Anyone else never been to Cancun? Just me? *oh ok* Well, I'd never had a real Spring Break experience, no family trips, NOTHING! But finally made a trip for a friend's birthday in October! I know with the events going on in Mexico, some may be wary, but I personally have felt safe both times I've gone in Oct 2022 and Feb 2023.
Keep reading to see how we spent 3 full days in Cancun. And scroll to the end for the total costs!
Daily Itinerary
- Arrive 10 AM
- Explore the all-inclusive: pool, hot tub, and night entertainment
- Tour of Chichen Itza and cenote swim
- Enjoy the all-inclusive resort activities:
- waterobics and poolside tacos/drinks
- parasailing
- dinner at Italian restaurant
- karaoke
Day 4:
- Depart 11AM
Booking Details
Accommodations:
An all-inclusive resort seems like the right way to go when going to a place like Cancun with access to the beach, unlimited food and drink, opportunities for excursions, spa, and gym. It takes majority of the work out of trip-planning, allowing you to actually enjoy your vacay!
Wyndham Alltra Cancun is a nice all-inclusive with a lovely hotel, many restaurants, and of course, a lovely white sand beach with water activities available for a fee.
Getting to Cancun:
Flight:
JetBlue from JFK to CUN to EWR
Fri Oct 14 - Mon Oct 17
Blue Basic (no carry-on, personal item only AKA my backpack)
$556 - This feels abnormally high, but the dates were pretty fixed due to the birthday plans
Transportation from airport to hotel:
You WERE able to book one of the many airport counter taxis for the same price. Roundtrip to/from our hotel was $800 MXN ~ $42 USD.*
*As of publishing this, upon a second visit to Cancun in Feb 2023, those taxi counters are no more, and I was forced to spend a ridiculous $100 for a taxi into Cancun! Something about a new rate hike that went into effect in Jan. Book a shuttle in advance with your hotel if possible!*
Day 1: Arrive and Enjoy!
We landed at 10:15AM and were greeted by many very aggressive taxi company counters at the airport! The prices were identical, so we went with Xelbor and got a $800 MXN ($42 US) roundtrip shuttle booked.
We arrived at Wyndham Alltra Cancun around noon and left our bags with the concierge since the room wouldn't be ready until 3PM. This was the perfect time to check out the grounds, which were really nice - a pool, gym, hot tub, and lovely villa-looking rooms.
You might walk in on a waterobics class (more on that later). Enjoy your free unlimited drinks by the pool, grab some lunch at the all-you-can-eat restaurant, Ventana, and admire the BEAUTIFUL beach. This day was a little cloudy, but still one of the best beaches I'd seen! Don't worry, better pictures later!
Be careful, however, of the room you're assigned! While booking a beachfront room, request a room on a high floor with a balcony! Don't trust the photos! We paid for beachfront, which is what we technically got, but it was ground-floor and didn't have the couch or balcony that I saw in the photos online.
On the ground floor, the outdoor space was shared with our neighbors, meaning they need to walk by our room to get down to the beach. I LOVE waking up with the sun, but we would need to keep our shades closed for privacy.
If unhappy with your room, I recommend immediately going to the front desk. They told us all rooms were booked, but that they could give us a new one the next day....We had an all-day tour booked, so they promised if we packed up our stuff, they could move it to the new room for us.
Additionally, there was a party RIGHT outside on the beach that night until 10PM!
On a lighter note, Friday nights have performances like this! Video courtesy of one of my friends because I was fast asleep! Having caught a 7AM flight that morning, I had to be up by 3:30AM, so I was DRAINED that evening.
Day 2 : Chichen Itza and Cenote Tour
We were to meet for the tour in the hotel lobby by 7AM - Be ON TIME! After scarfing down breakfast, we rushed out, as the guide was texting me repeatedly. I didn't realize that there would be a BUS of people waiting for us. I expected a van. The bus will take you five minutes to a transfer point where you catch another bus for the Chichen Itza / cenote tour!
