cancun police warning!

[SheaS]

Another thing they do is charge you way over the amount a cab ride costs! It is a good idea to ask your resort how much a cab ride costs from the resort to your location. They should be able to tell what it should approximately cost, and then before you get in the cab, ask the cab driver. Most likely he is going to try to over charge you, and you can tell him what the resort told you. Always negotiate the price before you take the cab!!

[Infinity22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lambert13 That happens all the time in the Riviera Maya south of Cancun as well. If you are going to be driving, keep $20 in your wallet and leave the rest of your money in a different pocket. If they say something about taking your license to the police station.... say go ahead and tell them that you will follow them down there. Ask for their name and badge number too. Most of the time that will make them give up all together. It sucks that it happens, but that's how it is there.

Great suggestion! Our party got pulled over 5 years ago when we were down there too.

[Matt Adcock]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dragonfly Thats so funny about being pulled over for not wearing seatbelts, considering hardly anyone who lives in Cancun does and there were not even any seatbelts in the back seats of half the cabs there. The bus system in cancun is so simple, cheap and fast, it is the best way to travel. The cabs which we took alot because I was there alone with 3 of my children, were also simple and really didn't cost much since everything is seconds away. We also requested the same cab driver all week, we had his card and he came right away, he was great, not running the clock the entire time, waiting for us in town, ect. I loved cancun and found some of the nicest people I have experienced in all the places I have travelled, I can't wait to go back.

talk about lack of saftey concerns..

A LOT of folks get around on scooters or mopeds. We witness the craziest stuff you could ever imagine... about 6 months ago, I SWEAR, no lie...witnessed the most insane disregard for safety on the planet.

1 scooter, 5 passengers. (2 adults 3 children) Guess how many had helmets?

2 children standing on floor / sitting in adult driver's lap / feet. Woman on back with (3rd infant breastfeeding! )

I wish I would have snagged a photo....

[angitalia23]

WOW! good thing you posted this to make others aware.

[JennyK]

Thats insane! I've heard of crooked cops from other touristy countries but I didn't think in Cancun. Oh well.. Better off taking the bus. It's so much cheaper than getting a taxi..

[Bryan Valiant]

thanks for the info... I am a little paranoid about going down there with almost 15,000 dollars in gear. It will be a blast though... I am only taking the bus and taxis if I need them. I know one guy that was stopped in his rental car for $300 US and then a few days later and he told that cop to just keep his Divers lic and the cop did... later he was pulled over and asked for his DL and he told that cop he no longer had it and was told to show up the next morning at 9 where it was taken and they gave it back. Ugh. "the bite" really bites.

[Susan&Steve]

Thanks for posting the warning. I will advise my guests to take the bus or a cab. When I was there in January there were "speed traps" and police everywhere, but I didn't see anyone being pulled over.

[cabobride10]

The same thing happened to my fiance and I! We were leaving the Cancun hotel zone to head out to the airport, and a police officer pulled us over for "speeding." He asked for my fiances license, and told us to follow him to the police station to pay a fine. We explained that we could not follow him because we had a flight to catch....he asked us what cash we had on us and we paid him off so that we could go.

 

When we get married out there we are having our TA provide transfers for everyone so they will not have to deal with any of this!

[tlogan00]

Thanks for the heads up!!!

[Jacilynda]

I've found this is actually pretty common in "deveoloping countries" such as mexico. When we lived in Africa we ran into this ALL the time. Like said in the first post if you have to drive put $50 in your wallet.