Mexico on my mind... Need advice.

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

Thanks for the input so far. I truly appreciate it.

Getting good information. I didn't expect the weather issue. I guess it makes sense since it is south of Florida and more tropical. That didn't even hit my radar screen. What is a best time to go? Is winter time pretty much it, then?

We are warm weather folks and far prefer April for traveling to Mexico. We don't travel to Mexico to escape our weather as you wouldn't neither. I would avoid the week before Easter ( la Semana Santa ) and the week after.

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

Puerto Vallarta has lovely spring weather. April is an excellent monh there.

[aliikai2 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close aliikai2]

It all depends upon

when your kids are out of school.

Joyce and I enjoy the warm months during the winter, but in late June this year we will be taking our oldest grandson to Mazatlan .

He is a 3 season athlete, so missing school isn't an option.

We have enjoyed PV and Nuevo .

This last trip we stayed in the Marina in PV, and found that the central location was good.

The Grand Mayan in Nuevo is fantastic for everyone.
The water slide, the wave pool, the lazy river, and a nice beach combined with a truly class resort make it our current favorite.

( I will let you know if that changes as we are going to the Rivera Maya on Friday )

jmho,

Greg

Thanks for the input so far. I truly appreciate it.

Getting good information. I didn't expect the weather issue. I guess it makes sense since it is south of Florida and more tropical. That didn't even hit my radar screen. What is a best time to go? Is winter time pretty much it, then?

[idahodude Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close idahodude]

Thanks for the input so far. I truly appreciate it.

Getting good information. I didn't expect the weather issue. I guess it makes sense since it is south of Florida and more tropical. That didn't even hit my radar screen. What is a best time to go? Is winter time pretty much it, then?

Winter is nice for those of us up north trying to escape the cold, but I actually think early spring/late fall is the nicest weather down in most of Mexico (not so much for the more northerly locations). It can actually get cool in late December and early January. A number of the resorts don't heat their pools, so it can be less than ideal at that time. The ocean can also be a little cool then. May in Cancun was plenty hot for me, and I can only imagine how much hotter it could be in mid-summer. Where you're in FL already, you probably wouldn't mind early June or late Aug/early Sept if kids being in school is an issue.

[Amanda Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Amanda]

Wow - it seems like everyone has a different perspective!

I have been to Cabo twice (Hacienda del Mar, Cascadas and the old Grand Baja in San Jose). Currently, we have 3 Mexico trips planned for this year! In June we will be heading to the GM Acapulco; in August, back to HDM in Cabo and in November we will get to see what all the hype is about at GM NV. Very excited!!

Anyway, we really enjoyed Cabo during both visits and found that there are a lot of things to do that families would enjoy. All of the water activities you can imagine, swimming with dolphins, horseback riding on the beach, cruises around the amazing rock formations, the town of Cabo san Lucas has great shops and outdoor entertainment; the smaller village of San Jose was also nice to visit. There are many day trips that you can take, such as trips to La Paz and Todos Santos. Restaurants in both San Jose and San Lucas were great, also a lot of great restaurants on the Corridor. We have only been to Cabo in August and it is HOT; but we are from NY and had no problems bearing the heat with all of the wonderful pools and water activities around...

[bezerk Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close bezerk]

Well first Mexico is not for everyone, second mexico is wonderful. Third there are so many beaches it would take alifetime to see them all.

We went to Playa del carmen for 2 weeks, saw all the sites etc, was a busy vacation. The resort was very nice but the beaches are eroding and we went in Jan and it was rainy and cold, I left my part of Mexico to get away from chilly weather it was downright cold there. The weather on that coast is very unreliable so it is not my favorite place. The water is beautiful but it is very American or Europeanized, in Mexico I want Mexico. So although I am thrilled at all I saw and did, do not think it is on high priority for me to return. I did like Cozumel and Isla Mujeres though.