Our tour guide was very cool, charismatic, and fun! He explained history and how to count in Mayan along the way. It took about two hours to get to the first stop - Zamahaal Cenote. Now generally, Chichen Itza comes first, as the afternoon is super HOT! But the Mexican president decided to take Chichen Itza to himself that morning.
At the cenote, you must rent a life jacket if you want to swim (about $5 USD). You must also rinse off in the showers provided. A locker key is also provided. The cenote was stunning!
I had a magical time, although I was freaking out for half the time. Still, we managed some great pics and no one lost their phone! :D
After about an hour total, we headed back to the bus. On the bus, the guide gave us background on Mayan horoscopes and life counts. You could then purchase our horoscope for $20, which I did.
The bus took us to another stop where we participated in a ritual to cleanse bad spirits using gold obsidian.
If you are lucky to be picked like two of my friends and I were, they will tell you your fortune, and you could get a deeper fortune reading tent. However, in the tent, they were very vague and offered to sell you a similar statue to what you held during the ceremony. But get this, for me, they asked for $200 USD! For my friends (who are a couple), they asked for $120! I didn't purchase...it wasn't even the statue I was holding, after all.
If purchased, you'll receive your folder of horoscopes on the way out. On the bus, the guide walked us through them, which was pretty cool! I recommend it. Here's mine:
Lunch was a round of great tacos and performers, alcoholic drinks not included ($7 USD and yummy!)
After lunch, we finally reached Chichen Itza - one of the Seven Wonders of the World!
There, they passed out our tickets to enter the site. We split into two groups and were taught the history, took photos, and tried not to die in the heat! Some tips:
- Drink water!
- Wear sunscreen and bug spray!
- There are lots of souvenir vendors inside. So, don't worry about purchasing things as soon as you arrive.
Finally, on the way back to Cancun, we stopped in a lively town square/park, where I had these amazing churros, watched more performers, and recuperated from the long, hot day at Chichen Itza.
We were also given tequila tastings and the option to buy a bottle with our picture on it!
That evening, we returned to find that the hotel staff DID switch us to a nicer room complete with a couch, balcony, and hammock overlooking both the beach and the pool! (Yay for corner rooms!)
Day 3: Resort Activities
On vacation, I tend to wake up early even when I don't need to. So I enjoyed the beautiful sunrise from our balcony!
Way better than the first room, amiright?
In the morning, you can join in on the waterobics class - cheesy but fun! After that workout, the poolside tacos came in clutch!
Next, we checked out the beach again. This time, the water was unbelievably blue in contrast to our cloudy first day. We decided to go parasailing to get a better view!
You can find a tent on the beach that will take your cash and call over a guy on a jetski to take you out to the parasailing boat. The whole experience lasted about 30 mins, with 10 mins spent in the air.
They can take pics and videos for you for another $40 but the quality was pretty shameful :(
I recommend going in a group of at least 3 so that one of you can do the pictures yourselves. At least bad quality would be free!
After parasailing, we enjoyed a sunny day at the beach!
That evening, we had my friend's birthday dinner at the Italian restaurant on site - great service, yummy food, and a lovely atmosphere. You can reserve this outdoor area for special occasions!
We finished off the night with karaoke in the lobby, which started at 10PM. It was actually really fun despite my nerves of singing in front of strangers vs a private room.
The next morning, I was out of there by 8AM for my flight home. Now for the important question...
How Much Did This Trip Cost?
Total Costs:
Flight: $556
Shuttle: $42
Hotel: $968 / 2 people = $484
Tour: $85
Cenote life jacket: $5
Parasailing: $75
Total: $1247
Avg daily cost: $310
Extras:
Horoscope: $20
Drink at tour: $7
Parasailing photos: $40
Actual total: $1314
Resorts are not my usual travel style, but overall, I enjoyed my time in Cancun! I can definitely make this type of trip once a year to balance out all the high-intensity, heavy on the physical activities/sight-seeing trips I usually take.
Have you been to Cancun? What's your travel style? Comment with your experience!