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Just got back from Isla Mujeres

wood

By wood
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Jhawk

Jhawk 1075

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My problem with pesos is that I always fuck up the tip (that's what she said).  I'll pay for drinks and then give an outrageous tip and by the end of the day I'll forget where all of my money went.  I should really get an app to help me with conversions down there.  I think when I was there over xmas I was dropping like $250 a day for 2 people which is insane.

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VABuckeye

VABuckeye 2472

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2 hours ago, Mr. Drummond said:

Any beach club recommendations - my wife booked us in a nice condo down south on the island, does anyone recommend any of the beach clubs where you pay a bit, has a resturant, bar and not too crowded vs  the crowds on playa norte?   Or should we blow that idea off completely.

There are a few places on the island with a bar and restaurant that you don't have to pay to use the beach.  Just eat there and have some drinks.  Playa Norte works the same way at a lot of places.

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VABuckeye

VABuckeye 2472

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5 minutes ago, Jhawk said:

My problem with pesos is that I always fuck up the tip (that's what she said).  I'll pay for drinks and then give an outrageous tip and by the end of the day I'll forget where all of my money went.  I should really get an app to help me with conversions down there.  I think when I was there over xmas I was dropping like $250 a day for 2 people which is insane.

Math is hard?

Just tip 10% then.  200 pesos you give them 220.  I mean you could just give them 230 and make it a 15% tip but that might be beyond your math skills.

There is no conversion to make.  Everything you pay for should be in pesos.  If you pay in dollars they charge you to convert the dollars back to pesos in the tab.  So, just pay in pesos and you actually end up paying less.

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SimonBolivar

SimonBolivar 10961

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7 minutes ago, Jhawk said:

My problem with pesos is that I always fuck up the tip (that's what she said).  I'll pay for drinks and then give an outrageous tip and by the end of the day I'll forget where all of my money went.  I should really get an app to help me with conversions down there.  I think when I was there over xmas I was dropping like $250 a day for 2 people which is insane.

The conversion rate right now is 19.19 to 1. I just imagine the $20MX pesos as $1 and the $100MX as $5. It isn't exact but close enough.

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Jhawk

Jhawk 1075

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Maybe I should state that I spent the entire week completely shitfaced. I always tip 20% the problem is that when you are trying to count in Spanish and you can barely speak English because you’ve reached face melting drink status you blow through cash twice as fast when you aren’t familiar with the shape, size, value of a bill. 

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3adays

3adays 454

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Get a pedi cart guy. Get some beer at the store across the street. Walk. The guy’s gonna get ahead of you. Relax! Walk. Drink. Tip him 10 and he’ll be stoked.
tell the wife to settle down and that you got this.
also bring a koozie 

Pedi cart it is. It's all the shit she'll bring for the kid that will add up. All my shit for a week will fit in a back pack.


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VABuckeye

VABuckeye 2472

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7 hours ago, Jhawk said:

Maybe I should state that I spent the entire week completely shitfaced. I always tip 20% the problem is that when you are trying to count in Spanish and you can barely speak English because you’ve reached face melting drink status you blow through cash twice as fast when you aren’t familiar with the shape, size, value of a bill. 

Color me completely confused. Why do you need to count in Spanish?  The bill is a number. The number is 200.  20% of 200 is 40. Leave 240.  

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williemackgarza

williemackgarza 1826

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Been wanting to take the fam. Rib, 9yo girl, 4 yo boy, & newborn. Any kid themed resorts down there?
Went to cozumel and isla back in college. Actually took the ut fan cruise from new orleans to cozumel back then during one of the hurricanes arrived back in nawlins and watched horns play tulane in the superdome. Partied with brian jones/ CSB


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Buzzrock

Buzzrock 14953

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Also if you are bringing lot of shit you are doing it wrong. 
Tshirt, swimsuit, flip flop, razor, deodorant, hat, shades, koozie, charger, Bluetooth speaker, money 


Fuckin A this. I’m currently having this discussion with the wife. “Aren’t you going to bring at least one nice outfit?” “NO.”

