Family Vacation Suggestions in Mexico

[theprofessor]

I want to take my family to a great Mexican location that has a lot of nightlife for the adults, fun activities for small children and a good mexican "feel" to it (not too Americanized). I would prefer an "all inclusive" resort as we do have some drinkers in the party and it would save me some money. Adult ages will be 52, 49, 28, 27, 26, 25 and 22. There will be two children aged 5 and 2. The group loves to party, play golf, swim, etc.

 

I have heard some good things about Playa Del Carmen but I haven't heard anything about any "all inclusive" resorts there? Does anyone have any suggestions that I could research? I am planning on surprising the family and paying everyones way and I want it to be a great venue for all. Thanks, in advance.

Edited January 11, 2010 by theprofessor

[CaptainHook]

I've been to Playa del Carmen several times. Very nice. It is more Americanized than it used to be, but still pretty cool. I've stayed at Royal Haciendas. Awesome resort, but not all-inclusive. You can take a ferry over to Cozumel from Playa. Good snorkeling and scuba diving around that area too. Have fun.

Edited January 11, 2010 by CaptainHook

[dmarc117]

is that you dad?

[Big John]

is that you dad?

No

[theprofessor]

is that you dad?

 

Couldn't help but to laugh.

[theprofessor]

I've been to Playa del Carmen several times. Very nice. It is more Americanized than it used to be, but still pretty cool. I've stayed at Royal Haciendas. Awesome resort, but not all-inclusive. You can take a ferry over to Cozumel from Playa. Good snorkeling and scuba diving around that area too. Have fun.

 

Thanks. I have heard that taking the ferry to Cozumel is a must do.

[dmarc117]

ive been to all 3, playa, cozumel, and cancun. from what i can remember about playa, the beach is a bit rougher than cancun. cozumel has great snorkeling and scuba. cancun has more night life than the other 2.

[CowboysDiehard]

Thanks. I have heard that taking the ferry to Cozumel is a must do.

 

If you buy beer on the ferry, order en espanol. I bought beer twice on the way over. First time, I asked in English. Was charged $2 a bottle. The second time, I ordered in spanish. He charged me half price that time.

 

Note: I was in college at the time, about 22 years ago (can't believe it's been that long). Where do the years go....

[Square]

Been to Cancun a few times and it has plenty of night life. I don't have any experience on the Playa area though. The wife and I are actually taking a cruise out of LA to do the Mexican Riviera (we leave Friday). It'll stop at Puerta Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo while having a few days at sea. Might be something to look into. It isn't a complete all inclusive as you are still on your own for your bar tab, but all your room, port taxes, and food are included. I've been on a couple of cruises (Caribbean) and I think they are a great deal bang for your buck wise. Just an idea... GL on finding something that works.

[Perchoutofwater]

Been to all three, and Playa is my favorite, but it doesn't have much of a night life. It does have a topless beach. My wife doesn't like Playa as much. She is a religious blood donor, and the local blood bank will not take blood from anyone that has been to Playa in the last 12 months. I don't do all inclusives as we don't drink very much and the food with all inclusives is usually not as good.

[theprofessor]

Been to Cancun a few times and it has plenty of night life. I don't have any experience on the Playa area though. The wife and I are actually taking a cruise out of LA to do the Mexican Riviera (we leave Friday). It'll stop at Puerta Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo while having a few days at sea. Might be something to look into. It isn't a complete all inclusive as you are still on your own for your bar tab, but all your room, port taxes, and food are included. I've been on a couple of cruises (Caribbean) and I think they are a great deal bang for your buck wise. Just an idea... GL on finding something that works.

 

My wife and I just got back yesterday from a 12 day Caribbean cruise over New Years Eve and loved every minute of it. I watched the Rose, Sugar, Fiesta and NC game from inside the pool on a 90 x 70 foot HD screen with a 90,000 watt sound system on the top deck of the ship. Very impressive and the best vacation I have ever taken. The only negative about cruising is that you get charged for everything you drink, unless it's tap water. Order a diet coke and your charged $2.00 plus a mandatory tip fee? At the end of 12 days it adds up. Our bill was a little over $2K after the 12 days but it was still a great time! I was fortunate enough to walk away with almost $600.00 on the roulette table so that helped as I made the payment before we left the ship. Enjoy your cruise this week.

[theprofessor]

from what i can remember about playa, the beach is a bit rougher than cancun.

 

What are you talking about when you say "rougher"? Are you talking about the texture of the sand? I went to Cabo in June last year and the sand was so gritty I couldn't walk on the beach without flip flops. If Playa's sand is the same I wouldn't want to go. Let me know.

[dmarc117]

What are you talking about when you say "rougher"? Are you talking about the texture of the sand? I went to Cabo in June last year and the sand was so gritty I couldn't walk on the beach without flip flops. If Playa's sand is the same I wouldn't want to go. Let me know.

 

 

the waves. if my memory is correct, i think the cancun beaches are protected by a reef so the water is much calmer. i dont think playas beaches have the reef out there.

