Exploratory trip January 2018 - Mérida-Cancun-PDC-Akumal

I'm leaving in a few hours to do the exact same thing.   Let's keep in touch!

Hi, AlicatAZ!

I hope you have a great and successful trip! Best of luck finding all your answers. I would definitely like to keep in touch and hear about your new adventure.

Jan2017 wrote:

We plan to travel down mid-January 2018 to compare these areas to decide where we will settle initially. For the exploratory trip we think hotels that are not on the beach would be cheaper and make more sense, but we aren’t sure of the best way to find them. Any information on how to find this kind of hotel will be appreciated.

Also,  we hope to find a furnished house in the chosen area (that allows dogs) that would be available for a 6-month rental, for around $500-$600 a month. Does this sound possible in any of these areas, based on what anyone may know?

Thank you for your help!

If you are talking hotels, I would be using booking.com. You can specify your search criteria and compare prices. I always use them for spur of the moment trips.

As for a house . it depends on what size house and where, but for the most part that price would fit in . it at current exchange which translates to 600 USD to MXN: 11 445,48 Mexican. I pay 12000 Mx. for my large house with a pool. Dogs are tricky, and are not tolerated well in apartments, so a house it would have to be.
People do have a dog in apartments, but not dogs in my experience..

thank you,  travel light! Yes we have plural dogs and figured a house would be best for all concerned. This will be a juggling act i think, finding a place,  getting our house sold, and so on. Kind of overwhelming..... but we are determined so it's going to happen. With help and advice from you and others

Travel lught,
Aren't you north of Mérida? That sounds like a great price for your house...but I'm getting spooked by how hot everyone says it can be there......

Yes Jan it is north of Merida, and yes there is heat, and can be mosquitos, but there is also global warming so You can't assume anything will be the same. That said, I like the area, and the people, so that was what was really important.

It is not hot all of the time, currently it's in the mid to low 80's , there is a pretty much constant breeze and the nights are 70 or below. Really quite pleasant. You adjust fairly quickly to the temperature changes. And once you switch away from the U.S. food the mosquitoes leave you alone pretty much.

Of course I make sure there is no standing water after a rain and add a little bleach to the water that I can't eliminate. I've been here going on 6 years. I travel during the likely much hotter months, and was in Isla Mujeres and Cancun in August.

Just paid my 12 mil rent yesterday.   which is about 700$ U.S. in the last 6 years with the peso fluctuation thanks to the U,S., that amount went from 800 US to the current 700.  I can't change it so I don't stress out about it. Of course I could move somewhere else,but don't choose to.
A mexican friend freaks out about a 6000 peso rent on a small house. That would be a little over 300 U.S. So by his standards, I am paying a great deal.

It's the less stress Mexico way of life. Also much less expensive than the U.S.

travellight wrote:

Yes Jan it is north of Merida, and yes there is heat, and can be mosquitos, but there is also global warming so You can't assume anything will be the same. That said, I like the area, and the people, so that was what was really important.

It is not hot all of the time, currently it's in the mid to low 80's , there is a pretty much constant breeze and the nights are 70 or below. Really quite pleasant. You adjust fairly quickly to the temperature changes. And once you switch away from the U.S. food the mosquitoes leave you alone pretty much.

Of course I make sure there is no standing water after a rain and add a little bleach to the water that I can't eliminate. I've been here going on 6 years. I travel during the likely much hotter months, and was in Isla Mujeres and Cancun in August.

Just paid my 12 mil rent yesterday.   which is about 700$ U.S. in the last 6 years with the peso fluctuation thanks to the U,S., that amount went from 800 US to the current 700.  I can't change it so I don't stress out about it. Of course I could move somewhere else,but don't choose to.
A mexican friend freaks out about a 6000 peso rent on a small house. That would be a little over 300 U.S. So by his standards, I am paying a great deal.

It's the less stress Mexico way of life. Also much less expensive than the U.S.

My husband loves the heat, and humidity too, so he will be comfortable anywhere I will have to adjust!  Most mosquitos don’t like me but as you say anything can change so we best be ready to sway. Are you referring to US processed foods? I’ve been weaning off them for awhile to be more healthy, maybe that will help w/mosquitos...Thank you for sharing rent info. Yes we are hoping to live on far less when we settle. So done with being tied to stuff

sad to say Jan  the food issue just seems to be U.S food. I have not touched processed foods in probably at least 15 years and yet, at first I had lots of problems with mosquitoes here. The environment has become that toxic in the U.S.. Within 6 months I was able to pretty much eliminate the bug repellent. Not totally, I still have some just incase, but otherwise it is not a daily need.

