Just because you are taking a vacation in paradise doesn’t mean that it has to be expensive. In fact, vacations in Cancun, Mexico can be as cheap or as costly as you decide. Just by taking into consideration some key pointers you will be able to save yourself a dollar or two in Cancun and buy yourself a bottle of tequila to celebrate.
The first way to save yourself some money in Cancun is to use Mexican pesos in places where pesos are on display and dollars where the prices are shown in dollars. You might be asking yourself, why pay in dollars at all, after all, Mexico has its own currency? Well, as Cancun is such a tourist friendly location, many of the stores and bars around the tourist zone will have prices displayed in dollars and accept dollars as payment. Always ask what the price is in pesos, if they have to take out a calculator to tell you how much an item is, pay in dollars and if they have a standard price in pesos, pay in pesos. Usually when translating a price into dollars or visa versa, the price will nearly always round up to the nearest dollar and any seller will naturally chose an exchange rate in their favor.
Your eating habits can make a difference to bringing down the cost of your vacation in Cancun. Firstly, if you want to dine out, eat where the locals eat. To get both an authentic experience and save money, ask a bellboy where he likes to eat that is not the usual tourist trap. Ask someone different every day and you will find yourself in some of the best local eateries. The other option is to choose a resort where the rooms have kitchens or rent a timeshare apartment with full facilities where you can prepare meals. That way you can make packed lunches for the days when you take tours and excursions. On the other hand, contrary to popular belief, all-inclusive vacation plans can actually save you money if you are a big eater and/or drinker. Calculate how much you might spend a day on meals and you could find that all-inclusive hotels will save you some dollars.
Taking the bus instead of a taxi will also keep down your spending costs in Cancun. Most bus journeys in Cancun will cost you less than a dollar and get you to where you want to go in one piece (albeit a little hot!). Hiring a car is also a good way of saving money on tours if you are traveling as a family and are happy about driving in Mexico. You can visit many of the Mayan ruins easily enough and pay the entrance fees rather than more expensive tour prices.
