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#1
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Quick trip to Mexico - suggestions?
I hope someone is still out there reading. I haven't been on in
forever and all my favourite groups have disappeared due to spam.... We (husband, 3 yr old daughter, myself) want to plan a quick 3-4 day long weekend to Mexico. Our goal is just to lay on the beach for a few days and not think about the world. Our real vacation turned into anything but due to assorted family illnesses (every day was spent at the hospital), so this is just our escape. I have never been an all-inclusive resort type person (more of a traipsing through the jungle type traveller), but with the kid and our desire for relaxation, that seems to be the best route. The main priority is that the flight has to be relatively short from San Antonio, TX, which is why the Caribbean and Central America are not being considered - with only 3-4 days, we don't want to spend a day flying. The other consideration is that American needs to fly there - so we can use miles. I've narrowed it down to two options: Puerto Vallarta - Westin Resort or Villa Del Palmar Flamingos Beach Resort and Spa neither of which are all-inclusive but that's ok, as long as they're on the beach. Cancun - Royal Solaris Beachfront Family resort - all inclusive or Westin Resort (not all inclusive) I once swore I'd never go to Cancun, but never say never......It'll also be hurricane season, and I'm hedging my bets that Puerto Vallarta may be a slightly less risky choice. Any comments on the hotels mentioned? Any other suggestions of places to go? |
#2
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Quick trip to Mexico - suggestions?
"cjra" wrote in message ... I hope someone is still out there reading. I haven't been on in forever and all my favourite groups have disappeared due to spam.... We (husband, 3 yr old daughter, myself) want to plan a quick 3-4 day long weekend to Mexico. Our goal is just to lay on the beach for a few days and not think about the world. Our real vacation turned into anything but due to assorted family illnesses (every day was spent at the hospital), so this is just our escape. I have never been an all-inclusive resort type person (more of a traipsing through the jungle type traveller), but with the kid and our desire for relaxation, that seems to be the best route. The main priority is that the flight has to be relatively short from San Antonio, TX, which is why the Caribbean and Central America are not being considered - with only 3-4 days, we don't want to spend a day flying. The other consideration is that American needs to fly there - so we can use miles. I've narrowed it down to two options: Puerto Vallarta - Westin Resort or Villa Del Palmar Flamingos Beach Resort and Spa neither of which are all-inclusive but that's ok, as long as they're on the beach. Cancun - Royal Solaris Beachfront Family resort - all inclusive or Westin Resort (not all inclusive) I once swore I'd never go to Cancun, but never say never......It'll also be hurricane season, and I'm hedging my bets that Puerto Vallarta may be a slightly less risky choice. Any comments on the hotels mentioned? Any other suggestions of places to go? We have also been avoiding Cancun, other than the airport, which is convenient for points North and South. That said, we love Puerto Vallarta, which is actually a small city by the sea rather than a purpose-built resort area. I don't know the Westin, but Villa Del Palmar Flamingos Beach is hardly in Puerto Vallarta, and I'm positive they offer an AI option, or at least they did last fall. It's in the resort area of Nuevo Vallarta, quite a distance from town. There is a sister resort in Puerto Vallarta proper called simply Villa Del Palmar. We've been to both, and for a quick vacation like you describe Nuevo Vallarta is fine, with much better beaches. After a few days you'd start with the cabin fever no matter how nice the cabin, and find yourself on the bus to and from town for over an hour a day to go back and forth. The Flamingos is newer, usually with a new wing just starting, and the accommodations are really nice. Things are laid out so everyone has a good view from a good-size deck. Both places have mediocre food that's on the pricey side. One reason we love PV is the plethora of good restaurants ... enough that even when the town is packed with tourists, they're still out on the sidewalks luring diners in with free appetizers, desserts, or drinks. PV has one huge annoyance (not unique to there) and that is time-share salespeople are everywhere, and they have a million and one lures to get you to tour a property. You really need good blinders and a strong will (and maybe an accurate right hook) to just keep walking. I should note that the beaches in the north Hotel Zone of PV (where Villa Del Palmar is) are nice enough, but they're all chopped up by breakwaters that were built for some reason that seems to escape everyone now, but I would guess they were put there in a lame attempt to preserve the imported sand. Both areas have the usual motor sport offerings like jet-ski rental, paragliding, banana boat rides, etc, and the resorts have the non motorized things like wake boards and kayaks. Licensed beach vendors are also allowed everywhere, and are rarely annoying. Not everything is junk, either. Have a great time whatever you decide to go. I got very sick on our last vacation, and I won't soon forget it. Keith |
#3
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Quick trip to Mexico - suggestions?
