What about my souvenirs?

One of my biggest issues about going places is that I always come home with way more then I left with. I don’t know about all of you but I like to buy things for all of my friends and family, and of course myself, whenever I go somewhere because it is nice to share a piece of the experience and have more than a fading memory to keep from your trip. I struggle with making sure I leave enough empty space in my suitcase that I can carry stuff home. This NEVER works out for me so I have come to the realization that the only way I can successfully bring home everything I buy is to either check another bag (which is expensive and annoying) or bring a small carry on and a personal item. What I do is pack an empty tote bag or duffle bag in my suitcase so when I am coming home I do not have to try jamming everything into my stuffed to the brim luggage. It is also useful if you bring someone with you that doesn’t have a lot of luggage (like my boyfriend) and make him carry one of the bags as a carry on so that you avoid any excess fees. Sometimes checking the extra bag is less expensive than having a spare person to carry your luggage though ;).

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and a safe, prosperous new year!

Dream's Cancun

Hi Everyone,

I know that as a college student, spring break is a big deal! People make trips to places all over the world but one of the biggest locations for eager college students is Cancun, Mexico. This is mostly due to the large night life that they have and beautiful warm location. This is a very tourist oriented area full of resort after resort.  The last resort on the strip is Dream’s Resort and that is where I stayed on my trip just 2 weeks ago. Although the area is beautiful and the resort is very spread out and surrounded on three sides by the ocean, it had MANY issues. Yes, most of my posts were about the glorious aspects of travel but the truth is that sometimes things aren’t as great as you were expecting.  I am writing this post as a heads up for everyone that if you go to Cancun, do NOT stay at Dream’s Resort.

It may seem alluring as it has dolphins on sight that you can swim with and like I said, it is surrounded on three sides by ocean, but their customer service and cleanliness was far less enticing. Upon entering the hotel we were left standing without any help for over 45 minutes. Our room was not ready so the concierge who finally came to help us took our personal luggage and said he would accompany it the entire time while we went to grab a bite to eat. Assuming we could trust them as we were in the VIP suites, we left our luggage filled with our electronics, money, and other valuables. When we returned our luggage could not be located and the concierge was gone. After searching for 20 minutes we reached over the counter and pulled our bags out without the least bit of confrontation. We were finally greeted by our concierge who still did not have our room keys still, 2 hours after they were due.

We got into our room and found dirty sheets, half full toiletries and hoped to take a warm shower after a day of travelling. Upon entering the shower we found the water rusty and cold. You would think this would be a one-time occurrence which would have been corrected but no, we had no hot water several times throughout the week. We were already not impressed but decided to keep an open mind. Throughout the week we continued to be unimpressed by the early closing times of bars and food services at the resort as well as dirty pools and lack of enthusiasm and politeness from the staff.

 

All I need to say is that if you go to Cancun I would not recommend staying at the Dream’s resort. Go, have fun, enjoy Cancun but do not do it there because I know you will enjoy yourself more elsewhere.

Xplor: The Mayan Ruins

Hi everyone!!!

So this past week I spent in Mexico so I have a bunch to write about. Expect that in the next few weeks you will see all about the trip. This week I wanted to talk about my favorite of the excursions we went on and that was to a place called Xplor in the Mayan ruins. This place is a MUST GO if you are ever in the Yucatan Peninsula area as it is beautiful, fun, and historical.  This place has over 2 and a half miles of zip lines that bring you across the spectacular Mexican terrain and some even drop you into the water of some of the ancient Mayan caves. After you zip across the tree tops you can swim through and paddle through the exquisite caves and see the stalagmites and stalactites. Finally, you get to finish your day by taking a four-wheeler type vehicle that they call an amphibious vehicle and drive around, through the caves, water, and adventure through the lush forestry. Check out some of the pictures below!!!

Awesome right?!? I have alot more so if you want to see more pictures let me know and I will show you some more of this awesome attraction.