My Self Care Trip 2019 was a relaxing and fun 4 day trip to Cancun, Mexico. I decided to take a solo trip to Mexico again and enjoy some sun and self-reflection. It was one of those pack up and go moments with a loose schedule and the intention of just enjoying myself. Day 1 was dedicated to lounging on the beach. Day 2 was the day-long tour to Cenote Sinkhole and Chichen Itza. Day 3 was a day trip to Isla Mujeres. And the final Day 4 was soaking up some last rays of the sun and heading to the airport. A fun trip and lots of smiles. With travel, there’s always some things that may surprise you or things you wish you’d known. Here are a couple of things that stood out to me as I look back on my trip to Cancun.
Staying in Hotel Zone Would Make Things A Lot Easier
My trip to Cancun was sort of last minute, I booked with about 2.5 weeks prior to my intended departure date. I like to stay in the $50 and under per night range when it comes to accommodation and with such little time of searching for places to stay in advance, the prices were STEEP. The Hotel Zone seemed like the places to be, according to my searches on YouTube and reading other blog posts, but the prices in that location started at about $80 or it was a cheap price but a posting on Airbnb with no review. To save money I decided I’d take a chance and book an apartment outside the Hotel Zone, in the Prinses neighborhood, and take Ubers if I needed to go to the city center. Newsflash, there’s no Uber and taxis to the Hotel Zone weren’t cheap at all. One way cost me $7. So you can imagine how much a $7 per ride fee could add up.
After one $7 ride, I learned how to take the bus to a busy street and walk the 10 minutes remaining to my Airbnb. Worked out in the end but if I had to do it again, I’d just pay the extra $100 to stay super close to the beach in the Hotel Zone.
Playa Langosta Isn’t The Beach to Visit lol
In my efforts to explore more areas near my neighborhood, my first stop was to a local beach called Playa Tortunga. At first glance, I was confused because it didn’t look anything like the relaxing Cancun beaches I’d seen in photos. The beach had a greenish water tint that I wasn’t comfortable putting my whole body in and was wondering where the glistening blue beaches and beautiful sand were???! I didn’t stay for long and hopped on one of the red buses with the sign “Hotel Zone” to just head to the area that everyone was talking about. THIS felt like Cancun. I could finally relax and ended up finding a cabana that no one charged me for.
Chichen Itza is Quite a Drive From Cancun
If you are planning to go to Chichen Itza, get ready for a jam-packed day and a nice mini road trip. I woke up bright and early around 7 am to make it to my meeting point for the tour. It took about 2 hours to get to our first stop which was the Cenote Sinkhole, and then another 30 minutes to Chichen Itza. I bought this tour package from the shopping plaza near Senor Frog’s and the tour rep told me all of the details and things to bring for the trip. I packed tons of snacks, a light jacket, and water for the long ride. Expect for your entire day to be filled with beautiful sights, to be worn out after the 12-14 hour day, but overall have an enjoyable experience.
Map Out Key Restaurants to Visit
For some reason, I didn’t have a meal that I can actually say I enjoyed in Cancun. I ate mostly turkey sandwiches and chips for the 4 days I stayed in Cancun. I figured I could stop off at any random restaurant that sold traditional Mexican food and enjoy it but I did not have any dishes I can honestly say I liked. I did look up some places but they were more upscale restaurants in the Hotel District and from my experience, if a place is in a touristy location and expensive then it might be less authentic and not really taste that good. But maybe I was wrong in this case.
Will you be visiting Cancun anytime soon? What are some things you wish you’d known?
Check out my full travel vlog on YouTube here:
As always,
Take it step by step and DaibyDai
