Ever been to Mexico or Cuba?

RoboCod · 18 Aug 2006 at 17:07

Hi

The GF and I are planning an all inclusive holiday abroad. At first I looked at Egypt (Sharm el Sheik) as it looks beautiful and Id love to go diving there. Prices for a 4*/5* hotel for 10 nights was around £1300- £1500 for the two of us but then we realised we could pay this much for 14 nights in a 4* hotel in Mexico or Cuba! This is of course the preffered option then as Id prefer the white sands and turqouise sea and apparantly the diving there is just as good (?).

Have any of you been to either been to mexico or cuba? How did you find it? Was it at all disappointing? My main worry is booking what is claimed to be a 4* hotel and finding it is more like a sub 3*. Im not even that bothered if the aesthetics of the place are up to scratch Im just most worried that the food doesnt kill me and Im not waiting ages to be brought watered down local beers by the waiter! I nearly booked a place in Cuba called the Amigo Atlantico Hotel until I read the mixed reviews here

Im pretty much set on the Riviera Maya in Mexico now as I hear this is much less commercialised than Cancun and actually cheaper than Cuba!

Hmm decisions decisions

Oh yeah, Im going next month too, I hope thats not hurricane season!

Anders0n · 18 Aug 2006 at 17:10

Been to both. Cuba was a let down but mexico was fantastic.

Baz · 18 Aug 2006 at 17:19

went to Cuba earlier this year in June, actually got married whilst we were out there, so my opinion mught be slightly biased as we both really loved our hotel .
We stayed at the Sol Cayo Guillermo resort in Cayo Guillermo, there are four hotels there, one is naff, but the other three (ours, the Melia Cayo Guillermo and the Iberostart Daquari) were nice. The food was really good, the all inclusive drinks are a godsend, i am sure i drank £500 of Mojitos and Cubra Libres

Its a little far from actual Cuba, two hours by road to the nearest town, but they do plane trips to Havana etc.

Overall the people are friendly, and it is cheap cheap cheap. Two weeks in June cost £670 each all inclusive, granted we upgraded our plane seats and got married out there, it was still a bargain

Not been to Mexico, but it looked more expensive.... probably me, off to Kenya next year

OzZie · 18 Aug 2006 at 17:19

My dads visit to Cuba in 2005:

Don't know where he stayed, but he said it was a very cheap holiday for him and his mates for 7 days. If you want any more info just ask and i'll get him to post some info.

slap ed · 18 Aug 2006 at 17:23

stayed in varredero cuba , best holiday iv'e had so far food was good people were nice couldn't fault it

AS_Platinum · 18 Aug 2006 at 17:25

Been to egypt, sharm el' **** as the miss's and I called it, people there are just money grabbing idiots (and thats for the whole of the country) only good thing was seeing the pyramids & diving.

We was due to goto cancun during febuary just gone (can't remember the hotel but it was the best one) but due to the hurricane that swept through last year it was still like a bomb had hit it apparently, so we went to the dominican republic, best holiday we ever had, the people & food were great, we stayed on the northen side with the better hotels and larger surf, still I think we would love to goto mexico still.

Edit: the rum in the dominican republic is riducuously cheap and strong.

BTW Hurricane season begins in august and ends in october if I remember correctly.

Justintime · 18 Aug 2006 at 17:25

Planning on a Cuba visit one day myself, when i do my Caribbean tour in a few yrs i suppose.

Bear · 18 Aug 2006 at 17:32

I went to Cuba earlier this year at the end of April. Its an absolutely wonderful country. The weather is fantastic, the people are very friendly, food was great on the resort we stayed at, music is great and the excursions were well worth going on. I really cant say enough of how much of a fantastic place it was.

We stayed in Varadero at the Iberostar Varadero, it really was top notch and well worth the 5 star rating it had.

Christo · 18 Aug 2006 at 17:42

Well what I will tell you is watch out for the hotels in those packages - absolutely awful places, they may say 4* but my god they arent nice places. What I would do is try and get a flight only and book your own hotel in a good area of Mexico/Cuba, ie non totally touristy.

Dont say I didnt warn you!

TriedandTested · 18 Aug 2006 at 18:38

Cancun, Mexico is AMAZING. :cool:

RoboCod · 18 Aug 2006 at 20:24

OzZie said:
My dads visit to Cuba in 2005:

Don't know where he stayed, but he said it was a very cheap holiday for him and his mates for 7 days. If you want any more info just ask and i'll get him to post some info.

Some nice pics there

Could you ask him what month he went? I understand that september october is rainy season but I also understand that its guaranteed to be sunny during this time too. I think that could make for an interesting holiday, great thunderstorms one moment then blistering heat the next!

