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MEXICO
Acapulco
Cancun
Cozumel
Ixtapa
Los Cabos
Manzanillo
Mazatlan
Puerto Vallarta
Riviera Maya
Riviera Nayarit |
Mexico
Hotel Maps
CANCUN
Hotels Map
RIVIERA MAYA
Hotel Map
COZUMEL
Hotel Map
LOS CABOS
Hotel Map
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PASSPORT/VISA
Information
Calling Canada from
Mexico, and other helpful information
Health and Safety
Precautions
iEXPLORE - Mexico Travel Guide
TRIP ADVISOR HOTEL REVIEWS:
Yucatan Peninsula
Cancun
Playa del Carmen
Puerto Aventuras
Isla Mujeres
Cozumel
Tulum
Pacific Coast
Acapulco
Puerto Vallarta
Baja California
Coast
Cabo San Lucas
San Jose del Cabo
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PASSPORT and ENTRY/EXIT REQUIREMENTS -
MEXICO
Conditions are subject to change.
Contact your local Embassy Office for current
Entry/Exit requirements
United States:
Embassy of Mexico Office
-Washington
(202
728 1600)/
Website
Canada: Embassy of Mexico
Office - Ottawa (613 233 8988)
/
Website
Canadian
Citizens
To visit Mexico, either of the
following
forms of identification are valid:
i. Valid Passport
as of March 1, 2010
ii.
a tourist card (called the Multiple Migratory Form (provided
by the airlines or available at points of entry)
**Disclaimer**: We make no express or implied guarantees
with respect to documentation required for travel from your
home country. We suggest you consult with the appropriate
Embassy based on your Nationality for exact documentation
required
U.S. Citizens
AIR TRAVEL
Implemented on January 23, 2007, ALL PERSONS
traveling by air between the United States
and Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean region are
required to present a passport or other valid travel
document to
enter or re-enter the United States.
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Mexico
Travel Tips
Detailed
Safety & Travel Information for Travellers to Mexico
Location:
Cancun
is located in the state of Quintana Roo,Yucatán Peninsula of
Mexico.
Currency:
Mexican Nuevo Peso.
Handicapped Facilities:
Most five star and Gran Turismo hotels are wheel chair
accessible. Check with individual hotels for specific requirements.
Electricity.
Standard current is 110 volt AC, the same as in the
US and Canada. However, three prong outlets are not widely available, so an adapter is a good idea. In some
older properties you may need an adapter for polarized
plugs.
Languages:
Spanish and Mayan, but English
is spoken in most tourist areas.
Time
Zone:
Central
Standard or Daylight Time.
Business
Hours:
Most
stores are open from 10 am to 10 pm daily in the Hotel Zone.
Stores downtown may close between 2 pm and 4 pm.
Taxes.
IVA tax is usually already included in restaurant
and bar prices, room rates and shopping prices. Check with the hotel or store clerk and waiter to inquire whether the
tax has already been included in the price.
American
Express
Av Tulum 208, two blocks beyond the Hotel America (tel
998/884-4000).
Metric
System:
Mexico, like most of the world, uses the metric
system. Metric conversions are: Temperature:
To convert °C to °F multiply by 1.8 and add 32. To convert °F to °C subtract
32 and divide by 1.8 *An easier formula to remember that
gives you a good approximation for °C to °F is: Double it and add 30. For
example, if it is 25°C in Cancun, it is roughly 80°F
(25x2=50 + 30=80)
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Banks &
Money Matters
Currency:
Mexican
peso. The rate of exchange against other currencies
fluctuates daily. Though banks and casas de cambio
(exchange houses) change most major currencies, US dollars
are always easiest to change due to their economic
stability on the global market and the proximity of the
United States to Mexico.
Casas de
cambio
usually give exchange rates close to the rate given at
banks, and are easier to use. However, they occasionally
do not accept traveler's checks for exchange and you may
sometimes be required to go to a bank to exchange
traveler's checks. The worst exchange rates are found at
hotel zone casas de cambio. Downtown exchange houses
generally give better rates.
Banks
Most banks (roughly Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 9am-1pm) are
along Tulum between Uxmal and Coba and in the biggest
shopping malls - Kukulcán, Plaza Caracol - in the zona
hotelera (9am-4pm). Most now have ATMs with US dollars as
well as pesos. The Bital bank, Av Tulum 192, stays open
until 7pm on weekdays.
