Travel to Mexico

[Anonymous]

I’m from Central Mexico and just wanted to make a pitch for Querétaro and Guanajuato. They’re gorgeous, safe cities with vibrant cultures, colonial-era downtowns and so much fun things to do. (Coco was based in part on Guanajuato.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can I please completely hijack/divert from the OP?

We are considering going to Mexico over spring break with our 2 kids, both elementary age. A friend suggested Playa del Carmen rather than Cancun. Thoughts? Suggestions?

Also while I think we would definitely just sit on the beach I am sure we'd also want to visit Tulum at least. Would we need a car or could this be arranged through a hotel/resort?

TIA from a NP who is not scared to visit Mexico

we are doing Playa del Carmen for spring break. It'll be my kids' first international trip. We will spend a few days at our own beach (El Faro condos), as well as a day at Chichen Itza (either private transportation tour or group tour), a day at xcaret, and probably take the ferry over to Cozumel for a day either snorkeling or doing a Cozumel beach just for fun. I looked into rental cars as we typically would do that. But, ultimately, the cost of the car and the cost of parking and the risk of getting lost/pulled over/etc. led me to go with using transportation services.

For four people, it is about $95 for transport to and from the airport to Playa ($95 total for both directions). Xcaret and Chichen (or Tulum or Coba -- saving those for possible future trips) are easy to find via tour operators. There are a lot of options. There is a Walmart about 6 blocks from El Faro and lots of restaurants in walking distance. The big difference b/t Cancun and Playa (from what I could tell) is that Cancun is almost all All-inclusive hotels (almost impossible to find Queen size beds in the hotels which was a must for me, and of course, the hotels typically require all four of us to sleep in the same room). Playa has hotels/all inclusives and condos. Condos are key for us -- we get separate sleeping rooms for the kids and a kitchen where we can have our own food for breakfast/lunch/dinner -- or we can eat out or take out when we want. I have a very picky eater and it's just easier for me to get food from a market (or Walmart!!!!) and have those things on hand. Plus, we can eat breakfast in our pjs.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Just a note that Cancun is NOT all inclusives. Big hotels, definitely, but all the major hotel chains are there (Marriott, Hyatt etc) and many are not all inclusives. There are also lots of condos/villas. We’re going there for a 5 day trip with my inlaws and are staying in a 3 BR rental in the hotel zone. I prefer Playa del Carmen but since our trip was so short, we went with Cancun because it was close to the airport and we found a well priced rental on the beach.

[Anonymous]

Cancun is just...gross. Tulum is amazing. Go to Tulum.

[Anonymous]

Don't go. https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2018/04/27/5-tortured-bodies-found-stuffed-vehicle-cancun-bringing-months-total-57