OBH Tips, Tricks and Advice---

[RaspberryJam]

If you have an Apple device-you can iMessage or FaceTime for free as long as you have wifi.


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[cacurry]

there's also a free app called Whatsapp that will allow you to message over wifi for free - works really well!

9 days! 

[RaspberryJam]

6 inches of snow today and a fore casted 22" on Tuesday.  I'm so ready for OBH!

[DayDrinkin]

bumpity bump because this thread was very helpful to me last time around as a newbie.

[werduga]

Having been to both I'd say don't forget singles to tip with, coozies, and stuff to decorate your outdoor space. And don't be afraid to leave the Hard Rock as there is lots of cool stuff relatively close to the resort. 

[MMJCOBRA]

Room decorations are a good tip and one we made note of at OBH2. Get creative and make something to hang onto your balcony rail.

[nattaragga]

Having been to both I'd say don't forget singles to tip with, coozies, and stuff to decorate your outdoor space. And don't be afraid to leave the Hard Rock as there is lots of cool stuff relatively close to the resort. 

What type of stuff is there to do relatively close to the hotel? I'm trying to convince my fiancee to do things outside the hotel, but he is kind of afraid because of the security situation in Mexico.

[sillyboob]

Having been to both I'd say don't forget singles to tip with, coozies, and stuff to decorate your outdoor space. And don't be afraid to leave the Hard Rock as there is lots of cool stuff relatively close to the resort. 

What type of stuff is there to do relatively close to the hotel? I'm trying to convince my fiancee to do things outside the hotel, but he is kind of afraid because of the security situation in Mexico.

Playa Del Carmen is about half an hour away (bars, shopping, food, parasailing & jet ski rentals) as are ecoparks Xcaret & Xel Ha.  There are cenotes and white sand beaches near the Hard Rock (note the beach at the Hard Rock is pretty weak - more of a cove really).  The ruins at Tulum are less than an hour away.  There are also excursions planned during the day through the Hard Rock and OBH you may want to look into.

[mancityzens]

What is the situation with posters?  I've read on older threads that there are several hundred available during the week of OBH.  Is it safe to assume that as long as I show up early to the merch area, I shouldn't have a problem obtaining one?

[Derek713]

Just a heads up for anyone booking post nights down in Tulum, 16 hotels were seized by the government..... http://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/one-of-mexicos-hottest-beach-destinations-is-in-turmoil/ar-AAhowhJ?li=BBnbfcL

[rab7607]

What is the situation with posters?  I've read on older threads that there are several hundred available during the week of OBH.  Is it safe to assume that as long as I show up early to the merch area, I shouldn't have a problem obtaining one?

You won't have a problem. For both OBH trips, I showed up about an hour before merch time. Probably 30-40 deep at that point, but no problem getting what I wanted. I do believe posters sold out both years, but the poster run for OBH2 was in the 800s. Go early, talk to your line neighbors, have fun. They'll even have a waiter bring you drinks!

[Crayton09]

Having been to both I'd say don't forget singles to tip with, coozies, and stuff to decorate your outdoor space. And don't be afraid to leave the Hard Rock as there is lots of cool stuff relatively close to the resort. 

What type of stuff is there to do relatively close to the hotel? I'm trying to convince my fiancee to do things outside the hotel, but he is kind of afraid because of the security situation in Mexico.

The Riviera Maya has less crime than some parts of the States. Food, drinks, and everything else off the resort costs just as much as most tourist areas in the US, so due to the amount of revenue generated, crime is low. Really all you have to worry about is pick pockets, but that's mainly if you're in Playa Del Carmen or Cancun. Tell your husband to grow a pair and venture off the resort, he'll be okay! Jaja, jk jk. I'd even recommend renting a car and driving yourself, but there are taxi's to take you wherever, it's just more expensive. We did a tour with a local company that took us to the Coba Pyramid(last one you can climb), a roadside taco stand with the best Cochinita Pibil tacos I've ever had, a cenote/cave snorkel,  a lagoon snorkel, and finally a dinner by the beach. It was around $200 per person(included dinner), but I thought totally worth it. The ruins at Tulum are also a must, and when you're done if you walk south down a lil' road there are multiple beach entrances with amazing restaurants and dudes with boats who will take you out to the reef to snorkel and see the ruins from the water. Xpu Ha beach is also like 10 minutes away. Use every opportunity you can to eat off the resort also, as the food sucks balls and seriously, some of the best seafood you'll ever have is off the resort.  If I can think of any other stuff I'll post later!

[slappymoe]

Use every opportunity you can to eat off the resort also, as the food sucks balls

god bless folks with an adventurous spirit and the money to indulge said spirit, but i'm already paying a lot....A LOT....of money for this trip, as are we all. that includes the ability to eat free at the resort, ball-sucking be damned.  here's one traveler who can't justify going out and searching for a way to spend more $$$ on food when there's unlimited grub available on demand.

[RaspberryJam]

I'm with the get out and explore crowd. I spend a lot of money to travel to another country and I'm going to spend another $50 to get off campus and look around a bit.


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[staurie28]

Use every opportunity you can to eat off the resort also, as the food sucks balls

god bless folks with an adventurous spirit and the money to indulge said spirit, but i'm already paying a lot....A LOT....of money for this trip, as are we all. that includes the ability to eat free at the resort, ball-sucking be damned.  here's one traveler who can't justify going out and searching for a way to spend more $$$ on food when there's unlimited grub available on demand.

Honestly the food is not that bad, it's not high end restaurant quality but it is not bad.  And if you time and plan properly to go to the actual restaurants for dinners, it's pretty good really!  The buffets are obviously going to be, well, buffet quality food.  But even that isn't that bad!  For a quick bite during the shows they are perfect drunk food :)

[Crayton09]

Use every opportunity you can to eat off the resort also, as the food sucks balls

god bless folks with an adventurous spirit and the money to indulge said spirit, but i'm already paying a lot....A LOT....of money for this trip, as are we all. that includes the ability to eat free at the resort, ball-sucking be damned.  here's one traveler who can't justify going out and searching for a way to spend more $$$ on food when there's unlimited grub available on demand.

Fair enough, I understand money will be tight for lots of folks attending. I will say this, you can do Tulum and a few other things off the resort for relatively cheap and I'd say you're really missing out if you don't being that it's so close and accessible. We took a taxi van with a group of like six and I think it cost us around $10 per person roundtrip. Tell your cab driver you want some Cochinita Pibil(whole pig slow cooked in spices) tacos on the way, there are roadside spots that look like dumps, but are the bomb. The tacos cost around 50 cents apiece.  Paid around $25 for access to Tulum and for a boat ride to see the ruins from the water(certain ones you can only see from the water) and to snorkel on the reef. The place we ate at on the beach near Tulum had amazing seafood and the entrees were priced around $10-$15 which is pretty reasonable. Also, the staff are cool with giving you basically as many beers as you want, so if you pack a soft cooler or stop and pick up a big cooler(there are big box stores on the way in Playa) you could essentially drink just your resort beer while out and about. There's also bottles of liquor in your room that you could always bring with you as well. So there you go, something kind of adventurous and on the cheaper side.