My family and I are traveling to Mexico for vacation. Besides don't drink the water, what are some good tips?

Question

We are staying at a resort and will be outside most of the time. Are there any tips or bits of information that I might find helpful besides dont drink the water? Anything from what to pack to good foods to try would be excelent.

Answer 1

I've been traveling in Mexico a little over 3 months now so I can tell you anything you want to know. If you're going to a resort you don't need to worry about too much because they take care of you really well. Basically just make sure you have lots of suntan lotion because the sun gets REALLY hot! One of the biggest problems we came across was the taste of the salty ocean.. It's gross and if you get some in your mouth on accident you feel sick. The method we came up with is to have a really salty food on hand to balance it out. Try eating a few pretzels before you swim :) Make sure you have a hat and sunglasses if you plan on spending a lot of time outside... and thats about it. Oh and for food, if your into sea food its really good by the ocean where its freshly caught. Also,  the smoothies there are amazing because its all fresh fruit grown like right outside town. So I suggest you try one if your into that sort of thing, just make sure they use ice thats from purified water and not from the tap.. So theres a couple tips and if you have any specific questions feel free to contact me :) Have fun! Oh and make sure you bring a good camera to capture the memories!

Answer 2

Your resort should have purified drinking water which is perfectly fine to drink straight from the tap. Most restaraunts at tourist towns have purified drinking water as well so it's ok to have ice. Just as in US, Mexico washes their produce, probably even better than US.  It won't be a problem to eat salad or fruits. I would be cautious eating from stands on the side of the road or on the beach. Use common sense. A great place to shop for groceries or souviners would be at walmart or Chedraui, walmarts Mexican competition. If you can find a Chedraui, I recommend going for the experience!

At your resort, ask as many of the staff members and locals where to eat.  Stay away from tourist restaraunts if you want a real Mexico experience. Try the restaruants that the locals eat at. There you will find the real deal Mexican food. Try enchiladas, chili rellenos, tacos de barbacoa, tortas, milanesas, fried fish, ceviche... Find out what the regional specialty is and try it. Sample bread and sweets from a bakery. Make sure you also try some of the ice cream from the local ice cream shop, it's the best! I also recommend "aguas" (fruit juice). They make the best juices Freshly made from any kind of fruit imaginable. Have an open mind and drink up!

These are some of the tips I give to people. Take a bus. It's cheap and you see alot of interesting things. Ask staff at the resort where the local "mercado" (open market) is located. It's alot more interesting and cheaper than the tourist trap shops. Don't carry lots of money, especially if its not pesos. Us ATMS to withdraw pesos. You will get the best exchange rate and the most current. Be prepared to haggle when shopping. Dont pay the price they are asking. Haggle down to 1/4-1/2 the price.

If you will be there on a Sunday, find the local Plaza. On Sundays, its traditional that the entire family gathers at the Plaza and spend the afternoon. It's clean and very cultural. They will have vendors, food, music and dancing.

Pack light. You can always do a load of laundry at the resort. Take light, cool comfortable clothes. Don't forget sunscreen and sunglasses. It's very expensive at the resort. Also, pack tylenol and immodium, just in case.

I vacation at many of the resorts every year. I also stay around the Merida/Cancun area for several months at a time each year. There is so much to see and to experience there. I truly hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Answer 3

Talcum powder , small spanish / english dictionary, American candy to make friends with the children , a smlie , Leave your jewlery at home , Flip flops and sandles are standard foot wear , light clothes - humidity is oppresive , 1 passport 1 credit card 1 photo ID - you might lose you wallet. A backpack is essential ! , write down important phone #'s and leave your cell phone at home, Bring walkie talkies for communication , sunscreen - this tropical sun does not play, raingear - June thru August / Sept. is rainy season, Digital camera with re chargable batteries ,Reppelant - mosquitos will carry you away , beach towels - chairs and umbrella setups are 25 pesos , IPOD / Mp3 for the plane and beach., bring an open mind - you will see good and bad here.

Tips - ask hotel staff for general taxi prices and bus / routes and prices - using and KNOWING the local public transportation enables you to see and experience more, and cheaper !   Eat local food as its wonderful , cheap and authentic. Ask a taxi driver or friendly local what to see and do or where to eat - best beach ect. Hotel attendant's send all to the same places and may not be the BEST.

Bring your negotiating skills - start at half price and be prepared to walk away - thats when the merchant will buckle and sell cheaper - they are professionals !

Ignore the sad eyes and dirty clothes from the panhandlers - chances are good that they have a cell phone in thier pocket.

Never eat the food sold on the beach - never !

Taco's barbachoa ( BBQ ) , picadas , tortas are all my favorite foods. Enchillads and quesadillas are not what your used to in the states - these are the real thing ! Try cerviche - but not after 12 noon - refridgeration is not the norm. Get out and explore the side streets - your in Mexico ! - explore !

