Cancún What to Pack

Luggage and bags: - If you plan on spending lots of time exploring the beaches, you may want to bring a small bag with zippers on it. Things can fall from open pockets on bags and disappear in the sand.
- A collapsible bag you can use later to bring home souvenirs. Many people like to buy large Mexican blankets which they have trouble fitting into their suitcase later. If this is your first time, there's lots of neat things to buy.

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: - You will need some nice clothes to dress up at night for dinner and/or the clubs.
- Men: Pants and proper shoes! (Some other tips say don't bother to bring them, but you may require them for fancy restaurants and the occasional chilly evening.) You may also need something nicer than a T-shirt for admission to some restaurants.
- Women: If you're travelling during winter months, bring a light sweater--a cardigan or something like that. The wind off the Gulf can get very chilly at night.

General rule of thumb for clothes in Cancun: Pack everything you'd like to bring and think you need, unpack it all and only put half back in.

Toiletries and Medical Supplies: - Sunscreen (a high and low SPF number)
- Aloe vera gel
- Solarcaine or similar treatment for sunburns
- Immodium, Pepto Bismol, and Gravol (just in case)
- Ibuprophen, Aspirin (hangovers)
- Polysporin (in case you knick yourself on underwater rocks/coral)
- Mosquito repellent if you plan to do any jungle activities or visit the ruins at Coba
- Normal toiletries
- No need to bring a hairdryer, they will have one in the room

Photo Equipment: - Camera, extra film and/or sufficient memory card(s), battery charger
- Underwater camera if you plan on snorkeling. Your resort will have them but they will charge a fortune.

Camping/Beach/Outdoor Gear: - Bathing suits (1 or 2)
- Sunglasses
- Sandals
- Sarong (women)
- No need to bring beach towels to a resort, they will lend them to you
- Hat (if you're a hat person)

Miscellaneous: - ATM card
- Credit card
- A watch/small travel clock (you may find your resort doesn't have a proper clock in the room)
- A book to read
- MP3/CD player
- A pen for filling out all the forms at the airport
- An electrical adapter if you need to bring your own hairdryer, curler, etc., and you're not from North America (US and Canadian appliances will work fine in these outlets.)
- Pack bathing suits, lotion, and other beachwear at the top in your luggage so you can access them in case you arrive at the resort before regular check-in time

Luggage and bags: CONDOMS

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: Bring a lot of condoms becuase u will have a lot of sex, trust me. I went to cancun with my girlfriend and we had so much sex she was almost pregnant!

Toiletries and Medical Supplies: Look for strip clubs and nudists

Photo Equipment: Cameras and condoms

Camping/Beach/Outdoor Gear: SEXXXXXXXXXXX!

Miscellaneous: SEXXXXXXXXXXX!

Luggage and bags: If you are a collector of touristy type things (magnets, ceramics, jewelry, clothing) - then bring an extra bag to put all of your purchases into for the trip home.

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: Sunscreen is the number one item to bring! I got horribly burned and learned my lesson. Otherwise beachwear is a must. Your hotel will provide you with beach towels most likely, so just your swimsuit, glasses, flip flops and beach tote should work.
Most restaurants are fine with casual wear, but it is good to have at least one set of dressier clothes - just in case.

Toiletries and Medical Supplies: Burn ointment could come in handy. I found myself needing some and ended up paying $22 for a bottle of aloe.

Photo Equipment: Waterproof is good.

Camping/Beach/Outdoor Gear: Hat, sunscreen and plenty of water.

Miscellaneous: The hotel should be able to exchange currency for you, but it is helpful to have pesos or at least single dollar bills when you arrive at the airport. You will be bombarded by people who will want to take your bags and provide you with transportation.

Miscellaneous: If you plan to visit Xcaret or Xel-Ha, you can only use biodegradable sunblock at these places so that it won't harm the marine life. But it can be very expensive to buy there (might be a good idea to buy some online before the trip)

Luggage and bags: If you can do it only pack a carry on. Luggage and Customs is a pain

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: You can get by with 3 pairs of shoes. Sandels (beach and Dress) and Tennis shoes.

Toiletries and Medical Supplies: Every hotel I have stayed at in Cancun has toiletries such as shampoo, soap and condt. If you can get by with what the hotel supplies do it. Bring you own medicane in it's orig. bottle if at all possible. And check out the med. prices while in cancun. Much cheaper then USA.