The other thing is when I briefly returned to the U.S. I quickly felt I had a  mild case of Montezuma's revenge in reverse. I could hardly wait to return to Mexico. Note I had no expectation of that, despite the fact that I was aware of the environmental issues.  Should probably say I am a retired medical professional who has also worked in horticulture, and as a Master gardener. So I had a lot of information about the environment available to me. Educated, but not an expert, Just like learning.

travellight wrote:

sad to say Jan  the food issue just seems to be U.S food. I have not touched processed foods in probably at least 15 years and yet, at first I had lots of problems with mosquitoes here. The environment has become that toxic in the U.S.. Within 6 months I was able to pretty much eliminate the bug repellent. Not totally, I still have some just incase, but otherwise it is not a daily need.

The other thing is when I briefly returned to the U.S. I quickly felt I had a  mild case of Montezuma's revenge in reverse. I could hardly wait to return to Mexico. Note I had no expectation of that, despite the fact that I was aware of the environmental issues.  Should probably say I am a retired medical professional who has also worked in horticulture, and as a Master gardener. So I had a lot of information about the environment available to me. Educated, but not an expert, Just like learning.

Travel light,
In a way, reverse Montezuma makes sense after so long away....your body has adapted successfully to where you live!

why bother with hotels, i'm all booked with airbnb, a fraction of the price and i get to meet the locals and find out what the place is really like, from the natives

steveh2112 wrote:

why bother with hotels, i'm all booked with airbnb, a fraction of the price and i get to meet the locals and find out what the place is really like, from the natives

Only problem might be the two dogs issue Steve. You are not bringing 2 dogs are you . Seems like you can be really flexible on a bike without a lot luggage and pets.

steveh2112 wrote:

why bother with hotels, i'm all booked with airbnb, a fraction of the price and i get to meet the locals and find out what the place is really like, from the natives

Steve,  thanks for the idea! Travellight is correct,  we do have a dog issue! But we might be able to do this exploratory trip without the dogs,  which would be better for all concerned. Since it's already getting late to be booking for January and February I'm not sure how lucky we will be either way . Have you started your trip yet? You are brave doing it on a moto!

travellight wrote:

steveh2112 wrote:

why bother with hotels, i'm all booked with airbnb, a fraction of the price and i get to meet the locals and find out what the place is really like, from the natives

Only problem might be the two dogs issue Steve. You are not bringing 2 dogs are you . Seems like you can be really flexible on a bike without a lot luggage and pets.

Yes,  dogs complicate everything for us. But we might be able to leave them  behind for this first trip,  fingers crossed. I agree Steve can be lots more flexible... and I'm sure his trip will be fun and exciting. I would have enjoyed something similar back when I was younger and braver

yes, i'll all booked from mexicali to playa del carmen, jan-feb. i'm not booking anyplace on the way back yet, do that after i've got to know the place better
the other thing i like about staying airbnb is i can use the kitchen. eating out 3 times a day is a real PITA for me

I am staying in Cancun for the entire month of February for 302 dollars Canadian through AirBnB. I suggest you google airbnb and see what is available at what price, May find an entire house pets allowed. Not sure cuz I travel alone and need just a room, but it appears there is a wide variety of lodging available at best price..

aliceah wrote:

I am staying in Cancun for the entire month of February for 302 dollars Canadian through AirBnB. I suggest you google airbnb and see what is available at what price, May find an entire house pets allowed. Not sure cuz I travel alone and need just a room, but it appears there is a wide variety of lodging available at best price..

Alice  thank you for the info and suggestion! You really found a bargain. We have looked at airbnb and found some places for our exploratory trip, which now will be in February 2018. We must have a rental car for 2 weeks and find it costs about what our airline tickets cost because of the insurance we are afraid not to buy . We are getting excited!

I’ve booked a furnished house for the holidays I’m SMA with Booking.com, and furnished condos a few times I’m Playa with. Air b&b. I like that you can read reviews from actual guests.’uch more practical for me that hotels.

We're heading down soon and will be staying at airBnBs...they look to have good value and are much more personal...