If I wanted to go somewhere where I might have to dress up I’d stay home.
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wood

wood 11287

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1 minute ago, Buzzrock said:

 


Fuckin A this. I’m currently having this discussion with the wife. “Aren’t you going to bring at least one nice outfit?” “NO.”

If I wanted to go somewhere where I might have to dress up I’d stay home.

 

LOL this. I always point & laugh at the idiot couples who dress up for a night out on Hidalgo. WTF? Dumbasses.

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wood

wood 11287

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1 hour ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

 


We’re too polite to point, but we are silently snickering at you classless slobs.

 

Oh, we're polite enough to do it behind your back... ;)

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Mr. Drummond

Mr. Drummond 2199

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T minus 3 days !!!   Got my 18,700 pesos and I'm ready to go.

 

Forecast is looking iffy, but hoping thats mostly tropical afternoon storms that come and go quickly.   Either way - my condo has a roof top deck, so i will be getting drunk in the rain if so dictated by the gods.

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wood

wood 11287

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1 hour ago, Mac8111 said:

When you get off the ferry, there is a exchange booth right across the street.

My experience with those booths is that they often don;t give a very good rate on either end,  but it's been a long time since I used one. What do you think?

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rage-a-holic

rage-a-holic 4496

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  • Bring a debit card that refunds ATM fees and has no foreign exchange fee (Iike the Schwab Bank card)
  • Get the fuck out of the airport. Don't use the ATMs in there, they're notorious for skimming
  • Stop at a major Mexican bank on the way to your destination (HSBC, Banamex, etc)
  • Use an inside ATM that looks to have monitoring around (cameras, guards, etc)
  • You'll get the official daily exchange rate (19.27 to 1 right now)
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Mac8111

Mac8111 2117

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My experience with those booths is that they often don;t give a very good rate on either end,  but it's been a long time since I used one. What do you think?


I disagree. Definitely better than what you are going to get here at your bank.
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tejas60

tejas60 3535

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I just told my bank (Chase) I want $600 worth of pesos. they charged me $599.45 for them (10,710). shitty exchange rate but I don't give a fuck. I pick them up Monday or Tuesday.

flying to Cancun 5/26. I'm sure I'll need more pesos when I get there. I'll try the Mexican bank rage suggested.

Edited by tejas60
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Mr. Drummond

Mr. Drummond 2199

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Can report Drummond clan alive and well on the island.     8 pretty strong alcoholic drinks and 3 breakfast platters this morning at The Joint (right next to condo) for about 40 bucks.   

Topless New Zealand chick at pool - too obvious to take a pic but will work on it as they are staying for a few more days. 

And just to add on to the pay in pesos discussions - have been to 2 restaurants and another bar and it looks like about a 15% penalty to pay in USD.   

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3adays

3adays 454

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22 hours ago, Mr. Drummond said:

Can report Drummond clan alive and well on the island.     8 pretty strong alcoholic drinks and 3 breakfast platters this morning at The Joint (right next to condo) for about 40 bucks.   

Topless New Zealand chick at pool - too obvious to take a pic but will work on it as they are staying for a few more days. 

And just to add on to the pay in pesos discussions - have been to 2 restaurants and another bar and it looks like about a 15% penalty to pay in USD.   

What’s the weather been like? At least according to Cancun radar, it looked like they got a lot of rain this past weekend. 

I’ll be there on Sunday. 

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Mr. Drummond

Mr. Drummond 2199

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Yes the forecast has looked bad.   It has actually rained for about 3 hours total that affected us.   One evening we watched Cancun get lots of rain while we sat in a chair and drank margaritas.   

Monday afternoon from about 1-3pm it rained but we had just gotten back from snorkeling, so I just drank on the condo covered balcony and read.   

Also - New Zealand chick never was topless again - I think some more kids are staying in complex now and she has been covered up since that first time.

