Questions about Playa Del Carmen

natasha5687 · Apr 1, 2014

I am going to Playa in a few weeks I'm staying at an AI and had a few questions.

1. Should I bother to exchange USD for Pesos?
2. Since it is AI who should be tipped, how often, and what percentage is customary?
3. Is there anything that is a must see? We are going on the Citchen Itza tour one day.
4. When departing to return to the US how far in advance of my flight should I leave the resort (RIU Palace) to make it to the airport with enough time to clear security and make my flight comfortably?
5. According to the CUN airport website, there is smoking lounge available in departures but not in arrivals. Does anyone know if this is correct? I ask because when I looked via Google many people said it's completely non smoking airport. My friend will be a big pain in the rear if we have to sit around for 3 hours and she cant smoke.
6. Anything else you think I need to know is appreciated.

Thanks

pittle · Apr 1, 2014

I would get some Pesos (at airport ATM - Bancomer, Banamex, or Scotia) just to have whenever you do go into town or on the tour. You generally get better deals with Pesos because they often do 10 Pesos to the Dollar exchange rates (and may not have change) at flea markets and small store. If you only shop on 5th Ave in Playa, USD work fine. Be sure to take $20 or smaller bills though - getting $50 and $100 bills is sometimes a challenge. We pretty much use Pesos anymore. We get them from bank ATM's and then change some large bills into 50 and 100 Peso bills to have for taxis and tips.

Quite often, tips are included with AI, but we have always left a daily tip for the housekeeper and on the last day we tend to tip our favorite servers.

The resort can tell you how long it takes to get to the airport. We generally get there 2 hours before the flight. We do not smoke, so have no idea about where there is a smoking area.

We like going into Play del Carmen and have taken the ferry to Cozumel for a day. Tulum, X-Caret, and Xel-Ha are also fun places to go.

We tend not to do the AI resorts because we feel it limits our exploring as we have already paid for our food and drinks at the resort, so why go spend several full days doing other things where you basically pay for your food and drinks again? But, for a "girl's trip" I would go and just hang out at the resort.

natasha5687 · Apr 1, 2014

pittle said:
I would get some Pesos (at airport ATM - Bancomer, Banamex, or Scotia) just to have whenever you do go into town or on the tour. You generally get better deals with Pesos because they often do 10 Pesos to the Dollar exchange rates (and may not have change) at flea markets and small store. If you only shop on 5th Ave in Playa, USD work fine. Be sure to take $20 or smaller bills though - getting $50 and $100 bills is sometimes a challenge. We pretty much use Pesos anymore. We get them from bank ATM's and then change some large bills into 50 and 100 Peso bills to have for taxis and tips.

Quite often, tips are included with AI, but we have always left a daily tip for the housekeeper and on the last day we tend to tip our favorite servers.

The resort can tell you how long it takes to get to the airport. We generally get there 2 hours before the flight. We do not smoke, so have no idea about where there is a smoking area.

We like going into Play del Carmen and have taken the ferry to Cozumel for a day. Tulum, X-Caret, and Xel-Ha are also fun places to go.

We tend not to do the AI resorts because we feel it limits our exploring as we have already paid for our food and drinks at the resort, so why go spend several full days doing other things where you basically pay for your food and drinks again? But, for a "girl's trip" I would go and just hang out at the resort.

Should I just order the currency from my bank before departure? They charge $7 for this service.

pittle · Apr 1, 2014

natasha5687 said:
Should I just order the currency from my bank before departure? They charge $7 for this service.

I think you may get a better rate at the ATM. Today's rate is 13.02 Pesos per $1, so 5000 Pesos is $383.92 in USD. At our bank, they go through an exchange service that pays 10.92 Pesos per dollar today, so it takes $456.32 to get 5000 Pesos. Yes - you may pay an ATM fee, but it is not too high and you get more Pesos for your dollar. We opened a Capital One online banking account that has no fee that we just use on vacations. (Before we got this checking account with no transaction fees, it cost $17 for 6000 Pesos. So even if you did get charged $15-17, you would have $56 more in your account when you got home.) Be sure to get enough for the week and you will only have one charge for exchanging.

We always use ATM's that have a bank name associated with it - at the airport, resort or Mega, or outside the actual bank.

