Hiring Golf Carts are a popular option for day-trippers

Getting Around Isla Mujeres

by with No Comment Isla MujeresTravelling

Getting Around Isla Mujeres

08/12/2018

Getting to and from Isla Mujeres

Isla Mujeres is a short ferry trip from Cancun. There are a number of companies that will take you there but the quickest is Ultramar. They have three ports in the Hotel Zone and one close to the airport which is Puerto Juarez.

The ports from the Hotel Zone only begin running after 9am and finish by 9pm. However, for Puerto Juarez the ferry starts at 5am and finishes at midnight. Puerto Juarez is the port to use if you are coming directly from the airport or heading directly to the airport.

Check the timetable here https://www.ultramarferry.com/en/routes-and-departures#Cancun-Isla-Mujeres The prices are in USD. For our family of six, we have two under fives which are free and two over eleven’s which are adult prices so it worked out to about USD80 in total for return tickets.

 

Getting around the island

Walking

From the ferry if you are on a day trip then you will be walking distance to Playa Norte and many places to eat and shop.

We stayed on the island for a month and were using it as a base to catch up on some homeschooling so we knew we would not be venturing out too much. We stayed in La Gloria and ventured out only about twice a week. From this point which is the centre of the island where we were based, we could take a fifteen minute walk to a local beach for a swim or to the Caribbean shoreline for a coastal walk. However, the heat might get to you so where a wide brim hat to keep yourself cool.

To get to a mini-supermarket, playground, soccer court, laundry or pharmacy was usually less than a five minute walk. There are so many conveniently located.

Use A Taxi

Taxi rides were only fifty pesos to either end of the island. However, if you are two people you can share a taxi with other people and it would only be fifteen pesos. It’s easy to catch a taxi because they are driving around everywhere. Your best bet is to wait at an intersection of a main road and then wave one down. Even at seven in the morning when we needed to catch a flight to Chiapas there were taxis driving past.

Hiring a Vehicle

Some people like to hire a scooter or golf cart to drive themselves around the island which can cost up to USD140 depending on your negotiation skills.

Our Glimpse of Isla Mujeres

Friendly bystanders who jumped right in to help us contact the landlord

Our accommodation dilemma in Cuba

by with No Comment CubaTravelling

Our accommodation dilemma in Cuba

07/11/2018

The Planning

Arriving in Havana I thought we were super organised and had taken all our learnings from the last three destinations and applied it here. Turns out our arrival in Havana was going to make all those learnings redundant. If you want a quick summary of our learnings, skip to the end of this article.

I had googled the airport arrival tips so I knew the process would be simple to get through customs and it was. When we came out I knew there was a currency conversion upstairs on level two that had no queues compared to the one downstairs that had long lines. That was true also. And I knew that the yellow taxis were out the door and to the left and the taxi fare was about 25-30CUC (cooks) to get to the area of Havana we were going to.

Plus we had our accomodation all fully booked for the five night stay. I had taken a photo of the address and where it was in google maps according to Airbnb because I’d read that there was no internet at the airport.

What Actually Happened

Apart from some extra forms to fill in, customs was simple to get through. I sent hubby upstairs for the currency conversion only to find that they only accepted Euros. Having just come from America we had USD and that was only exchangeable downstairs. Time to join the long queue.

We needed to go to the toilet. The first set had men and women using them and had no toilet seat and the plumbing wasn’t working. The second set was the same but the plumbing was working so I used these. I told hubby there was a set upstairs. This third set was men only or women only but the plumbing was not working and was clogged up. Eeeekk!!

We went to catch a taxi and the driver insisted it was 35CUC so I relented. He was a lovely guy and was willing to teach us some español which came in handy later like “frios” for cold.

Internet is limited in Cuba, so getting around works like it did in the old days: people ask each other for directions. It’s super common to pull up to someone on the street and ask where is a bank or a wifi spot is or a place to rent or this street name or number. Everyone is very obliging and willing to help.

Our driver reached the suburb we were staying in and then began asking directions. We arrived in our neighbourhood-to-be where we had booked ourselves in with a local family in one of their bedrooms. The address was not for a home at all, but for an automobile repair shop! I had taken a photo of her phone number so the taxi driver called her, then the neighbours called her. Many of the neighbourhood residents came out to find out what the commotion was and were using their five or six words of English plus hand motions to convey to us that it was going to be ok and they would find her. However, the host was uncontactable.

