Cancún is more than the Hotel Zone
And that goes for the pretty pics in Playa Del Carmen and Tulum too.
**Disclaimer: Cancún is 100% worth visiting, as is the rest of that stretch of peninsula in my opinion. This is not a Cancún-bashing post.**
However what is still bothersome to me is the fact that the reviews refer to the local area, but their experience was based on the resorts… Or the nightclubs.
Before we dive in
My visit to Cancún was all the way back in 2014, ie pre-Insta Travel acceleration, and I’m willing to be proven wrong by anyone who has been since. I visited for two weeks when I was a full-time student (I say this more for how I looked at budgets etc), so I am by no means claiming to be a complete expert on the remote life or expat side.
Between visiting and now however, watching influencers add their opinions to this already established Spring Break and backpacker scene, I feel pretty confident my judgement still stands. And from some of the English-speaking YouTube videos I’ve watched, it’s sad to see that there are still some things that haven’t aged well.
Setting the scene
When a friend invited me to come and visit her while she was on her year abroad placement, I couldn’t resist. The beautiful beaches, the culture we had had a small glimpse into from our university seminars and the hints we had had at Cancún as a holiday destination (even pre-Instagram). This was all very appealing as an escape from the January blues. Studying in Brazil at the time also meant that my summer holiday was at the beginning of the calendar year and I had some extra time to kill before heading back for the next semester in March.
Really, I had no idea what to expect. But as a Spanish speaker and visitor staying in the local Cancún town, I had the privilege of dipping into two very different experiences of this infamous location. Coming in on the plane with holiday-goers, ready for beautiful beaches and tours and great food. Hugging my friend in the Arrivals area and opting for a coach to the local town, instead of being guided to a coach straight through to the Hotel Zone.
Now let’s get into it.
Doing the research
If you’re looking for reviews on all-inclusive packages, I respect your preference and I am not your person. But please do listen to me on this one thing: The Hotel Zone is one section of Cancún and is not a reflection of the local area.
Thanks for coming to my TED Talk. (JK!). But in all seriousness, where the Yucatán peninsula and Riviera Maya especially have seemingly been operating very normally in the last couple of years, it’s been difficult to evade content from several influencers and content creators. Staying in the hotels or treehouses on the beach, going to the fancy clubs and maybe doing a tour or two in English. And then to their millions of followers claiming that Cancún was ‘not their vibe’. Or they did enjoy it, but there were certain aspects that made them nervous. (Yet could have been solved if they’d done five minutes more of research).
So, once again, Instagram and other social media platforms become dangerous, because they’re not painting the full picture of a destination.
But Han, what does it matter if they’re putting eyes on a destination?
It matters because of how it warps the image of the destination - both good and bad. For example, I’ve not visited Miami and am willing to be proven wrong, but naming Cancún as ‘the next Miami’ is problematic in my eyes. That says to me that there is money, security and reliable infrastructures in place. Then a video will pop up on YouTube of a negative experience with the police or similar and people are shocked.
Or we’ll see gorgeous Instagram-y pictures of couples on clear beaches in one season, then the next season someone is saying don’t go. (They didn’t realise that for a big portion of the year, seaweed gets washed up on the shores #seascience). The same goes for the year round climate portrayal of Cancún. Yes, it’s lovely and warm in January, but when it finally rains, it pours (#tropicalscience) and can cause flooding. Then where the portrayal of ‘new Miami’, to me, becomes dangerous is the idea that there are robust systems in place to deal with it.
Once again, we have a series of Instagram versus Reality videos and photos cropping up across socials and people are wondering why. I’m not saying people can’t make mistakes, but let’s call a spade a spade: someone didn’t do their research properly. And/or is providing a very one dimensional side of a destination, that in any other regular field of work would not be allowed to happen. In PR for example, you would absolutely never ever NEVER send out an article without solid sources and fact checking. Plus client consent and approval, despite what it is portrayed on the likes of Emily in Paris…
Cancún itself is not a resort, it’s a new destination and as such has its own customs, weird ‘quirks’ and set of ‘things to know’.
Cancún as a place tickles the surface of Mexican culture
It doesn’t even really scratch the surface and that’s not a problem. The general opinion of Cancún, from conversations I’ve had and also seen online, as a town, is there are sprinklings of Mexican traditions and heritage in the downtown areas. But generally speaking you have to head out of town to get to know the culture and history a little better.
If you’re there for the all-inclusive hotel and/or the party scene, awesome stuff - be upfront and proud about it. This creator provides some great tips for this, if that’s your cup of tea. Personally, the Malaria tablets I was taking plus the jet lag did not make for an enthusiastic party girl in me when I went, so I can’t really comment. (Just be aware of the entry price difference for foreigners versus for locals for some of the major clubs and the taxi prices when you leave). However it’s not exactly the full authentic Mexico experience…
Speaking the language
Which brings me on to tours and day to day activities. As expected, there are better deals to be gotten in the local areas, than the Hotel Zone. Plus, you’re less likely to be ripped off if you’re a confident Spanish speaker and/or have spoken to a local beforehand about the regular cost in low season or for locals.