Hellsmk2 · 18 Aug 2006 at 21:08

Mexico was probably the best trip abroad of my life. We arived in Cancun with the intention of staying there a few days. Found an awesome local beach just outside of Cancun and never went back to Cancun (that place was horrid beyond belief: lots of American tourists who'd payed to go abroad just to get ****** out of there faces in a place that resembled Blackpool).

We ended up getting buses to various parts of the country. The transportation system is absolutely brilliant. Buses arrive and leave on time and are ridiculously cheap. As for hotels, we only stayed in a hotel on the first and last night we were there. The rest of the time we slept on beaches or payed $2- 5 to get a wooden shack.

There's so much to do out there as well. If you decide on mexico, you have to go see Ek Balam. It takes a good few hours to get there, but it was by far the most beatiful set of ruins/ temple I've ever seen. What was even better was that because it's only recently been unearthed that there were zero other tourists there when we went. Sat at the top of a massive temple in complete silence looking out at nothing but trees/ forest as far as you can see on all sides is one hell of an experience.

There is also a small hippy paradise about 50 yards behind the ruins in a local village. They're capitalistic hippies though. They'll put you up in a gorgeous hut, give you cheap alcohol and feed you. Plus, if you catch them at the right time, they'll ge the local shaman round to lock you in an igloo (I forget what it was called) and feed you large amounts of peyote. Four hours in a pitch black igloo with all the doors locked, the heat, a chanting shaman and heavy psychadelics is an experience you don't come across too much.

There's a lot more I could type about Mexico. You should go. I insist that you go. Fantastic country, baetiful scenery and an incredible amount to see and do.

You need you wits about you though. Familiarise yourself with the exchange rate out there and try to get a feel for what sort of price you should be paying for things out there. The lonely planet guide book is worth the £10 here. It'll tell you everything you need to know. The locals are all really friendly, but they will try and rip you off at every corner. Even when you think you're getting a good deal, you're still paying well over the odds. To be fair though, even paying over the odds in mexico is still stupidly cheap.

Be wary of the police though... they're scary. Very scary. We got caught at about 5am off our faces on tequila, skinny dipping in the sea. They were not amused, but thankfully we lucked out and they just made us put our clothes on. The rest of the time they drive past on pickup trucks with about 20 officers to a truck. Every time they drove past they would slow down to walking pace and every single officer would stare at you whilst stroking their guns. All added to the experience though.

spirit · 18 Aug 2006 at 22:05

mexico is awsome, but have a look at prices for el gouna - the diivng there is awsome & better than when i went to mexico...

Whereever you go, you are going to have a wikid time though!!

Beansprout · 18 Aug 2006 at 22:24

Mexico is fantastic.

Don't go to Sharm, it's all commercialised. Come up to Taba Heights - I', here now - only a few young hotels and great diving/sea/snorkling/watersports. Trips to Cairo, Jerusalem, and of course Eilat is only 20min away.

They're both great places but if it was up to me I'd pick Cancun. The American tourists aren't that bad - just stay in a nice place like the Hyatt Regency and you won't see any. There's also only a small stretch of street which is the 'downtown' - it wasn't too bad last year but I'd imagine it's getting worse

Lastly, Red Sea diving is better than Cancun

Gobbledegeek · 19 Aug 2006 at 10:33

Not personally been to either but received this on 18/8/06:

Most visits to Cuba are trouble free, but crime is on the increase. The most common problems are from opportunist theft and loss of travel bags, handbags, etc containing passports and funds. It is advisable not to keep all your funds in the same place and to have a photocopy of your passport.

The majority of requests for consular assistance from the British Embassy arise from difficulties using debit/credit/cashpoint cards and exchanging certain currencies. The simplest way to avoid this is by taking Sterling or Euro travellers’ cheques. Please see ‘General’ below for more information. Since 8 November 2005, you must have 25 Convertible Pesos (CUCs) per person for payment of departure tax at the airport. This must be paid in local currency. Since November 2004, US dollars are no longer legal tender in Cuba.

A large international meeting will take place in Havana during the week of 11 to 16 September 2006. Many of the hotels in Havana will be fully booked during this period and hire cars will be in very short supply. You should also be aware that there are likely to be disruptions to traffic in and around the Havana area.

In view of serious accidents that have involved tourists, you should not use mopeds or three-wheel Coco-Taxis for travel around Cuba.

The hurricane season in Cuba normally runs from June to November. Please see the Natural Disasters section of this Travel Advice and Hurricanes for more information.

The threat from terrorism is low. But you should be aware of the global risk of indiscriminate terrorist attacks, which could be against civilian targets, including places frequented by foreigners.

We strongly recommend that you obtain comprehensive travel and medical insurance before travelling. You should check any exclusions, and that your policy covers you for the activities you want to undertake. Please see: Travel Insurance.

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