We were realising how desperately we needed to learn some basic español because hardly anyone understood inglés and if they did it was very limited.

We’d Booked a Dud

After some time of waiting around and everyone looking for her, the taxi driver told us we had to find another place to stay. We asked him if we could jump online so we could book another place. It went like this “Wifi. Internet. Book another casa particular?” He seemed to say there was no internet. I thought, well, this is what we need to learn to do in spanish at some point, might as well try now.

He taught me the phrase “puerdo in autra casa para rente”. That’s from memory so that could be completely wrong! Anyway I thought I’d have to get out of the car and start asking people. Fortunately he made some calls and found una Casa Particular. We parked outside a house in a much nicer neighbourhood. The place had a sign outside of it saying “se vente un casa”.

We went inside. It was lovely. It was a private room in a shared space, which is what a casa particular is. But then we had to negotiate the price. We had only been prepared to pay 30CUC per night for the six of us, this was going to be 60CUC per night. I was stressed and it was probably showing. A New Jersey tourist from another room tried to translate for us so that the owner would drop the price. Unfortunately he could hardly speak English despite having lived in Jersey for 22 years.

Eventually we settled on a price of 45CUC for two three-person rooms each with their own bathroom.

Internet Issues

Saved!! Now we just had to find wifi and cancel the original Airbnb. This proved a difficult task. Internet is not so freely accessible on Cuba. There are government hot spots throughout the country that are in public squares where you can connect. The lady of the house (I’ll call her lady but she was probably the maid) took me late at night to one of these spots but we were not able to connect. BTW, Mari (the lady of the house) spoke as much English as I spoke Spanish – please, thank-you, and lady. She asked some people who told her that we need to purchase a card. The card only cost CUC2 and gives you one hour of access. This was more than I needed. The problem was the actual connection. I struggled to connect and even when I did, it was super slow. There were about fifty other people trying to use the same spot at the same time.

Mari asked around again and found someone who helped me to connect. I jumped on, canceled our booking on Airbnb with only a partial refund but decided that I could sort the rest out later.

Cancelling with Airbnb

Turns out Airbnb are super awesome in dealing with these types of situations. I contacted them as soon as I had internet in Cancun. They apologised for our inconvenience and the stress it put us under and they explained the process. They would give our host two days to respond to the issue and action a full refund based on that. I knew the host was not going to get in touch. I hadn’t received any communications from her since booking the place.

Once the two days were up and the host had not responded, Airbnb gave me a full refund. They said they would’ve have reimbursed me the difference but because we didn’t have a receipt for our accomodation (everything was paid in cash), they couldn’t pay more than the refund. Another learning 🙂 I was happy with Airbnb’s service and the way they resolved the issue, and for me the refund was sufficient.

Learnings

Biggest learning is how friendly and super helpful Cubans are – one of the reasons we love Cuba!

If you’re great at negotiating, you can bargain your taxi fare down to CUC25. I’m not one of those (should’ve got hubby to do the negotiating!)

It’s is easy to find accommodation there. There are so many options but they are not online. This is definitely one place you could book one nights accomodation and then ask around, walk around, check out some of the options and then book a place for the rest of your stay. 

There is no internet but Havana works like Auckland did thirty years ago: everyone asks for help! I remember we’d pull up to a petrol station or someone walking on the side of the street and everyone was keen to help you out. It makes for a lot more communication, a lot more smiling faces, and a lot more opportunities to practice Spanish. 

Our Glimpse of Havana

getting-around

Getting Around Orlando

by with No Comment OrlandoTravelling

Getting Around Orlando

29/10/2018

Getting Around Disney Springs and Lake Buena Vista

Our main priority in Orlando was getting to and from the airport. All our other transportation requirements were not going to be a problem because of our chosen accomodation location.

When booking our hotel for Orlando we knew it had a free shuttle to and from Disney World. One of the reasons we went with a hotel rather than an Airbnb, as well as finding a great deal on a room that sleeps six people, was because of this service. Our hotel was in the Disney Springs area which is the closest hotel zone to Disney without actually being in a Disney World resort. All the hotels on this Lake Buena Vista area have free shuttles. 