U.S.
dollars are widely accepted in Cancun,
but you will not usually get the best exchange rate using
dollars at local establishments. It is best to exchange
your money for pesos at a bank or a money exchange.
Credit
Cards. Most
credit cards are accepted in larger shops, hotels and
travel agencies. Many of the small businesses do not
accept credit cards. Major purchases are best made with a
credit card. You automatically receive the bank rate of
exchange, which is higher than the rates given in town or
at the hotels.
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Health &
Safety
Mexico
has a nationalized healthcare system and almost every town
and city has either a national hospital or medical clinic.
Most hotel have a 24-hour doctor on call. No vaccinations
are need to enter Mexico from the US or Canada. Below is a
list of local hospitals and clinics. Before you leave
home, check with your health insurance carrier - chances
are good that your insurance plan can cover you in Mexico.
"Can I
drink the water?"
Cancun is one of the few resorts that count with a
potable water system. Furthermore, all major hotels in
Cancun have their own system to re-purify the water.
However, due to the salts and chemicals used, a lot of
tourists and locals prefer to drink bottled water. In
addition to the previous systems, there is another method
used by many hotels and restaurants using a solution
called "Microdin." This is a sterilizing solution. All you
need are a few drops of this solution and then let the
water sit for a few minutes. Many of the restaurants and
households use this system to disinfect vegetables and
fruits.
Fruits,
Vegetables, & Seafood
Fruits
and vegetables usually come direct to the store from local
farms and are not washed well. Many vegetables are
contaminated by fertilizer and can make you sick. Most of
the restaurants catering to tourists purify their fruits
and vegetables with iodine drops before serving them. If
they go through this process, there will be a note about
it on the menu. If it isn't written on the menu, ask or
don't eat uncooked or cold fruits and vegetables.
One culprit for illness is salsa. In some restaurants it
sits out all day and the same salsa is used for multiple
customers. Even if the salsa is changed with every patron,
remember that salsa is RAW VEGETABLES which is on the list
of no nos. Resist, unless the menu says "our vegetables
are purified".
Seafood can also get you sick if it is spoiled or
mishandled. Cooked seafood is safest. Only eat raw seafood
in nicer, very busy restaurants.
Guidelines to Avoid Illness
-
Always
wash your hands before eating.
-
When
eating from open-air food stands, use discretion.
-
Drink
plenty of non-alcoholic fluids and do not become
dehydrated!
-
Drink
bottled water.
-
Take
Pepto Bismol, yogurt or papaya enzyme tablets throughout
your stay.
-
Take it
easy the first few days. Take a "siesta" (nap) each
afternoon.
-
Ease
into local eating and drinking habits.
-
Respect
the strength of tequila (take it easy with the
"poppers").
Watch the
sun and drink a lot of water. The
region is hot year round. Make an effort to drink more
(purified, of course) water than normal or you could get
dehydration sickness. It is better to drink water than
sodas, because your body will get more benefit from it. If
you feel dizzy, nauseous, weak or get a headache you could
have heat stroke. Immediately sit in the shade and drink
some water while you rest. If you get a slight headache,
take that as a warning that you are getting dehydrated and
drink more water. By far, the greatest danger in Cancun
is overexposure to the sun. Play it safe and apply
sunscreen liberally, especially if you are fair skinned.
If you don't, you will probably wish you did.
Safety Cancun
is the safest city of its size in all of Mexico and spends
a good part of its yearly budget on different kinds of
training programs for local police and promotional
campaigns to protect all our tourists. It has a lower
crime rate than most small cities in the U.S.
There has been a lot of talk recently about crime in
Mexico. We can only say that most of the violent crimes
reported in the news are in the Mexico City area. The
Caribbean Coast is relatively safe and most problems are
petty thievery. You can have a great vacation free of
incidents if you use common sense just like you would at
home. Lock your car, take your valuables with you, or put
them out of sight. We don’t recommend hiding your wallet
in your shoes on the beach while you go swimming. It’s not
a secure hiding place. Women should use the same
precautions they would use anywhere, especially at night.
Remote stretches of beach should be avoided after dark,
especially for women in groups or alone. Thieves are
looking for easy targets. With a little common sense you
can avoid having a problem. Also, keep alert when crossing
busy streets in Cancun, where drivers may be less
pedestrian-friendly than you are used to at home.
