Yucatan trip requires planning

Item No. 1 on every Mexico-bound traveler's packing list: A passport.

If you are planning to go to -- or return from -- Mexico by air after Jan. 23 you'll need a passport. (The same holds true for air travel to Canada.)

You may apply at most major post offices and county offices, or go to the State Department website: travel.state.gov/passport/

Ask before you book

Cancun receives about 50,000 visitors from Minnesota each year, making the gateway to the Yucatan the No. 1 foreign destination for the state.

From Isla Mujeres to resorts near Tulum, the region's resorts and other tourist facilities -- including "eco" theme parks such as Xcaret -- are up and running. A caveat: Even though the area has recovered from the hurricane, it's in the middle of a boom in new construction and renovation. If a hotel is still renovating, you don't want to be right next to the work.

Before you settle on a package deal, do some research on the hotel. Call to find out if work is complete, and, if not, what kind of inconvenience to expect. This is a situation where tripadvisor.com can be very useful. At this independent website, travelers post reviews and comments on hotels, and bulletin boards allow travelers to post questions about particular lodgings.

Bargain hunting

The off-season continues until just before Christmas; for my travels in late October and early November, I bought round-trip air for $280, and spent $80 a night for an ocean-facing penthouse at the bare-bones Carisa y Palma condominiums at Kilometer 10.5 on Boulevard Kukulcan. In February and March, you can expect to pay twice as much for both.

Look for weekly postings of bargain fares and vacation packages on the websites of charter operators. Leaving on short notice can result in big savings. Traveling Wednesday to Wednesday also can save money and reduce hassles at the frenzied Cancun airport. Saturdays, when most charters arrive and leave, are particularly chaotic.

This year, Apple Vacations and Funjet Vacations have entered into the competitive mix, along with Worryfree Vacations (owned by Northwest), Northwest WorldVacations, Sun Country and Transglobal (owned by Funjet). www.suncountry.com, www.worryfreevacations.com, www.transglobalvacations.com, www.applevacations.com and www. funjet.com, www.nwa.com). Hobbit Travel also has intriguing short- term sales on its site. (www.hobbit travel.com).

Guidance

Considering that 4.6 million tourists visit Cancun each year, there's a surprising dearth of good guidebooks on the topic. One bright new entry in the field is "People's Choice Guide Cancun" by Eric Rabinowitz. Rabinowitz used a "Zagat" guide format, soliciting reviews from travelers to get feedback on nearly every resort, restaurant and club in Cancun. The result is the most comprehensive set of reviews available. Rabinowitz handles all the common traveler's issues deftly (from the proper etiquette for bribing police to the lowdown on changing currency). The guide was published after the hurricane, meaning it's about as up-to-date as possible. Rabinowitz didn't include maps, a short- coming he said he'll address in future editions. ($13.95, www.peoples choiceguide.com)

Transportation

If you are traveling independently, the best way to get to your destination is via "colectivo," a taxi that delivers up to a dozen people to destinations along the same line. Typically, it costs about $9 to get to resorts in the Hotel Zone, and correspondingly more to get to resorts on the Mayan Riviera. Taxis are expensive; it'll cost you more than $30 to get to the Hotel Zone from the airport. Unless you're planning to do a lot of sightseeing, a rental car isn't necessary. Public buses run up and down Boulevard Kukulcan every few minutes and cost only 6 pesos -- a little more than 50 cents.

Chris Welsch • 612-673-7113 • By CHRIS WELSCH cwelsch@startribune.com