Cancun Tour Excursion

[Cruiser052]

We will be in Cozumel on our 5 day cruise on Enchantment at end of February - is anyone else taking the Cancun beach/shopping excursion or has anyone taken that excursion and how is it? Is it worth the money to take the day for this?

[kimv77]

We took this excursion last week, and it wasn't really worth it. By the time you get to Cancun, you only have a couple of hours. We didn't see too many highlights of Cancun. The shopping portion consists of visiting a Mexican Outlet Mall where you can buy t-shirts, gifts, etc. all in one place. I wish we would have stayed in Cozumel or Playa del Carmen. We would have had a lot more time and been able to buy the same things.

[shari1737]

I was wanting to know if the Harley Davidson store is close by to the shopping malls. We are wanting to go to Cancun just for this reason alone but don't know if the excursion will take us near enough to check it out.

[BSQ]

if the previous poster can tell ya what store they took them too (pretty sure it's a Plaza la Fiesta ... but there are 4 or 5 of them through out the hotel zone), I can give you an idea of how close it is to the Harley Store/Cafe.

[shari1737]

Still wondering if anyone knows how close the Harley store is the shopping mall. Is it close enough that we can take a cab & get back before our bus or van leaves? We just really want to get a shirt while we are that close.

[BSQ]

Shari, the Harley Cafe/Store is in Kulkulkan Mall, (KM13.5).

 

I do not know which shopping area this particular tour will be taking you to,

BUT ... everything in the Cancun Hotel Zone is a quick bus ride away. (VERY QUICK ... hold on tight). The bus will cost 6.5 pesos, roughly 65 cents ... no US coins accepted.

 

From KulKulKan Mall to Plaza Caracol which is the entire length of the hotel and shopping area in the "hotel zone" it's maybe 15 minutes on the bus.

 

If you end up dropped off at La Isla shopping plaza which is a very nice outdoor mall with strolling paths, and an assortment of high end stores and souvenir shops, restauraunts, etc ... it's about a 10-15 minute walk or a minute on the bus.

[shari1737]

Is it safe to take a bus or taxi? I have heard bad things about the bad part of town. I don't want to take the excursion and leave the group for a short amount of time & wind up getting mugged or worse.

[BSQ]

VERY safe. The main tourist shopping malls and hotels are in what is referred to as the "Hotel Zone". We ride the bus everywhere, it's cheap and fast. A Taxi would be anywhere from $8 to $12 USD depending on where you are dropped off. Just ask the price before you get in, and off you go. If you opt to take the bus, just hand the driver your dollar or pesos, and tell him "Harley cafe" and sit near the front and hang on.

 

The driver will tell you when you should get off ... Depending on what side of the street you are on, the bus stop is either in front of the mall at Chocolate City, or across from it just past la Destilleria (a red building).

 

You'll be visiting during the daytime, so no worries at all. I've never felt unsafe even as a female traveling solo, in Cancun.

 

(downtown can have some sketchy parts at night if you don't know where you are going).

[shari1737]

Thank you so much for all your tips. I know it sounds silly to want to go there just for a t shirt but everywhere we go that has a Harley shop, we try to get a tshirt. We each have more than we will ever need or want but its fun to have them from all over. We almost decided not to do the tour but since you make is sound so simple to take the bus, we are considering it again. Plus, we can then say we went to Cancun while on vacation!

[BSQ]

de nada. As one who has Hard Rock Pins from all over, I totally understand.

[bigwally]

I probably won't be able to dissuade you from doing this, even though it is pure folly to go to Cancun from Cozumel. First you've got the ferry ride back and forth between Cozumel and and Playa, then a 1 hour drive each way between Playa and Cancun.......

 

On the plus side, I can tell you that taxis are cheap. We took two during our stay and a several block ride was only around 30 pesos. We actually had this one driver take us to a store we wanted to go to, wait, take us to a bank, wait, and then take us back to our hotel. He even loaned me the 150 pesos to get the item I wanted at the store because I didn't have any local money yet (I actually asked him to take me to the bank first to get the money I needed for the store, but there was a breakdown in communication). Total charge for spending about an hour with us - 50 pesos ($4), but then I tipped him another 50 pesos for being so great.

 

At first it was a little disconcerting that the taxis didn't seem to be fitted with meters, but after the first reasonable fare I was less apprehensive.

[shari1737]

We are actually gonna be in Playa del Carmen not Cozumel. We are in Cozumel the day before so we won't have to worry about the ferry. Still haven't decided yet if we want to do this or not. Will have to decide before this time next week. Yikes!

[bigwally]

We are actually gonna be in Playa del Carmen not Cozumel. We are in Cozumel the day before so we won't have to worry about the ferry. Still haven't decided yet if we want to do this or not. Will have to decide before this time next week. Yikes!

 

Ah, that makes a difference then.

 

Actually, you're probably going in at Calica, right? I understand that it's very rare for a ship to anchor off Playa these days.

