Cancun, Mexico: A College Students Spring Break Guide

Thousands of college student’s party in Cancun Mexico every year making it a spring break destination so popular it even brings MTV to the area.

If you are thinking about going to Cancun for your Spring break you want to look like a spring break pro, not a spring break zero. Here are a few tips from a seasoned spring breaker on how to make your trip to Cancun the spring break you will always remember.

Plan Ahead:

One of the most important things you can do is book in advance. It is good to go ahead and plan your trip to Cancun at the beginning of the school year. Decide whom you want to travel with, where you want to stay, and go ahead and pick up your plane tickets.

Plane tickets are going to be MUCH cheaper when you book early and you stand a better chance of getting a flight with all of the people you’re traveling with. It can be a pain when different people arrive at different times as far as coordinating trips from the airport to the hotel and making sure everyone is around when they get there. It is a much easier trip when you all arrive at the same time.

Planning ahead also gives you a better chance at getting the hotel you want, the best rooms, and having the best overall trip. You will be the kings and queens of spring break by planning ahead and having the best of everything.

By planning early you will also be able to spend your school year looking forward to your great spring break and be able to save enough money along the way to be able to pay for everything you want.

Make sure you and everyone you are going with go ahead and get your passports updated (if you don’t already have a current one) as soon as you decide to go on the trip. Getting a passport can take up to six months and without one you won’t be allowed to make your trip. Planning in advance makes it so everyone who may want to go has a good opportunity to get passports before you get going.

You want to have as few hassles as possible when you go on spring break so the more you plan ahead the more relaxing your whole vacation will be.

How to get there:

Since Cancun has become such a popular spring break destination there are now tons of trips you can buy where you food, plane ticket, and hotel are all bundled together. Depending on where you are coming from these can be great discounts.

Pay attention to what hotel you’ll be placed in with these package deals to make sure it’s not a crap hole. There are several websites online where you can look at reviews of the hotels in the area to see what’s hot, and what’s not and make sure your picking a decent place,

Hotels

; Look online to find the best deals in hotels. A lot of the hotels are on the beach, which if you’re on spring break is where you want to be as well. Ask when you book for an ocean front room if one is available.

Most hotels will have beautiful pools and excellent beach access. Don’t assume that your hotel is going to have those things simply because it is in Cancun though…ask.

Several people have accidentally booked a hotel far away from the beach and not realized it. You get great prices but you have to walk or take a taxi whenever you want to go to the beach, which can be tiring and costly. Not to mention make you look like you’re a spring break novice.

The earlier you book your hotel the better the rate will be in most cases. If you’re traveling in a large group try to get a suite. People with suites are undoubtedly the most popular people in town and suites are much more conducive to inviting back guest or having parties than just a small hotel room.

If you are not able to get the type of room you want when you book check with a few other hotels. If none are truly available then be sure to ask when you arrive if there have been any cancellations or if there is any way to upgrade your room. You may be surprised at home many cancellations happen and how easily you may be able to upgrade to something better once you arrive.

Packing:

Once you hit the airport your bags are more than likely going to be searched. Use common sense when packing your bags. When you go through customs they are going to look for things like drugs, cigars and cigarettes, as well as excessive amounts of other items that look like you may be brining them into the country to sell them.

You will not be allowed to bring in meat or any kind of plants or vegetables into the country…so although it may be tempting to pack snacks don’t carry anything on the plane you don’t intend on consuming on the plane. Bringing those items into the country can end up being a much bigger hassle than they are really worth.

Bring clothes that are suited for hot weather. You are probably not going to access to laundry facilities so bring enough different outfits to get you through your whole trip. Chances are what you wear is going to get dirty pretty quickly so don’t plan on wearing the same shirt twice or anything like that. Bring enough so you don’t end up looking stupid at the end of the week.

A couple of different swimsuits can be a good idea. Cancun is hot so your more than likely want to spend a lot of time in your suit. Be ready with a couple of different swimsuit options so you can spice up your everyday wardrobe.

If you plan on going out at night…and who doesn’t? You should probably bring a couple of outfits that will be great to wear to the club. It can get a little chilly at night so bring a light jacket or something with long sleeves to wear once the sun sets.

