Mexico vs Jamaica

ethadiva

So we have narrowed it down between these two locations.  Which is better? We are thinking AI, 7+ nights, first week in November, budget no more than 6K total.

We are interested in amazing beaches (swimmable/ nice sand), great food/alcohol, upgraded room (includes jacuzzi/ocean views), and some excursions.

We are thinking Valentin in Maya Rivera or Secrets Wild Orchid in Montego Bay.  Anyone been to either place?  Recommendations?

I'm leaning towards Jamaica because we've never been.  I've been in Cancun, Mexico before and feel as though I would like to go somewhere new altogether.  But not if Mexico Maya Rivera is going to be a better experience overall.  Please help! Thanks!

dazyabbey

If you had not been to either I would vote Mexico since I really have no desire to go to Jamaica because of all the horror stories (Then again, some people have horror stories about Mexico but having been there, I thought it was really safe!). But since you have already been to Cancun, going farther south wouldn't be a huge change. I would pick somewhere completely different. You have the budget to explore and check out other areas, I would use this as your one opportunity.

Like CMG said, you have lots of options. Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Aruba, Virgin Islands, etc. Why keep it between those two?

nextrightthing

We chose Mexico over Jamaica for a variety of reasons.  The beaches in Riviera Maya are beautiful, and the flight to Mexico from where we are is much quicker.  We booked the Valentin for about half your budget.
Honestly, with such a healthy budget, the PP are right, you have a lot of options. 

MoonlightSilver

I have not been to Jamacia, but I LOVED the Valentin in Mexico. We got an upgraded Emerald room for well under your budget, including flights. There are a few pictures in my Married Bio from our trip.  I never felt unsafe during our trip, but we also only went on guided tours and visited local theme/ecological parks. 

If you go with the Valentin, I highly suggest you check out their Facebook page. I found a lot of tips from long time visitors there that helped me out a lot- and told me which rooms had awesome ocean views to ask for.

ethadiva

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_mexico-vs-jamaica?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:7cadbfce-c3ad-4db6-9e6e-d8bd95ad5a55Post:94c38d33-d6f5-4796-a341-36e995bd3f1f">Re: Mexico vs Jamaica</a>:
[QUOTE]I have not been to Jamacia, but I LOVED the Valentin in Mexico. We got an upgraded Emerald room for well under your budget, including flights. There are a few pictures in my Married Bio from our trip.  I never felt unsafe during our trip, but we also only went on guided tours and visited local theme/ecological parks.  If you go with the Valentin, I highly suggest you check out their Facebook page. I found a lot of tips from long time visitors there that helped me out a lot- and told me which rooms had awesome ocean views to ask for. =)
Posted by MoonlightSilver[/QUOTE]

What room did you originally book?  And were there many different upgrade opportunities?  Who did you book through?

ethadiva

Thanks for all of the replies.  We have picked Mexico and Jamaica because we know people who have gone to both places and loved their experiences.  I have already been to Cancun, DR, PR, Costa Rica, and Belize.  Haven't been to VI or Aruba but there are not that many AI's in those areas, or so I hear...  Also worried about the hurricane season in November in some areas.  Also we do want to eventually do a cruise but not on our honeymoon..we like to explore and not be confined to a particular time clock with the ship.

Also we'd like to go somewhere that is well within our budget so that we can splurge on the room ammenities and excursions.

Other options that people have for us?
Thanks!

Hummingbird125

I was in Jamaica last month. The weather was perfect, and the resort we stayed at (Grand Palladium), was the most beautiful resort I've ever been to. The food wasn't great, but I've found that's true at a lot of AI resorts. If you think you'll want to do a lot of activities outside of the resort, I would not recommend Jamaica. If you're pretty sure you'll just want to stay at the resort, I don't think the differences will be too great, and you may have more fun going someplace new. 

ethadiva

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_mexico-vs-jamaica?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:7cadbfce-c3ad-4db6-9e6e-d8bd95ad5a55Post:f6fb42db-ba35-40c6-b362-fd0aee21b9bb">Re: Mexico vs Jamaica</a>:
[QUOTE]We chose Mexico over Jamaica for a variety of reasons.  The beaches in Riviera Maya are beautiful, and the flight to Mexico from where we are is much quicker.  We booked the Valentin for about half your budget. Honestly, with such a healthy budget, the PP are right, you have a lot of options. 
Posted by nextrightthing[/QUOTE]

What room did you stay in and who did you book through?