I knew I had to do supermarket trips once there but I figured I could taxi. As it turned out, the supermarket was walking distance and there was a shopping complex in the other direction which was walking distance. Probably the hardest part of the one kilometre walk was the heat but it was nice and flat so made for a dash.The only issue with the shopping complex is that it is designed for Disney tourists so the shops, eating places and supermarket are relatively expensive.

Had we stayed in a residential area close to Disney World we would have had to hire a car to reach a supermarket and all the Disney theme parks.

Getting to and from the Orlando Airport

Arriving in Orlando at midnight meant there were no public transport options. The shuttle was going to be expensive but I’d read reviews that Uber Car Seat was the way to go for a family. In Las Vegas we’d already had Uber reject us because we needed a car seat for our 2yo. Unfortunately when we arrived we found Uber Car Seat for 6 people was $75 which seemed like taxi prices. We tried to book one anyway but because it was late at night there were none available. 

We ended up having to go to the taxi stand and was pleasantly surprised to find it was only going to be USD55 fixed price plus taxes for a van. As a bonus it had two car seats we could use.

On the way to the hotel, the taxi went through a toll bridge so the driver charged us the toll amount plus taxes. We got the feeling he wasn’t supposed to charge us for that but it was only an extra USD5 at one in the morning so we didn’t bother to contest it. Plus it still worked out cheaper than the Uber quote for an XL carseat car.

On the way to the airport from the hotel, the taxi was around USD60 including taxes. 

Summary

Getting to and from the airport is still proving to be the most expensive part of our transportation costs once we land in a place unless we are using public transport. Public transport isn’t an option after hours when our flights are in the midnight zone.

Do your research before booking accommodation in Orlando and find out how you will get to Disney World. You might find a hotel with a free shuttle works out cheaper than having to hire a car plus pay for an airbnb.

Our Glimpse of Orlando

Drive from Vegas to Utah

Getting to Antelope Canyon With The Fanau

by with No Comment Arizona - Utah - NevadaTravelling

Getting to Antelope Canyon With The Fanau

18/10/2018

Surprisingly we didn’t need to be that organised to get to Antelope Canyon but timing is everything, right from month and hour. Here’s how we planned our trip and why we ended up planning it in this way, and why it’s worth driving yourself to Page, rather than taking a tour bus.

Having Antelope Canyon as our first destination on our sabbatical meant planning all steps on how to get there prior to leaving NZ. So along with everything else that needed prep before leaving the country for twelve months, I had to have a few things booked – apparently. Here’s how we got to Antelope Canyon. Skip to the end for a summary.

Turns out that the reviews were for peak season travel which is America’s school summer holidays. We were traveling in their autumn- October. That was fortunate for us because two days before we flew out the only thing we had booked was the tickets to Las Vegas which is the nearest city to fly into to reach Antelope Canyon. We decided to staying Las Vegas for a few days. It seems that paying a taxi USD20 + tip would be sufficient from airport to city. 

We were flying out on the Monday and on the Thursday I booked a two bedroom Las Vegas Airbnb close to public transport that would get us to The Strip. Then on Friday I booked the deposit on a rental vehicle that could seat six passengers. Thank goodness for Trello because I was so exhausted I wouldn’t have remembered the high priority stuff. 

Our plan was to rest in Las Vegas, recover from jet lag and general stress of winding up everything in Auckland before embarking on a four hour drive to the small town of Page which is the closest resting place to Antelope Canyon.

We decided that with everything going on, our most important steps were to get to LV and have accomodation after a 35 hour journey.

As long as we had good internet connection (wifi) then we could book the rest. We figured if we missed out then we’d do something else.

This worked out well for us because we did have a better head space after arriving in LV and getting some sleep.

We were still tired but excited about being “on holiday”. We ended up booking an Airbnb the night before we needed it. We decided to go for a cheap place so that we could stay in a slightly nicer place in New Orleans. That meant booking one room that slept six with a private bathroom and shared kitchen. We would be based at a junction one hour from Zion National Park heading north and two hours from Antelope Canyon heading south. That also meant we only had to drive two hours from LV instead of four to Page.

Turns out that was the best decision because the hosts we stayed with were super lovely. They lived onsite and gave us some history about the small town of Colorado City in Utah that shocked America. Plus they told us what to see and do. They also recommended we book Lower Antelope Canyon tours that night if we were planning to see it the next day. Sure enough there were only two time slots left for a group our size (ie four adults and one child and one two year old). I picked the afternoon booking because I didn’t want to get everyone ready by 6:30am to reach a 9am tour that was two hours away.

