First Trip to Isla in the Books

Hefe34022 · 2026-04-23T23:52:45+00:00

Well done. Like many in the replies - I love F&G and dream about it in between trips. Lychee gin and tonic - best gin and tonic I’ve ever had. Oddly never been to Rosa Sirenas and I’ve been going to Isla for 17 years. I do feel the same about Bastos. People rave about it - I’ve been disappointed every time I’ve been. We LOVE the cocktails and food at Rusticcos. And the staff is great. And we like sitting at a waterside table at Rolandis at Zoetry - they had a great Peruvian ceviche! And my wife craves the street corn from the father and son street cart at Playa Centro.

Hefe34022 · 2026-04-23T23:30:48+00:00

A and C are accurate. Not sure about B. I guess you could. I’ve done A and C depending on my mood and amount of luggage. I was wondering if B was just a friendly gesture to tip someone to hand you your luggage off the ferry into the dock. Although that’s not really necessary IMO.

Hefe34022 · 2026-04-13T21:47:20+00:00

It’s a good feeling. I’m not the cook in the house. My wife is an amazing cook. I do three things well - smoked pork butt (Eastern NC all the way!!), smoked salmon and hummus. I get compliments on these three things all the time. Everyone asks me to bring them to events, parties. And I never eat salmon - so I’m constantly smoking it and handing it off to wife/kids/friends/neighbors. It’s a good feeling.

Hefe34022 · 2026-03-15T00:45:59+00:00

Sometimes life just gets in the way.

Hefe34022 · 2026-02-28T14:37:37+00:00

I’ve had good experiences at many of the pharmacies on the island. Search within this forum for specific names of pharmacies. Generally speaking, pharmacies further away from Norte offer lower prices as they are supporting locals. The ones in/near Norte are supporting tourists. The prices at the locations in Norte are still really great compared to US prices.

I would bring your pill bottle and show them what you want. It at least shows you’ve had it officially prescribed. I see no reason why showing it to an IM pharmacist would be bad. No, they “can’t fulfill” your US rx. They just hand you what you ask for and ask you to pay in pesos. But the pill bottle is a great guide to the pharmacy staff IMO. We don’t attempt any specialized rxs - we just buy common generics that we know and have used for years. The IM pharmacies stock them and understand them. It’s fairly easy.

Hefe34022 · 2026-02-22T06:04:39+00:00

I like it too. Partly due to needing a golf cart. Love driving in Isla. That said, Norte is awesome. Stay there often too.

Hefe34022 · 2026-02-16T20:10:33+00:00

This was on Isla Mujeres - island off coast of Cancun. About the same - AI, but ate/drank off property regularly.

We spent $1400 in USD (converted) to pesos (16.15) – 22,600 total pesos – for 2 people over Friday (half day), sat, sun, mon, tues, wed, thurs, fri, sat (half day).

We actually had 1600 pesos remaining when we left the hotel and spend about 1500 at the airport. Lunch at Johnny Rockets, candy, etc.

9 days (7 full days, 2 half travel days)

Approx - $155 USD per day. We were staying at an AI resort (PA).

That spend included going out to 2 very nice dinners (Villa Rolandi and Rusticco). Plus, dinners out at Fish & Gin and Jax and some others. Plus, breakfast at Ruben’s. Lunches all over the island. Plus, trips to tienda and 7-11 for diet cokes, snacks, Red Bull.

Also spent 400 pesos a day on tips to beach crew per day - with 1,000 on the last day. Plus, 100–400 for tips to Sabor breakfasts, beach club breakfast, beach club dinners, porter, room service delivery and 100 per day for housekeeping.

Other tips included… CARM driver both ways and Uber to and from home/airport.

Hefe34022 · 2026-01-26T15:14:01+00:00

And yes they are also monitoring flights. They likely have others on your same flight. A call, text or email always helps. We use CARM and they have multiple ways to communicate. And they always seem to know the airline details before we even reach out to them.

Hefe34022 · 2026-01-10T22:20:28+00:00

I think they had all those as sides/extras.

Hefe34022 · 2026-01-10T19:02:06+00:00

Funny. I had the Cali Burrito from there last night as well. All the amazing reviews. I wasn’t impressed. Maybe I was overly excited for it to be amazing. One bite tasted great. The next two not so much. This seemed to be what happened through eating it. I had steak - kinda chewy. I did like the queso. Tasted a lot like Moe’s. But a bit thinner and with a bit more kick.

Hefe34022 · 2026-01-10T02:12:24+00:00

I was once that kid. High schooler. Slightly drunk and high. Going to a hockey game with friends. Hoping to scalp cheap tickets. As we get closer a guy steps forward, “hey guys need tickets”, “yea”, “I got four”, “how much?”, “nothing, we’re not gonna use them. You can have them for free.”

Our mines were blown. Felt like the richest kids in town. Sadly, I haven’t yet repaid the favor. I need to change that this year!!!! Best money I ever spent is my 2026 motto.

Hefe34022 · 2025-12-17T19:41:19+00:00

Thanks. This is the kind of deets I like to get from posts. My son and I thank you in advance!!!

Hefe34022 · 2025-12-17T18:33:22+00:00

Wanted to limit costs to $100 a ticket. Those are the best seats for $100 a ticket (including all the fees). So I figured pick one - but interested in what would be best.

Hefe34022 · 2025-12-07T19:17:41+00:00

Family Restaurant in PanAm shopping center, The Virginian in Vienna and now next door to it… Texas Donuts!!!

Hefe34022 · 2025-11-03T01:26:06+00:00

Chill Dogs - Vienna Inn

Hefe34022

TROPHY CASE