Playa Norte all day today so we will see what we see.    

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VABuckeye

VABuckeye 2472

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St. Martin is the French side.  St. Maarten is the Dutch side.  Both have the boobies.  8-)

I agree that the food on the French side is very good.  For me, St. Martin/Maarten just exists to head over to St. Barths or Anguilla.  Both are vastly superior islands.

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Mr. Drummond

Mr. Drummond 2199

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Back at work review.

Kids said this was their favorite vacation ever.    Hard to argue with them.   This little island is great.

We stayed at the Sotavento Condos just across from the Joint on the south side.     Had a 2 story condo with two bedrooms and roof top deck with outdoor kitchen/grill.   It was great.  It was a quiet place and if you are going with the family or just prefer quiet and chill, i think a great laid back location.  Plus it is a lot of fun to ride around in the golf cart along the ocean.

However, If you are looking for late night bar hopping that Hidalgo st provides then it probably isn't the place for you.   The south side pretty much closes up at 8pm.

Food:

South Side:

Joint:  Cool little bar with pretty good food.  Breakfast special of 2 eggs, 2 bacon, 2 sausage, potatoes and toast for 70 pesos was pretty good way to start day.

Mar Bella:   Great great seafood and views - fairly expensive for the island, but no more expensive than any decent place in Houston, Dallas, Austin.

Casa de los Suenos -  great views and really good food and drinks - best ceviche we had.  We ate dinner there on saturday night, and sunday they remembered my daughters and let them use the paddleboards, and all snorkeling stuff for free.   This place apparently is under new ownership/management and was really good.

Central:

Bastos Grill:    The steak was as good as everyone has said.    Wife had the steak and shrimp and said it was the best thing she had in her mouth all week.  I can confirm.

Mangos:   Coconut french toast and breakfast quesadilla - bottomless coffee - all was very good.

Oscars italian:   it was just okay.   Had to go here one night last minute because there was a wedding at Mar Bella.    But kids liked their pasta. 

North Side: 

Rolandi's Pizzeria:   Good pizza on Hildago

Soggy Peso:  just had margaritas - they were okay, strong but just okay.

Dopi:  Lobster tacos were great - everything was good

Tuturreque 33:  This is a beach club where you pay for food and drink and get the chair with umbrella.    It was a great day on the beach.  I had the best chilaquiles i have ever had here - we had breakfast and lunch and drank all day long for about 100 bucks for 6 of us.    And i was with a bunch of women, so who knows how many banana or mango daiquiris they had.

 

Stuff we did:   snorkeled quite a bit, ate a lot, drove around, drank, laid around the condo pool, laid around the beach, the girls shopped. 

Looking at going back end of oct/beg of November.     

Felt perfectly safe the entire time there and all the locals seemed genuinely happy you are there spending money.  

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wood

wood 11287

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On 5/19/2018 at 3:17 PM, Buzzrock said:

Where did you find the best snorkeling?

There's really good snorkeling at a little place called Garrafon de Castilla, just before Parque Garrafon. That's the cheapest and easiest, too. About 70p each iirc. For the best snorkeling, imho, just get one of the small fishing boats when business is slow. They'll take you & the family wherever you wanna go all around the island for an hour or two, for like $40-50 an hour, & they'll pick you up and drop you off at your hotel if you're on the beach. 

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Mr. Drummond

Mr. Drummond 2199

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On 5/22/2018 at 6:00 AM, Buzzrock said:

GdC has been mentioned before, I’ll keep it in mind. Good tip on the boats too.

GdC was right below our condo - the kids went there a few times  - 70 pesos is correct, you do have to rent the snorkeling stuff if you dont have your own, but it is cheap (3-5 bucks i think).  also a little restaurant and bar-all i had there was a couple of beers, so can't vouch for the food.     Not a huge variety of fish, but they are used to being fed there, so come right at you and is cool.    Opens at 10.

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