Planning your Cancun vacation

by Eric Cortes

So you’re traveling to Mexico under the biggest Mexican travel warning in years…so what do you do? According to a recent CNN article, “The U.S. State Department has broadened its travel warning for Mexico, advising citizens to avoid certain areas and steer clear of driving at night.” Sure that may sound scary, but in life when you’re young and motivated, why not travel. 

“I don’t plan on leaving the resort,” said Tamika Jackson who recently traveled to Cancun, MX.  “So I’m not really concerned of being kidnapped or murdered.” Jackson is traveling to Cancun for a destination wedding. She added, “I would not have traveled by myself.” And that’s probably a smart thing to do. Leaving the country for the first time can be very nerve-wrecking.

Here are a few tips to help you plan your Cancun (or any foreign travel) trip:

• Traveling abroad? The first thing you need to tell yourself is, “Do I have my passport?!”
• How will you get there? There are plenty of travel sites that will get you deals but remember to budget. Destinations want your money but as the economy is still pretty bad, you want to get the best deal ever.
• Don’t go alone. This is probably the most obvious tip but sometimes airports can bring major stress. And if you have a layover, forget about it.
• This may be superstitious or just too scared but some people say, “Don’t drink the water.”  Yes, there was an oil spill about a year ago but if it’s a five star hotel, what do you have to worry about?
• Make sure you tell someone when you’re going somewhere. The last thing you need is a 24-hour missing person report creeping up on you when you get back.
• Pack light. The (other) last thing you want is to lose your luggage somewhere, have to talk to dozens of people, be placed on hold, and then get your luggage four weeks later…too much?
• Don’t speak Spanish? I’d suggest learning a few key phrases or make sure you have someone in your group that speaks Spanish.

There are plenty of other travel tips we can give you. The basic concept is just to be smart. Many things can go wrong and we don’t want that to happen at all. Familiar with National Geographic’s Locked Up Abroad? A lot of the people highlighted in the series made horrible decisions. Not interested in Cancun, MX? Well the New York Times has 41 other travel destinations in mind, I’m sure you’ll find something.

To learn more about Eric, visit hisPanic2050.

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those
of the author and should not be understood to be shared by Being Latino, Inc.

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