Checandole (p. 95) is open again in Plaza Flamingo, and also in Plaza El Parian, near Hanaichi.
Rincon Yucateco (p. 95) in the hotel zone is closed.
La Casa de las Margaritas (p. 95) has totally changed its menu, and it looks very, very boring. No Sun brunch either.
This cafe in Cancun’s hotel zone (p. 95) is no longer in either of the malls–it’s around Paseo Kukulcan Km 10, just about opposite from Senor Frog’s, and next to a convenience store.
This summer, the new Terminal 3 opened at Cancun International Airport.
As far as I can tell, all US airlines and some European charter flights arrive here, so there’s a good chance this is where you’ll end up. Terminal 2 (the original terminal that all flights used to come through, which is divided into two separate wings) still handles all domestic flights, and a random selection of international flights: Air Canada comes in here, as do some American Airlines flights from Miami.
In Terminal 3, there’s an ATM just after customs, but it wasn’t working when I was there (Oct 31, 2007). There’s also a money exchange desk right there.
Transport desks are just down the hall, on your left as you’re walking toward the doors. The desk for buying ADO/Riviera bus tickets to either downtown Cancun or Playa del Carmen is the last one on your left. Just a note: it looks like the downtown Cancun bus doesn’t come to Terminal 3–so you just hop on a Playa bus for the short ride over to the other terminal (this is what happened to me).
But there is a dedicated shuttle van between the two terminals–it runs every 20 minutes. You can also walk between the two terminals, though it’s not advisable with a lot of luggage. The walk looks a little dodgy–you feel very “behind the scenes” for a little stretch–but it doesn’t take long. In Terminal 3, head left along the front of the building and basically keep heading straight; from Terminal 2, turn right and keep walking, past the bus depots.
(If you’re wondering whatever happened to Terminal 1…well, it’s still shut, and basically never used for commercial flights. Just pretend it doesn’t exist.)
This great little B&B on Isla Mujeres (p. 102) has changed its name to Villa La Bella, and its website has changed to www.villalabella.com. Nothing else has changed though–same great owners, same beautiful little setup on the windward side of the island.
Like everywhere hit by Hurricane Wilma last October, Isla Mujeres has some construction going on, but otherwise looks great. In fact, aside from a couple of boarded-up buildings, you wouldn’t know anything had happened.
Poc Na Hostel (p. 101) has a new website: www.pocna.com.
Casa Maya Zazil-Ha (p. 101) is now using yet another name: Villas Kiin. All the signs leading up to the place say Casa Maya, however, and the owner is the same.
Vistalmar (p. 102) is now painted green, not pink—in casing you’re looking for that. Otherwise it’s the same, though, and it’s sea-view rooms are a great deal.
Cosmic Cosas used bookshop (p. 107) has moved in with the new Mañanas café at the corner of C Guerrero and C Matamoros; as far as I can tell, there’s no Internet access here, though.
Entrance to Hacienda Mundaca is up to M$20, and I’d really recommend steering clear of the “zoo” area. Also, the turtle farm—which isn’t mentioned in this guide because it was shut when I visited—has reopened, under the direction of the Isla Mujeres government (as is Hac. Mundaca). Entrance is M$20, and you get to see lots of baby sea turtles. The farm is located near Hacienda Mundaca, on the road up the spit enclosing Laguna Macax.
Museo INAH (p. 88) is closed–no sign of whether it’s a temporary closure or a permanent one, however.
Canal Sigfrido (p. 88) is more clearly marked with green street signs saying “Jardin del Arte.”
Kukulcan Bowl (p. 99) has been made super-swanky and renamed something like Area 20-2. There’s still bowling, though.
There’s no “slow boat†to Isla Mujeres (p. 98) anymore–it’s all fast ferries, from Gran Puerto and Puerto Juarez (now with a company called Magana, not Mexico Waterjets), or from the hotel zone. Ultramar now runs the service from Playa Tortugas in the hotel zone, for a not unreasonable M$110 (about US$10) one-way.
Hippo’s Internet (p. 99) is closed, but there’s another Internet cafe in La Isla mall, which offers access starting at US$2 for 20 minutes.
La Casa 940 (p. 96) is now a reggae bar called Capucino–it still seems to be a popular young subculture hangout, though.
G-Spot (p. 97) is now called Basic, allegedly with a website at www.basic-cancun.com, but so far there’s nothing on it.
La Boom (p. 97) is shut.
Senor Frog’s (p. 96) is at Km 9.5, not 5.5. Sorry about that.
Glazz (p. 96) is shut.
Siete (p. 95) is shut–it was in the Fiesta Americana Aqua, which is still undergoing serious repair. No word yet if Siete will be included in the remodeled place.
