The Mexico Spring Breakers Missed While Partying In Cancun (PHOTOS)

You read what our Mexican friends had to say about Spring Breakers in Cancun (they're not too fond of them). And while Cancun surely remains to be the top destination for college Spring Breakers, we wanted to highlight the other side of Mexico -- it's culture, it's beautiful beaches, it's delicious food and, yes, it's unparalleled tequila.

This is the Mexico you probably missed if you spent your vacation in the all-inclusive-Disney Land of debauchery:

Comments

[valgonza08]

04:19 PM on 04/16/2012

Went to Cancun a couple of years ago and loved it.....the Castillo De Kukulcan (pyramid above) is just breath taking.Climbing it was the best experience of my life. I only hope that someday I will be able to return.

[reignking]

11:24 AM on 03/30/2012

This article really has nothing to do with Spring Break.

However, the author does know what he or she is talking about -- tacos al pastor. I miss them so, and you just can't get the real thing outside of central Mexico.

[CongoMongo]

06:18 PM on 03/29/2012

Visited Teotihuacan back in the 90's when it was safe to do so. Even then, on the road to the pyramids I passed some Federal police with HK's strung across their hips. Given the crime wave that has hit Mexico in the past decade, I would definitely not attempt the trip now in my car and alone. No way!!! Used to drive from San Antonio, Texas down I-35 and cross into Mexico and keep on rolling to Monterrey and then on to San Luis Potosi and then into Mexico City. Party like a rock star, go to the bull ring on Sunday afternoon, drnk about 40 gallons of tequila and so on....... Today, with this type of conduct I would be dead in about 30 seconds after I left Neuvo Laredo. Thank God that the college students are not dumb enough to even try to visit the interior of Mexico right now. They would all just wind up being dead or worse.

[Fernando]

02:34 PM on 03/29/2012

Yes, I'm sure spring-breakers missed out on Mexican food and tequila. I'm also sure they didn't have a taste for it BEFORE going to Mexico.

[cosomono]

02:33 PM on 03/29/2012

Teotihuacán is such a beautiful place!

[Fran Jaime]

12:21 AM on 03/30/2012

It IS truly awe inspiring!

[CancunGuidebook]

02:20 PM on 03/29/2012

I agree with some of what has been presented in this article, but certainly not everything... For starters, I have plenty of friends who were born in and still live in Cancun, and they have no problem with spring breakers. In fact, they enjoy the economic benefit of being one of the most popular spring break destinations. The truth is, there definitely is culture to be found in, and around the resort town of Cancun. As the author of http://www.peopleschoiceguide.com Cancun travel guidebook, I should know, especially considering I travel to Cancun at least once per year. Like many other towns around Mexico, Cancun hosts its share of festivals, concerts, sporting events and even has Mayan ruins in the Hotel Zone. Aside from the Mayan ruins that are scattered nearby the town of Cancun, one activity, a swim with whale sharks, http://www.swimwithwhalesharks.com is something that one can only do in a few spots around the world, Cancun being one of them! I think before trashing Cancun, or the idea of going to a high-end resort city, it is better to actually get a feel for what else there is to do and see, before saying negative things about this unique destination.

[wskoenig]

12:38 PM on 03/29/2012

Spring Breakers? Hell, most of my adult friends who visit Cancun never leave the resort compound and miss most of what the Yucatan has to offer! We spent 2 weeks in the Yucatan last year with our 3-year old son. Rented a car (you DROVE in Mexico?), had no problems at all, enjoyed our beach bungalow in Playa del Carmen for sure, but also visited Tulum, Valladolid, Merida, Uxmal and a 17th-Century Sisal Plantation (Hacienda Ochil). We didn't see an inch of Cancun other than the airport.

[Ursula Koenig]

06:57 AM on 03/29/2012

After recently discovering the Yucatan, my family's "Ellis Island", I skipped Cancun to see Tulum, Playa Del Carmen, Akumal, all kinds of Mayan villages on the way to Merida, Uxmal and the incredible centuries old hennequin plantations in various states of ruin, restaurant and boutique hotels. If you want to walk in a dream, see Hacienda Ochil. If you want even more magic, visit during Dia De Los Muertos, Patzcuaro, monarchs in Morelia, baby whales in Baja. I can keep going and none of it involves a cruise ship.

[Fran Jaime]

10:14 PM on 03/28/2012

Thank you! This is a very nice, albeit short list of beautiful places in Mexico. I would include, among many other places, Guanajuato and Queretaro cities in the states of the same name. They are beautiful colonial cities where the Mexican Independence Movement began. The food is amazing! You can eat deliciously for very little money at the food market in Guanajuato, which is right next door to the Mercado Hidalgo, where you can get traditional arts and crafts and which was designed by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel. Yep, the same guy who designed the tower in Paris! Love my country!