[paulzale]

My wife and I just got back yesterday from a 12 day Caribbean cruise over New Years Eve and loved every minute of it. I watched the Rose, Sugar, Fiesta and NC game from inside the pool on a 90 x 70 foot HD screen with a 90,000 watt sound system on the top deck of the ship. Very impressive and the best vacation I have ever taken. The only negative about cruising is that you get charged for everything you drink, unless it's tap water. Order a diet coke and your charged $2.00 plus a mandatory tip fee? At the end of 12 days it adds up. Our bill was a little over $2K after the 12 days but it was still a great time! I was fortunate enough to walk away with almost $600.00 on the roulette table so that helped as I made the payment before we left the ship. Enjoy your cruise this week.

 

What cruise line. I know they charge for Booze, but regular drinks too? I ask because we are thinking about taking 2 of our nieces and 1 nephew in June and I don't want to get saddle with that kind of extra expense, especially when excursions are 60-100/person.

[Square]

What cruise line. I know they charge for Booze, but regular drinks too? I ask because we are thinking about taking 2 of our nieces and 1 nephew in June and I don't want to get saddle with that kind of extra expense, especially when excursions are 60-100/person.

You can buy a drink card for unlimited sodas but its up to you on whether they are worth it (or if you can talk the kids into sharing one and just taking turns with a soda). We have always made sure we brought a few sodas on board ahead of time (this is actually allowed by most cruise lines, just an FYI). We also smuggle some booze so I can at least have a drink or two in the room while the wife is getting ready. We'll be watching some playoff football this weekend on the ship and hopefully they have a similar setup. We also save a lot of money buy researching our excursions and booking them direct instead of through the cruise. I don't feel like I have to do one at each stop (some ports its easier/cheaper to just get a taxi to take you to the beach and hit up some local shops). The times I've price checked, I've always done better flying to Miami or LA instead of flying to Mexico and even with a lot of drinking, I couldn't justify the all inclusive (the wife is a light weight). Paul, if you want more info on cruises, google cruise critic forums and they have a ton of info on every cruise line/itinerary out there.

[paulzale]

Fantastic, wife and I will share a bottle of wine at dinner, we will also smuggle a little on board. My concern is the 3 kids, they are my sister-in-laws and really don't have the responsibility to budget or not drink a ton of soda, so the soda card maybe in order. She is going too, but can really only afford very little so we have to pony up for all the extras, we are happy to do this as it will be the first and likely only vacation out of the state let alone the country, but I always like to save where I can. We got them all passports for Christmas and it was great to see them go through the process, we should receive them in February. I will take your advice and google the cruise critic

[CaptainHook]

Cancun's beaches are jacked from the hurricane a few years ago. They lost almost all of their sand. They tried to pump it back, but to no avail. Lots of rocks and boulders there now. Most of the sand ended up in Playa, from what I heard. And it depends on the time of year you go, for nightlife. Playa is actually much better nowadays. Lots of open air bars, especially on the street that is closed to motorized traffic . . . I can't remember the name of the street now . . . very cool restaurants too. I've been to Cancun several times. The best thing about Cancun is ease/cost of travel. A bus runs the strip all day. Take ya anywhere for like 50 cents. In Playa, you'll need a cab. Cancun has every American restaurant you'd want. I'd still do Playa.

[theprofessor]

What cruise line. I know they charge for Booze, but regular drinks too? I ask because we are thinking about taking 2 of our nieces and 1 nephew in June and I don't want to get saddle with that kind of extra expense, especially when excursions are 60-100/person.

We took the Princess cruise line. We were on the Ruby Princess, a new ship that was christened in 2009. The service on this ship was incredible. there was 1,340 staff members on the ship and 2,400 passengers. They did offer the soda cards but initially it didn't sound like that good of a deal. Looking back, it might have been? Almost every night at dinner we ordered a bottle of wine, the bottle prices were what you would expect at a middle to high end restaurant. We spent some time at the Skywalkers nightclub on the 17th deck a few nights and the drinks ranged from $4.50 - $8.00 depending on what you ordered. If you asked for bottled water, soda you were charged, I don't regret any of it though as it was a fabulous ship with incredible entertainment and activities every day. I can trulty say that it was the most relaxing vacations I ever took. Something about waking up in the morning and walking out to the balcony and seeing the beauty of the caribbean sea and 85 degree weather everyday.

 

The one thing that we did that saved us a lot of money was to NOT book our excursions from the cruise line. For example, one of our first ports of call was Dominica and the main tour which brought you to an amazing rain forest, sulfur springs, banana plantation and a black volcanic sand beach was $79.00 per person booked through the ship. We got the same tour for $20pp just by walking off the ship and booking it independently. I would highly recommend taking these excursions as I found it to be an incredible experience to see others cultures, to learn about the history of each island and to witness the beauty of the land. We had a fabulous time. Our Ports of Call were Princess Cays (an island that Princess owns), St. Thomas, Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire and Aruba. St. Thomas and Dominica was our favorites. We spent the day at one of the most beautiful beaches in the world in St. Thomas, Magens Bay Beach. Unbelievable how beautiful this place was. We also loved our experience in Dominica.

I will add too that Aruba to me was a disappointment. You hear all the hype about it being a tropical paradise but to me it was too Americanized. The beaches were beautiful but most of the beaches were lined with large high rise hotels. For me, I enjoyed going to the islands that were a little more untouched.

 

Have a great time!!

Edited January 12, 2010 by theprofessor