Been to Mazatlan so many times and well first time there hated it, did not go for msany years then tried again, love it now, nice long beaches, great personality, not just a tourist town but an actual town, stayed at Royal Villas where we own timeshare, top notch service and well we have become like family there..they even wait on balcony for us and yell our the ____have arrived...

Manzanillo, went many years ago, was nice but with kids was a bit boring then and underdeveloped, at the time the Mexican govt. was going to put lots of money into tourism there but they reneged and thus it was run down, many things closed, have heard it has changed now so will soon pursue another trip there.

Ixtapa/Zihua. love, love, love it, longer drive for us. Mexican homey feeling, not too overdeveloped yet, but getting there. Leavin in a month for 2 weeks there.

Puerto Vallarta love it, been a hundred or more times, only a five hour drive, sure has grown, not too sure I am happy about that. Lots of culture, activity and fun. Definately a place to see. The beaches not the best but so much else to offer. Stayed in too many places to list, like the Marina and south side the best. Own timeshares there also 2 at Velas Vallarta, great resort but Ai for nonmembers. Top notch service and food though.

Punta Mita, went years ago, was very undeveloped, now is developing, liked it a lot, kind of out of the way unless have a car, but I hear now it is pretty uppercrust.

Nuevo Vallarta, kind of far out from airport or PV, but we drive in under 5 hours. Like it a lot, nice beaches, nice resorts, fun place with PV just around the corner. Have stayed at many resorts there and man what a lot of development happening. Own timeshare there also Paradise Village, fun, family place with Mayan touches and great spas.

Also own at Mayan Palace so on future agenda is Acapulco, & Cabo.

Boca de Iguana, went many , mnay years ago in a motor home with parents, pristine beach, undeveolped, secluded. Incredible. I hear it is being developed, too bad.

Lake Chapala, no beach, just a lake but great temperate weather, kind of boring for younger set, but great retirement area. Getting very touristy now, but some areas remain quaint. ONly 5 hours or less to many beaches.

Best time to travel in Mexico depends what you want. Dec & Jan can be cold or chilly many parts. Hurrican season in many areas in months of I think July to Oct. June to Sept/Oct. rainy season in many parts usually at night but some daytime rains possible. Hot and humid at coast, in Chapala, temperate 70's so do not feel the humidity. April & may hottest months in my part but very dry, love it. Can be very hot at beach as well but not as humid as rainy season.

Mexico has a lot to offer and well you have to try areas more than once. Been to Hawaii also and Rio de Janeiro Brazil, I find them similar to Mexico in regards to beaches and such.

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

Just came home from the Sol Gran melia in Cancun, all I can say is WOW. If you can get this resort jump on it as fast as you can. It is IMO the best I have seen soi far in the CanCun area.

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

We have only been to PV and NV and there is plenty to see in this area to keep your family busy. The ocean water doesn't compare to what you have in Hawaii. It is hot and humid in May already so I don't know what it feels like in the summer. Mexico is more expensive than the USA if you go to the tourist areas. I love their culture and the people are very friendly.

The Mayan Palace are beautiful resorts and they keep building new ones and tearing the older ones down. You will like it but many resorts are beautiful.

This is why people buy on the spur of the moment without researching it first.

[biskits Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close biskits]

Just came home from the Sol Gran melia in Cancun, all I can say is WOW. If you can get this resort jump on it as fast as you can. It is IMO the best I have seen soi far in the CanCun area.

Frank
Is it a timeshare resort??? If so who did you exchange thru??? I couldnt find in RCI...

Thanks,
Paul

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

Frank
Is it a timeshare resort??? If so who did you exchange thru??? I couldnt find in RCI...

Thanks,
Paul

Sent you a PM

Resort Information about - Sol Melia Vacation Club at Gran Melia Cancun

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

Now this is the resort about equi-distant between the Tri-Royals and the Royal Sands isn't it ? Do they have different resort names at the same location ? I remember a small private golf course on the street side and a name Melia Turquesa.

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

Now this is the resort about equi-distant between the Tri-Royals and the Royal Sands isn't it ? Do they have different resort names at the same location ? I remember a small private golf course on the street side and a name Melia Turquesa.

yes there is a golf couarse in the front.

