All Inclusive Vacation?

Since your set to go to an all inclusive, here are a couple I went to that I can suggest:

- Secrets the Vine (Cancun, Mexico): adult all inclusive (very important), built probably in the last 5 - 10 years. The hotel is very nice and felt very new when I went there 4 years ago. Pools are really nice, I had a lot of fun and was very drunk. Beach of course was very nice, place was not that big, but big enough. Food was on the meh side, wouldn't recommend for food. Rented a car to go to Tulum and swim in a Cenote (spelling?). However this place is on the pricier side,

-Melia (Nassau, Bahamas): family all inclusive, so lots of kids. place is really old (like 50 years old) but very big. Beach was gorgeous and all the food was top notch, very good. Took a few excursions as well. With flight and hotel, it either came out to about the same or a bit cheaper than Secrets the Vine. I was not as drunk here, because i was with the kids and family

Ive also gone to the Excellence in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Place was older (not as old as Melia), food was meh, beach was nice, but overall i only enjoyed it because i was with a huge group of friends. Otherwise I don't think I would recommend it

 

Is no one worried about the travel advisories for some of these areas? Wife and I were looking to do something (possibly Costa Rica or similar), but always wondering about the safety factor. It would just be the two of us.

 

My wife and I took the kids to Puerto Vallarta this past December.

Stayed at the Hyatt Ziva right off the mountain ridge and facing the beach. All inclusive and the food, entertainment, drinks are well worth it.

We had such a great time we're headed back this coming December as well.

Good luck with whichever path you plan on taking. Let me know if you need any extra info.

 

where in Mexico did those Iowa family who died on vacation stayed at?

 

LOL at all the suggestions for OP to go backpacking instead. Sometimes, people just want to relax and do nothing.

Cancun/Playa Del Carmen/Isla Mujurus and Cabo San Lucas are great options for that. All inclusive is the way to go for first timers as it avoids a lot of the hassles. You can still explore the cities outside of your resort by taking local taxis and buses. As long as you're aware of your surroundings, it should be relatively safe. Have fun!

 

This is exactly what we want to do. With two kids, its hard to do at home, so we're really not looking to go somewhere and explore until we're tired. Really just want to sit by or in a pool/jacuzzi and eat.

 

I've never heard of backpacking. Will look into it.

 

sounds like a cruise would be more ideal for you actually. The food would be a whole lot better

 

What kind of food do you like?

 

Why not hit the Pacific Coast of Mexico? Skip Costa Rica (too much noodles and rice). Although Quepos is top-notch, you will not go wrong at the Mariposa there. Look it up. The rest of Costa is beautiful, but the food is typical Central American crap: rice, beans, bland chicken, bland fish, or....terrible italian food.

I and my womanfriend had a blast in Vallarta for a couple of weeks. Stay at a resort, hang at the pool, private beach, rent a jeep and drive up and down the coast (I DO NOT know how safe this is anymore). I climbed around the scenery and jumped in the waterfalls where they filmed Predator, then ate langostinos y pesce on the beach with the fishermen and their families, that was one of my most favorite 48 hours ever.

If you do go to Vallarta, look up the Tres Arbolitas, Los Arbolitas, something, fancy restaurant on the hills in PV. Their "Mexican Coffee" is the greatest drink/dessert I've ever had. It will jiggle your eyeballs around it's so strong.

 

No problem

I don't think that Excellence Punta Cana would be representative of all Excellence resorts. For example, I told my sister about how great Secrets the Vine was. So she decided to stay at a Secrets somewhere in the Yucatan (can't remember, sorry). After her stay, said it was meh, and older

So the Excellence in Cancun could be x10 better than the one in Punta Cana.

 

Heh, even in my younger days, I was never really that adventurous. Mostly used vacations to recharge. I think I'm actually more adventurous now.

 

Tulum/Merida then.

 

This backpacking/becoming part of the culture stuff sounds like a lot of work. Cocktails/cheeseburgers beachside for me please.

 

The question is why do you need to go out of the country to have cheeseburgers and cocktails? The US have nice beaches too.

 

The US also has nice backpacking and an abundance of culture.



Or maybeeeeee I'd like to have a $1 cocktail and a $3 cheeseburger in Boracay, while getting a $5 hour long massage? Any beaches in the States like Boracay? Or MAYBE I want to be served where the American $ will let me live like Conor McGregor for a couple weeks? MAYBE Mexico has AUTHENTIC MEXICAN FOOD, and a far more gorgeous beach than just about anywhere in the States, and on top of that, I can avoid Americans while a sweet Senorita brings me margarita's? You don't have to do any of these things, but isn't that why we call it VACATION?

Oh, and it's not like you have to stay in the resort. Maybe go visit town for an Afternoon, and then come home to paradise lounge at night and be the King of the Castle? That, or you can hangout with Sean Penn in a hostile with the dirty hippies. Queues up Norm Macdonald.

EAGERLY awaiting your response.

 

The Yucatan Princess is beach front. You have to walk through a mangrove area to get to it. Honestly, though, the beach isn't that great.


My wife loved the coatimundis there, though. They lived in the mangrove. They'd come up and eat bread out of your hand, so every day we had to get bread and feed them, lol.


Excursion-wise, no matter where you stay, I'd recommend doing a cenote. Great time. Also, we went to Akumal Bay and swam out from the beach with our snorkels and saw bunch of sea turtles. Had one sueface three inches in front of our face. Cool experience.