Seaport104 · Apr 1, 2014

natasha5687 said:
I am going to Playa in a few weeks I'm staying at an AI and had a few questions.

1. Should I bother to exchange USD for Pesos?
2. Since it is AI who should be tipped, how often, and what percentage is customary?
3. Is there anything that is a must see? We are going on the Citchen Itza tour one day.
4. When departing to return to the US how far in advance of my flight should I leave the resort (RIU Palace) to make it to the airport with enough time to clear security and make my flight comfortably?
5. According to the CUN airport website, there is smoking lounge available in departures but not in arrivals. Does anyone know if this is correct? I ask because when I looked via Google many people said it's completely non smoking airport. My friend will be a big pain in the rear if we have to sit around for 3 hours and she cant smoke.
6. Anything else you think I need to know is appreciated.

Thanks

1. You don't really have to since the USD is widely accepted. However, you will lose $ in the exchange rate since they will use a 10 to 1 rate rather than the market 12 to 1 rate.

2. Everyone has their ideas and practices about tipping so I will just share mine- I tip the servers (restaurants and beach) servers throughout my stay from a $1 - $10 depending on the level of service being provided and housekeeping a few dollars each day. I have found the resort staff in Mexico to be consistently service oriented and very accomodating that I think the tips are well deserved and appreciated.

3. If you like to snorkel, check out Xel-Ha. You feel like you're snorkeling in an aquarium, the grounds are beautiful and the food great!

4. It's about 45 minutes from RIU in Playa del Carmen to Cancun Airport.

5. As a smoker, I can tell you for certain that Cancun airport has no smoking lounge when you are waiting for the flight to depart AND you cannot go outside once you clear security since by then you submitted your tourist visa at check-in. I found this out the hard way when my flight back home was delayed for 5 hours!

I tried to go outside to smoke and they told me no go unless I wanted to be on Mexican soil illegally since- at that point, I realized being able to go home was more important than my nicotine craving :hysterical:

BoaterMike · Apr 1, 2014

natasha5687 said:
I am going to Playa in a few weeks I'm staying at an AI and had a few questions.

1. Should I bother to exchange USD for Pesos?

Personally I like to have some pesos in case I need them for cabs, tips etc. I get a good rate from my bank so I get some ahead of time. You will be able to use US charge cards and debit cards, but some charge an exchange fee. Some of the premium cards that I use do not. Check with your bank or card service.

natasha5687 said:
2. Since it is AI who should be tipped, how often, and what percentage is customary?

You do not have to, but if you find someone that is doing a great job, why not?

natasha5687 said:
3. Is there anything that is a must see? We are going on the Citchen Itza tour one day.

Spend some time walking up and down 5th Avenue (Quinta Avenida). There are shops and restaurants. You will be asked by shopkeepers to visit their store or attend a TS presentation. A polite "no" is all you need to say. We like day trips to Puerto Morelos, Tulum and Cozumel. If you go to Cozumel, check for days when ships are not in port. It's a lot less crowded and more laid back.

natasha5687 said:
4. When departing to return to the US how far in advance of my flight should I leave the resort (RIU Palace) to make it to the airport with enough time to clear security and make my flight comfortably?

Some of that is determined by your airline and day of the week you are traveling. We arrive 2 hours in advance and have stood in line for 20 minutes and we have stood in line an hour and 20 minutes.

natasha5687 said:
6. Anything else you think I need to know is appreciated.

Enjoy!

natasha5687 · Apr 2, 2014

Thanks for the info all! I will check with my bank to see what the current exchange rate is prior to ordering. I do know that I can use my bank card at Banco Santander with no fees aside from the 3% conversion.

derb · Apr 2, 2014

As sites go, Coba ruins are a must. Mostly undeveloped in the junjle your allowed to climb the ruins. It is spread out quite a bit so if you like, you can have a bike taxi drive you around...about 10 bucks.

The food store called mega gave change of 13 pesos to the dollar as did the resort at Grand Luxxe. At GL the girl takes your money and passport and delivers the pesos later.

Questions about Playa Del Carmen

natasha5687

pittle

TUG Review Crew

natasha5687

pittle

TUG Review Crew

Seaport104

TUG Review Crew

BoaterMike

natasha5687

derb