Balancing beer bottles while doing a stomping dance— entertainment during a lunch stop.

After three day trips (Chichen Itza, Isla Mujeres and Tulum), I had it with tours, but they got me out of Cancun. At the hotel booking office these were $60-$85 each, a total rip-off. I thought for a while it might be better to rent a car and go and come at will. Then, while out street browsing the first day, I ran into a travel agent who asked me if I would be interested in going to a "promotion." If I went, he said, I could buy all three tours for $65. I said, "Why not?" One certainly earns the discount (three hours listening to an elaborate pitch for time shares). I was bussed 35 minutes to the Mayan Palace and graciously met by a guide/sales person. After a sumptuous breakfast, we toured the facility (WAY resorty—huge swimming pools, golf course, yada, yada). To avoid committing (which I never had the intention), I told them that the more I sat there (in the sales room overlooking the pool with fat, sedentary types), the more I was convinced that this was not the style of traveI I choose. Whereupon I was introduced to four other salesmen who in sucession offering different plans...from $109,000 to $27,000 for a one bedroom + studio. Every time I turned down an offer, the next salesman would offer a step down. The third one emphasized the Get-Away plan, such as in short-notice rentals. Finally, I said I was tired and could no longer do any more calculations, and could I please book the tours that were offered when I accepted this ruse? That led me to yet another sales person who offered a 12-week program for $2,900. No way am I going to commit to a system that locks you in, no matter how cost effective it sounds on paper. It was comic, but a learning experience. Later I learned that the budget for marketing time shares far exceeds their actual value. I finally got the three tours.