Do I need a visa, where do I change my money, do I have dollars, do I get a lot of rain, do I tip in restaurants, do I need vaccinations? All the practical information you need for your trip to the Mayan lands in Mexico today.
As usual in this blog, we are going to focus on the areas of the ancient Mayan territory in the Mexico current. The three states that form the Yucatan Peninsula, Quintana Roo (where the Riviera Maya), Campeche y Yucatan, and the state of Chiapas.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS TO TRAVEL TO MEXICO:
VISAS FOR MEXICO:
Nationalities such as Spaniards, Argentines, Colombians, Peruvians, Brazilians, Chileans No. They need a visa.
Check if your nationality requires a visa in these links:
- List of countries which they do not need a visa to enter Mexico: click here
- List of countries which yes they need a visa to enter Mexico: click here.
If you make a stopover in the United States, keep in mind the law that came into force in 12 in January of the 2009 and requires a new procedure to enter, the ESTA. The authorization is processed online (click here for the ESTA).
If you make a stop in Canada you should also have the eTA, you can transact here online.
VACCINES FOR MEXICO:
Are not necessary.
TIPS FOR CHANGING MONEY IN MEXICO, WHAT IS BEST FOR THE TRAVELER?
LOCAL CURRENCY IN MEXICO:
la currency local is the Mexican peso, which you should use on the street. In rural Try to carry small currency, 500 pesos bills (about 35 dollars) cost to change them, not to say that it is impossible, even those of 200 pesos.
The dollar, and behind the euro, are the most accepted currency in tourist areas such as Riviera Maya, where you will have no problem paying for excursions in dollars, euros, card. I repeat, in Riviera Maya you have all the payment facilities you want, it is a very comfortable tourist center, they know how to make life easier for visitors, and more in terms of payment.
HOW MUCH MEXICAN PESOS GIVE YOU FOR 1 EURO OR YOUR NATIONAL CURRENCY?
Here you have a good currency converter so that it is easier for you to calculate and plan your trip: http://www.xe.com/ucc/es/ (The Mexican peso is MXN). As app you find it as XE Currency, very good.
WHERE TO CHANGE MONEY IN MEXICO?
El currency exchange Mexican peso can be made in benches. as change houses and in hotels. The change houses They usually offer a better exchange rate than hotels and banks.
If you take travel cards change them in a bank. In the international airports There are exchange houses with higher commissions, there are also ATMs.
PULL MONEY IN AUTOMATIC ATMs:
You can take money out of ATMs (ATM). There are ATMs in all large towns, and now in many small towns as well. You will pay the commission between banks, which varies between banks. It is advisable when withdrawing money from the ATM, to make a high amount, since the commissions go for withdrawal, not for amount withdrawn.
CARRY CREDIT OR DEBIT CARD:
Our t They are accepted in most businesses. American Express is not accepted in many establishments. For those who go to renting a car will be essential a credit card. Take your Debit, You can also withdraw from ATMs and pay with it, although sometimes they do not accept it.
What is better to pay by card abroad or withdraw from the ATM?
In the end, all money operations abroad will entail commissions. My advice is don't go crazy over this. As you will surely start your trip in a big city like Cancun, Mérida or San Cristóbal, find an exchange house and take the opportunity to have local currency cash.
During the trip you have the options of getting out of the ATMs, paying by card or changing more money.
HOW TIPS WORK IN MEXICO:
At the Riviera Maya (Quintana Roo) is established between a 10%, 15% or 20% tip in services, according to your criteria. It is not mandatory by law, but we all really leave tips in services, only if the service has been disastrous is not done. The issue is that most of waiters (waiters) work for the tip, barely without pay, so it is important for them.
That the system may like it more or less is another story, but the one who attends you lives on the tip. EYE: Take a good look at your account in case the tip already includes it in the final account. It is something that many restaurants They do, they go over ready and they charge double the tip if you do not notice.
Riviera Maya, being a very tourist area, there are many who expect to tip "by custom", whether or not it is typified, and this may be a bit disconcerting. I personally tip according to the service received. On the excursions the guide is tipped at the end of the day, which is shared with the driver. Canadians and Americans (two countries more culturally accustomed to the tip) tend to pair between 15 and 20 dollars, while the European gives between 5 and 10 euros.
