My wife and I both have a week off coming up really soon. We were perusing some vacation deals, as we'd like to escape the cold of the Northeast for a week or so. We seem to be leaning towards Mexico. Neither one of us have ever been there, and I was wondering about your experiences. We've been to an all-inclusive in Punta Cana, and on a cruise to Key West, Ocho Rios, and Grand Cayman, and that's about the extent of our travels. We've kind of zeroes in on two different locations, I believe - Cozumel and Los Cabos. I found a really good deal of Iberostar Cozumel, which seems to have pretty good reviews, and we found another good deal on a nice resort in Cabo, but it's not an all-inclusive, which is a bit of a deterrent. We're fairly cheap people, but we love a good deal, and believe both of these are good deals, but I think we'd lean towards the all-inclusive in Cozumel, as it's a bit cheaper. Plus, the resort in Cabo is quite a ride out of town, so we'd be looking at taxiing in every night to eat or do whatever we wanted. Our last option, which is a darkhorse is to just do another cruise. So, what are your experiences in Mexico, and particularly, these two locations? Both seem to be very safe from what I've read. Just wondering how you liked them...
Those aren't Mexico they are an extension of America. Mexico has a lot to see actually. Mexico City is really interesting, huge city with lots to see, plus pyramids a bus ride away. Near Merida is Chichen Itza, and also Tulum. Guanajato is beautiful as well, and Oaxaca and Puebla are smaller towns with things to see as well. There are other Mayan sights as well. Some people take the train through Copper Canyon which is supposed to be beautiful. If you are looking last minute check United specials Monday nights which have decent deals.
lol @ da1's suggestions. I used to work in Guadalajara, and it's not a vacation destination. Between Cozumel and Cabo, you have to decide what you prefer -- Cozumel has better diving, Cabo better deep sea fishing. Cabo's water might be too cold to get in right now (probably), and the undercurrent is strong so if you like playing in the water, go to Cozumel. Cozumel probably will feel a little smaller than Cabo, also.
What, the continent? Yes. Yes, they are. The American continent stretches from Alaska to the Patagonia and Tierra Del Fuego. Check out "Vacations To Go" on the interwebnets, Eddie. They have good deals on cruises to those places where you want to go in Mexico, Central America, and South America. They're based here in Houston but will give you a good price. They'll hook you up. Ask for HUGO. Tell him SwoLy sent you.
Cancun on the all-inclusive adult-only resorts are awesome to me. It's a 2 hour flight. You can fly out in the morning, have a full day there still, and on the way back, fly out in late afternoon and still get home and wind down (even more) before heading back to work.
Where can you find these last minute deals....i was looking for some and couldnt find anything at good prices.
Try to avoid being kidnapped.... pistol whipped..... dismembered... and shoved into a trash can and lit on fire.....
United.com Only peru and colombia this year, prices aren't that great. Mileage deals are better actually.
Cheaptickets com is not a bad place to start if you fell comfortable booking online. I happen to live within two and a half hours of three decent sized airports so I'm always checking between the three to see who has the cheapest tickets. Its all about the research, man.
Hopefully you took advantage of this. Definitely a good place to find deals, especially last minute (no pun intended). Otherwise I would recommend Priceline or Hotwire. I know there are Carnival cruises from Galveston to Cozumel, I think they're 3 nights. There are also longer ones that make multiple stops, including Cozumel. You could come into Houston, catch a Rockets game, then drive to Galveston for the departure. Last time we went, I went through a travel agent and was able to get $200 in comps added. If I had gone through the cruiseline, it would have been the same price, but no comps. Keep in mind, if you're last minute, you may not get to choose your cabin, and should most likely expect one without a great view or in a great location (mid ship). Edit: Here is who I booked thru to get the comps. A lady named Debbie helped me. 800-733-2048 x131 (yup, I have her saved in my phone).
Definitely go to the Caribbean side if you plan to go in the water at all. I wouldn't expect it to be hot any more, but the days can be pleasantly warm. We went last year at thanksgiving and I was a little surprised at the chilly (to me) nights. I'd prefer in the 90s in the days and 75 at night, so 80 in the daytime and 55-60 at night was a little disappointing.
Surprisingly, the cruise ended up winning out because we got a good deal on it. We'll be doing a 5 day Royal Caribbean to Belize and Cozumel. My second cruise, and first with Royal Caribbean. The other was with Carnival. I'm pumped. We leave in less than a week!
Don't do the Americanized Mexico stuff. Unless, of course, that's what you want. We loved Puerto Vallarta but that was 20 some-odd years ago. It's probably changed a lot since then. Still, great beaches, jungle backdrop, caters to tourists without being over-touristy. But if you're going at this time of year, don't expect too much swimming. Cruises suck. Women love them, but floating around with a bunch of other tourists "getting away from it all"...? Yuck. Of course, Mexico City is awesome, but obviously, for most people, "going to Mexico for vacation" = Beach, so forget that.
