Museo Subacuático de Arte
The Underwater Museum of Art is relatively new, but looks like an ancient ruin. It's an underwater sculpture museum that you can see by glass-bottomed boat, snorkeling or scuba diving.
Sept 2018
Eisenhower
Air
Get Carried Away in Cancun
Where summer never ends
Papel picado banners are strung during celebrations
It's September but summer doesn't have to be over. Along the Yucatan Peninsula, the sun is always shining, the cabanas open, the discos hopping. Cut loose and extend your summer break with a flight to Cancun. It's a party place and a tropical paradise. The perfect destination for a last fling before the fall.
Cancun is just across the Gulf of Mexico. It won't take long to get there from Wichita — Eisenhower Airport offers several flights — but you'll need a passport. Makes sense. It's more than a different country, it's a different world. The waters are turquoise, the sand is white. There are gentle whale sharks in the surf and rare birds in the air. There's no place like it in North America. And the Mayan ruins, like at nearby Chichen Itza, are a literal wonder of the world.
Like much of the Caribbean, it's touristy. That means hotels and high-end restaurants, guided tours and organized fun are plentiful. That also means it's a safe place to be and let yourself go a little. You can always leave the hotel zone and grab a taco at a neighborhood joint deeper in the city or walk an undeveloped beach if you're feeling adventurous. It's also possible to get away from the crowds to sleepier places, like Isla Holbox, a quiet seaside village with sandy streets.
It's a party place and a tropical paradise.
Grab a taco at a neighborhood joint
You would be hard pressed to find fresher seafood or better cocktails or a crazier nightlife than in Cancun. It's a destination famous for living well and partying hard. That's not to say it can't be fun for the whole family. Para-sailing, scuba, fishing. Cancun has plenty to offer in the way of watersports. And wildlife. Snorkel with the whale sharks off the coast or spot the sea turtles flocking to the shores of Parque Nacional Isla Contoy during nesting season, which ends in October.
Convento de San Antonio de Padua in Yucatan
See colorful buildings on Isla Mujeres
Enjoy snorkeling and other watersports
Cancun and the Yucatan Peninsula offer a completely different vacation experience — ancient culture, tropical nights, tranquil beaches — than you'll find anywhere in the United States. And it's so close. You should go. Even if sand and surf are not your thing, there's always the jungle. You won't find that here, either.
What to do and see around cancun
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Parque Nacional Isla Contoy
Take a boat trip to this island sanctuary, unspoiled by development or time. It's home to unique species of birds and perhaps the most peaceful place on the peninsula.
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Isla Holbox
Here's where the locals go to relax in flip-flops, far from the glitz of the hotels. It's a small island where life is laid back but the views are spectacular.
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Tulum
Tulum offers one of the top beaches in Mexico, with sugar-like sands and jade green waters. It's also an ancient seaport where you'll find well-preserved Mayan ruins.
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Playa del Carmen
Playa del Carmen is one of the top diving destinations in the world, featuring underwater caverns and dazzling sea life.
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Chichen Itza
Take a day-trip to Chichen Itza. It's the most famous and best restored of the Yucatan Maya sites and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
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Rio Secreto Underground River Tour with Crystal Caves
Explore a newly-discovered underground river at Rio Secreto. You'll walk and swim through the caverns. They'll even provide the lamps and wetsuits.
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Isla Mujeres Garrafon Natural Reef Park
Explore Punta Sur with its stunning landscape of cliffs and reefs. Walk, bicycle, kayak and snorkel in the park.
Frontier's low fare flights to Denver bring new possibilities
Frontier Airlines began low-fare flights to Denver from Wichita on Aug. 30. Not a day too soon for travelers weary of the long drive or steep prices to fly to the Mile High City. For local business leaders with markets in the mountains, the economical flights are an even bigger boon. They call them a win for their bottom line, and for Wichita.
Berry Companies, Inc., a construction and heavy equipment dealer based in Wichita, has seven branches in Colorado. That means frequent travel for training and other meetings. In recent years, the company cut back on meetings in Denver due to the expense of flying out of Wichita. Flying Denver team members to Wichita was not an option either.
16th Street Mall
"We actually had one of our meetings in Dallas because we could move eight of our people in Denver to a Dallas meeting for essentially the same price as moving one person to Wichita,"said Walter Berry, president of Berry Companies, Inc.