In the rest of the Yucatan Peninsula and Chiapas, in services there is usually Tip of the 10%. In cheap restaurants and in areas further away from tourism do not expect tips.
As data provided by Skyscanner where it places the Spanish as the least generous.
RACE IN MEXICO:
- MARKETS: across Street markets of souvenirs where they do not mark the price, the price they give you first is high, sometimes twice. You can bargain calmly, according to your skills you will get better price. I'm not very good, so I can not advise you much. Some stores move with fixed prices, you can take some reference before.
- HOTELS: if you are going to be several days in a hotels or it's low season, you can also bargain prices.
- EXCURSIONS: there are excursions with travel agency that you can try to get a price, sometimes it works. If you make more than one excursion with the same agency, it is easy to get a rebate.
- TAXISTS: You can also bargain with the taxi drivers the prices of some trips.
CALL BY TELEPHONE IN MEXICO:
We write the information of call from Mexico to facilitate the subject.
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS IN THE PENINSULA AND CHIAPAS:
All states have international airports, the two most important entrances being that of Cancun in the Yucatan Peninsula y Tuxla Gutiérrez (San Cristóbal de las Casas) en Chiapas.
Other international airports are Mérida, Cozumel, Campeche y Chetumal in the Yucatan Peninsula, and that of Villahermosa in the state of Tabasco. Some companies stop in DF.
LAND BORDERS OF MEXICO WITH BELIZE AND GUATEMALA:
Mexico limits in the south of its territotio with Belize y Guatemala.
For to cross from Mexico to Guatemala, you must do it for Chiapas:
Alternatively move from Mexico to Belize and enter Guatemala from Belize.
- Chetumal / Santa Elena (Mexico) - Corozal (Belize)
- Melchor de Mencos (Guatemala) and Benque Viejo del Carmen (Belize)
There are very cool routes through these Mayan worlds, crossing borders either by boat, by rental car or on foot. The Mayan civilization does not understand borders.
TYPES OF TRANSPORTATION TO TRAVEL IN MEXICO:
- BUS: the main company of trucks (buses) that operate the southern part of Mexico is ADO. It has different kinds of buses, Platinum is the best, they operate well and are comfortable. You can book in your web site. The important cities of the Yucatan Peninsula and Chiapas are all included in their routes. There are other companies with smaller fleets.
- COLLECTIVES: that collectives, collective taxis, combi or vans (vans) are very common to move around smaller towns.
- CAB: if the taxi It is not metered, ask the cost of the journey before going up. It is not customary to tip the taxi driver. In small towns it is usual to travel by mototaxi, a peculiar three-wheeled transport in the Yucatan Peninsula.
- RENT CAR: It is a great way to travel the Yucatan Peninsula by car. Safe, good roads and many corners where to stop that public transport does not arrive. Remember that you will need your credit card to rent a car. Chiapas you can too travel by car by road.
TYPES OF ACCOMMODATION AND PRICES IN MEXICO:
- TYPES OF ACCOMMODATION en Yucatan Peninsula y Chiapas They are used to receiving tourism, so you will find all kinds of accommodation: hostels, hostels, cabins, hotels, resorts, house rentals…. In rural tourist areas there are usually cooperatives running lodgings, in Chiapas it is very common. In the Yucatan Peninsula, Mayan communities are beginning to emerge with lodging in cabins, what they call rural tourism.
- TYPES OF ROOM: single (1 bed), marriage (1 bed for two people), double (2 double beds where up to 4 people can sleep). The price of fourth (room) varies as you want with fan (fan) or climate (air conditioner). The controls (TV or air controls) you must return them to the exit, many times you must leave deposit for them.
- Prices: or economic sector. from 200 to 500 pesos, planet from 500 to 2000 weights and high what you want to pay. Some hotels offer breakfast included, look at this option. Double rooms, up to 4 people, are used by families and friends to share expenses.
Riviera Maya is the most expensive area, but travelers can move aside from high tourist prices.
LANGUAGES IN PENINSULA OF YUCATÁN AND CHIAPAS:
The area is spoken Spanish y Mayan languages as the Yucatec, the Chol or the Tzetzal. At the traveler level you can speak spanish everywhere, except in some Mayan area that you will find people who do not speak Spanish.
In tourist areas, especially on the Caribbean coast, they speak English.