MoonlightSilver

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_mexico-vs-jamaica?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:7cadbfce-c3ad-4db6-9e6e-d8bd95ad5a55Post:563b4406-5ba7-40e4-9c75-d2ddefe791be">Re: Mexico vs Jamaica</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Mexico vs Jamaica : What room did you originally book?  And were there many different upgrade opportunities?  Who did you book through?
Posted by ethadiva[/QUOTE]

<div>We asked for Building 11, Room 11202 and got the room next door. <font face="arial, sans-serif" size="2" color="#222222"><span style="line-height:normal;">It was absolutely amazing to look out and see the ocean. </span></font></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif" size="2" color="#222222"><span style="line-height:normal;">
</span></font></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif" size="2" color="#222222"><span style="line-height:normal;">We booked through CheapCaribbean.com. There are a ton of different room types, so you can upgrade among them. I think Emerald rooms are the only ones along the beach. They're farther away from the main resort area, so you have to walk a lot, but I think it was worth the view! They have a preferred club too but I didn't think it was necessary (and the facebook veterans said it wasn't really worth it). You can ask just about any question on their facebook page and someone will know the answer!</span></font></div>

alithebride

i've been to rm/cancun 12 times over the past 10 years. it's fine, the day trips are great and unless you go looking for trouble there's nothing scary or unsafe about it.
go and have fun.
i've not been to jamaica.
i can suggest the occidental grand xcaret  (royal side) and the royal suites yucatan.

alithebride

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_mexico-vs-jamaica?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:7cadbfce-c3ad-4db6-9e6e-d8bd95ad5a55Post:79487aba-c242-4043-afe0-589ff7d7a76f">Re: Mexico vs Jamaica</a>:
[QUOTE]Thanks for all of the replies.  We have picked Mexico and Jamaica because we know people who have gone to both places and loved their experiences.  I have already been to Cancun, DR, PR, Costa Rica, and Belize.  Haven't been to VI or Aruba but there are not that many AI's in those areas, or so I hear...  Also worried about the hurricane season in November in some areas.  Also we do want to eventually do a cruise but not on our honeymoon..we like to explore and not be confined to a particular time clock with the ship. Also we'd like to go somewhere that is well within our budget so that we can splurge on the room ammenities and excursions. Other options that people have for us? Thanks!
Posted by ethadiva[/QUOTE]

for the USVI onlt st thomas (least favorite island) has AIs. skip it.
aruba has them but it's my 2nd least favorite island.
puerto rico has maybe 1 but it's not a real AI like you're thinking, same with curacao (which is my favorite isaldn but i would NOT stay at an AI there). Same iwth St John usvi-my 2nd fave but no  AIs on there either.
the entire caribbean/atlantic's hurricane season goes until november 30th so if you stay in these areas a hurricane is possible HOWEVER i wouldn't not go to those areas because of the season. if you're super concerned get trip insurance that covers you for trip related cancellation/interruption, know the hotels/airline/etc... policy about hurricanes and go.
if you're still looking consider st lucia and barbados as they have a ton to do and AIs. or dont go ai and hit curacao or st john

SuMmErKuTiE

Having been to both Jamaica and Mexico I would vote for Mexico hands down! The beaches are gorgeous and the locals/resort workers were much friendlier. Plus I felt much safer leaving the resort in Cancun than in Jamaica.

But ditto pp's look into other islands as well. The Dominican Republic and Aruba will also fall into the same price range and are also very beautiful especially compared to Jamaica (in my opinion).