Where should we go in the Caribbean/Mexico?

M

MidTexHorn

100+ Posts
Planning a trip for sometime in the next year (maybe early this summer or early in fall before school starts). Want our destination to have the following:

1) white sandy beaches with beautiful blue water (I've eliminated Mexico's Pacific coast for this reason, although I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Puerto Vallarta)

2) drinking age of 18 or older (I've eliminated Key West or anywhere else in the US for this reason)

3) villas, condos or small hotels as a primary lodging option (not fans of all-inclusives)

4) in or near a town that offers restaurants, some interesting activities/things to see or do

5) reasonably easy/affordable to get to

6) balance of activities/fun things to do with peace and quite time (I don't want a Spring Break/huge hotel scene but I don't want total seclusion either which is why I doubt I'm interested in Cancun or Jost Van Dyke on the other end of the spectrum).

I'm leaning towards maybe Negril Jamaica or Playa del Carmen. To those of you who have been, would these places fit my criteria? Any other recommendations?
 
Isla Mujeres, just off the coast near Cancun. Awesome place--good mix of things to do and peaceful as well.
 
rage and chitwood,
I've considered Isla de Mujeres and Tulum. We'll be traveling with our sons (18, 21) who are not wild party or club guys, but probably do enjoy a bit more of an active social scene than Mom and Dad would. Is there anything to do in those places other than hang out at the beach?
 
Sure. Scuba, snorkel, cenote swimming, mayan ruins (Tulum, Coba and Chichenitza). If they are more interested in bars/clubs/restaurants/shopping, downtown Playa is a 30-40 minute cab ride away and has a great area for that (5th).

I've only been to Isle Mujeres once and I thought it was small and boring. I think it's more popular for the all inclusives than the stuff you guys want.
 
Having been to both Jamaica and a couple of other islands in the Caribbean and also Caribbean Mexico, I would recommend that you go somewhere in Yucatan Mexico. I wouldn't have thought so going in, but I liked Mexico much better than the rest of the Caribbean - the hotels were nicer, the area seemed safer for a family, much less run down, cleaner beaches, more "civilization" stuff to do if you want (nice restaurants, malls), and just as much jungle/outdoors stuff as anywhere else. Cancun is actually a pretty big area, so I wouldn't write that off as a mere "spring break" spot - there is a little of everything there. Playa del Carmen seems the most like what you described - in between secluded and heavily populated.
 
I agree, Playa del Carmen sounds like what you're looking for.

Cancun is probably too high-rise hotel Spring Break for what you want to do, and Tulum might be a little too remote (although you can certainly take a taxi or bus to Tulum to explore, it's very cool).

Playa has all-inclusives and non-all-inclusives, and a reasonable assortment of restaurants and bars without being too big. You also have easy access to the ferry to get over to Cozumel if you like.
 
you pretty much described playa del carmen.

3. mosquito blue, mosquito beach, blue parrot suites, hotel acanto. a new one is being built that looks awesome, aldea thai -- actually I think they are condos.

4. stay at any of the above listed hotels and you'll have access to all of that.
 
Actually, Isla doesn't really have a lot of all inclusives, at least I haven't used them. They've got some pretty cool bars, including a sports bar that has US games on in case there is a game going on that you want to see. It doesn't have a rocking nightlife, but there are definitely some clubs and bars there. It does have the advantage that your kids wouldn't be driving a car--everything is walking distance or a cab (also, golf carts are the normal mode of transportation, but I don't want to recommend driving those drunk
wink.gif
 
Saba looks cool. Never even heard of it before. Looks like a place my wife and I would like to try sometime, but not exactly what I'm looking for on this trip. Definitely leaning towards Playa del Carmen after reading these posts and doing further research online. Maybe a day trip to Tulum.
 
Saba looks very cool, I'd definitely like to check it out.

From Playa, we did a day-trip where we spent a half-day at Xel-Ha, and a half-day at the ruins in Tulum. It was great. You could probably spend an entire day at either spot, but we were more focused on diving off Cozumel and got 3 days of 2-tank dives in during the trip, so we needed some relaxing time on the beach at our resort as well.
 
I would go to Aruba, it has the perfect beach, the mix of events, and perfect weather. Also, it's the only place I've ever had Amstel Brite
 
Look into the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas. 3rd largest barrier reef in the world. It is my favorite spot on earth. If it is a remote possibility, I can post more. If you can drive a boat, it is fantastic.
 
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