CLIMATE IN THE YUCATÁN AND CHIAPAS PENINSULA:
- PENINSULA YUCATÁN: we have an average of 26º. We divide the year in dry season (November to April) and rainy (May to October). The region is warm-sub-humid with rains in summer. The terrain presents a precipitation gradient that increases from northwest to southeast, which is reflected in the vegetation, from arid zones in the northwest, through low and medium forests, to high forests in the south, near Chiapas.
- CHIAPAS: The average annual temperature in the Altos de Chiapas is 18 ° C. The northern region of the state has rainfall throughout the year, in the rest of the territory, rains in summer. More than half of its territory, 54%, presents humid warm climate, 40% subhumid warm climate, 3% humid temperate and the remaining 3% has temperate subhumid climate.
RAINS: the Rain They tend to fall precipitously and condensed, you will see heavy showers of rain during the rainy season. A good raincoat, or the local mode without an umbrella or anything, you shelter where you can and continue when the rain. Umbrellas almost use them more to cover the sun than to rain in this area of Mexico. You can see spectacular storms, some are impressive. The rains are usually in the afternoon.
HOT: that is the great complaint of the traveler who comes to these lands. Between the humidity and the high temperatures from May to October, people sweat the fat drop here. Remember that from December to March are the best months to visit the Yucatán Peninsula and Chiapas. More cool and less rain.
HURRICANES: the time of Hurricanes is June to November. These natural phenomena are anticipated before they reach the coast, so if you have the bad luck to live a hurricane, follow the security protocol wherever you are. The population knows how to act, follow security protocols.
As nobody escapes the evidence that the weather varies and is not accurate, here is a website to follow the weather and better plan your trip: http://www.wunderground.com/
GENERAL TIPS FOR TRAVELING TO MEXICO:
Take with you one photocopy of your passport separated from the original passport. In case of loss or theft, the photocopy or digital copy that you can save in dropbox or any storage that you use, saves you from bureaucratic procedures. Protect your documents in sealed bags in case they get wet or go to places of humidity.
For this type of climate we give some advice from what to bring to your trip for these Mayan lands. Are you ready? Well, only the best remains, enjoy the trip.
Good way,
- Offers on flights international and national ..
- Find the accommodation with the best offers from Booking.com.
- Stay with airbnb and get 25 € discount.
- Contract activities, tours and excursions organized.
- Rent a car with the indispensable and necessary best discounts.
- Secure your transfers of arrival or departure to the airport.
- Travel safely with IATI and take advantage of 5% off.
If you prefer, you tell us your idea of the trip and together we organize it.
I love your blog !, all the tips and recommendations !!!!
They come in handy for my next trip !!!
Thanks for sharing!
I am very glad that you serve as a traveler, and thank you very much for the comment. Anything, you know! Greetings and good way!
Hello Sandra . Thank you very much for all your advice and the information you provide. We will travel from Costa Rica to Guatemala and from there to Mexico. I would like to ask if you recommend that we take medicines such as antacids, analgesics, antiallergics, etc. Or there is ease of getting in Mexico. We have heard that the meals are very rich but spicy. When we travel we always find local foods, sometimes we eat in the street so as not to waste time and continue to know the city. Is it safe to walk through the squares and streets in Chiapas or San Cristóbal?
Thank you for your recommendations.
Hi Adriana, what a nice trip 🙂
In Mexico you find all those medications, there are many pharmacies. There are several pharmacies where they sell generic drugs and make them cheaper, similar Pharmacies type, you will see it easy.
The theme of meals, the truth is that the vast majority of meals take their spicy apart, so you choose whether you put it or not. In the street food you can also tell him not to put chili. I don't like spicy food, and I have no problem eating in Mexico.
You can walk quietly through the streets of San Cristóbal and other Chiapas destinations.
I hope you serve the answer, any doubt count on my support. Good way.
I read a lot preparing a family trip to Riviera Maya and your links are the most useful.
Clear and very complete information.
Thank you.
I appreciate your comment, I'm glad it helps you plan. Anything here we are. Regards!
Hello Sandra! I do not know very well how to address you, that is why I do it through your response to another person. I go to Mexico next week and I consider traveling through Mexico City, Oaxaca, Huatulco, Chiapas and ending up in the Riviera Maya. I thought to do it by bus and at night, since they are very long journeys, but I'm getting scared with the assaults, because I also go alone. I have looked at airplanes, but I can not link the destinations, I always have to go back to DF and the connections are several hours apart, which is just as good as a bus trip. What do you recommend me? Thank you very much and congratulations for your post. Very clear.