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Telephones
The
country code for Mexico is 52. The area code for Cancun is
998 and all phone numbers in Cancun are 7 digits. So, if
you are calling Cancun from the United States or Canada
you would dial: 011 (International code) 52 (country code)
998 (area code) and the 7 digit phone number.
Calling
the U.S. or Canada from Cancun,
dial 001 + area code + local number. Many US long-distance
phone companies have access numbers that you can dial in
order to use your phone card, usually through the Mexican
telephone company public phones,
LADATEL/TELMEX.
Calls may be less expensive than direct-dialed calls from
your hotel room($0.45/minute when I was there in December
2006).
(Check
with your hotel surcharges
BEFORE
calling.)
One more thing that is critical to know...
NEVER make a long distance phone call from a hotel room or
a phone booth that is
not
marked Ladatel/TelMex, BEFORE YOU CHECK THE RATES!.
Phone
calls from hotels can be very expensive due to Mexican
taxes and surcharges. Mexico has one major phone company -
TelMex, owned by Carlos Slim. Latin America's wealthiest
businessman at time of writing.
!! Before
you call,
make sure you know exactly what the cost per minute is.
We've had
clients charged $25 US per minute from some hotels !! (Special
note:
** I made 3 calls totaling 33 minutes in December 2006.
This cost me $175 CAD. WORD OF ADVICE! - Buy a TELMEX
calling card!)
USEFUL
TIP:
Lower rates can be had by using
Ladatel/TelMex
debit cards
(phone cards)
available in 0, 50, and 100 peso amounts ($3, $5, and $10
US) from nearly every cashier and money exchange in
Cancun. Ladatel phones are located along sidewalks and in
malls. Some phones accept charge cards but we nderstand
they are very expensive. Some cell phones work with a
roaming surcharge per minute. Check with your cellular
phone company before leaving home.
INTERNET
USAGE:
Most hotels charge you to use the Internet at the hotel
(business offices, etc). One VERY HANDY keystroke to know
- for the @ sign - Hold down the ALT and 4 and 6 and +
sign
(all
at once)
- This gives you the @ sign.
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Travel
Documents for Minors
(Always check with your embassy for the latest and
most up to date information)
- A valid
passport or your birth certificate with embossed seal
- When a minor is traveling alone, they must have a
notarized letter signed by the parents or legal guardians
giving them permission to travel.
- When a minor is traveling with one adult, provide a
notarized letter signed by the parent or guardian not
traveling giving them permission to travel with the other
parent or guardian.
- If the minor is in the custody of one parent, a custody
document should be provided.
- If one parent is deceased, provide the death
certificate.
Departure
Tax.
International departure tax from Cancun Airport is
approximately US$40. This tax is often included in the
price of your airline ticket. Ask your travel agent. If
it is not included in the price of your ticket, you must
pay the departure tax at the airport when checking-in for
your flight. The tax must be paid in cash. No credit
cards or checks are accepted.
What to
Pack
What to
wear?
Strictly casual resort wear, especially during the day.
Jackets and ties are almost never needed, but it is
customary to dress up for the discos, and most nice
restaurants and bars require men to wear shirts and slacks
(some allow Bermudas). Bathing suits (particularly for
women) are not to be worn away from swimming pools and
beach areas. Shorts should never be worn when entering a
church.
Tipping
The
average tip for servers is between 10%-15%, depending on
the service. Housekeeping staff get a couple of dollars a
day, depending on how much they have to do, the size of
the room, suite, condominium, etc. Bellboys and skycaps at
the airport can expect anywhere from $.25 to $.50 U.S. per
bag. It is not customary or expected to tip taxi drivers,
however, if there is extra change it is welcomed.
Mail &
Post Office
Postage
for cards and letters to the U.S., Canada and Europe
usually costs less than $1 U.S. Send correspondence from
your hotel, use the mailboxes in town or go to the post
office located on Sunyaxchén Avenue, Downtown.
Sightseeing
While
many of your park and entrance fees are paid for most
sightseeing tours you will take, please be aware that if
you choose to take a
VIDEO
CAMERA
(not
a digital or any other type of camera),
there is a copyright fee imposed on EVERYONE who uses a
video camera at these sightseeing venues, of
30 PESOS,
which you will have to pay your tour
conductor.
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World Travel Warehouse.
St. John's NL -
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