You will also want to bring a camera to capture some of the fantastic days and nights you’ll have during spring break. Do not pack your newest digital. High dollar items can easily be damaged or stolen. Instead try getting a few disposable cameras. Be sure to get the type with the flash because most of the places you will be going will probably not be lit well at night.

You can get pictures off your disposable burned onto a CD when you have them developed or you can scan them into your computer later.

Losing a throw away camera or accidentally dropping it in the ocean is a much better deal than losing your digital. Be smart about what you bring.

When You Step off the plane:

The flight attendants on your plane should tell you where your luggage would be. The baggage claim area is pretty small in the Cancun airport so it shouldn’t be hard to figure out where your stuff it if you don’t know.

On the plane you should have filled out 2 forms for customs. Once you pick up your bags you will be required to go through customs, which for most people will consist of just getting your passport stamped and moving through. Every once in a while they will randomly search people bags. Just be sure you are not carrying anything in your bags you would not want found and you will be a-ok.

Once you get outside, be prepared for the worst introduction to a country, possibly ever. There will be tons of people in the airport, most of which will either be spring breakers, or people appear to just want to be rude to you.

Outside the airport there should be a lot of taxis, and other transportation.

There are usually at least a few people outside the airport that will try to talk to into a “free dinner” or “free trip”. Rest assured, that, like everything else is not really free. No one is going to offer you anything legit that is free in Cancun. Most of these people are trying to get you to sign up for a time-share and once you start talking to them it will be hard to get away.

Many of them however can pass out some pretty valuable information, so if you see one with brochures, grab one and walk away. A lot of the time scare information will have free maps of the area and on occasion money saving coupons for area events and activities.

If you decide to take a trip by taxi to your hotel, be prepared to give the driver a pretty good tip. Tipping is expected in Cancun…good tipping. Don’t be caught not tipping your driver.

If this is your first trip to Cancun, or even if it isn’t you may want to consider getting an airport transfer. For about $15 a person, a guy with a van will be standing outside the airport holding a piece of paper with you name on it. It is a guaranteed ride for you and your group of friend’s; you also know that your driver knows where you’re going.

Airport transfer services offer a single person transfer just for you where you will share the van with people who may be traveling to other places, as well as private transfers, which will usually cost the amount that they could have potentially made renting out the whole van.

Money:

The official money of Cancun is a peso, just like all the rest of Mexico. Due to their high amount of tourism, most businesses will also take US dollars. It’s best however to have pesos, and understand how they work. Before you go take a look at what the current exchange rate is so you have some idea of how much money you are paying for services.

When you use US dollars in Cancun in most cases businesses will take them but not have change available for you. With change not being an option you will end up always overpaying.

Your ATM card should work in all of the ATM’s in Cancun, allowing you to withdraw pesos, just like you would withdraw dollars in the US. Before you head out call your bank and make sure to let them know you plan on making a trip to Cancun. If you don’t alert your bank to your trip a withdrawal in a foreign country may set off a red flag on your account, and freeze your account until you contact the bank. Contacting them ahead can help you avoid a potential hassle.

Don’t carry around a lot of cash. Just like in the US, your cash like everything else can be stolen. You don’t want to leave your money in your hotel room and risk it being taken. Keep money on your ATM card and withdraw when you need it. Carrying around a lot of money in cubs and on the streets is an invitation to theft, or just plain loosing it while you walking around which can put a damper on your spring break fun.

Getting Around:

Walking

Walking obviously seems like the best idea as far as transportation. It’s cheap, and you can sight see along the way. Wrong. Cancun gets hot in the summer months making it not really inductive to walking. If you’re going a few blocks you may want to hoof it, but otherwise, without a constant supply of water any longer walks are going to be way too hot to handle. You may arrive at your destination, but you will probably be too exhausted from the heat to really enjoy it and you will undoubtedly smell and look like you just ran a marathon.

Renting a Car

There are a couple of places around town that will try to rent you a car. Again, sounds like a good idea. Many places will offer you unbelievably cheap deals. Many drivers in Mexico are very aggressive, making it a distinct possibility you will wreck your rented auto. Look for the catch with extremely good car rental deals. There is one. You will sometimes end up paying at four times the amount you are originally quoted if not more...watch out.

