• Welcome to the FREE TUGBBS forums! The absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 32 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 32 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 32nd anniversary: Happy 32nd Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    All subscribers auto-entered to win all free TUG membership giveaways!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $24,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $24 Million dollars
  • Wish you could meet up with other TUG members? Well look no further as this annual event has been going on for years in Orlando! How to Attend the TUG January Get-Together!
  • Now through the end of the year you can join or renew your TUG membership at the lowest price ever offered! Learn More!
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    Tens of thousands of subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

Best but cheapest place to go in Mexico

L

Lester

TUG Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2005
Messages
61
Reaction score
0
Location
Edmonton, Alberta
We have been to Cancun a couple of times (and loved it) but were thinking of trying a different part of Mexico this Christmas. Since our adult kids are coming with us, and they don't have a lot of money to spend, we were looking for a nice place to go, lots to do, with a good beach. Any ideas?
 
I'm a Royal Resort fan so I'm partial but if you all can fit into a villa that will sleep six you might be better off doing this than paying for a AI. You can rent units direct from the Royal Resorts at www.royalresorts.com or look for rentals in the classifieds on this web site. I think the villas is a much better way to go verse the hotel room but thats just my opinion.
 
Look into Merida, I read an article that it's a value destination. I've been to Cabo, Cancun, and Puerto Vallarta with PV being the better bargain.
 
Does Merida have ocean and beach??

I would consider Mazatlan. It seems to be the last of the 'small town' places that have resorts.
 
Mazatlan definitely! The beaches are long, with some very nice secluded ones. Not the Carib blue you get in Cancun, but still very nice, especially up around Cerittos Point, Witches Beach and beyond to Nuevo Maz. There are many good restaurants that are cheap but excellent. Buses are abundant so your kids won't need rental cars to get around. There's enough action and enough variety that everyone can find something fun to do. And from Alberta it should be cheaper to get there than Cancun where you mostly go. I'd definitely say try Maz...but then again, I'm biased. So is Fern...she's the one who turned me onto Maz and now I'm an addict! :clap:
 
Parkplace said:
Does Merida have ocean and beach??

I would consider Mazatlan. It seems to be the last of the 'small town' places that have resorts.
Click to expand...

Mazatlan a small town??? The population of Mazatlan is over 700,000 which is hardly a small town.
 
Last edited:
John Cummings said:
Mazatlan a small town??? The population of Mazatlan is over 700,000 which is hardly a small town.
Click to expand...

Why do you have to take everything so literal? I think what they mean is Maz is not a mecca for tourists like the big three (Cancun, PV, and Cabo). I'd agree, Maz has a feeling of not being a major tourist attraction, yet still has a few resorts and the infrastructure to support it.

It's a great place, but I still prefer the Carib side of Mexico.
 
Lester....

Cheapest and Mexico should probably not be in same sentence.For gosh sakes at least spend the bucks to stay in a good resort.If someone in your party gets sick..it can last for years...I know..It happened to me.Cancun is Very safe,much safer then the rest of Mexico..IMHO.
you might try Cozumel or playa del carmen.the water is EVERYTHING, both in your glass(And Ice) and on your swimsuit.
sally
 
Sally, We have been to Cancun and Playa Del Carmen and loved it. The problem is we want our kids to join us and air fare from Alberta to Cancun is around 1600.00 each as compared to PV at 600.00. The resort we have on hold is Club Velas Vallarta. Do you know anything about this. It is a gold crown resort and comes highly recommended from RCI (if that means anything?).
 
Since I live in Alberta I can relate to the high prices of air fares. Puerto Vallarta and Matzatlan are definitely cheaper to get to and cheaper to do things in. I love the caribbean but just couldn't justify the cost for a one week vacation for four. I did however get what I thought was a good airfare to Matzatlan during teacher's spring break(hard to do) so immediately rented Pueblo Bonito Matzatlan and put the week together for about $3500 Canadian for four. I know American's can find cheaper but as a teacher limited to school holidays I figure it's as cheap as I can get.

