Maya Riviera?

Question

My mom and I are trying to plan a trip to mexico together. She's never been and is facinated with the Mayan Culture. The catch is, I'm in charge of everything. Finding the hotel, taking care of things to do etc etc..

I've never planned a trip this big in my life. We're planning to go for one week, maybe a few days over. I'm not sure where to start, I got a few magazines from a travel agency nearby. My mom really want to go see the mayan buildings and my ideal vacation is enjoying my time at the beach and this year I really want to learn how to Kiteboard.

What should I do? What am I looking for? Is there a big difference between all inclusive and just booking a trip and taking care of things as you go?

Any tips for a first time travel planner would be great, thanks so much!

Answer 1

Cancun is a great place to start. The hotels there are great and you can save money by going to a place that sports a kitchenette. Casa Maya is one choice. The rooms are actually suites with one or two bedrooms, with a kitchenette, so if you want to cook something for yourself, it is easier than just spending on restaurants. The beach is ok, right in front of Isla Mujeres. You can go on guided tours, or you can go direct to the bus station downtown and take a bus to Xel-ha, Tulun or Chichen Itza. It is cheaper that way. Downtown Cancun there is a restaurant called Los Almendros, which features great Yucatan cuisine, although you can find a MacDonalds if you feel like eating a hamburger instead.

The bus service in the tourist corridor of Cancun is very safe.

One day, take the ferry to Cozumel. The best diving in the world is there. There is a nice hotel called La Ceiba, which means some kind of tree, and lots of divers gather there because of the excellent diving conditions.

A pirate ship tour used to be quite popular, but you would have to ask a travel agent about that. It usually left at sunset and returned to the harbor, rather late, but everyone seemed to have had a lot of fun.

Now, Cuba is not that far away either, and the beaches there are really nice. The prices are reasonable

Guided tours have some setbacks, like a very hurried schedule, and stops at some predetermined restaurant where you might not exactly fancy the regional fare.

There are also guided tours of the Manglar jungles in the area. If you just want to rest on the beach and soak sun, Cancun is great, because the sand is white and fine as sugar.

Club Med has great facilities in the area. You might like to check that out too.

Hope this helps, but I do hope an American living in Cancun can provide you with more assistance.

Answer 2

I strongly suggest you check out a website called playa.info.  Every question you can possibly imagine has been asked and answered there.  

As a resident of the area, I can tell you that you will have a better immersion in the culture if you do things as much as possible on your own and do NOT stay in an all-inclusive.  They are fantastic if all you want to do is relax on the beach and be pampered, but to really get a taste of the area, you need to get out and about.  It's actually very tough to want to leave the confines and comfort of an AI, once you're there.  Staying in Playa del Carmen would give you the opportunity to enjoy a beautiful beach and get a taste of Mexico removed from the glitz of the resorts.

Regardless of where you stay, I'm sure you'll have a great time!

Answer 3

The geographic extent of the Maya civilization, known as the Maya area, extended throughout the southern Mexican states of Chiapas, Tabasco, and the Yucatán Peninsula states of Quintana Roo, Campeche and Yucatán. The Maya area also extended throughout the northern Central American region, including the present-day nations of Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and western Honduras.

Your probably going to find ruins in Central Mexico in the states listed above. Good luck!

Answer 4

umm hey my mom is a travel agent she knows everthing and we are going there in Oct.

you can contact her by her phone at work [phone] or her email- [e-mail] from, 9-5 on the weekdays

hope this helps

Answer 5

Depends on your budget, if you want to go expensive go to a Palace Resort (www.palaceresorts.com), you pay for one week All Inclusive and they include 8 tours to the main mayan cities, most of the AI resorts don't include anything but food, drinks and "activities" (= aquaerobics)

If you don't have a lot of money go to an EP (european plan) resort either in Cancun or Playa del Carmen. Rent a car, go to a travel agency and book your tours, always ask for a cheaper price. I don't recommend an all inc if you want to go on tours, it will be a waste of money.

Answer 6

Hello

The Mayan Riviera is excellent few days although I do not think sufficient to see and explore everything there is in here. As for the Mayan culture I recommend you go to Chichen Itza and Tulum.