When it was absolutely necessary to fly commercial to Denver, Berry said the company would book flights out of Salina, which provided cheaper service. "Obviously, that's not convenient in either direction because of the logistics," he said.
Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Frontier's new service to Denver will mean Berry's team can get back to business as usual. He also sees it as a boost for other regional businesses.
"When you have reasonable air fares, it just opens up your markets," Berry said. "You're closer to your different markets. In our case with Denver, we'll be able to move more people here. We'll send more of our people out there. It just shrinks our world and it makes everything much more accessible. It is definitely going to be a positive for the local economy."
IMA Financial Group, an insurance broker and wealth management company headquartered in Wichita, has other major offices in Denver, Kansas City and Dallas, and smaller satellite offices sprinkled throughout the country. Its largest corporate offices are in Wichita and Denver. That means frequent flights between the two cities. But not recently.
The company opted for video conferencing or booking the corporation's fractional share aircraft when it was absolutely necessary to be there in person.
Denver Art Museum
Mile High Stadium
"I will tell you that it started to make more sense to take that than it did to fly commercial because of the expense," said Kyle Orndorff, president of IMA's Wichita operations.
Orndorff called Frontier's new service to Denver "a nice surprise." The company is already acting on it, making plans to book flights and spreading the word.
"We need to be absolutely using that airline," he said, adding that it was important to keep the Denver service in Wichita not only for the cost and convenience of getting there, but of getting people here.
Rocky Mountains National Park
More people coming here is a win for the city, said Orndorff, an unabashed believer in Wichita. IMA flies the Wichita flag and local employees wear pins. When travelers come in, he always shows them around. Proudly.
"It just continues to put Wichita in a favorable light and show people that this a viable city," Orndorff said. "This is a great city to do business in."
What to do in Denver
(Besides Business)
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Union Station
Union Station is an historical district that is also a happening transportation hub in downtown Denver. You can catch a light rail there from the airport. It's where the action is.
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Denver Art Museum
It's the most major museum between Chicago and the West Coast, with some 70,000 diverse pieces on display. The Denver Art Museum, famous for its collection of American Indian art, is a mile-high must see.
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Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre
It's just 15 miles outside of Denver. The stunning, naturally formed venue is a site to see — and hear. It's a world-famous venue for some of the biggest acts in the world.
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Larimer Square
If Union Station is the city's nervous system, Larimer Square is Denver's heart. It's where the city began. Today, the historic district boasts quaint shops, high-end restaurants and lively nightlife.
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Denver Botanic Gardens
24 acres of cultivated beauty in three diverse sections. Natural meadows of wildflowers, a Japanese garden, an old homestead and farm. It's hard to top the mountains, but the gardens do their best.
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Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Explore the universe or the ancient world at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. There are more than a million pieces in its collection, from minerals to mummies to meteorites.
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Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies
Take yourself out to the ballgame. The the stadium is worth seeing even if you're not a baseball fan. Fountains. Thin air. Really good beer. Goes down great with peanuts and Cracker Jack.
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Denver Zoo
It is home to 4,100 animals, representing 600 species, and is by far the state's most visited cultural destination, hosting more than 2 million humans a year.
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Hike in the Rocky Mountains
Fresh air, perspective, exercise. You can do it a little on a well-marked trail at low elevation, or a lot while scaling a fourteener. Take your time and take it all in. The journey is the reward.
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Spend a Day on the Slopes
Pack your skis and hit the slopes. Denver is a great base to start from on a ski vacation in the Rocky Mountains. You won't have to go far to find a lodge.
Rocky Mountain Rankings
What's the best way to spend time in Denver? We asked for your vote online as part of our Mountain Time contest. Here are the results.
Hike in the Rocky Mountains
Red Rocks
Denver Zoo
Larimer Square
Coors Field
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Credits
| Editor | Valerie Wise, Wichita Airport Authority |
| Creative Agency | Greteman Group |
| Creative Director | Sonia Greteman |
| Art Director | Meghan Wolfe |
| Contributing Writer | Barry Owens |
| Photography | Andy Blackledge, Peter Maas, Carlos Delgado, Loreenak, Isla Mujeres Vacations, Visit Denver, Stan Obert, Evan Simon, Steve Mohlenkamp, Steve Crecelius |
Eisenhower Air is published for the traveling public by the Wichita Airport Authority. We welcome your comments and suggestions. Please direct them to Valerie Wise at [email protected]. We also encourage you to share articles through social media and email. Help us spread the word about the good things happening at our airport.
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