Recommendations for Mexico

[lovelylulu]

In a couple of months I''m turning 30 and I''ve been debating how to mark the occassion, if at all. My DH just turned 30 in November and we had this great bash with friends and family. It was perfect for him. but, for me. well i picture being barefoot in the sand, in the sunshine, perhaps cocktail in hand

ocean very nearby...

I''ve never been to mexico and think that it might be a fun little getaway.

I live on the east coast, so I don''t know if that factors in to the ultimate destination. We prefer to steer clear of big resorts and prefer smaller, boutique hotels.

Does anyone have any fantastic suggestions?

 

[Sparkalicious]

You may be interested in something along the Mayan Riviera? It''s beautiful and close to Cancun but far enough away that you should be able to find the type of accommodation you prefer ... not as touristy in some areas along the Mayan Riviera as it is in only others closer to Cancun.

Here is a great link that will list some cities you might be interested in staying in and some activities you might enjoy on your vacation. When my friend and I went, we loved XCaret - It''s an Eco-Archaelogical park with a ton of stuff to do - from horseback riding to snorkeling and scuba diving to various types of tours etc. We also had a great time at Chichen Itza! It was an absolute must see.

The beaches are absolutely gorgeous down there as well. Have fun if you go!

 

[Julianna]

Puerto Morelos on the Mayan Riviera. It's about 25 minutes southwest of Cancun airport. All the beaches, none of the tourists (well very few, anyway). My family just went there for a week for Christmas; it was unbelievable. It's about an hour away from Xel Ha (touristy!!!) and Tulum and Chichen Itza and eh....maybe 30 minutes from Carmen del Playa. We stayed at a local villa, half a block off of the beach. There are a ton o' villas there with rooms. The only thing I'd warn you of is that it's a fishing town, not a resort. Thus, when the city water goes out temporarily, so does your water. Same goes for power. We weren't too worried about either of these things, though, as we spent most of our time on the beach or at ruins or walking around town or snorkeling or what have you. The people are VERY nice and not scammy or frightening in any way. I spent an entire day walking around alone and didn't have one unpleasant experience.

 

[divergrrl]

playa del carmen.

Fly into Cancun, drive 45 mins south.

FYI...i did not like Chichen itza....DH & I preferred the ruins in Tulum..(smaller, on the ocean...shorter drive away)

Playa is amazing....lots of Europeans, cobblestone streets, funky restaurants (do NOT do all inclusive, its a "foodies paradise" and the food is to die for. Tons of great restaurants you can walk to) live jazz music pouring out of bars....30-something and up crowds, no college kid spring breakers doing body shots.. LOL

We loved it so much on our honeymoon, we went back 6 months later.

 

[monarch64]

DH took me on my first flight, first trip out of the US to Playa Del Carmen. He''d never been there either, and we both really loved it. We went in late January of 2001...we''ve always said we''d go back but between seeing other countries and places within the continental US, and hurricane damage...we haven''t been able to get back there. We did an all inclusive stay at a Riu resort, which was actually not as touristy as I thought it would be...the hotel itself was pretty spread out and we never had any issues with feeling like it wasn''t intimate enough, or too many kids (I don''t remember seeing any!), etc. We took a couple cab rides off the resort, into downtown at night to do the whole Senor Frogs/club thing one night, and one day we went to a less inhabited beach where DH promptly hooked up with some guy and went snorkleing which I was terrified of...he had so much fun...we ended up spending half that afternoon at a beach bar sitting in rope swings having fruity drinks and chatting with this guy from England who was there on holiday as well...

We made lots of fun temporary friends, I think more so than if we''d stayed at a boutique hotel. I''m really not huge on socializing on vacations but this was an exception, I had so much fun and nothing made me uncomfortable. Well, except the crazy German lady who decided she wanted to try making out with my husband (we weren''t even engaged yet, but we were very obviously a couple) on the dance floor of a sister resort''s discotheque.

That was honestly the only 15 minutes of the trip that was negative for me...everything else was truly memorable and we really enjoyed our time there. The sand is wonderful (crushed white shells, not hot on your feet at all), they bring you drinks in actual glasses all day long...the food was fabulous, and neither of us had any digestive issues at all.

I''m sure there are many other accomodations in Playa Del Carmen. I don''t mean to be biased, just giving you my experience of how wonderful a time we had at the riu. Oh, forgot to mention (and this is super cheesy but i thought it was cool): every day when our room had been cleaned/turned down, we came back from the beach to find guest towels in the shape of cutesy animals like rabbits and frogs to flowers to cactai. And I loved the fact that there were bottles of liquor within the entryway to our room waiting to be poured into drinks at any time. THAT was fun! It was an all around enjoyable experience that I''ve never forgotten.

 

[eks6426]

I love the Mexican Riveria area. I don''t like Playa del Carmen or Cancun at all. Both are way to commercial for me. I love Tulum..it''s definitely more boutique and has a really interesting laid back bohemian vibe to it. The majority of the hotels are small. The beach is just gorgeous (as it is along the whole coast). There''s just something really unique about the area. It''s an eco tourism area and many of the hotels don''t have air conditioning so that might be a bit too roughing it for you. If any of the Tulum eco hotels interest you, let me know and I can give you some first hand reports.