Prices vary wherever you go. By season, by person, by area, by the weather, if you have camera equipment or not… You get the idea. Do some research and ask around. And if you can speak even a few words of Spanish: use them!
When I’ve travelled round Latin America in the past, I actually refrain from telling people I’m English and/or from the UK in some situations. Just for the reactions I’ve had like ‘so you have the Queen on speed dial’, ‘but you’re so open-minded for an English person’ and ‘you must be rich and/or blue-blooded’ amongst other things. The money thing is a big one.
When I was choosing my tour for Chichén Itzá - which I highly recommend doing by the way in order to really understand it - I opted for the Spanish-speaking tour. I lived in Brazil at the time and was clutching at what little Spanish practice I could get.
The English one followed behind us for the day, and at one of our stops, a guide stopped in our bus for two seconds to chat to their colleague. She had some choice words for some of her guests who made comments about her English, the tour and her country in general and I couldn’t help but feel very relieved at my choice.
Moral of the story: at least pretend to make an effort as a visitor. And do your research. That goes for before getting on the plane too. When I typed into YouTube ‘vida en Cancún’ (life in Cancún) a lot of videos will come up telling you what it’s actually like to be a local there. What to expect day to day, the atmosphere, prices and other really useful advice.
¿No hablas español? No worries. YouTube’s auto captions are surprisingly intuitive and not only can you add them, but you can also change them to English. Or your general language of preference. Sure there’s the odd strange word but nothing that puts the sentence completely out of context.
These were a couple of videos that stood out to me by Iván y Romy, Vida Turquesa and Mr Luís Fer and are a decent place to start.
Mexico is a beautiful country
That I highly recommend visiting. It has a rich history, diverse culture and delicious cuisine that I love learning more about and I can’t wait to experience more of.
Visiting Cancún is still one of my favourite trips overall, but highlights for me were definitely hiring a golf cart and bumbling around Isla Mujeres. Definitely head to the turtle sanctuary too to learn more about the conservation work. Plus visiting a couple of cenotes and snorkelling off of Isla Cozumel. The Xcaret Park is also definitely worth a visit for an adventurous outdoors-y day out, wine tasting and cultural show. (Just a disclaimer, we were given Xcaret tickets in return for a review).
So the list actually goes on and the whole thing was a highlight to me! Learning about different temples, hanging out at Parque de las Palapas and visiting different markets (I took home a throw for my bed that’s followed me to Brazil, Southampton and London).
And we’ve not even got to the food either… I’ve never tried such an eclectic mix of incredible food from local stalls to the wine tasting cave at Xcaret. But one thing you have to try is a cheese and Nutella crepe from Parque de las Palapas: trust me! Which is exactly what my friend said to me right before I bought my first one… (Try a Maya liquor as well!)
New era of travel
So where am I trying to land with all of this? I’m getting there, I promise and if you’ve made it: well done.
The world has been through a tumultuous time, biologically, economically, environmentally, everything! It’s been one massive shake up and there is so much that has been brought to light in all industries. Which provides us with a very exciting opportunity in the content and travel spaces.
Being upfront and proud of our content and decisions - and acknowledging mistakes and gaps in knowledge. We’ve seen what a lack of transparency has done for companies, governments and individuals in the last couple of years. Yet on the flip side, what happens when they do. It’s human, it’s honest, it’s trustworthy. Whether that’s making it clear the trip is for partying or that you weren’t expecting a beach of algae. We all muck up at some point, just tell us the truth.
Respecting cultures and steering away from stereotypes. From respecting tribe decisions to not be photographed on tours, to avoiding some cringeworthy gimmicks that perpetuate global stereotypes at tourist attractions. Let’s dig deeper and support the communities we visit, respecting we are just that: visitors. And be wary of where both our dollars and content space are going.
A significant portion of the Yucatán Peninsula is of indigenous heritage. Read about the Maya culture and history that is still intertwined into Mexican life and get to know where you actually are. It’s super interesting!
As a languages grad, it feels like blasphemy to say this, but Google Translate is a little better than it used to be, and there’s also the option to translate a lot of pages now. Whether by the site or Google.Instagram is still not the full (excuse the literal pun) picture. Be aware of what you’re seeing online, be aware of what you’re going somewhere for and be mindful of what the next thing you put online will say to your friends, family, colleagues and audience. It’s cool to be conscious, kids! It’s not painting any less of an image of a place, if anything it’s painting a fuller one.
Be safe and avoid getting into tricky situations. Read the government websites, read information by local individuals and tourism boards, and just all round be aware that outside the Hotel Zone is not ‘the new Miami’. It’s Mexico.
It’s not cute that many visitors expect to be waited on hand and foot when they go away ‘because they’ve paid’. But then don’t take the time to understand what they could be taking from a local in the process from careless actions or poor planning.
As I’ve mentioned before, my trip was a while back and I’m completely open to discussion and updated info. One thing I’m not backing down on is how the content and travel spaces can work towards more positive practices. That encourage the respect of local communities and contributes to a better environment. It’ll just take extra effort on our parts.
Where would you recommend hitting up in the Yucatán Peninsula and/or the Riviera Maya?
Han x
Ps. Jungle Formula is highly recommended for Cancún, but it started taking away my nail polish from day one…
