Mexico Destinations

[Hypersomniac]

I am thinking of taking a trip to somewhere in Mexico with my girlfriend for her birthday. I've been looking at Puerto Vallarta, Playa del Carmen, Cancun, Cozumel, and Cabo San Lucas. Every one of them has an LCDH (I checked, haha, it's my one requirement). For those of you with experience, which one would you prefer, where are good places to stay (We can't afford anything real expensive, but don't want to stay in a dump either), etc.?

[Puros Y Vino]

I just got back from Mexico on Saturday. I recommend staying in the Mayan Riviera if it's just you and your GF. There are many adults only resorts there. There are four places we frequent.

• El Dorado Seaside Suites(my favourite)
  
• El Dorado Royale Spa.
  
• Excellence Mayan Riviera
  
• Excellence Playa Mujeres.
  

The Excellence resorts have indoor cigar lounges with legit Cuban stock. I assume you will bring your own though. All four resorts have excellent a la carte restaurants. No buffets other than breakfast. Expect to pay $1600 - $2000/person. Not "cheap" but worth it in terms of the facilities, the food, top shelf liquor and service. Playa Del Carmen is not too far away either.

[stargazer14]

I had a great time down near Cabo (you can see some pics here), but was only in the town proper for 2 nites -

the rest of our week was in an awesome house on the beach an hour or so above Cabo. While in town I stayed at the Cabo Inn Hotel, a funky, inexpensive place that I would stay at again, its not luxury, but makes for nice folks and a place to rest after so much tequila.

There is a very nice LCDH there, bought a number of sticks I didnt already bring with me. There are lots of other bogus cigar shops also. Go to Cabo, stay a nite, rent a car and head outta town into the desert. Awesome trip.

[AlohaStyle]

Without knowing your personality, what kind of vacations/travel you like to take, what cheap/expensive means to you etc, etc, it's hard to give an answer.

Everyone here has opinions which is why it's great to ask questions. I personally like Sayulita which is a half hour drive north of Puerto Vallarta. It's a smaller fishing/surfing town on the beach with only a couple real hotels, and they are small 2 story boutique hotels at that with a few cheaper places more in town. There is a lot of private house/apartment rentals and a lot of choices right on the beach, and also a lot up in the hill with amazing views. It's a quaint town that has not built up like other touristy places because the people have not sold out to developers and there is no other place to build monster resorts. I'm normally not a person to go to the same place twice as I love to travel, but I have gone here twice now and rent a house right on the beach. There are many houses and smaller private places that you can rent out for the week or some nights. There are plenty of nice/fun restaurants in town and can be pretty cheap.

I think Sayulita is a great mix of a more authentic Mexican town, but also you still get some of the touristy feel with some local shops and restaurants but it's not cheesy touristy like some Mexican places can be. You can take a bus to town, a cab, or prearrange a shuttle.

If you want more action of Puerto Vallarta and a stop at their cigar shops, you can pay a couple bucks to take the bus to/from Sayulita.

[jacktarnold]

I really liked the Rivera Mayan just north of Playa de Carmen. Also one of the best places in Mexico I've been was Puerto Penasco. It is a few hour drive southwest of Phoenix. It isn't very touristy at all and has some reasonably priced condos you can rent.

[Hypersomniac]

While an all inclusive might be nice, I think I would rather venture outside of a resort and experience at least some local culture. The limit would probably be around 2000-2200 for a hotel, food and drinks.

[GernBlansten]

We rented a house in Akumal. Great little town with decent snorkeling, decent restaurants (an awesome taco stand) and zero hassle. It's in between Playa and Tulum. Very relaxing vacation.

[tmac77]

My wife and I stayed at a boutique hotel in Playa del carmen last time we were there. A great little oasis of a hotel right in the heart of Playa DC. here is the link http://www.hotellatortuga.com/

A great activity for a 1/2 day close by is the Little Mexican Cooking School in Puerto Morales. Run by an ex Australian actresss Catriona Brown.... (suposedly quite well known down under but I have never heard of her).

link to cooking school: http://www.thelittlemexicancookingschool.com/index.html

[sbmcduffee]

When we go to Cabo, we usually head to San Jose del Cabo rather than Cabo San Lucas. It's usually much cheaper to stay and is a lot more low key, but you are still only and twenty minute cab or 40 minute bus ride from Cabo San Lucas. San Jose also has my favorite tequilaria in the world.

[bamadoc77]

I just got back from Mexico on Saturday. I recommend staying in the Mayan Riviera if it's just you and your GF. There are many adults only resorts there. There are four places we frequent.

• El Dorado Seaside Suites(my favourite)
  
• El Dorado Royale Spa.
  
• Excellence Mayan Riviera
  
• Excellence Playa Mujeres.
  

The Excellence resorts have indoor cigar lounges with legit Cuban stock. I assume you will bring your own though. All four resorts have excellent a la carte restaurants. No buffets other than breakfast. Expect to pay $1600 - $2000/person. Not "cheap" but worth it in terms of the facilities, the food, top shelf liquor and service. Playa Del Carmen is not too far away either.

I will second this. I spend about 4 weeks a year at excellence.

[Stanislaw]

nice! I was actually planning on taking my wife to mexico for our anniversary... so i'll be watching this thread closely.... playa del carmen was first on the list, followed by cancun... and i won't lie, but i'm eyeing those places due to their close proximity to a certain island to the east....