Joan
 
Lester said:
Sally, We have been to Cancun and Playa Del Carmen and loved it. The problem is we want our kids to join us and air fare from Alberta to Cancun is around 1600.00 each as compared to PV at 600.00. The resort we have on hold is Club Velas Vallarta. Do you know anything about this. It is a gold crown resort and comes highly recommended from RCI (if that means anything?).
Click to expand...

We have stayed in, Cancun, Riviera Maya, Puerto Vallarta, Nuevo Vallarta, Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas, and La Paz. We far prefer Riviera Maya followed by Nuevo Vallarta. Our least favorite is Mazatlan. We used to live just a couple hours from Mazatlan as well as we have timeshared there to visit family.

Having said all of that, I would choose Nuevo Vallarta in your case. It is every bit as safe as Cancun. We stayed at the Grand Mayan in Nuevo Vallarta last April for 2 weeks. The beaches in NV are excellent, better than Cancun. You are just 10 minutes from the Puerto Vallarta airport. The beaches in Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta are not very good. If you can't do Nuevo Vallarta then I would choose Puerto Vallarta.
 
Lester..

I have to agree with John,although I did get sick in P.Vallarta.,the fish ,at a place called Chico;s paradise.,in the mountains.A must swim,but stay away from the fish.On the other hand`,We stayed at pueblo bonita ,Mazatlan.A really pretty resort.The beaches/water will be a disapointment ,seeing how you have been to Cancun.
sally
 
Lester said:
Sally, We have been to Cancun and Playa Del Carmen and loved it. The problem is we want our kids to join us and air fare from Alberta to Cancun is around 1600.00 each as compared to PV at 600.00. The resort we have on hold is Club Velas Vallarta. Do you know anything about this. It is a gold crown resort and comes highly recommended from RCI (if that means anything?).
Click to expand...

I believe this resort has a mandatory all inclusive fee per person which can be either very pricy.

Short
 
I have this resort on hold until the end of today and haven't confirmed it yet because of the AI. The problem is, RCI told me that virtually all Mexican resorts are AI except for Mayan which has a 5 year rule. Since we stayed at the Mayan Palace in the Mayan Riviera 2 years ago, that's out. I was also told by RCI that most of the Caribbean resorts are also AI. To add to this complication, we were owners of Club Vacance Magog in Quebec which went backrupt and have one final week to use before next year. Being teachers we are limited to the time we travel. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
 
Lester said:
The problem is, RCI told me that virtually all Mexican resorts are AI except for Mayan which has a 5 year rule. QUOTE]

Some resorts in PV that are not mandatory AI are Los Tules( Park Royal and Royal Holiday Club), Sheraton Bouganvilia, Westin Club Regina, Villa del Palmar and Villa del Mar. There's probably others but I'm at work so my RCI book is not handy.
Click to expand...
 
RCI lies or they really just don't know. There are tons of resorts in Maz, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo, San Jose, Acapulco, and yes even Cancun that are not all-inclusive. The truth is the all-inclusive resorts are the last resorts most people want to exchange to, and that is why there is more inventory for those resorts.
I would also choose Mazatlan and stay at the Marina El-Cid or Pueblo Bonito or Emerald Bay if you can get into any of these resorts. Nuevo Vallarta is great also, just don't go all-inclusive unless you have to it is just tooo expensive.
 
From reading these replies I posted my concern on the RCI Tug site. Madge replied and asked me to email my concern to them and they would check to see if there were any NON AI resorts available. I had been looking in my old RCI book but have now found my new one with the AI listed. Thank goodness for TUG! It will be interesting to see what RCI responds!
 
Lester

We were fortunate to stay at Velas Vallarta just before the AI went into effect and it is a beautiful resort but way too much to pay for their AI. We have been to both PV and NV and I'm sure you would be happy with either location. Cancun does have much nicer beaches but we have had much better weather in PV. There are quite a few resorts in the area that are not AI.

Lynn
 
Buganvilias is not a mandatory A-I resort. I am alsmost sure that you will get a 20% discount on all your meals and drinks if you take a timeshare presentation or you can buy some type of package deal too, if you do not take the tour.

Paradise Village in NV has no mandatory A-I fees either but there are less restaurants there than in PV or at the marina in PV. I don't know about other resorts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top