Tent Camping in Cancun?
- Thread starter caleb
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Chip
Well-known member
There are campgrounds listed if you Google "campground cancun". I believe these are primarily RV parks vs tent camping. Contrary to popular belief, Cancun is still Mexico. Once you get away from the resorts it gets local and rather poor quickly. No way would I do ANYTHING that resembled stealth camping anywhere down there.
1ADAM12
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Chip has a great point! It is Mexico and once away from the touristy areas your subject to robbery, muggings etc. You may want to just pay for a nice place to stay 
nartreb
Well-known member
A tent in Cancun? What for? You need a hammock, bug netting, and maybe a tarp if you're very unlucky. But I wouldn't want to leave anything (even a bag with a change of clothes) where either locals or gringos would be tempted to steal it. Also there's the local terrain to consider: extremely dense tropical bush with precious little dry ground. In short the coast is mostly swamp. Your odds of finding a campsite (except on the beach itself, which is not my idea of stealth) are slim, and your odds of finding potable water are not very good either. Then there's the snakes, gators, and insects.
With the US and Mexican economies doing poorly, I bet there are some really good hotel deals available.
With the US and Mexican economies doing poorly, I bet there are some really good hotel deals available.
Thanks for the help. Yeah Cancun is not such a good idea. The whole insect/passport/Mexican-National thing is such a hassle..We've decided to go to Boston instead, make a weekend of it. On the way back home we'll hit some malls and maybe buy tires.
DrewKnight
Active member
Surprising level of snark there, Caleb. You asked for advice and you got it.
I didn't detect racism in anyone's responses, just a reality orientation. I've been to Cancun and environs seven or eight times over the last decade, and I really like the area, and love the people. That said, it probably wouldn't occur to me to try camping, for the reasons listed fairly dispassionately above.
You might be able to find a spot (especially down the coast in the Riviera Maya) but it's entirely unclear to me what the usage restrictions are, and I know that in a lot of places the beaches are patrolled by the Federales. I also don't think the cautions about personal comfort and safety are misplaced. The overwhelming majority of Mexican nationals are warm, friendly people, but there are a few bad eggs who wouldn't hesitate to liberate any unattended personal effects (fortunately, the drug-related violence seems not to have spread to the northern Yucatan, so far anyway). The mosquitoes, once you get off the resorts where they spray daily, are legendary. And Nartreb isn't kidding about alligators and crocs... they're all over the brackish lagoons all along the Cancun peninsula and Riviera Maya.
If you're looking for adventure, you might consider going to the Yucatan but heading inland (toward Meridien, Chichen Itza, etc.) -- pretty sure you could stay very inexpensively at local hotels and mingle with the locals, enjoy "real" Mexican food, and get in some hang-time on a shoestring, without feeding excessively feeding the mosquitoes or forfeiting too much of the cash you were trying to save to either resorts or banditos.
I didn't detect racism in anyone's responses, just a reality orientation. I've been to Cancun and environs seven or eight times over the last decade, and I really like the area, and love the people. That said, it probably wouldn't occur to me to try camping, for the reasons listed fairly dispassionately above.
You might be able to find a spot (especially down the coast in the Riviera Maya) but it's entirely unclear to me what the usage restrictions are, and I know that in a lot of places the beaches are patrolled by the Federales. I also don't think the cautions about personal comfort and safety are misplaced. The overwhelming majority of Mexican nationals are warm, friendly people, but there are a few bad eggs who wouldn't hesitate to liberate any unattended personal effects (fortunately, the drug-related violence seems not to have spread to the northern Yucatan, so far anyway). The mosquitoes, once you get off the resorts where they spray daily, are legendary. And Nartreb isn't kidding about alligators and crocs... they're all over the brackish lagoons all along the Cancun peninsula and Riviera Maya.
If you're looking for adventure, you might consider going to the Yucatan but heading inland (toward Meridien, Chichen Itza, etc.) -- pretty sure you could stay very inexpensively at local hotels and mingle with the locals, enjoy "real" Mexican food, and get in some hang-time on a shoestring, without feeding excessively feeding the mosquitoes or forfeiting too much of the cash you were trying to save to either resorts or banditos.
There’s tent camping near Playa and just south of Cancun in Puerto Morales. North of Cancun the entire shoreline is open, isolated and public. It screams to be explored by foot.
Here’s a prayer that I’ve perfected over the years and put to good use all over the world, from Cartagana to Nepal to the gater-filled Florida Trail. It’s probably pretty good for the sickness that keeps Americans home or on the beaten path in large numbers: ‘Dear God, please don’t let me be a (wimp)’
Here’s a prayer that I’ve perfected over the years and put to good use all over the world, from Cartagana to Nepal to the gater-filled Florida Trail. It’s probably pretty good for the sickness that keeps Americans home or on the beaten path in large numbers: ‘Dear God, please don’t let me be a (wimp)’
Trainwreck
New member
I like your attitude.
I lived in Mexico (in the 80's) for 2 years, and have slept on the beach at Cancun, among other beaches. Yes, that was then and this is now. The beach north of Cancun is beautiful. We used to wait for the fishing boats to come in, and they would grill it for us right on the beach. One of my favorite memories.
Alas, Cancun is a huge touristy city and has lost all of its charm.
Get away from the tourist areas, keep your wits about you. Oh, and make sure your sleeping arrangements are bugproof. Sandfleas bite. If you speak a little spanish and are polite and pleasant to the locals, you will be treated very well, as Mexicans by and large are a gracious and generous people.
Have fun.
Sandy
I lived in Mexico (in the 80's) for 2 years, and have slept on the beach at Cancun, among other beaches. Yes, that was then and this is now. The beach north of Cancun is beautiful. We used to wait for the fishing boats to come in, and they would grill it for us right on the beach. One of my favorite memories.
Alas, Cancun is a huge touristy city and has lost all of its charm.
Get away from the tourist areas, keep your wits about you. Oh, and make sure your sleeping arrangements are bugproof. Sandfleas bite. If you speak a little spanish and are polite and pleasant to the locals, you will be treated very well, as Mexicans by and large are a gracious and generous people.
Have fun.
Sandy
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