[Samearn]

05:27 PM on 03/28/2012

I've been to Mexico several times.

I LOVED it the first time I went - everyone was friendly and what I saw was beautiful.
Mexico City is tied with Barcelona as my favorite place on Earth - the culture, the history, the people...

Then I married a Mexican (from Mexico City) - and I love Mexico even MORE now. I've been able to experience everything from getting to borrow some sugar or herbs from a neighbor in a small town (where my husband's grandfather lives) to seeing 2,000 year old Zapotec ruins at Monte Alban in Oaxaca. I accidentally walked into a casual wedding taking place in a cathedral in the middle of town and bought Christmas eggnong from a nun who sells it and cookies to raise money for her convent - and had friendly Mariachis chase after the car trying to sweet-talk us into buying a song or two in Mexico City.

I hate that drug cartels and violence have ruined the image of Mexico in many people's eyes - because it is such a beautiful and enchanting place.

[cosomono]

02:34 PM on 03/29/2012

Couldn't agree more...and mexico city is by far the best :)

[Jim Wade]

01:09 PM on 03/28/2012

Um...Mexico City does NOT have 20 million people. 21 million is the number of people in the METROPOLITAN AREA not the city itself. Meaning all surrounding cities. Shanghai the most populated city in the world only had 17 million. Horrible correction.

[Samearn]

05:11 PM on 03/28/2012

Sorry, I have been to Mexico City and it IS that big (and, sure, some of it is outside the city borders technically, but it's continuous... it keeps going in every direction for what feels like an eternity).

http://www.worldatlas.com/citypops.htm

According to that list (by Metropolitan Area), Shanghai is #10 globally (which is still pretty darn big)

[Jim Wade]

08:16 PM on 03/28/2012

Wow, do you even read what you type? "METROPOLITAN AREA". Meaning that is the population of the METRO. Not Mexico City itself. That means Mexico city and it's surrounding cities. Metro != City.

[Jim Wade]

08:21 PM on 03/28/2012

Exact same website you linked me:
http://www.worldatlas.com/capcitys.htm
Mexico, Mexico City: city 8,735,400; metro 18,131,000

A metro is a collection of cities around one large city.

[Haley30]

12:52 PM on 03/28/2012

Not true for all spring breakers. You can party and also see the sites! Went to Mexico on spring break and visited Teotihuacán, Mexico City, and visited a few Catholic churches.

[Dastius-Krazitauc]

12:47 PM on 03/28/2012

This is encouraging. Here is an article in a Mérida, Mexico, newspaper about students from California who opted for a Spring Break in a small, remote Yucatecan village where they learned about Mayan culture.

http://www.yucatan.com.mx/20120328/nota-10/250581-springbreakers-en-tzucacab.htm

[malander]

11:44 AM on 03/28/2012

I love how Mexico keeps historic sites preserved in city cneters. The mix of old and new is very dramatic. The colors, the tradtiions and feel of Mexico are pleasant to me. For those who slam Mexico based on news reports and have never actually travelled there, you are missing some amazing experiences. Yes, there are problems, but to paint the entire country on the sensationalism of the "news" is ignorant. There is so much more to Mexico.

[jmar829]

12:03 PM on 03/28/2012

I agree. It's like saying the United States is a horrible place because of Detroit.

[guavass]

09:31 PM on 03/29/2012

or Oakland

[Ursula Koenig]

07:05 AM on 03/29/2012

There is so much more to Mexico, I very much agree. However, historic sites are everywhere there. Let people slam Mexico and sit full of fear and ignorance. There is an entire class of people, ex-pats, etc., who simply "get it" because they've experienced Mexico's magic.

[cosomono]

02:36 PM on 03/29/2012

Exactly! Plus it gives us a better experience since those fools won't be there ruining the experience :)

[Welshish]

11:40 AM on 03/28/2012

They go to Mexico because the drinking age is 18!

[Jerry Bourbon]

12:28 PM on 03/28/2012

You mean like it is in about 90% of the civilized world? Wow...

[Fran Jaime]

03:13 AM on 03/29/2012

Yes, we have this weird idea that if someone is old enough to enter into legally binding contracts, get married and join the army (possibly going off to kill some people), he's old enough to have a drink!

[Welshish]

08:25 AM on 03/29/2012

I'm with you! That was the age in NY when I was a college student!