andicat67

We are a family of four with two college aged kids. We want a great beach with easy access bars by the beach with some off resort activities to break up the sun bathing. We are going in January. Going all-inclusive, so I don't have to be the budget grinch the whole time.

My questions:

1) Playa del Carmen or Cabo? Cabo beaches look great!
2) Any reviews of the Iberostar Tucan or Iberostar Quetzal? Good reviews on Expedia. How are their beaches - hard to tell from pics. (I can see there are better beaches at other resorts but most AI's max out at 3 per room and we are 4)
3) Reviews mentioned terrible mosquitos in the open air restaurants, but they were there in June. Is there a downtime for mosquitos there?
4) Know of any brand new resorts in PDC? Some reviews mentioned a lot of banging and hammering next to them at one of the Iberostar resorts - thought it was a new one being built.
5) Is Xel-Ha worth a day trip or is there a better cenote to go to?

Thank you!!

MichelleY

The problem with Cabo is very few of the beaches are swimmable. Bad rip tides. Water not as warm as the Caribbean. Although we go to Cabo almost every year, it is because we are on the west coast and getting there is easy. We love it. I think it depends on where you are coming from and what kind of deal you can get.

MichelleY

One plus in January in Cabo is that it is the peak of the whale season. The mama's are down there having their babies.

suze

I like Cabo a lot, but (agreeing with post above) most of them are not swimmable. The ocean is very rough and dangerous most places. Only Medano Beach, right in town, is swimmable, and lined with wonderful fun beach bars. Plus there aren't very many All-Inclusives. Cabo's a great place, but for these reasons, I think PdC offers MUCH more of what you are looking for.

andicat

Ok do you think the BPM Festival will make it crowded?

KVR

We've been to the Caribbean side of Mexico many times and Cabo once this past December.

As stated above, the beaches in Cabo are very pretty to look at, but many not swimmable. Medano Beach is the only swimmable beach in the main area of Cabo. Being so, it is overly crowed, full of vendors, jet skis and fishing boats. We did not care for it and we didn't dare go into the water. We went to Cabo knowing this upfront. We are pool people anyway and stayed at a very nice AI hotel on the Marina with a heated pool; The Marina Fiesta. If you chose Cabo, to me, that was the way to go. It was also within walking distance to most everything.

All of the Iberostars gets good reviews. You might look at the Barcelos and Occidentials also. I more familiar with adult/couple only AIs. I don't care for the RUI chains. Be careful of location. The main town of Playa del Carmen on 5th Avenue is where all the restaurants, bars, shops, and entertainment is located. Many of the AI resorts are located pretty far from it. Taxis can get expensive if you want to visit often. Some hotels offer shuttle service at specified times or you can walk to main road and flag down a collecto (white van).

We stopped going to that area in November/December because the pools are too cold. The ocean temps are fine. Unlike Cabo, finding a heated pool in that area if very few and far between. Usually only at selective adult only properties with the upgraded/high category room selections.

We went to Xel-Ha and it was alright. I don't understand why people give it so much credit. We prefer Xcaret because there is more things to see and do and we really enjoyed the night show. Some people call it a "Disney-like" attraction, but I don't get that either.

There are much better cenotes to visit than Xel-Ha.

Look at Yuka Treks: http://www.yucatreks.com/seatocenote.htm

Hidden Worlds:

http://www.rainforestadventure.com/h...worlds_mexico/

Never had issues with mosquitos anytime we went. We do spray on bug spray especially before jungle excursions.