Cancun or Cozumel???

[lukenick1]

Looking to travel to Mexico next July, 2 families with kids ranging in age from 8-16. Looking for a fun beach vacation with calm turquoise waters for kids to swim, entertainment at hotel, activities, etc.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

I like the Barcelo Maya. Nice rooms, nice beach. Out side of Cancun and so very quiet. All inclusive. We went through Fun Jet and it was a pretty nice package of air hotel and transfers.

 

[gk90]

If you want a quiet Cancun beach make sure to stay on the north side of the beach--it's shaped like a giant 7 so you want to be on the top/horizontal stroke of the 7) The waves on the beaches on the downward stroke of the 7 (facing east) are quite rough.

 

[Tampa Mousekeeter]

Cozumel....for sure...of course I'm jaded since we had a home there for a few years. Cozumel is quieter, prettier, and safer. The beaches are superb, however the hotels are not as big or as fancy as the mainland. Shopping is also better in Cancun, but we would take the ferry over, shop and come back...not a big deal and a very nice ride.

 

[elmo2wdw]

Just back from Riviera Maya (area below Cancun)...it was awesome!!!! Lots of activies and beautiful beaches!!! Planning a trip for the whole family in the next year or two!

 

[lovebuzz]

go to Playa Del carmen

 

[mfd25wife]

I like the Barcelo Maya. Nice rooms, nice beach. Out side of Cancun and so very quiet. All inclusive. We went through Fun Jet and it was a pretty nice package of air hotel and transfers.

Same recommendation. Been there twice and loved it. There are children's activities daily and plenty of things for others to do also. There is a small shopping area next to it, as well as a disco (for the adults), and a small medical office. There is a live show every night. Also, there is a buffet for all meals, a buffet for lunch only, and 5 full service restaurants, which you would get tickets to based on number of days of the stay. The food has been great. And, when they say it is all inclusive, it really is. You pay for no meals, snacks, drinks, water, sodas, etc.

If you want to go into Playa, there are vans, taxis, and even a bus that will come by at the entrance. The vans will make arrangements for dropoff and pickup. We hired one so all 9 of us could go together. We booked through Delta vacations once and Expedia once. If you'll sign up with ebates.com, you will receive a rebate back on the trip also.

 

[QT Pooh]

We love the Puerto Aventuras area (just below Playa del Carmen)...there are several all-inclusives around there but there are also several condos to rent if you go to vrbo.com. The beach is gorgeous and there's great snorkeling that you can swim to right from shore. They also have the dolphin swim in the complex where there are manatees and dolphins and several restaurants.

There's some pretty great bargains to be had in Mexico right now. Enjoy!!

 

[Tinkerbelle32]

Another vote for Cozumel. We went to both this summer and have been in the past as well. Waters in Cancun are not calm, compared to Coz. In fact, we were able to get in the water for the entire week in Cancun. Red flags were out every day. I also, was very tired of trying to be ripped off everywhere we went, people constantly asking for tips. I've been all over Mexico, due to the fact that I used to go to UNAM in Mexico City, and this was the worst treatment I have ever received. Now, the people in the resort were very nice, but everywhere else was a different story. Coz. is so much more laid back, great for snorkeling, friendly people, etc. Not to mention awesome priced silver jewelry. Have fun deciding!!

 

[lukenick1]

thanks so far for the suggestions.....
questions about Cozumel...how do you get there??? Do they have their own airport? Is it small a small island? Any excursions there??

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

We stayed at the Occidental Grand Xcaret a couple years ago. It is just south of Playa del Carmen. Dh and I commented many times while there how great it would be to bring kids. They don't have the long sandy beach as other resorts but have an inlet to a smaller beach. The little cove in the inlet is completely calm and safe for kids to swim. We snorkeled around the cove a lot and there were tons of fish to see without the danger! The resort itself was nice and it is adjacent to the Xcaret park. Back then you got free admission for 1 day if staying at the hotel. I'm not sure if that is still offered though. The park has dolphin swims for an additional fee. They also have a lazy river that runs through caves and has some neat snorkeling. It was nice to just lay back in the lifejacket and float along. Lots of wildlife and ruins for kids to see too. Here's a link to the trip advisor page:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...caret-Playa_del_Carmen_Yucatan_Peninsula.html

 

[Tampa Mousekeeter]

thanks so far for the suggestions.....
questions about Cozumel...how do you get there??? Do they have their own airport? Is it small a small island? Any excursions there??

They have their own international airport....I guess it depends what city you are flying from. When we lived in NJ, part of the year it was a direct flight from Newark and the other part of the year we had a stop over in Houston, that was with Continental.
It's not a small, small island....I think it's 30 miles long....plenty to do for a week of vacation. Also, the ferry to Cancun runs all day if your looking for more action or a change of pace...
One thing I would suggest is rent a car...you will more fun and see so much more than the regular tourist stuff.

 

[ilovebassets]

Have been to cozumel twice for a week at a time. Honestly, we love it, but if you're looking for nice calm, beautiful turquoise beaches, Cozumel is not really the place to be. It has beaches, but they're not the greatest. They tend to be very very rocky.

Cozumel is much more of an island for diving than beach bumming. It also has a lovely downtown and quite a decent amount of good restaurants. I think it's a better choice for adult couples than a family vacation.

That said, yes, Cozumel does have a small international airport that we have used twice. Just beware of the "tourist advisory board" that will harass you as you're trying to leave the airport! They're just selling timeshares.

 

[lukenick1]

Have been to cozumel twice for a week at a time. Honestly, we love it, but if you're looking for nice calm, beautiful turquoise beaches, Cozumel is not really the place to be. It has beaches, but they're not the greatest. They tend to be very very rocky.

Cozumel is much more of an island for diving than beach bumming.

Thank you....looks like Cozumel may not be for us. We are big beach people who like sandy beaches, and we do not scuba. Now to find the perfect spot in Cancun or Riviera Maya?????

 

[lukenick1]

bump

 

[gk90]

We were at both Cancun and Playa del Carmen 2 years ago and found the beach on the north side of Cancun to be much calmer. We stayed at Ambience Villas in Cancun which doesn't have much in the way of kids' activities but the beach was really peaceful and beautiful. I know there are big hotels with activities near it if you want to look it up on the map.

Definitely make time to go to Xcaret, there's a lot to do there including restaurants, shows, animals, aquarium, lazy river, beach etc--if you like Disney you'll probably like Xcaret. We did just 1 day, got there early and left at closing time and wished we had time to do another 1/2 day. There's a lovely quiet beach area there as well as a snorkelling cove which has some calm areas.

When we were looking at fares we thought we wanted to do Cozumel because it sounded quieter and found that Cozumel was much pricier than CAncun. Also we found that Cancun was not the tacky overpriced tourist trap that we expected it to be!