.: RCI :.

[JRStewart Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JRStewart]

Mexico is Great!

We've averaged about 2 weeks every other year for the past 38 years. We've been to all the major areas, mostly in timeshares. Mayans are very nice, but you usually need a car, because they are, for the most part, in very outlying areas. Also, if you are exchanging through RCI, they have a 1/5 year rule.

If you're driving over the boarder to Puerto Penasco or Rosarito, for kids, you'll want the summer months, because it gets cold in the winter.

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

We just got back 4/27/08 from the Grand Mayan in Neuvo Vallarta. If you have questions I can answer, fire away. We rented a car and drove into Puerto Vallarta most days; we found some restaurants we loved. One day we drove to Punta Mita and Salulita. We also experienced having the rental car scratched and have not completed an interesting procedure on that. Today, I will be contacting the Mastercard rental insurance people to see what else we need to do to complete the damage to the rental car incident.

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

We just got back Friday from spending 2 weeks at the Grand Mayan - Riviera Maya on an SFX exchange. We were there 2 1/2 years ago so it was very interesting to see all the changes. The resort is much larger now and they are planning on adding another 600 Grand Mayan units and a new mega size swimming pool. That will give them 2000 units.

We really enjoyed it and liked our stay better than last time which is something because we loved it before. They originally assigned us to building 11 which is one of the new buildings. However we asked if they could change us to building 7 which is the closest to the Mayan Palace pools and El Lago restaurant. They gladly did that for us and gave us a unit in building 7 on the top floor ( 3rd floor ) for both weeks. The resort was very busy. Building 1 is closest to the Grand Mayan pool but we far prefer the Mayan Palace pools. The Grand Mayan pool is much smaller, has no palapas, and is very dead. We prefer to be where the action is and lay on the bed under the Palapa. We had no problem getting a palapa with the bed every day. In fact we were able to choose which one we wanted. You rent them for $30.00 /day which is credited toward any food or beverages at the pool or Balche restaurant before 6:00 pm. They refunded 100% of the $300 rental we paid. They gave us 3 free days free rental as well. One note: you can order food poolside from the Balche restaurant menu as well as the poolside menu which gives you a much greater selection. Don't pay any attention to the prices on the menu as just about everything is cheaper than the menu price. The food is good and quite reasonable.

Though the resort is very large, we find it much more relaxing than the Grand Mayan - Nuevo Vallarta which is more compact. They have added a lot more dining options now. We ate at every restaurant as well as room service. You now have your choice of 4 different options for breakfast. There is the elaborate breakfast buffet at the El Lago as before except it is a little more expensive( ~$42.00 for 2 persons including tax and 15% gratuity ) now. A 15% gratuity is automatically added to all food and beverage service throughout the resort except at the Deli. Other breakfast options include an American breakfast buffet at the 19th hole which is very good ( made to order omelets etc. ) and quite reasonable at ~$27.00 for 2 people including everything. The Havana Moon is a new restaurant right on the beach that serves breakfast lunch and dinner. It is very reasonable and offers both full American and Mexican breakfasts from $6.00-9.00 each. And then there is room service which is also good and reasonable. They also have a Parillada on the beach every evening. It is very good and offers grilled meats, chicken, and fish as well as salads, vegetables etc.

We spent all of our time poolside except for both Wednesdays when we went on the tours to Xel-Ha park ( excellent snorkeling ) and Xcaret which was awesome as usual.

The only downside was the weather was pretty cool and windy the first week. We spent the last 2 weeks of April at the Grand Mayan - Nuevo Vallarta in 2006 and the weather was much warmer than Riviera Maya and more consistent with no wind. It is much warmer here at home than is was there. However, the local folks told us that it was cooler than normal.

We have changed our mind and now prefer the Grand Mayan - Riviera Mayan resort to the GM in Nuevo Vallarta. The service was absolutely outstanding. I am already requesting another 2 weeks for next spring.