 

Calica is still a fair ways to the south of Playa, but not so much that you'd notice unless you were to hit a serious traffic hold up. There is some road construction due to a pedestrian bridge issue just south of Playa, but I think our most serious hold up through that area was on a Friday night and was still only a matter of 20 minutes.

[shari1737]

yeah we are gonna be arriving in Calica on Thursday of next week. We want to go the Harley store so much but don't want to risk our lives for a t shirt. I think we decided to do the excursion & once we get there & check out our surroundings, we can decide if we want to risk it. From what the previous poster said, it isn't hard to find & its not that risky. We will see next week I guess.

[bigwally]

We want to go the Harley store so much but don't want to risk our lives for a t shirt. I think we decided to do the excursion & once we get there & check out our surroundings, we can decide if we want to risk it. From what the previous poster said, it isn't hard to find & its not that risky. We will see next week I guess.

 

I don't think you'll have any problems. The Mexican government is so protective of those tourist dollars. If you're in the hotel zone, I'd say with a fair amount of certainty that you'd be absolutely fine.

 

Get into areas where the locals live. Well, let's just say that it's a time of year when not everyone who would normally have money coming in does, and poverty sometimes breeds desperation.

[Joyce From Yardley]

de nada. As one who has Hard Rock Pins from all over, I totally understand.

 

Hi,

 

Since we have been to Cozumel several times in the past few years. We decided to take the Cancun Tour while on our Grandeur of the Seas cruise. The main reason other than to get to say we were there is to go to the Hard Rock Cafe to buy our DS his pilsner glass. We have taken MANY side trips while on vacation just to buy him a glass. My DH collects beer cans from all over the world & his favorite excursion is going to the local grocery store to see what he can find.

So I can see where the poster who wants a Harley T shirt is coming from. Collectors go out of their way just to add to their collection.

 

Have a WONDERFUL cruise/vacation.

[Floyd in VA]

How far is the Hard Rock Cafe Cancun from "Plaza La Fiesta"?

Add me to the list of Hard Rock fanatics.

[BSQ]

How far is the Hard Rock Cafe Cancun from "Plaza La Fiesta"?

Add me to the list of Hard Rock fanatics.

 

Plaza La Fiesta is the name of a store, so it depends on which one you are at. There are 4 that I know of.

 

One is in the Forum which is where the Hard Rock is.

One is a free standing store adjacent to Plaza Caracol ... if at this one, cross the street and walk through the alley way to get to the HRC.

The other two are at La Isla Mall .... bout a 5 minute bus ride away. (If at La Isla you head towards downtown).

[Floyd in VA]

Plaza La Fiesta is the name of a store, so it depends on which one you are at. There are 4 that I know of.

 

One is in the Forum which is where the Hard Rock is.

One is a free standing store adjacent to Plaza Caracol ... if at this one, cross the street and walk through the alley way to get to the HRC.

The other two are at La Isla Mall .... bout a 5 minute bus ride away. (If at La Isla you head towards downtown).

 

I am hoping it is the one at the Forum. I really like the Cancun HRC. It will be nice to get credit for it for the HRC Passport Program, Iw ill bring me up to 109 cafes officially!

 

I will be hittign COsta Maya on the same cruise.

[love2crz]

looking forward to trying it out too;)

[RizzoLee]

I believe there's also transfers in between PDC and Cancun (vans or ; I haven't spent much time researching them, but I'm sure you can find a collectivo or something.

 

Cancun is pretty safe in the Hotel Zone - my BFF and I went a few years ago, and partied pretty hard late into the night a few times. I'm going back with my DH in April, and have no qualms about safety.

[BSQ]

since this is a pretty old thread that resurfaced, I'll just comment that no one ever came back and said where the Cancun shopping tour actually goes. :D

 

I know at one time some of the shopping tours went to a store called Plaza la Fiesta ... hence the discussion in this thread.

 

Recently I've seen someone mention their tour goes to Mercado 23 or 28 I forget which. That is a downtown flea market (and not worth the time of day IMHO) but to get from there to most the places mentioned in this thread, while not impossible would take a bit more time on a bus, and a taxi would be one's best bet. Cost is probably about $8 USD to get form Downtown to where the HRC is, about $13 to where the Harley Cafe is.

 

If you know where you'll be dropped, I'll be happy to post directions on how to get where you'd want to be ... and back to where you need to get.

[Floyd in VA]

since this is a pretty old thread that resurfaced, I'll just comment that no one ever came back and said where the Cancun shopping tour actually goes. :D

 

I know at one time some of the shopping tours went to a store called Plaza la Fiesta ... hence the discussion in this thread.

 

Recently I've seen someone mention their tour goes to Mercado 23 or 28 I forget which. That is a downtown flea market (and not worth the time of day IMHO) but to get from there to most the places mentioned in this thread, while not impossible would take a bit more time on a bus, and a taxi would be one's best bet. Cost is probably about $8 USD to get form Downtown to where the HRC is, about $13 to where the Harley Cafe is.

 

If you know where you'll be dropped, I'll be happy to post directions on how to get where you'd want to be ... and back to where you need to get.

 

It drops you off within a 5 minute walk to the HRC.