Cancun, Mexico: Things to Know Before Visiting
Cancun, Mexico is a beautiful and popular destination for college-aged Spring Breakers and for my fellow Black girlies. For the Black girlies, age did not matter! I saw 20 years olds partying it up with 50 years olds. Everyone is trying to live their best life!
Recommendation: 9/10
Table of Contents
SAFETY | LANGUAGE | MONEY | TOURISTY LEVEL
I found the tourist section of Cancun to be very safe. We stayed at the Riu Cancun, which was a 10-minute walk to the restaurant and club strip. We came back from the club at around 3am and had no problems.
BUT, anyone could walk into my resort because there were no security guards at the gate. Once inside, you would probably get stopped for not having a wristband, but it is still suspicious that someone could get that far.
The official language of Mexico is Spanish, but Lord did I never use it. LOL!
The hotel staff, waiters, tour guides, and drivers all spoke English. I never had to Uber or take public transportation, so maybe if I did, I would have needed to speak Spanish with the locals. The tours I booked (see this article for more info!) had transportation included and everything else was walking distance.
CHEAP OR EXPENSIVE?
Cancun’s prices are comparable to New York’s prices, so it is quite expensive!
Additionally, I am a high maintenance girlie, so I stayed at an all-inclusive resort, did excursions almost every day, and partied/ate outside of the resort. So, you can see how the trip would be quite expensive. Haha!
If you are from a cheap/small town, save your coins to get that full Cancun experience!
CASH OR CREDIT CARD?
I used my credit card for everything except when I tipped drivers and tour guides in American dollars. The prices at the tourist spots are in American dollars and euros. (Cancun is geared to tourists!)
Very touristy! When you enter the Cancun airport everything is in English first and Spanish second, so you can already see how they cater to English-speaking tourists. When my friends and I walked around Cancun, all we saw were tourists. The clubs didn’t even play Spanish music. I only listened to American music.
I did not feel very connected to the local culture even though I did some cultural tours of Chichen Itza and the Tulum Ruins. It was interesting to learn about the Maya culture, but it felt like a tourist attraction. It did not feel organic like I was seeing people and exploring a city in its natural element.