Hello Laura, I really feel I can not help you because I do not know first hand this reality of assaults on the roads by night bus in those states. I understand the mess you must have when deciding, but I can not help you with information. I know that in Chiapas, teachers' unions began to stop, as in Oaxaca, and they get half assholes ...
The airlines in Mexico are a roll because you always make a stop in Mexico City, yes ... Hey, and if you decide this once you arrive in Mexico City, the prices will not vary much. I wish I knew more.
Very good trip!
Sandra
Thank you very much, very useful!
Good to serve you!
Hi, I have a question about how much cash you can request when you enter through Cancun, to visit Mexico for 2 months, arriving in Cancun on a circular tour ...
Hello Vanessa,
When you enter Mexico you do not have to pay, when leaving Mexico (for Cancun and another place) you must pay the exit fees, which are different if you go by land or by plane (by air are about 50 euros, some plane tickets and they are included, if not paid at the airport).
I do not know if this was your question, I'm not sure I understood your question.
Regards,
Very good! Tda the info! well explained in March I'll walk there
Hello Sandra,
Thanks for your comment, if you have doubts you already know where to write me. Very good trip! 🙂
Hello, thank you very much, I really want to know how much they ask you for at least cash in migrations to travel through 2 months in Mexico ...
Thank you very much
Hello, I can not give you an answer, it is not a requirement that I have never been asked to enter Mexico. Customs do not let you spend more cash than 10.000 usd, but I do not know more.
Greetings Vanessa,
I will be traveling to Cancun Mexico in the middle of this year and I would like to know which hotels you recommend in that area, which are comfortable but not so expensive?
thanks!
Hi, Diana,
I really think that a tripadvisor type hotel search engine can help you more in this case. I am not an expert in hotels in the Riviera Maya, I know some, but there are many hotels here, I would be short for sure. Sure, the search engine is more useful than me.
Best regards,
Hello Diana, I tell you that I went to Mexico in January to March and I can advise you to change at money exchange or Western Union and if you can at Coopel or Scotiabank bank that have good change, as far as hotels have variety, before traveling buy yourself a LONELY PLANET MEXICO that fixes your life do not know how much you put hotels, restaurants and all costs, its price is worth the guide will help you a lot! And I recommend that you really follow the advice they give you in the guide
Luck!!!!
Hello Sandra, I'm about to travel in September, so what I read are the hurricanes? Should I rent a car?
Hello Guillermo, the hurricanes are something predictable, between 5 and 4 days before the population is warned of the arrival of the hurricane and one does the pertinent in these cases. It does not have to be an impediment. I hope you enjoy the area a lot, any doubt you tell me.
Greetings, traveler!
Hello Sandra
I plan to travel in February and I am in the task of making an itinerary both in Mexico City and on the Riviera. Do you consider that I can get to look for hotels or hostels to be able to haggle prices or should I go to the fixed one booking long before the trip? If you have tips from the DF like places or nearby cities to visit, I would be very grateful !!
Thank you
Hi Felipe, personally I do not think it is necessary to book, in most destinations you always find a place to sleep, it is more about your plan and your way of traveling. I know relatively little DF (a few months ago the name was changed to Mexico City: CDMX), to give you tips, sure there are more specialized websites and they inform you better to narrow down what you are looking for in your trip. On more concrete information of my zone I try to support you.
Good way, Felipe.
I have just read your contribution, it is very complete, it will definitely help me a lot, I am traveling to Cancun next week, I hope to enjoy this trip to the fullest.
Surely so it will be, good holiday! 🙂
Sandra ... Very interesting your Blog.
My husband is being transferred to Santa Fe, in Mexico City, and we would go to the 4 with an 3 girl and a few months old.
Can you guide me with real expenses? Where would it be better to rent or some consideration to consider your experience? Thank you
Hello Karina, first of all an apology for my delay, I was on vacation, disconnected from everything. I give you a web where I can safely answer your questions, something that I can not personally do because of my limited knowledge of Mexico City, and I am not the correct one to guide you in your case. http://www.expat.com/es/destinacion/america-del-norte/mexico/ Good luck in your new destination.