For a less bohemian feel, I like Akumal which is south of Playa del Carmen maybe 25 minutes. The bay is gorgeous and has fantastic snorkeling. Last year we were snorkeling with dozens of sea turtles...very cool.

There is a really good online website with very active forums like PS for the area. It''s called locogringo.com.

http://locogringo.com/

Oh, and if you''re going to rent a car there is a great little car rental place called EasyWay car rental. The rates are usually less than the big guys and I have had really nice service from them 2 years in a row.

http://www.easywayrentacar.com/rates.php

 

[Julianna]

Date: 2/13/2008 2:41:26 AM
Author: divergrrl
playa del carmen.

Fly into Cancun, drive 45 mins south.

FYI...i did not like Chichen itza....DH & I preferred the ruins in Tulum..(smaller, on the ocean...shorter drive away)

Playa is amazing....lots of Europeans, cobblestone streets, funky restaurants (do NOT do all inclusive, its a ''foodies paradise'' and the food is to die for. Tons of great restaurants you can walk to) live jazz music pouring out of bars....30-something and up crowds, no college kid spring breakers doing body shots.. LOL

We loved it so much on our honeymoon, we went back 6 months later.

HEE HEE in my post I put Carmen Del Playa instead of Playa Del Carmen. I needed some sleep.

 

[ellaila]

We went to Zihuatanejo for our honeymoon and loved it! It''s on the Pacific Coast though, so a bit of a longer trip (prob fly into Mexico City, then smaller plane to Zihua). There are some gorgeous places to stay there too! We stayed at Amuleto, which is a boutique hotel with only six rooms I believe. Absolute heaven! The outdoor showers are to die for ...

http://www.amuleto.net/

 

[lovelylulu]

The outdoor showers are to die for ...

That sounds just about perfect!!!

I''m going to have to do some more research about the places everyone suggested. thanks!!

we''re not too much for overly-touristy spots. more off the beaten track types...

considering the nasty weather DC is having, I wish I was there now

 

[ellaila]

lulu, some other beautiful places in zihua are:

la casa que canta
villa del sol
casa kau kan

kaukan and amuleto are more remote; the other two are right on the beach, i believe

 

[monarch64]

Date: 2/13/2008 9:49:41 AM
Author: Julianna

Date: 2/13/2008 2:41:26 AM
Author: divergrrl
playa del carmen.

Fly into Cancun, drive 45 mins south.

FYI...i did not like Chichen itza....DH & I preferred the ruins in Tulum..(smaller, on the ocean...shorter drive away)

Playa is amazing....lots of Europeans, cobblestone streets, funky restaurants (do NOT do all inclusive, its a ''foodies paradise'' and the food is to die for. Tons of great restaurants you can walk to) live jazz music pouring out of bars....30-something and up crowds, no college kid spring breakers doing body shots.. LOL

We loved it so much on our honeymoon, we went back 6 months later.

HEE HEE in my post I put Carmen Del Playa instead of Playa Del Carmen. I needed some sleep.

LOL, we knew what you meant, silly!!!

 

[scarlet16]

What about Cabo San Lucas? We were there for a wedding last January and it was FANTASTIC. We rented a huge, gorgeous house with a private pool and it was cheap-o! I can try to find the name of the realtor who booked the house for us.

 

[lovelylulu]

scarlet, i would really appreciate that info. a private house/pool could be a great option! was the beach nearby?

thanks!!

 

[Elmorton]

I ADORE Ixtapa/Zihua. If you don''t want a big resort, stay away from the hotels on the strip in Ixtapa (it''s a small strip, but nonetheless a strip) and stay in Zihua instead. It''s an AMAZING destination all together, and I''d love to go back, but DH and I have a little mantra that the world is too big to go to one place twice. I''ve been working on planning a return trip to Mexico though with DH and my parents - mom is a Spanish teacher and wants to see real Mexico, while the rest of us want a cushy vacay. I know there were a lot of votes for the Riviera Maya, but it does seem a lot more built up and we really couldn''t find a spot that seemed right for us.

Our next destination is going to be Mazatlan. One of my good friends was married there last year, and while it does have its share of large hotels, it''s mostly a vacation-condo type place and a lot smaller than some of the other resort towns.

I''ve heard AMAZING things about Huatulco - it has perfect weather all year long, endless beach, not a huge amount of tourism, but a lot less to see/explore from what I read on tripadvisor. The reviews all seem to have the same theme - relaxation, serenity, etc.

I highly recommend going to the Pacific coast, though. DH wanted to go to Zihuatanejo because of the line in Shawshank Redemption "I hope the Pacific is as blue as my dreams" -- and we found that it was bluer than we could imagine.

 

[upgrading mama]

last January hubby and I went to Puerto Vallarta. Great choice bc it isn''t super touristy hot spot as far as lots of clubs,etc.

The area is beautiful, lots to see and everyone is very friendly ; the service in Mexico is great!

I hope you have a great getaway!