I was first introduced to the orphanage in Cancun, called Casa Hogar Para Niños Esperanza, which means “House of Hope for Children” by my friend TJ Carter. TJ is an expat living in Cancun. He has become increasingly involved with the orphanage and raising funds for their needs. He helps with organizing events for the kids, day-to-day medical and educational needs along with finding sponsors for weekly grocery shopping trips.
TJ has started a group of like-minded people eager to help the less-fortunate kids, which he is calling FOCH for Friends of Casa Hogar. On the website and facebook group, TJ has inspired many other to become involved. His ongoing mission is to provide food, clothing, education, love & cultural entertainment to these kids. His work is much needed since the orphanage receives ZERO government funding.
Sponsors and the kids from Casa Hogar recently went on a field trip to Crococun Zoo and as you can imagine the kids LOVED it. Check out the photos here.
Friends of Casa Hogar are looking for sponsors for the weekly grocery trips and for monetary pledges. To find out more about Casa Hogar and how you can help, please visit http://www.friendsofcasahogar.org/ or on Facebook here.
Whether you want to shop in Cancun’s Hotel Zone or if you prefer the downtown markets, this guide will help you in your shopping journey.
Kukulcan Plaza at KM 13 This shopping plaza holds stores such as Hugo Boss, Harley Davidson, Señor Frogs Store, ENVY, & Oakley. On one end of the mall is ‘Luxury Avenue’, an ultra-high-end shopping plaza and contains Ultrafemme, Burberry, Coach, Fendi, Cartier & Louis Vuitton just to name a few. There are also several restaurants including Ruth´s Chris Steak House and Tequila Grill.
Stores include Tommy Hilfiger, Zara, Bvlgari, Nine West, Ultrafemme, Deportes Martí, Sunglass Island, Guess, Diesel, Envy, Máximo Dutti, Liverpool, SOHO, United Colors of Benetton and Sr. Frog’s Boutique. Plaza La Isla also has some of the best restaurants in Cancun including The Elefanta, Thai Lounge, La Madonna, Italianni’s, Chili’s, Johnny Rockets, Hooters, & Planet Hollywood. Here you can also take in a movie or go through the Interactive Aquarium.
is a large multilevel plaza with shopping, restaurants, and entertainment which transforms into the Party Center hub at night featuring CocoBongo and many other famous clubs. This plaza is more for restaurants than for shopping, featuring Cambalache, Carlos n’ Charlie’s, Hard Rock Cafe, Chili’s and more. Here you may see locals with animals like monkeys and bobcats. Please do not pay to have your picture taken with these wild animals. There is an ongoing campaign to stop the abuse of these animals and you can help by refusing to give the handlers your money.
There is store after store after store, mostly selling the same souvenir t-shirts, shot glasses, sunglasses, sand-in-a-bottle, starfish lamps and many other trinkets to take home with you. Be prepared to barter for the best price or buy two and save money. Some folks really enjoy this little dance to get a discount…try walking away from a salesperson and the price usually drops in half.
The original mall is Plaza Las Americas. In the past couple of years the Malecon was built on, making this new merged mall the BEST shopping in downtown Cancun. Plaza Las Americas has stores such as Liverpool, Sears, Sanborn’s, VIPS, YAK & Sports Book, Dorian’s, Chedraui Grocery Store, Zara, Bershka, Lob, Martí, Mixup, Mundo deportivo, Shasa, C&A, Versalles, Ultrafemme, Zingara, Sunglass Island, Furor, Hang Ten and more. Malecon is partially indoors and partially open air and contains clothing stores, jewelry shops, and shoe stores. There are also book stores, furniture stores, home furnishings stores, a music store, and large Mexican department stores. The open air section has a Starbucks, food kiosks, a carousel and other activities for children. Restaurants include California Pizza Kitchen, Chili’s, McDonalds (with a McCafe) and Hooters. On Sundays the mall is packed with locals.
This is much more for locals than for tourists visiting Cancun. Very little English is spoken at Market 23 and some days it smells quite funky. You’ll find vegetables, spices, trinkets, counterfeit or copied DVDs, and chicharon (deep fried pig skin). Market 23 is truly a Mexican market with incense & flowers, candles and religious dolls. The souvenirs at Market 23 are much more traditional than the mass-produced items at the tourist markets. Tip: It would be helpful to have a Spanish speaker with you to get the most out of the experience.
There is one in Cancun and one in Cozumel. These are great for the whole family to be able to see the ocean floor from the safety of the submarine. Again, visibility may be slightly diminished. Discounts on 
Cancun now has a Mayan Museum in the hotel zone. It is only about $5 per person and a great way to learn about the culture. 
Buses. The bus company is called ADO. Plan on extended wait times for the bus to arrive and then to fill to maximum capacity. This option is better suited for more seasoned travelers. The bus will take you to the Downtown Bus depot. From there, you’ll need a taxi to your hotel. As of the date of this post, the Bus costs about $4 to the depot, then a taxi will cost you about $10 to the Cancun Hotel Zone for $3 to Downtown Cancun hotels. This is a great option if you are staying in a downtown Cancun hotel.
We checked in at Cancun Bay Resort & Marina, located at KM 3.5 in the Cancun Hotel Zone. Check in was fast so we had about 30 minutes at the palapa before the start of the tour. This worked out well since we had skipped breakfast and the palapa sold croissants and bottled water. We split one of each which cost us $36 pesos (~about $3 USD).
By 11:00 AM we were back on the boat, heading over to the island. Our first stop was at Isla Contoy dock. We had 1 hour free time on the island to shop, rent a golf cart, or hang out at the bars/restaurants. We skipped the golf carts and just walked around a bit, then ended up at the Isla Contoy dock bar where we watched an English fellow eat a scorpion pickled in Tequila. Good times!
We boarded the boat about 3:00 PM to head back to Cancun. Just before we got there the captain set anchor and put up the spinnaker. The spinnaker is like para sailing, except you are anchored. The video shows it better than I can describe it. It is not very easy, however it looked well worth the effort.
The Cancun Map is actually a 4 map set. The large map contains all the hotels in Cancun hotel zone, downtown Cancun and Puerto Juarez. But if you think you are just getting a map, you are dead wrong. There is a whole section on tips for getting around Cancun (bus info, taxis, public transportation, private transfers) which is invaluable for first-time travelers and seasoned vacationers alike. The maps also detail favorite restaurants, popular tours , walking tours and more. I love reading the tips they include, like Hotel Zone on a Budget, Access to Public Beaches, Should you go All-Inclusive?, and their “off-the-beaten-path” restaurant finds.
This is one of the things we volunteer our time for and love doing. The spay and neuter clinics in Cancun have become very popular and this week the goal is to spay or neuter 1,000 animals. These clinics are sponsored and organized by 
My name is Trina. I moved to Cancun in 2005 from the United States. It was not an easy move and I had to overcome many challenges, but along the way I met some awesome people. I worked for many years for a travel agent here in Mexico before I decided to go out on my own and offer travelers the best service and advice about Cancun that I had learned over the years. This is my dream come true.