Regards,
with great sacrifice. My daughter is traveling through Mexico. Today his luggage has been stolen from the trunk of the bus in which he traveled from Puerto Morelos to Tulum. I think it is something planned in advance since the company did not give the ticket for your luggage, it is a trip of 90 kilometers, with a lot of tourism, for which I alert other tourists, so they are not deceived and suffer this theft.
How ugly that is, it is very good to alert other travelers to experiences. I hope your daughter is well.
Best regards,
A query, currently things like the exchange rate still do not handle them well and I think I'm losing more than I earn. When I change from dollar to Mexican peso because I understand that in ATMs the exchange rate does not benefit me. That's why I'm preferring to pay with my VISA card that I have my savings account in dollars and now the dollar is better valued, so that would be the best option or am I wrong?
I would like you to help me with that topic
Good blog n_n
Hi Eduardo, the exchange rates are carried by the banks themselves and each with its internal policy, so the only way to get it right is to ask your bank for the commission for each operation, since they all vary, also according to the ATM that you take out the money . Paying directly with VISA entails less fees in principle, but it also varies depending on the bank. In the end it is best to ask directly at your bank, it is like that.
What is advisable, if you are going to withdraw money from the ATM, is to withdraw a high amount, since the commissions go by withdrawal, not by the amount withdrawn.
Greetings, I hope it serves you.
Sandra, really soooo complete, useful and entertaining the information you shared. I am planning a trip to the riviera maya for my next vacation and finding your publication made me love the place much more! If you could give the hostel information and eat well I would appreciate it.
Congratulations and thanks
Hello Dani, I am happy to hear your comment, always encourages to continue with the project and improve it. I'm just visiting hostels in Cancun to write accommodations, but tell me where you're interested in hostels information and where you're going to move to help you with recommendations.
We continue with the doubts Dani, greetings
I want to know if in the exchange houses I can get Mexican pesos just by presenting my VISA card or it is necessary to take dollars or euros and when arriving at the airport they are taken to the exchange office to give us Mexican pesos.
Hello Jose, that's right, in some exchange houses with your VISA you can take weights, as you can also do by withdrawing from an ATM (ATM). I do not know what is best for you at the commissions level, as it is something that each bank entity has in particular. At airports you have both possibilities, exchange houses and ATMs.
Best regards,
Dear Andra: thanks for so many recommendations, comments and information, it has been very useful to organize my trip!
Good thing Carina, it is very rewarding to be able to help travelers.
Thanks for the comment, you even baptized me ...
A hug,
Hello! I would like more information about the town Venustiano Carranza. Everything you write is very useful. Greetings.
Hello carolina, I'm sorry I can not help you, I've never visited that area of Chiapas.
Best regards,
Hello Sandra,
I'm going to Tulum next week, and my question is about tips ...
Should I hand them to waiters and other employees if I am in an all-inclusive resort? How does it work?
Forgive my Spanish ...
Greetings from Portugal and thanks for this blog!
Ola João 🙂 (your Spanish is magnificent)
In an all-inclusive restaurant you should not give tips, do not expect it. If, for example, you always consume in the same pool bar, the waiter will be as friendly and attentive as he can, because it is his job and to "deserve" a tip. Some have a boat where they put TIPS. Like the bell-boy that accompanies you to the room, you can give it or not, it is not obligatory, but normally something is given to it. Americans give tips for everything, other cultures do not. They know that too. If at the end you want to thank someone for their good service, tip, otherwise you do not have to do it at the resort.
Enjoy the holidays very much, very close to the hair.
Hello I am from Argentina. And I am seeing the prices of the excursions, I do not understand if they are quoted in euros or dollars or are the Mexican pesos? and you can talk to us more about the most dangerous places because of crime. Thank you.
Hello Cecilia, in our website we usually put the currency of the prices (MXN-Mexican pesos, US dollar USD ...) and when we recommend trips the same page indicates whether it is in euros, dollars or Mexican pesos. I leave you an entry with full information about excursions and other information that you should keep in mind during your trip. The price in this case are in euros, so you can assess. https://www.elcaminomascorto.es/mejores-excursiones-top-desde-riviera-maya/
Regarding security, if your destination is Riviera Maya, the tourist areas are quiet and controlled. Take the normal precautions of being attentive and watching your belongings that you would do anywhere as a tourist.
Best regards to Argentina,