Luggage and bags: We brought 2 small suitcases for a week long stay and ended up bringing back an additional handcarry duffel bag to carry the extra stuff we bought, mostly bottles of Mexican liquor and souvenirs. We ended up getting the duffel bag for free but it's also convenient to just bring an empty one flattened down in the suitcase to use on the way back.

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: We went in July and the evenings were consistently warm. We brought light sweaters just in case but didn't end up using them. The type of outfits I normally wore were cropped pants or long shorts for the evenings with sleeveless tops. It does get damp out in the evening, so the lighter the clothing the better. I only brought a pair of sandals with short heels and flip flops and those were all I wore the entire time. Cancun is mostly informal wherever you go; but do bring along a summer dress or nice slacks for the more formal restaurants.

Toiletries and Medical Supplies: (1) Aloe vera/after sun soother: It is well worth it since you will need it almost immediately if you haven't been in the sun for a long time. The stuff we brought with us was just a godsent the moment we got back to the hotel.
(2) Sunscreen: The weather was always around 90 F and the sun is scorching hot, you will definitely need sunscreen applied right away. Again, it's so much better to bring it from home.
(3) Immodium: Aside from Pepto-Bismal and Tylenol, I didn't recognize the brands of other medical products which are mostly Mexican. The drugstores show the comparison/translation of the Mexican's brand name to the U.S. brands, but you might just want to bring any medical supplies from home anyway since familiar brands will be very hard to find.
(4) Shampoo, body wash, lotion, face wash
(5) A must-have: face lotion with SPF, I brought along one by L'Oreal with SPF 15 and I credit it for protecting my face, especially my nose, from sunburn throughout the day.

Photo Equipment: (1) Underwater camera: prices are much higher in the shops in Cancun
(2) Ziploc bags for extra protection for camera from sun, sand, and wetness

Camping/Beach/Outdoor Gear: We ended up buying souvenir beach towels for about US $10 each at a souvenir shop but the hotels do provide beach towels for the guests. Do pack a beach bag if you have one, if not, they are easily found for US $10 - $15 at the local shops.

Miscellaneous: Reading material? I had a hard time finding English magazines and there were only one or two places where you can buy paperbacks.

Luggage and bags: Take a small carry-on. Just a light bag to keep your music or movies in. It is usually best to check most of your bags.

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: Flip Flops are a must. If you are going to walk around the town or going to the ruins, tennies are usually the way to go. Most places are pretty casual, so shorts, capris, sundresses, light weight slacks will do. It is a good thing to take a light jacket if you are going to be there between January and April. It does get a little cool some evenings.

Toiletries and Medical Supplies: You can get just about anything you need in Mexico, so if you forget something, the pharmacies usually have it and they are within walking distance of most of the hotels.

Photo Equipment: Always!! A digital is the way to go these days.

Camping/Beach/Outdoor Gear: Beach - most of your hotels supply your beach towels for you, so that is very nice. Make sure you bring your sunglasses and swim suits. I have a suit for just about every day of the month.

USE YOUR SUNSCREEN!!! Trust me on that one.

Miscellaneous: Try not to over pack. If you need something, what a great excuse to go shopping.

Luggage and bags: I bring a small soft-side cooler with me. This way you can carry water/beer with you where ever you go. I also use it for my purse and camera bag when I go to the beach.

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: I suggest bringing a sweater or a lite jacket for after dusk. Even though you are in a troplical region, it still can get cool at night. (65F) Just from personal experience, ladies, who wants to wear a sexy little strappy dress and be freezing all night long?!

Photo Equipment: Bring your cameras and video, but also bring a soft cloth for cleaning them off. The sand at the beach blows around, and your equipment will get sand in every crack & crevis. the humidity and salt in the air can also make the buttons stick a little. When you get home, have the equipment professional cleaned. It's worth it!

Camping/Beach/Outdoor Gear: Carry a high SPF sunscreen. The sun is VERY intense and it doesn't take long to burn. (like 15-20 min) It doesn't feel like you're burning because of the everlasting, cooling ocean breeze. I tan very easily, but still put it on lips, shoulders & tops of ears. A bad sunburn will ruin your vacation, so just take a few minuites and put on your sunscreen

Miscellaneous: Bring a stack of $single dollars$ for tipping. You will need to tip everyone from the bell boy, maids, wait staff, bartenders, drivers, tour guides.....you get the picture. I always bring about $50 in singles, this way you always have a dollar to tip, and you will be appreciated and recieve the best service!