Cancun, Playa del Carmen, or Puerto Vallarta??

Vanessa&Tony

We've been to Cabo and we wanted to try somewhere new. We can't decide between these three places? I've heard not so good things about Cancun...any opinions?

We thought Cancun would be fun because it has a lot of activities, but we would really like to vacation somewhere nice and clean.

golden1215

I've been to playa twice- 10 yrs apart- and loved it both times.  It is def more built up now w/ more to do, e.g. Coco Bongo which you used to have to go into cancun for, now there is one right in playa del carmen.

[Deleted User]

We were just in Cancun this past March and loved it!

If you click "our webstie" above my siggy pic I have a review of Cancun as well as all our pics from our 8 days there.

HTH and  if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

MNVegas

We go to Cancun every year and LOVE it there. We will be there again next week.

Chasity08

I haven't actually gone yet, but I had planned on doing an AI for a trip we were taking and researched FOREVER. I read reviews for weeks before picking out where we were going to go, and we decided on Playa as it seemed to have the best reviews (at the resort we were looking at). HTH! =]

Vanessa&Tony

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_cancun-playa-del-carmen-puerto-vallarta?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:4a122453-d3fe-4c18-a900-ef5cab5b7422Post:4d093976-24d7-4b6a-aca4-43cb5645f655">Re: Cancun, Playa del Carmen, or Puerto Vallarta??</a>:
[QUOTE]We were just in Cancun this past March and loved it! If you click "our webstie" above my siggy pic I have a review of Cancun as well as all our pics from our 8 days there. HTH and  if you have any questions please feel free to ask.
Posted by monkeygirl18[/QUOTE]


Your pictures were perfect and just what I needed to see! What month did you go?

alithebride

dh and i are in playa/RM and cancun every december (see siggy ticker). i like both areas. i stay out of the clubs like coco bongo (after growing up going to manhattan night clubs they just don't do ti for me). i prefer the lounges and nice restaurants. cancun is quite clean, just as much as PDc. i love the variety of restaurants. . riu caribe is on kulkulcan blvd-the hotel zone. it's near the resort where we have our timeshare-south of town but only about a 10 minute cab or bus ride up.
this will be my 7th trip. feel free to page me iwht any questions.

[Deleted User]

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_cancun-playa-del-carmen-puerto-vallarta?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:4a122453-d3fe-4c18-a900-ef5cab5b7422Post:d1c665fb-0795-4e90-972f-0a342292c7b6">Re: Cancun, Playa del Carmen, or Puerto Vallarta??</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Cancun, Playa del Carmen, or Puerto Vallarta?? : Your pictures were perfect and just what I needed to see! What month did you go?
Posted by Vanessa&Tony[/QUOTE]
We went in March. Weather was perfect. Probably mid to high 70's and the water was very warm.

Only problem we had was it was very very windy and the surf was very rough. We went as the tropical storm or hurrican was going on up here in the states. So, it kinda churned everything up.

Glad you liked the pics.

Vanessa&Tony

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_cancun-playa-del-carmen-puerto-vallarta?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:4a122453-d3fe-4c18-a900-ef5cab5b7422Post:aa21fa3c-df4a-411a-8715-6a80ec267bb5">Re: Cancun, Playa del Carmen, or Puerto Vallarta??</a>:
[QUOTE]Cancun is nice.  I stayed out of the hotel zone though... at the RIU Caribe.  I loved it, but I don't know how it would be for a honeymoon.  I've heard great things about Secrets Maroma Riviera.  We are considering Puerto Vallarta as well.  I've heard it is nicer than Cabo.
Posted by dshrawder[/QUOTE]
Really because we absolutely love Cabo, I think it's gorgeous! My FI has been to Puerto Vallarta and he liked Cabo much better. But it's funny how everyone's opinions are so different.

Vanessa&Tony

Does anyone happen to have pictures of any of these places in November? I know the weather could vary, but just was curious.

[Deleted User]

I don't have pics but I know my boss went in Dec. (his bday) and he said the weather was lovely (mid 70's and the water was warm). Pretty much the same as it was when we went in March.

eilyak

we are currently in cancun! the weather has been great since we've been here! we arrived last saturday and are staying through this saturday. where we are staying in the hotel zone is known for more waves all year round.  infact the red flags have been up the whole time, except for yellow ones just infront of the lifeguard station.  we've gone in the ocean to jump the waves everyday, its fun but tiring. the pools have been a great alternative. it is not very busy with tourists right now which is nice.

hz80408

We went to Riveria Maya, btwn Cancun and Playa for our HM 10/18-10/26.  It was 90 and sunny every day.

Absolutely gorgeous!

We stayed at Secrets Maroma Beach (i have a review in my bio).
Here's a link to some of our HM pics, it was gorgeous!:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=37760903&l=d6f784545a&id=20300467

graysquirrel

We are staying in a hotel on the Playa del Secreto, which is between Cancun & Playa. I think that if you want tons of clubs and parties, Cancun is the place to go. However, if you want a quieter, relaxing atmosphere, the rest of the Riviera is a better choice and may be a little cleaner. For us, our place is close enough to both of the larger cities that we can take a cab for the day/night if we want something else to do, but the beach will be pretty secluded and laid back, which is exactly what we want. 