Taxis

Assuming you know how to accurately tell a taxi driver where you want to go, a taxi can in some situations be a good idea. Chances are your hotel, probably has the same name, or close there to it as a restaurant around town and probably a street or a bar. If Spanish is not your language you could easily tell the taxi driver to take you to the wrong place by accident making your already expensive taxi ride a much more expensive endeavor.

Bus

The best mode of transportation in Cancun is probably the bus. You can ride the bus for a reasonable rate, and it will take you where you want to go, while giving you a look into the Cancun culture. You have the opportunity to meet a variety of locals on the bus, many of who may perform for you, which can make for an interesting trip.

The bus will probably be an interesting trip no matter what. There are a few “normal” bus drivers. Drivers in Mexico are pretty aggressive, and for those who aren’t accustomed to their driving style, pretty crazy. Don’t be surprised if you think you are going to die or someone else is more than once during your bus trips. Rest assured there are very few bus accidents in Cancun, and however likely it seems your chances of being involved in one are pretty low. The bus drivers are not trying to scare you specifically; they drive like that all the time.

Tours:

There are tons of tours available in Cancun for tourists. If you want to pick up a piece of culture while your there, try going on one of the tours and checking out the local area.

Tours can cost anywhere from a few dollars to over $300, so look into your options before you pick one. Your hotel should have information on what types of tours are available around you. You can also find a couple of different brochures in the airport about potential tours.

One of the best things to go see are authentic Mayan ruins in the area. These tours can be phenomenal, and are a definite must for first time Cancun visitors.

Another good trip is Museo INAH, which is an archaeological museum in Cancun. They are open till around eight every night, and you can see a lot of neat things, from skulls to this staircase with hieroglyphics on it.

Beaches:

One of the big draws on Cancun is its beautiful beaches. Your hotel will probably supply you with a beach towel, and you can usually get to a beach easily from most of the major hotels. Beaches are really where the party is during spring break. Come prepared early in the morning for a day in the sun.

Keep in mind that Cancun’s sunrays are more than likely more intense than what you are used to. You want to wear plenty on sunscreen and re-apply it throughout the day. The rest of your spring break will be no fun if you get burned earlier in the week.

Alcohol is going to make you burn easier so if you’re drinking in the sun ay careful attention to keeping your body covered with a high SPF of sunscreen.

When you're partying on the beach, be smart. Party just like you were in the US and if you have been drinking excessively try to stay out of the water. You don’t want to be involved in a spring break drowning incident of have to be pulled out of the water. Party hard, but be smart about it.

The beer truck:

You’ve heard of the ice cream truck. Now, meet the beer truck. Cancun is home to the beer truck, something that I have only heard of in Cancun…. A truck comes around, and from that truck you can purchase a case of corona. The next day, the truck will come by again.

You can then trade the driver your empty case of beer full of empty bottles for a full case of beer for something like $1.This is quite possibly the best beer deal ever invented. As long as you can down a case of beer every day, this should be no problem during Spring break.

The beer truck doesn’t run everywhere, and in some cases the way it works is a little different, so ask the driver whether or not they accept empty bottles and what the new prices will be with bottles when you purchase your initial case.

It’s a great deal though, and definitely something you will only see while vacationing in Cancun.

All you can drink:

A lot of the clubs in town will offer all you can drink specials. The way these work is you pay a huge cover ($25-$40) to get into the club, but once you’re in everything you drink is for free.

These types of clubs deals are usually only available during spring break and can be fantastic.

It’s important to remember just like you were at home not to drink to excess and to always have a person who is sober enough to be responsible for your group. You don’t want to get alcohol poisoning on spring break, so know your limits and stick to them. Just because the alcohol is free doesn’t mean you need to drink until you vomit.

Since spring breakers are notorious for overindulging, there will be people who will try to take advantage of you while intoxicated. Whether it is stealing your money, conning you into something you otherwise wouldn’t do, or something equally dishonest. Keeping a reasonably sober person with you, whom you trust is always a good idea to make sure your partying remains fun for everyone.