Cancun or Riviera - where to stay, what to do

Okay, so I've got end of January 2010 for a week (maybe 8-9 days even).

Do I stay in Cancun the whole time?

Or the Mayan Riviera?

I definitely can do the Fiesta Americana Vacation Club (via Hilton Grand Vacations). But I've heard that Cancun is a lot of party and I'm not really into that. Plus isn't it about 1-2 hour drive to the ruins and the good snorkeling and things?

Or I can definitely get a room at either Grand Mayan or Mayan Palace. But it seems that you need to rent a car if you stay there since there's nothing "close by" (ie, you do your stuff at the resort, or you go out all the time).

I was thinking maybe do 3 nights at Cancun (4 days, 3 nights) and then 5-6 at the Mayan Riviera resort?

I don't want to get into debt too much for the extras (ie, no $50-100 dinners every night and things).

I don't necessarily mind paying for one of the ruins tours (I hear there's a few where you can buy one day get another free?)

And I don't necessarily mind paying for a snorkeling tour (although I'm used to Hawaii where we did it for free--but then again, I had friends that lived there so they were our tour guide--haha).

Should I rent a car or is it fine with buses/taxis? Or about the same price regardless?

Sorry for all the questions, but trying to info gather as much as I can so I can plan ahead.

Unless anyone else is going during that time and doesn't mind splitting some cab fare (haha).

Cancun Info

I prefer to stay in Cancun in the hotel zone since we usually go and eat out at various places. We have never stayed in any AI so we try different affordable places here and there. We also rent a car everytime and drive to the ruins; downtown; shopping; etc. Driving in the hotel zone; on the roads to any of the ruins is not very bad if you are careful. Driving in downtown Cancun or other big cities like Merida can be scary for those afraid to drive in very hectic traffic. So; if you eat out a lot; I would stay in Cancun. If your resort is AI and in the Mayan Riviera; obviously you will be staying out there.

We do not party; go to bars or those types of things (yeah, we may be boring) so we avoid those places. There are many resorts along the hotel zone which are very quiet and peaceful but I would probably not get one near the "big turn" where most of the loud places are.

Except for some minor ruins around Cancun; the closest is about 1 hour away or further from the hotel zone. There are tours which can take you to these places (Tulum, Coba, Chichen Itza) but we have always driven to these. I have driven to some pretty far away from Cancun staying in Merida a couple of nights. I believe Sundays at ruins is free?? Can't remember . . .

We have snorkeled at Xel-Ha; Xcaret and in the place in Akumal (can't remember the name). If you want a variety of stuff; go to Xcaret; if you want lots of snorkeling; go to Xel-Ha; if you want to pay very little for a nice quiet place; go to Akumal.

Anyways; I rather not spend time moving from hotel to hotel; so try one area and explore the different things.

More questions; just ask . . .

Thanks for the info.

The Grand Mayan isn't AI (fortunately). Just further south (closer to Playa del Carmen) than it is to Cancun.

Definitely want to visit Cancun, but the tours (Xel-ha and Xcarta or whatever it is) look pretty cool too, so those will be closer to the Mayan.

I think I'll play by ear, and either chance my week at the Grand Mayan (just either rent a car or take buses), and see if there's any open season with Hilton (where you can get nightly for like $80), or, right now, I've booked 3 nights immediately after at the Fiesta in Cancun. I figure you gotta drive north to the airport anyway, may as well stop at Cancun and spend some time there.

So right now I'm Jan 31-Feb 7th at Grand mayan and Feb 7-10th at Fiesta.

I think that should be a nice time to try to get done and relax.

Here's what I'd like to do (the must do list):

1) Snorkel somewhere. Preferably more than once (I LOVE snorkeling). Of course, living in New York we don't do a lot of that here--haha

2) Must visit Xcaret or Xel-Ha (I think Xel-Ha has water/snorkeling too). So maybe if i do both, I can take care of my snorkeling habit?

3) Puerto Moreles for snorkeling I think?

4) Eats at diff. places (but not too expensive) I dont' mind sampling the local cuisine. Doesn't have to be nice sit-down, even a cafe/diner (whatever they have similar)

If you have any pointers, that'd be appreciated.

Maybe some others on this forum will be there at the same time and we can hook up or take a tour or something together (I hear you can save on some travel expenses if you share rides).

We have done 4 exchanges at the Grand Mayan - Riviera Maya for 2 weeks each time. Our last exchange was this past April. The first time we went in 2005 we also did an exchange at the Royal Mayan in Cancun on the same trip so we could compare them. We far preferred the Grand Mayan. Cancun is a big city with lots of restaurants, bars, etc but nothing really in the way of attractions. It is not a very attractive city. The Riviera Maya is closer to the attractions you mentioned.

We have done tours of Xel-Ha, Xcaret, Tulum, Chichen Itza, and we went to Cozumel. We booked our tours right at the Grand Mayan. I strongly recommend Xcaret. We have done it 3 times. If you do it, make sure that you also do their Mexican Spectacular show in the evening. You want to also swim in the underground rivers so take your swimsuits. Xcaret is great. We did snorkeling at Xel-Ha and it was a good tour. The Xel-Ha tour can be combined with Tulum which we did. Tulum has the Mayan ruins and is worth it. Tulum is close to Xel-Ha. Chichen Itza has the best and largest display of the Mayan Pyramids, ruins, etc. and the tour included stopping at one of the cenotes to go swimming. However, it is a long drive so you will spend several hours on the bus. We went to Cozumel on our own by taking the bus in front of the Grand Mayan resort to Playa del Carmen and then taking the boat from there across to Cozumel. We did a tour there in a horse drawn carriage.

You will want to do your grocery shopping at Playa del Carmen where they have some large stores including WalMart, Sam's Club and large supermarkets. Playa del Carmen also has several restaurants and stores. Playa del Carmen is about 15 minutes from the Grand Mayan. There is a taxi/shuttle service right from the resort to Playa del Carmen that costs about $3.00 /rt. You can also catch a mini bus in front of the resort. Personally we have never done any grocery shopping nor taken the taxi as we never do any cooking on vacation. We just eat all our meals at the many Grand Mayan restaurants, room service, or grab something from their deli. They also have a small grocery store where the deli is that has the basics. Hopefully somebody else will respond that has more details about grocery shopping in Playa del Carmen. It is a fairly large city with a population over 100,000. Puerto Morelos is pretty close to the Grand Mayan.

We have never rented a car as we have had no need to. I would definitely stay at the Grand Mayan rather than the Mayan Palace. They are both on the same resort with separate buildings. The Grand Mayan units are more luxurious and you have access to all of the resort's amenities and facilities whereas the Mayan Palace guests do not have access to the Grand Mayan amenities.

I would take advantage of the free transportation from the Cancun Airport to the Grand Mayan resort. It is free from the airport to the resort. They do charge $15.00 /pp if you elect to use them to go back to the airport but there is no obligation to so even if you use the free ride to the resort. You book that 2 or 3 days in advance of your arrival by sending an e-mail to the Grand Mayan - Riviera Maya concierge with your: names, reservation number and flight info.

The Grand Mayan - Riviera is a great resort with excellent service. It is our favorite resort by far in our 22 years of timesharing as shown by our 4 visits. Normally we never go back to the same place except for New York City ( that we love ).