (never know when you'll step on a rusty nail or eat contaminated food) -- typhoid is a little more rare. Obviously it wouldn't hurt to have any of them. But, Cancun is really modern, so I was never worried. Always drank the water too!

The coaches are air conditioned and you get drinks included in the price, on the isla mujeres dolphin excursion you go on a catamaran from cancun to the island. You can either sunbath on it or go inside if its to hot, the actual place where u swim with them has lots of place to sit for shade aswell as a swimming pool, u can also upgrade and swim with rays an and manatees, also you can swim with small bullsharks if u lyk that kind of thing(took me alot of courage to swim with dolphins as im scared of water!!) lol. Chitchen itza was very very hot, there are alot of trees for shade and the guide does try to stand in shaded areas when takin you around but there arent many, was boiling there, alot of people had brollies/parasols for shade. My h2b decided to propose to me in the intense aftermoon heat at the bottom of the pyramid bless him!!! On the trip to chitchen itza we stopped ar a cenote, a pool kind of underground, you can jump in and things, very beautiful. Definatly the best holiday i have ever had xx xx xx

That's great, thanks for the info!

Charlotte I think 7 weeks would be OK, but why don't you call the GP and ask? If you need it sooner places like superdrug do it there and then, but you have to pay.

Hi my partner and I went to Mexico 2 years ago, it's where he proposed. As to the jab post I read YOU DEF NEED THEM!!! You don't have the Hep in school and your tetanus and typhoid will be out of date. We stayed all inclusive so didn't take a lot with us I think about 300 - 400 pounds was all this covered a few tips for waitresses and cleaning staff and a two excursions. We went to Chitzen Itza and a snorkeling trip which were lovely. I advise taking a mixture of USD and Mexican Peso as the locals prefer Mexican Peso for tips but be aware currency exchange places don't stock Mexican Peso and it will have 2 be ordered, took 7 days for ours. We went in Aug and had a bit of rain every day but didn't last long and was nice as it reduced the humidity for a short period of time.

We have just come back from Mexico, it was amazing! We took pesos as they are accepted in more places. Trip wise we did Coba and a dinner cruise - both were the perfect trips. We paid all the trips on the credit cards are the conversions rates were better on the cards and meant we didn't have to take as much cash. People who did the Chitzen Itza trip said it was just as good as Coba but take a brolly as there is no shade to hide under and its a full packed day (some people said they took a brolly to shade them, they said they got funny looks until everyone was boiling and they wrere ok). The coach was fully air conditioned and they provided us with with a constant supply of water. Travel wise CI is a lot further than Coba - from our hotel in Cancun they said it was a 2-3 hour coach trip one way. In total we changed £250 and we came back with £18. We topped 20 for drinks and 50-100 for lunch and dinner.

You will have an amazing time!

Oh my god what a wealth of information! so excited now!

We went to Mexico (cancun) and couple of years ago and were hoping to go back again next year. The Isla Mujeres trip is definately worth going on - we swam with the sting rays and went snorkeling to where the bull sharks and Piccasso the dolphin (i cant remember the other dolphons name)were enclosed and we went to Chichen Itza too, which was really hot and humid. We want to go back but do the different trips like Tulum etc. We booked our trips through our rep because we got really good exchange rate at the time (we out it on the credit card)we've just come back from Aruba and the exchange rate wasnt the best. If you go to the cancun area and fancy eating out of your hotel try Chilis - its in the same complex as Coco Bongos - so much food and giant drinks

Not to diss on Chilis -- as there are many times when I want a southwestern eggroll fix -- but if you're going away to Cancun I'd also recommend trying some of the local flavors. JC Capitan is a lovely restaurant on the bay with gorgeous views, great food, and excellent service (http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g150807-d1434872-Reviews-JC_Capitan-Cancun_Yucatan_Peninsula.html). I've also heard for something more relaxed, the Surfin Burrito is great (http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g150807-d2013926-Reviews-The_Surfin_Burrito-Cancun_Yucatan_Peninsula.html).

Even if you're going AI, if you can afford to get out for a night or two, I'd recommend it as after a while AI food tends to all taste the same, IMO.

Thanks so much for all this info everyone, so glad this thread was started.

I think we will be staying more at the hotel than heading into Cancun. Just been looking and the Tulum ruins are about an hour from EDSS, CI a bit further so hubby to be prob won't be keen on that.

Is coco bongo a nightclub then? I am wondering what I will need to pack!

Yes it is, you going to Eldorado Seaside Suites?