It's been 3 years since I've had a diving holiday. It's been 3 years since I've had a Summer holiday. What to do when you have a week left of you annual leave? That's it! Summer diving holiday, here I go!!!
There was quite a bit of money saving during the Covid pandemic so I decided to treat myself, spend it all and go diving in the Caribbean Sea.
The end of March is the deadline to use annual leave so March 2022 was set to be the time of my holidays. Albeit during high season and likely to be crowded with Americans on their Spring Break, Mexico was the easiest and cheapest option.
I had a choice of a flight via the US but needing to have a Covid test or a direct flight without Covid testing that cost an extra £100. It was a no brainer. From London Gatwick to Cancún in 11h.
I had my paperwork all organised. Passport. Printed Covid Vaccination Certificate. Mexican health questionnaire completed. Tourist tax paid and Visatax Pass printed. At entry point no one wanted to check my Covid Vaccination certificate or my health questionnaire. At exit point no one asked me whether I had paid the tourist tax. Mexicans are clearly not bothered about paperwork...
There is no need to sort out a visa beforehand. It is done at the airport on arrival. An immigration official will look at you, ask you the purpose of your trip and how long you are staying, stamp your passport, give you a FMM (Forma Migratoria Múltiple) and tell you to keep this form with you until you depart. Easy and quick.
The Tourist Tax is paid online via www.visitaxgob.mx and it's mandatory for international visitors to the State of Quintana Roo. Supposedly, it needs to be paid before you exit Mexico.
I had a hotel transfer pre-booked as part of my holiday package but I tell you now that it is difficult to find the specific company's stand you are booked with. As soon as you leave the airport you are hit on the face by the dry heat and overwhelmed with taxi drivers wanting business. They did back off once they realised I had a booked transfer and one even pointed me towards the right taxi stand.
Cancún is a city on the northeast coast of the Yucátan Peninsula, in the Mexican State of Quintana Roo, on the Caribbean Sea. The dry season runs from December to April, the average sea temperature is 26⁰C and the average air temperature 21-30⁰C.
Cancún was hot, 30⁰C, sunny and dry. Exactly what I expected. Exactly what I wanted.
My hotel was on the Cancún Island, aka The Hotel Zone, which is a 15 miles strip of sand shaped like the number 7. As the name implies, there are tons of hotels as well as most of the nightlife and beaches. Restaurants and bars line the only road, Avenida Kukulcán, which runs from one side of the zone to the other.
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Buses don't stop just in bus stops but it's really difficult to understand where the other 'bus stops' are so best to find the nearest standard bus stop and wait.
The location of a specific hotel/restaurant/club/etc is referred to by it's kilometre on the Avenida Kukulcán. Each kilometre is marked on the middle of the Avenue so you need to know which kilometre your destination is at, keep an eye on the markers and hail the driver promptly because they have a heavy foot.
Roads in Cancún are rather more civilized than I was expecting. Tarmac is very good for the most part, drivers are generally considerate, the use of the horn as a warning sign widespread in a good way and exits are well sign posted. On the other hand, the use of seat belt seems to be optional and driving whilst on your mobile phone is a fine tuned art.
As a pedestrian I found that there aren't many pedestrian crossings and the pedestrian lights generally don't work. Standing by it waiting to cross is a waste of time because nobody will stop. However, all you need to do is to set a foot on the crossing and all traffic stops.
I stayed at Krystal Grand Cancún, a 4-star hotel, on the Playa Gaivota Azul. It's architecture is grand, rooms are spacious and comfortable, there's a balcony in each room and a king size bed. The pool is not too big but the beach is just outside the door. Breakfast is brilliant.
From my bedroom's balcony I could see the sea, the lagoon and, at night, the lights of Coco Bongo. Although the double glazing worked wonders, I have to say I did woke up in the middle of the night with the noise of the nightclubs on Saturday night. It was worth it though, as I was 5min walk from everywhere.
Hotels give clients a bracelet which you can't remove. It allows you to go in and out of your hotel unquestioned. Each hotel has a different one. Some bracelets have chips that allow you to open your bedroom door. Hi-tech!
I got out of my hotel and walked around the tip of the Hotel Zone via the beach. Crossing each hotel's beach to the next, I started on my hotel's beach (Playa Gaivota Azul) and ended up on Playa Caracol. White sand, turquoise water at an heavenly temperature, warm sun. Everything one expects from the Caribbean.
Passing by the Lighthouse of Punta Cancún.
Walking on the other direction, just after Playa Gaivota Azul, one finds Playa Forum. Playa Forum is very busy at night. The nightclubs back onto it and groups of people can be seen throughout the night, talking, drinking, dancing, making out. I wonder how many of these were Americans on Spring Break. It did look like a picture out of a Hollywood movie.
The Nichupte Lagoon is the only natural ecosystem that remains after the construction of the Hotel Zone. The water is surrounded by jungle, a heaven for bird watching and biologists. So if bird watching is for you, then you need to get a hotel on the lagoon side of the Hotel Zone, not on the sea side as I did. However, I must warn you that I did walk along the lagoon for a while and it stunk.
One day I decided to visit Cancún Downton, El Centro. I was warned by friends who had been to Cancún before not to go to the centre, because it was dangerous to get out of the tourist area, The Hotel Zone, but how bad could it be on a Sunday?
It was actually rather quiet. Majority of shops were closed. I took the bus from my hotel to the centre and it took half an hour. I walked along streets, completely alone, and no one bothered me.
Many houses are in need of TLC and it isn't a nice city to visit. In some places parking cars is more of a priority than to have a sidewalk for pedestrians. Sidewalks have plenty of holes so flip-flops are unadvisable.
There are many markets in Cancún and they are open every day 9am-7pm. I visited Mercado 28. It's pretty much a collection of shops trying to sell Mexico & Cancún mementos to tourists with some shops selling food to tourists. Like in the Middle East, every shop keeper tries to sell their products to every single tourist that walks past their shop but, unlike in the Middle East, they accept a 'No gracias' rather well and back down quickly.
On my way back I sat at a bus stop waiting for my bus back. I had been waiting for quite some time and couldn't understand why buses weren't stopping, A taxi driver stopped to tell me the bus stop was not working and that I had to go further along the road to find the next one. It was very nice of the taxi driver and he didn't even tried to get me into his taxi. I started walking and I kept walking for what felt like ages. I soon found out that the first kilometres of the Avenida Kukulcán don't have bus stops. I was still walking an hour later when I finally got to one and my feet were on fire. Flip-flops are definitely not the footwear to visit El Centro!
I did however find the below Mayan stela on the side of the road. It's from 600-900 AD and belonged to Ek-Balam, a Mayan city west of Cancún.
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