Of the parks I recommend:

  Xcaret. It is an echo archaeological park where you can explore coral reefs by diving and snorkeling tours, if we know nothing do not worry experts give you classes so you can live this experience, you can give a walk under the sea between the reef or explore gardens submarines, you can go to very ancient caves and spectacular formations under the rivers of Cancun. If you want to relax, enjoy the peaceful and beautiful beach at Xcaret, with natural pools that resemble natural jacuzzis, or you can also swim and interact with dolphins, is very good therapy and children will love; visit the aquarium, coral reefs The mariposario, a refuge for deer, the island of jaguars, the farm edible fungi, the home of tapir, aviary, visit the archaeological sites, the Mayan people, the river paradise, the scenic tower, the main square, chapel of St. Francis of Assisi, and the XPA Xcaret Spa. At Xcaret you can also make a beautiful and elegant wedding, for which the park has a wedding expert advisers that help you make your event, so that everything goes well. At night you can enjoy shows like "Maya Ball Game", "Voladores of Papantla," "Fiesta Charro," "Mexico Xcaret Spectacular", and dinner with the Great Tlachco.

Xel-Ha. It is an ecological park, which has the most spectacular natural aquarium of the Riviera Maya, has natural attractions as the "Wall of Maya", "Caves Ixchel," "El Dorado" and cenotes where you can feel the nature of Xel - Há. Among the natural attractions can take a stroll in the ecological "Ecotour", or go to "apiaries." You can also make water activities like diving with snorkeling, do a walk submarine "Sea Trek" perform "Snuba" and "Aquaventuras" swim with dolphins if you like the adrenaline you can surf kayaking along the black lagoon . If you just want to relax and revitalize your body and spirit, you can visit the massage centre of the park that has a spa where you give a massage therapy that merges both the music, crystals and aromatherapy, along with the reflexology Reiki and Shiatsu, which can last from 15 minutes to an hour. You can also visit the "Bay of Caprices" where multicolored fish and snorkel can practise swimming between the mysterious marine grass or simply relax under the shadow of palapas made of wooden structures and roofs of palm, the "Island of sunbeds "Where you can relax in hammocks under the shade of palm trees, and then you can swim in the river water Fresh.



Garrafón. It is a natural park located on Isla Mujeres, considered a tropical paradise where you can practice the best snorkeling on the reef Garrafón, one of the most beautiful in the world, you can also go to "Andador Pan" and its 950 metres to go to reach Punta South where you find the majestic cliffs of Sunrise, with the best panoramic view of the Yucatan Peninsula, or you can visit the sculptural space where artists from around the world have placed their works, or practicing a bit of ecotourism adventure sailing kayaks, there is also "Torre scale" if you're a lover of the challenges and heights or flying over the beautiful waters of the Caribbean "The Tyrolean", or if you prefer, you can visit the "Temple Ixchel" which is the highest point of the Yucatan Peninsula. Within the entertainment offered by the park there is a journey to the center of the island aboard one of the boats Garrafón, you can also visit "La Torre Pan," "People Caribbean", "The Garden of sunbeds", and "The Pool Pan"; also you can swim with dolphins.



Aktun Chen. It is a natural park and its name means "cave with cenote inside it," covers an area of 400 Has, (988 acres) of virgin rain forest, in which only has exploited the gum tree called chicozapote. You can visit the three caves with cenotes on the inside, and thousands of stalactites, stalagmites and sculptures made by natural water and calcium carbonate through the five million years, you can see some wild mammals such as white-tailed deer The spider monkey, badgers, wild boar, turkey bush, the iguanas and birds themselves some of the rainforest. The visit to the park is guided by park personnel, who takes care to explain during a tour of one hour fifteen minutes, uses that gave the ancient Mayans to the caves, as well as the process of training both in the cave as of stalactites and stalagmites, becomes a beautiful cenote with crystalline waters of 12mts (40 feet) deep and a vault with hundreds of stalactites.

And at night I recommend you go to Playa del Carmen Charming Night, Coco Bongo, Dady'O, Dady Rock, O'Ultra Club, Party'opolis, or Sunrise to Sunset.



As an all-inclusive package, or booking services separately, in my view depends on some things.

The package included everything is fine if your budget is limited because of a lower cost perhaps you can get many services. However, all included in the package you have the limitations of time and availability of services, while reserves separately because if you put your time, that if the cost can rise compared all inclusive package. It's what I think, as you see there are many things to see, do and explore in the Riviera Maya and its environs. We leave this link where you can see http://tourmaya.blogspot.com briefly as the Riviera Maya, and find many things that you are going to serve as your trip are places to visit, all-inclusive packages, tours, and tours combo the discotheques, and much more.

I hope that the information you provide, and enjoy a beautiful holiday.

Greetings.

Answer 7

viva mexico

Answer 8

Check for tours throughout the Yucatan peninsula.  Stay on the beach, then take some of the tours.  You can both have what you want!  Cozumel is a good place to look.

And I'll be so jealous-- maybe I'll ship myself there too.  I am fascinated with the Mayan culture as well.