Huh. I thought I was a low count lurker but goodby1 wins. Five very detailed Cancun trip report posts six years ago and then nothing more.

For Cancun trip planners using the general search function, know that much of the goodby1 reports are still valid Cancun stuff as of late May-early June 2011. I'd add that the good snorkeling spot described is now a Mexican National Underwater park. They want you to take a boat from the lagoon, paying the Mexican Park tax as part of your outing but the boat simply heads to the spot described and the walk via bus stop through Sheraton Regina and around Club Med still works.

A couple more points:

:-: The Talum / Xel Ha trip is nice but Xel Ha is expensive -- there are better ways to spend your money. You might opt for Talum only unless you have kids. Xel Ha is like a kids theme park.

:-: A tour company called Translamex sells trips at the Intercontinental Presidente but doesn't tell you that their trips are budget trips with a lower cost subsidized by a mandatory stop at a tourist trap store en route to your destination! The forced 30 minutes looking at Mexican handicrafts wasn't really too bad but not knowing makes it seem scammy. I complain about Translamex for that funky business model but if you do take their Chichen-itza tour hope you are lucky enough to get on the bus with Simon Chavez, Guia de Turistas (Offical Mexican Government Tourist Guide). He was non-stop talkative (in five languages simultaneously!) and made the bus ride educational and entertaining. If you aren't on a budget you might call him directly; he does private tours. I liked him as a docent so much I asked for his card and permission to post on the internet:

Simón Chávez Flores, Guia de Turistas
Cred. Secretaria de Turismo No. 04073
e-mail: [email protected]
Cel. 998 184-30-64

:-: For airport shuttle service I found Bestday.com via FT and was very happy with their service. We purchased the round trip ticket via their website www.bestday.com a couple days before our trip and it worked out perfectly, with the driver asking for us at the Hyatt lobby ten minutes before our scheduled pick-up time for a return to the Cancun airport.