All I've been wanting to do is live anywhere but here (US). I've been traveling since I was 2 years old, because at the time, my grandmother was a travel agent. So I've loved experiencing new places, architecture, cultures, foods, basically my whole life now. 2020 was... interesting. At this point, if I had to force 2021 to be what I want it to be, then that's what I'll do. Pray about it then go be about it. I cannot sit and just let everything happen to me. Life is too short. NYE trip in Cancun was dope. A little rushed with planning, but spontaneous trips are the best. Tbh, we had friends that had a deal with a hotel but then it fell through, so if I had more time, I would have arranged another partnership. I had one a few months back with a place in Tulum, but friends wanted to stay in Cancún. Now that I know because of resort capacities we wouldn’t have even seen those friends, we would have probably stayed in Tulum!
Quintana Roo, México
Mexico was nothing short of amazing. I honestly didn’t expect it to be my favorite destination thus far. From the cenotes, to the beautiful beaches, I cannot wait to go back.
Need To Know
Security: Everyone has safety concerns when traveling to another country. I haven’t traveled to Mexico (very last second) with friends. After arriving, the first thing I needed to know was if I needed pesos and how much. I received a range of mixed answers from “you don’t need pesos” to “$200 USD to pesos should do the trick for 5 days”, so I went with $80, just so I didn’t have to worry about leftover pesos, and I still had 600 pesos going back home. Upon exiting, you have taxi & car rental services flagging you down left and right. It’s like walking down a runway of fans and honestly, pretty flattering. Definitely decide on your transportation or car rental beforehand, but if you didn’t, go online and show them the price that it says is available for taxi/rental. Negotiate. They will try and upcharge you like they did my friend ($70 taxi that I got for $38 because I showed them I could just book it online cheaper). You can’t finesse a finesser. Periodt. Also, recommendations online say to trust airport based (federal) car companies, no promises on local transportation.
I then had my taxi take me to my resort, which was heavily secured and gated into Bahia Petempich (a group of resorts). Then, each resort after entering the community has their own gates and security that requests guest information, ID, etc. I loved it.
The food surprisingly wasn’t that great. I was pretty disappointed as I arrived ready for authentic Mexican food. I don’t think I ever did experience the authentic Mexican cuisines the whole trip. It was always average-good at best. I’m not sure if it was because I stayed at a resort, or because of covid and they had to cut back. They apparently also usually have 1000 staff but because of covid, they kept around 250 working double shifts (according to another guest). Oh yeah... we made lots of great friends here!
Experience - There was someone literally in charge of me the whole time. The staff was truly amazing and the reason I’d stay at Azul Beach Resort Cancun again. Even when I took a resort taxi to my videoshoot, the driver had a walkie-talkie connection to the resort, stayed with me the 4 hours shooting (even took us to the cenote location), then brought me back safely. They’ll do this for beach day trips off the resort, shopping, etc. It is more expensive. I’d recommend renting a car, but the resort unfortunately never had any available. Rent from the airport ahead of time. 10x cheaper. Regardless, the staff was incredible, everything was clean, and they are very accommodating.
Places to visit- Playa Del Carmen is such a cute beach and area to shop. I wish I had more time there but I was just shooting. If I knew ahead of time about Pink and Green beach 3.5 hours away, we would have carved out a day to take the trip. The photos I’ve seen look incredible. There’s also camel rides! Search for the tours.
I’d recommend Tulum for anyone young. Cancun kind of feels like you’re stuck on the resort. Tulum has so many parties, fun beach activities, aesthetics literally anywhere, shopping, and can go see your friends different places without hefty taxis and full capacity reach. You guys can just meet out easily. Tulum is only an hour from Cancun, so anyone that has taken an hour + commute to work like I used to take a train & metro into DC, this is nothing.
Cenotes. An absolutely amazing and spiritual experience. I had no idea just how sacred they are until I researched later. I shot with Art Dealers Films in Playa del Carmen, and then we headed to a private residential cenote, which was the most beautiful natural experience I've ever witnessed. The water is such a clear beautiful blue and green mixture - I could see clear to the bottom. There are also these tiny little fish that eat your dead skin! You barely feel them, but if you're still and more swim over, you may feel a light tickle. I wish I had time to explore more. There are many public cenotes to tour if you search around where you stay!
Pretty much all resorts have beach huts & cabanas which gives the opportunity to create any great travel content. The outdoor beach showers tied it all together. My main request was the swim-out room, but the way this resort designed theirs, it really looked like a normal pool if someone took a picture. Keep aesthetics and content planning in mind! Nonetheless, Mexico has been my favorite place to travel thus far (maybe tied with Hawaii), and I can't wait to go back!
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