Avoid the tourist areas for shopping - have a taxi driver take you to the local open air market's - you will see and taste and feel the REAL Mexico. Tipping is an American custom - only person I would ever tip is a bar tender or a helpful taxi driver.

There is probably more but I'm late for the beach - peace out !

Answer 4

this whole thing about "don't drink the water"

well let me tell you a few obvious things

fruit and veggies are OK....if you eat something off the streets....if you don't peel it yourself or see someone else peel it with a clean knife...give it a pass.

any food on the streets or in a little restaurant is just fine as long as the food is recently cooked completely and is very hot.

i don't know WHERE in mexico you are going.  that makes a difference.  take some sort of light rain jacket because our summer is their rainy season.

leave your resort to see the REAL mexico.  strike up conversations with the employees at the resort....you are just as equal as they are...and they will give you great service too boot.  they  will also be able to tell you what THEY do after work.  AKA the real mexico.

I rather love the pyramids.  the best ones (IMHO) are in the far south of the country, but most places have some.

the only reason you would not drink the ice is if you got something off of the street....if the pop (soda) you just bought on the street is opened it up in front of you...it probaby will be cold anyway.

just remember...the organisms in the food down there are different than ours up here.  clean or dirty...it is different.  

i have traveled throughout mexico and central america.  i just keep immodium with me.  it is really bad for your system, and i rarely use it....but when i DO use it, it is because i do not want to miss something great just becasue i got a little bit of travelers diareah (spell)

i supose you might not have any problems if you stay inside your resort....don't do that tho.

IMHO mexico has more variety than the USA does.  well, for it's size, i don't know of any other country that is so varried.

try all the tropical fruits!!!!!!!!!  there are likely to be many many that you have never seen before.

have fun

Answer 5

don't use their ice cubes, or don't eat their salads.  You can always pack some granola bars or that sort of thing.

Answer 6

Ice is made from purified water. No one drinks tap water or makes ice from it. Period. I wish people would stop propagating these myths. I have lived in Mexico for 10 years now and have traveled all over. Salads are fine too as everyone washes their vegetables. Mexicans are just as susceptible to bacterias as anyone else.

Answer 7

I agree with Mhiacel g's comments about the beggars having cellphones. I was on a bus once with a woman not much older than myself begging for cash rather unconvincingly for her toddler child and halfway on the ride she got a PM message on her cellphone (color screen, very fancy looking thing, must have cost her over 300 US dollars). Poor, yeah right.

You don't mention which city you're going. Resort hotels are like cruises where you eat at the restaurant (which tend to have dishes that Americans wouldn't find to be gross), swim in the pools, or bask in the sun in the beach. Everything is very Americanized and you get broadband internet and cable tv. Basically you could never leave the confinements of the hotel your whole trip and be happy, but never see the real Mexico.

Chances are you won't be in a situations where you'll drink tap water because you're going to a hotel and not living here as such. I agree on the suggs about eating in street joints.

Tacos and quesadillas are fully safe to eat because the heat used to cook em kills the bacteria (many street tacos stands have a separate guy who collects the cash and so the person that cooks the dishes doesn't get his hands dirty and thus you won't get sick unless your hands are dirty). Juice and fruits stands may or may not be safe, you'd have to take a good look at the hygiene used to prepare it. I've drunk freshly squeezed orange juice at these kinds of places dozens of times with no probs.

If there's fondas with comida corrida in the place you're going, I highly suggest them. These are the kinds of low cost restaurants real mexicans eat other than street taco stands. A full lunch from soup to dessert rarely costs more than 4 dollars per person and the food is usually very good. They usually have a rotating daily main course menu and the soups change each day, but the dish formulas are very similar: soup (many times chicken broth is commonly served)-rice or mexican spaghetti side dish-main course which is random-dessert (jello, custard or some other random small dessert).

I agree with avoiding tourist trapppy markets, go to the real bling-bling: the tianguis. Many tiangius on Sat mornings serve real mexican food. If they have beef soup I highly suggest it because it isn't commonly served in fondas or restaurants and it's clean food. I do warn that if you find cow intestines and such to be gross which might be served in the soup, you might not like beef soup but it does taste real good.

Depending on the time of year, tianguis sell pretty interesting fruits and veggies you won't find in the US. You could wash em at the hotel and eat em later. Some fruits you've never seen before that you might find are: xoconostle, mamey, zapote, higos (figs), granadas and stuff like mangos, oranges or papayas are usually available at these places dirty cheap. You can clean em by submerging em in water with a few drops of iodine for 10 minutes. Chances are you might encounter the cuitlacoche fungus which tastes real good in quesadillas or in egg omeletes.

Answer 8

Drink bottled water, stay reasonably sober, make some new friends, absorb the local culture outside the resort, have fun. Resort destinations should have everything you need. Bien Viaje