Take a look at Cozumel. You can fly to Cancun then get a bus and
ferry over there and it's much nicer than both Cancun and PV IMHO On Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:01:59 -0500, "K" wrote: "cjra" wrote in message ... I hope someone is still out there reading. I haven't been on in forever and all my favourite groups have disappeared due to spam.... We (husband, 3 yr old daughter, myself) want to plan a quick 3-4 day long weekend to Mexico. Our goal is just to lay on the beach for a few days and not think about the world. Our real vacation turned into anything but due to assorted family illnesses (every day was spent at the hospital), so this is just our escape. I have never been an all-inclusive resort type person (more of a traipsing through the jungle type traveller), but with the kid and our desire for relaxation, that seems to be the best route. The main priority is that the flight has to be relatively short from San Antonio, TX, which is why the Caribbean and Central America are not being considered - with only 3-4 days, we don't want to spend a day flying. The other consideration is that American needs to fly there - so we can use miles. I've narrowed it down to two options: Puerto Vallarta - Westin Resort or Villa Del Palmar Flamingos Beach Resort and Spa neither of which are all-inclusive but that's ok, as long as they're on the beach. Cancun - Royal Solaris Beachfront Family resort - all inclusive or Westin Resort (not all inclusive) I once swore I'd never go to Cancun, but never say never......It'll also be hurricane season, and I'm hedging my bets that Puerto Vallarta may be a slightly less risky choice. Any comments on the hotels mentioned? Any other suggestions of places to go? We have also been avoiding Cancun, other than the airport, which is convenient for points North and South. That said, we love Puerto Vallarta, which is actually a small city by the sea rather than a purpose-built resort area. I don't know the Westin, but Villa Del Palmar Flamingos Beach is hardly in Puerto Vallarta, and I'm positive they offer an AI option, or at least they did last fall. It's in the resort area of Nuevo Vallarta, quite a distance from town. There is a sister resort in Puerto Vallarta proper called simply Villa Del Palmar. We've been to both, and for a quick vacation like you describe Nuevo Vallarta is fine, with much better beaches. After a few days you'd start with the cabin fever no matter how nice the cabin, and find yourself on the bus to and from town for over an hour a day to go back and forth. The Flamingos is newer, usually with a new wing just starting, and the accommodations are really nice. Things are laid out so everyone has a good view from a good-size deck. Both places have mediocre food that's on the pricey side. One reason we love PV is the plethora of good restaurants ... enough that even when the town is packed with tourists, they're still out on the sidewalks luring diners in with free appetizers, desserts, or drinks. PV has one huge annoyance (not unique to there) and that is time-share salespeople are everywhere, and they have a million and one lures to get you to tour a property. You really need good blinders and a strong will (and maybe an accurate right hook) to just keep walking. I should note that the beaches in the north Hotel Zone of PV (where Villa Del Palmar is) are nice enough, but they're all chopped up by breakwaters that were built for some reason that seems to escape everyone now, but I would guess they were put there in a lame attempt to preserve the imported sand. Both areas have the usual motor sport offerings like jet-ski rental, paragliding, banana boat rides, etc, and the resorts have the non motorized things like wake boards and kayaks. Licensed beach vendors are also allowed everywhere, and are rarely annoying. Not everything is junk, either. Have a great time whatever you decide to go. I got very sick on our last vacation, and I won't soon forget it. Keith |
#4
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Quick trip to Mexico - suggestions?
