Before last week, I had only been to border towns in Mexico. This is the off-season but I was dying to take an impulsive trip somewhere and after seeing those $500 Air and Hotel included commercials on TV, I decided to look into it. Later that night, for $600 each, my friend and I were both booked for a 5 day trip to fly from Minneapolis to Cancun and stay at a small, pretty resort on the strip. Being my first big low-budget impulse trip, I was happy to find that everything ended up being far more affordable than I had ever thought it could be. We did, however, learn a few ways to do things better and really maximize on the experience.

About Cancun
If you've ever thought about going to Cancun before, you do need to know that it's certainly designed for spring break. The whole tourist area is basically one really long strip of hotels and resorts along the beach with a little party area in the middle. I'm sure it's a blast for spring break but being a little older makes you sometimes want to just go to relax and get out of the chaos, and going in the off-season definitely allows for that.

The Resort
Pool and Rooms OceansideThe resort we stayed at was the Avalon Baccara, which is a converted hacienda just 2 doors down from the much larger Avalon Grand. The Baccara is nice because it's just 27 rooms, which is very small for Cancun standards. It's directly on the beach and has a very pretty tiled pool with an in-pool bar. The 2 hotels have it set up so that if you stay at one, you can use all of the services of the other. This was nice because the Grand had a large infinity pool that appeared to run off into the ocean, 3 hot tubs and a few restaurants. The smaller Baccara was significantly different from many of the resorts and was occupied by an older crowd. I'm sure that it is normally busy but because of the season we were some of the only people out there and it felt like we had the whole resort to ourselves.

All-Inclusive?
Most resorts in Cancun are all-inclusive or at least give the option to be all-inclusive. If you're not familiar, this means that all food and drinks are free, provided you eat and drink at the designated bars and restaurants. We thought about doing this but wanted to feel free to be able to eat at restaurants outside of the resort. I'm glad we did but it turns out there was another option - just inclusive drinks. The drink inclusion made it so that for some small amount, I believe $15/day, you get unlimited drinks with gratuity included. We paid cash for ours and probably spent more like $25-30/day on drinks (yes, we drank a lot, but it's vacation). If I did it all over again, I'd opt for the inclusive drinks but I'd pay cash for food.

Restaurants
We got in just as the sun was setting on our first day and just needed to eat something quick so we ended up at an Irish pub themed bar and grill called Pat Obrien's. The food was average and not terribly expensive. We did get hassled to take shots and photos and all types of things so just be aware that if you ever go to a touristy spot in Cancun, you will want to decline most of these offers. They generally act like they are doing something fun for you but then turn around and ask for immediate payment separate from your regular tab. We did end up with a really great photo from there and while it was pricier than I'd like, I'm happy we got it.

Our second meal was eaten in the Baccara's hotel restaurant. It was all italian cuisine in there and most of it was actually very good. Prices were fairly normal and I don't think we spent much over $15/person.

We gave in and just needed somewhere reliable to go on the third night so we ended up at the Outback steakhouse. All I can say is that it's exactly the same and priced almost exactly the same as in the US. Some spots in Cancun just don't have a lot of variety for food, which is why we ended up there. I will give them points for consistency, but it didn't need to cost quite that much.

Our favorite meal was at the Paloma Bonita inside the point of Cancun. It was a really fun Mexican restaurant that had great food and a mariachi band. We really enjoyed that meal and it ended up being cheaper than I had expected. I would definitely go back there.

Summary
Overall our trip was a great success. The February winds and clouds rolled through but it was still warm and sunny enough to get a strong tan and go swimming. There were no crowds and we ended up always getting excellent service from the resort and from any restaurants we went to. As for weather, I think it would maybe be a little nicer to go in March or April but I don't regret going when we did. I'm glad to have avoided the spring break crowd and it was the perfect low-guilt impulse buy that got me the relaxing get-away I needed.

More Photos
An Ocean View Coco Locos Avalon Baccara My Favorite Bartender in Mexico The Pool and Bar The Pool and Ocean from behind a little waterfall