I’ve driven in Australia from Melbourne to Wagga to visit family. That’s a boring five hour drive of straight roads and flat terrain with very few noteworthy landmarks along the way. It’s easy to fall asleep there.

Although driving from Utah to Arizona to get to Page is through desert, it is not boring!

There are amazing structures carved by the elements. A more in depth analysis in the school section. There are plenty of stops along the way if you have time. We stopped at Glen Canyon Dam which is just outside of Page and has an info centre with lots of information on how the canyons are formed and how these amazing rock structures have been carved out.

As a side note I asked my host if we should see the biggest dam in America which is close by. His answer implied that a dam is a dam. His mindset is more like ours when it comes to “hot spots”: The beautiful national parks and reserves were far more worthy of time out here in Utah than another man made structure.
Best way to get there from Auckland is to fly to Las Vegas then rent a car to Page. From Page it’s an easy drive to some beautiful national parks and many tours operate form here. Antelope Canyon can only be accessed through tour operators so it’s best to book that ahead of time so you don’t miss out.

This article is really useful for getting around Las Vegas
https://www.vegas.com/traveltips/top-transportation-tips/

For family ideas on what to do around Page I found this awesome article
http://www.takethatexit.com/page-arizona-things-to-do/

Summary

Although you can stay in Page to view Antelope Canyon, if you are arriving via Las Vegas, I recommend staying closer to Zion Canyon. Stay here for a few days so that you are not rushing around and you get a higher absorption of this beautiful area. From many towns near Zion Canyon, like Kanab, you are roughly a two hour drive to Antelope Canyon which you could cover as a day trip. On the other days you could visit Zion Canyon or Bryce Canyon. Depending on how long your stay is, you could then visit the Grand Canyon.

Our Glimpse of the South West Region of America

On the bus to the airport

Getting Around Las Vegas With A Family

by with No Comment Arizona - Utah - NevadaTravelling

Getting Around Las Vegas With A Family

17/10/2018

Getting to and from Las Vegas airport​

Arriving in Las Vegas we hadn’t organised any transport to the Airbnb. We had read reviews saying we should take an Uber. There was free wifi at the airport but not in the carpark which is where the pick up zone for the Uber is. We ordered the Uber but couldn’t track its progress because we were a ten minute walk from the airport wifi zone.

The Uber arrived but the driver rejected us because he didn’t have a car seat. We canceled the Uber and Uber charged a cancellation fee (the price of the fare) even though it was the driver that cancelled us.

We took a taxi and the cost was only $5 more than the Uber quote so I would recommend just taking a taxi for the sake of ease. On a side note, I unfortunately dropped my license and bank cards in the vehicle 🙁 I’ll only be able to order new ones once we book long term accomodation which is a few weeks away. Not very comfortable about the idea of ordering a bank card to be sent to a third world country. Will soon see how reliable their mail system is in Cuba or Mexico.

The taxi driver took us to our accomodation but we were a few hours early so the place was not yet ready so we requested the driver drop us to the nearest mall. We shopped around for a few hours with all our luggage and once the place was ready we lugged it all the 1.5km to our Airbnb.

Getting to and from The Strip​

The Strip is the street tourists come to see. It has the famous hotels, the Palaggio dancing fountain, the mini Eiffel Tower etc. We were staying in a residential area ten minutes drive from The Strip.

We were very close to a bus stop, only ten minutes walk and ten minutes walk to the mono rail. We ended up using both options. The bus is super cheap being only a couple of dollars per person. Check out the bus routes here  The monorail is USD5 per person and is only worth buying a ticket if you plan on using it multiple times over a 24 hour period, in which case you can buy the USD12 day pass. Check out the monorail website here.

To get to the malls, we walked since they were only a twenty minute walk. But we did find the taxi fares were pretty reasonable, perhaps because we were not travelling very far. It also meant we had more flexibility to explore other malls because the taxi driver could take us to cheaper supermarkets or malls that had what we were looking for.

Summary

Using a taxi is not much more than ordering an Uber and allows you flexibility. 

Buses are super cheap and more worthwhile than using the monorail.

Our Glimpse of the Southwest Region of America