Rincon Yucateco (p. 95) is shut in its hotel zone location; the downtown location is the same, though.
Checándole (p. 95) can now be found in Plaza el Parian, near the Japanese resto Hanaichi. I didn’t check if it’s still in Plaza Flamingo as well, but as that mall (Flamingo) was pretty battered by the hurricane, my guess is no.
The whole Caribbean coast looks great–you’d never guess Hurricane Wilma had even happened, unless you’re really looking for evidence (a lot of the mangroves around Cancun are still battered-looking, for instance). Almost all of the hardest-hit hotels have reopened by now, and there’s a lot of new landscaping and construction.
Here’s what’s new in lodging in Cancun:
Villas Juveniles (p. 84) is shut for remodeling–which might make this an appealing place to stay after it’s finished.
Aristos (p. 85) is gone–something new and bigger is being built in its place.
Villas Tacul (p. 88) is shut–it doesn’t look like it’s being renovated.
El Pueblito (p. 88) is still closed, but should reopen this month, following extensive renovations.
Mexico Hostel (p. 85) is now being managed by Tulum’s Weary Traveler crew, which just means the place is generally a bit more organized.
Cancun Rosa (p. 85) has remodeled and gotten rid of its groovy old lobby–which was really the most appealing part anyway. I won’t be putting this place in the next edition.
Holbox got really whacked by Hurricane Wilma last year (2005)–this isn’t reflected in the guide, because it was already at the printers when the storm happened. Floods up to three feet high, buildings knocked down, trees uprooted…but you’d really never guess it, a year later.
The biggest change is that the parque is being totally redone–no more scruffy grass square–so Antojitos Dafne Guadalupe (p. 110) is gone (though it may move back when the construction is done). El General Taquitos also seems to be shut. The new place for morning and evening snacks is now on the inland (south) side of the parque—no name, but very busy.
Perhaps because it’s low season right now (October), lanchas to Holbox from Chiquilá (p. 108) are only M$200, with a maximum of six people (usually) and the ride is a bit quicker than the ferry—handy if you can pull together a group. But there’s also a competing ferry service, for only M$20, that runs several times a day, filling in some of the gaps in the existing ferry schedule (allegedly its last run is at 8pm, an hour later than the original ferry service, but I wouldn’t count on it).
Parking in Chiquilá runs about M$30 per day—but that’s not per 24 hours, so if you park in the evening and come back the next morning, that’s M$60. A little bit of a racket, but at the nicer place (on the right before the end-of-the-road roundabout), at least there’s shade. There’s still no ATM on Holbox, but a couple of the restaurants (Colibrà and Viva Zapata) take credit cards. The laundry looks closed, but there’s still plenty of people willing to do it, for not much money.
Normally I would just save new places for the new edition, rather than post about them here, but the nice folks at Villa Las Brisas (p. 102) were raving about this restaurant, and even sent me this photo. Since they steered me toward some great ballpark tacos, I trust their judgment.
Varadera is the name of the place, and it’s Cuban, and, as you can see from the pic, they even make mojitos! It’s about a third of the way down the length of the island from the main town, before you reach Puerto Isla Mujeres, the big marina. Ashley and Curtis write, “From the low road, the best landmark is Las Palmas nursery. When the road dead ends, you make a right then a left into Varadera’s drive. It’s a great place to watch the boats coming in and out of the lagoon, especially around sunset.”
I’ll check these directions on my next trip, but in the meantime, I hope this will get you there!
UPDATE: I cruised the place in November. The name is El Varadero, and it doesn’t look like much from the road–you have to go back into the lot to actually see the restaurant. Tell the cab or bus driver “El Varadero del Burgos,” as there’s another place in the area named El Varadero de Oscar.
This nice little family-run place on Isla Mujeres (p. 101) has new contact information:
tel: 998/877-0861
email: hfrancis[at]prodigy.net.mx
And, as noted below, remember that the website is just www.francisarlene.com.
Travel In’, just south of Mahahual (p. 177), no longer takes reservations by email–rooms are just first-come, first-serve. Considering how nice and cheap the place is, it’s definitely worth taking the bus or a servicio down there first, and working your way back up the road if it’s full. The place now has three rooms (M$100/person), along with space for camping (M$40/person).
Just north of Mahahual, Kailuumcito (p. 177) is now officially called Kailuum (because the original Kailuum, up near Playa del Carmen, closed last summer).
On Isla Mujeres, the hotel listed as Playa Secreto (p. 101) is really Hotel Secreto. My bad. On the same page, the correct URL for Hotel Francis Arlene is www.francisarlene.com.
The website for Rancho Angel (p. 175) near Felipe Carrillo Puerto is now dead, but you can get the info on the Cuzan Guesthouse website (http://www.flyfishmx.com).