Vanessa&Tony

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_cancun-playa-del-carmen-puerto-vallarta?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:4a122453-d3fe-4c18-a900-ef5cab5b7422Post:85f6e797-29fc-4172-851f-1371aa6384b4">Re: Cancun, Playa del Carmen, or Puerto Vallarta??</a>:
[QUOTE]We went to Riveria Maya, btwn Cancun and Playa for our HM 10/18-10/26.  It was 90 and sunny every day. Absolutely gorgeous! We stayed at Secrets Maroma Beach (i have a review in my bio). Here's a link to some of our HM pics, it was gorgeous!: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=37760903&l=d6f784545a&id=20300467">http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=37760903&l=d6f784545a&id=20300467</a>
Posted by hz80408[/QUOTE]

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!! WOW...gorgeous! Yup we're convinced and we booked it today!!

We decided not to choose and we're staying five nights in Playa del Carmen and five nights in Cancun on the hotel strip! So we will get best of both worlds and not wish we stayed at once place or the other.

Yay! We booked Riu Tequila in Playa del Carmen and Gran Melia in Cancun.

hz80408

Awesome, happy to help! I'm sure you'll love it!!

dazyabbey

We stayed at the RIU Palace Riviera Maya which is a couple resorts down from the tequila one. You are absolutely going to love it. You can either walk down the beach or through Playacar (The private area these resorts are located on) to Playa Del Carmen's main tourist areas. We were there in September of this year and had a blast. You will have so much fun! If you have any questions let me know!

Vanessa&Tony

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_cancun-playa-del-carmen-puerto-vallarta?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:4a122453-d3fe-4c18-a900-ef5cab5b7422Post:7e358ce5-712a-4fa3-bd2d-054ff1be22d6">Re: Cancun, Playa del Carmen, or Puerto Vallarta??</a>:
[QUOTE]We stayed at the RIU Palace Riviera Maya which is a couple resorts down from the tequila one. You are absolutely going to love it. You can either walk down the beach or through Playacar (The private area these resorts are located on) to Playa Del Carmen's main tourist areas. We were there in September of this year and had a blast. You will have so much fun! If you have any questions let me know!
Posted by dazyabbey[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the info! I was unsure at first about booking the Tequila one because it's  not on the beach, but then I read all the comments on trip advisor and they said all the Riu grounds are open to all guests. They even have a van that will drive you to the hotels beach if you don't feel like making the 5-10min walk down the path.

The reviews said that you can eat at the other resorts...is that true?

txin1_19759230

We stay at the Moon Palace in Cancun and its absolutely fabulous!  We were there last Christmas and it was warm and just perfect. 

dazyabbey

You can eat and drink at the other resorts however you can not eat at the specialty restaurants, only the buffets I think. I would double check when you get there. We never really ventured to the other resorts. Some of the trip advisor reviews said that the club at the tequila was the best one though. So good for that! If you want to play on teh catamaran which is the boat thingy with the sail, make sure you say you have used one before, otherwise you have to pay like $65 for classes each of you. Apparently they are really easy to operate.

Also, if you visit the Walmart in Playa, they have tons of souveneirs for way cheaper than the ones on 5th Ave. And it is literally the same stuff. I got this really cool photo album for like 180 Pesos instead of the $25 the hotel and gift shops were asking. So it was about half the price. We ended up getting half of the souveneirs on 5th Avenue then going to walmart and wishing we had waited. Litererally we spent double what we should have.

Also if you feel a little adventerous you can take a Collectivo pretty much everywhere instead of a taxi to save some money. Check out my review below and the section about "Travel".

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g150812-d596668-r83969420-Riu_Palace_Riviera_Maya-Playa_del_Carmen_Yucatan_Peninsula.html

Also if you have any questions about parks or excursion activities let me know. :-)

Vanessa&Tony

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_cancun-playa-del-carmen-puerto-vallarta?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:4a122453-d3fe-4c18-a900-ef5cab5b7422Post:1297ed66-3e71-4017-b233-c58f0d407d55">Re: Cancun, Playa del Carmen, or Puerto Vallarta??</a>:
[QUOTE]You can eat and drink at the other resorts however you can not eat at the specialty restaurants, only the buffets I think. I would double check when you get there. We never really ventured to the other resorts. Some of the trip advisor reviews said that the club at the tequila was the best one though. So good for that! If you want to play on teh catamaran which is the boat thingy with the sail, make sure you say you have used one before, otherwise you have to pay like $65 for classes each of you. Apparently they are really easy to operate. Also, if you visit the Walmart in Playa, they have tons of souveneirs for way cheaper than the ones on 5th Ave. And it is literally the same stuff. I got this really cool photo album for like 180 Pesos instead of the $25 the hotel and gift shops were asking. So it was about half the price. We ended up getting half of the souveneirs on 5th Avenue then going to walmart and wishing we had waited. Litererally we spent double what we should have. Also if you feel a little adventerous you can take a Collectivo pretty much everywhere instead of a taxi to save some money. Check out my review below and the section about "Travel". <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g150812-d596668-r83969420-Riu_Palace_Riviera_Maya-Playa_del_Carmen_Yucatan_Peninsula.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g150812-d596668-r83969420-Riu_Palace_Riviera_Maya-Playa_del_Carmen_Yucatan_Peninsula.html</a> Also if you have any questions about parks or excursion activities let me know. :-)
Posted by dazyabbey[/QUOTE]
Thanks the info was very helpful!