wrote in message
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My wife and I have been to the Cancun area 2 times, once in the hotel
and another time at a more secluded resort between Playa Del Carmen
and Tulum.

We are wanting to go somewhere difference that is a little less
commercialized but still has a nice beach. We are thinking of Puerto
Vallarta or Guayabidos (sp?) but are worried that we might be upset at
the beaches on the west coast.

We'd also like to experience more of the Mexican town/culture
experience that you don't get in the Cancun.

I've been to Puerto Vallarta and Ixtapa. Ixtapa was much, much better. The
beach in Ixtapa was great. The sand was nice. It was clean and there was a
lot of it. Also the bottom underneath the water was smooth sand. In P.V.
the bottom under the water was rocky. The P.V. beach was not fun to swim
in. There were more solicitors on the P.V. beach. You were confronted with
poverty much more often in P.V. than Ixtapa. Ixtapa is simply a higher
class resort area.