Cancun: Are all-inclusives worth it?

I bartend in New York City to make a living, and sometimes when it’s a slow night, well, you’re forced to talk to your coworkers. I was talking to my coworker Jane, who has the wanderlust gene like I do. We were talking about how we’ve both been to Europe and Asia but never really traveled south. The conversation pretty much went as follows:

“What if we got a few of us and did one of those stupid all-inclusive trips to Mexico or the Bahamas?” said I.

“I’ve never been to Mexico, let’s do it,” said Jane.

“Ok, I’m texting Julie and Tatiana right now.”

And literally within thirty minutes we had a trip planned. The four of us found a $700 deal on www.cheapcaribbean.com which included 5 days from NYC to Cancun; flight, transportation to and from airport in Mexico, all food, all drink, and hotel. Not too shabby.

We arrived and were ready to PARTAY. We were fully aware that we wouldn’t be getting a peak into authentic Mexico, but looked at it as a fun five-day getaway from the hustle and bustle of New York City. Plus, it was my twenty-fifth birthday!

We sat on a beach all day everyday, drank margaritas and coronas until our heartburn begged us to stop, swam in the pool, and took several naps. We ate at the below-average buffet which basically just reused ingredients and disguised themselves as something else, and saw the same people over and over again.

We did venture out a few times, of course. We went to a nightclub, which is one of my least favorite things to do, so I left early to eat burritos.

For $700 and all that was included, we 100% got our money’s worth. You can eat and drink whenever your heart pleases, whether it’s 9am or 2am, it doesn’t matter. The biggest qualm that come with an all-inclusive is they will rip you off where they can. I needed to take out cash so I used the onsite ATM, the fee alone to get my own cash was $25. On top of that, to buy sunscreen on site was $17. I repeat, they will get you where they can get you.

If you are smart and become prepared (bring sunscreen and cash), you should be fine. Also, be weary with the food and water. Mexican water is not as clean as what Americans are used to, so none of our immune systems could handle it (we all came back and were sick for a few days; nothing life threatening, but nothing enjoyable).

My advice is do an all-inclusive if your goal is to get drunk and not care about a damn thing. But, if you’re in another country, go out and see a few things as well! We went out to The Surfin’ Burrito one night and met so many cool locals that we would have NEVER met on the resort.

Another day we went out and rode speedboats and went snorkeling. The Gulf of Mexico is unexplainably clear; we even saw a barracuda! I also learned that I am the worst boat driver in the world. I fell so far behind my group that they ended up circling waiting for me to catch up. My reasoning behind slowing down was because I saw something in the water which for a moment, I believed to be a shark, so I suppose when they say “fight or flight,” but response is freeze and get eaten.

I definitely want to go back to Mexico and see the actual country, but for the trip, it was nice to go back to a place and not have to worry about paying for things, especially when you’re a young broke bartender in NYC. If you’re strictly looking for a quick relaxing getaway, an all-inclusive-resort is definitely not a bad option.