On Jul 28, 7:14 pm, (John Kulp) wrote:
Take a look at Cozumel. You can fly to Cancun then get a bus and ferry over there and it's much nicer than both Cancun and PV IMHO First place I checked but would end up eating the better part of the day travelling. Not worth it when we only have a few days. |
#5
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Quick trip to Mexico - suggestions?
On Jul 28, 2:01 pm, "K" wrote:
"cjra" wrote in message ... I hope someone is still out there reading. I haven't been on in forever and all my favourite groups have disappeared due to spam.... We (husband, 3 yr old daughter, myself) want to plan a quick 3-4 day long weekend to Mexico. Our goal is just to lay on the beach for a few days and not think about the world. Our real vacation turned into anything but due to assorted family illnesses (every day was spent at the hospital), so this is just our escape. I have never been an all-inclusive resort type person (more of a traipsing through the jungle type traveller), but with the kid and our desire for relaxation, that seems to be the best route. The main priority is that the flight has to be relatively short from San Antonio, TX, which is why the Caribbean and Central America are not being considered - with only 3-4 days, we don't want to spend a day flying. The other consideration is that American needs to fly there - so we can use miles. I've narrowed it down to two options: Puerto Vallarta - Westin Resort or Villa Del Palmar Flamingos Beach Resort and Spa neither of which are all-inclusive but that's ok, as long as they're on the beach. Cancun - Royal Solaris Beachfront Family resort - all inclusive or Westin Resort (not all inclusive) I once swore I'd never go to Cancun, but never say never......It'll also be hurricane season, and I'm hedging my bets that Puerto Vallarta may be a slightly less risky choice. Any comments on the hotels mentioned? Any other suggestions of places to go? We have also been avoiding Cancun, other than the airport, which is convenient for points North and South. That said, we love Puerto Vallarta, which is actually a small city by the sea rather than a purpose-built resort area. I don't know the Westin, but Villa Del Palmar Flamingos Beach is hardly in Puerto Vallarta, and I'm positive they offer an AI option, or at least they did last fall. It's in the resort area of Nuevo Vallarta, quite a distance from town. There is a sister resort in Puerto Vallarta proper called simply Villa Del Palmar. We've been to both, and for a quick vacation like you describe Nuevo Vallarta is fine, with much better beaches. After a few days you'd start with the cabin fever no matter how nice the cabin, and find yourself on the bus to and from town for over an hour a day to go back and forth. The Flamingos is newer, usually with a new wing just starting, and the accommodations are really nice. Things are laid out so everyone has a good view from a good-size deck. Both places have mediocre food that's on the pricey side. One reason we love PV is the plethora of good restaurants ... enough that even when the town is packed with tourists, they're still out on the sidewalks luring diners in with free appetizers, desserts, or drinks. PV has one huge annoyance (not unique to there) and that is time-share salespeople are everywhere, and they have a million and one lures to get you to tour a property. You really need good blinders and a strong will (and maybe an accurate right hook) to just keep walking. I should note that the beaches in the north Hotel Zone of PV (where Villa Del Palmar is) are nice enough, but they're all chopped up by breakwaters that were built for some reason that seems to escape everyone now, but I would guess they were put there in a lame attempt to preserve the imported sand. Both areas have the usual motor sport offerings like jet-ski rental, paragliding, banana boat rides, etc, and the resorts have the non motorized things like wake boards and kayaks. Licensed beach vendors are also allowed everywhere, and are rarely annoying. Not everything is junk, either. Have a great time whatever you decide to go. I got very sick on our last vacation, and I won't soon forget it. Keith Thanks for the input. Our daughter is only 3, so we're not likely to do bigger water sports, mostly just play in the sand and water. So a calmer beach would do. I was reading more on the Bucerias region - looks like a couple of hotels available and the town sounds nice, with nicer beaches than PV. I don't really like All-inclusive, but if town is too far away for eating, then it's the better option (I'm not really seeking to explore Mexican cuisine - have done that and would choose elsewhere, but good restaurants are always a plus!) Thanks for the insight. This helps. We decided PV definitely - flights worked out well with FF miles. We basically only have 2.5 days on the ground. Now just to decide the hotel. |
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