General Questions, Jungala and alternate nearby resort or hotel to try

[vantovidanta]

So we are canadians heading back to RM next week.

We were there last october but jungala wasn't open yet.

(We were in NV in march btw we bounce back and forth)

We have a family of 2 adults and 2 children 6 and 7 years old.

Anyways the question I have for anyone who has visited jungala as members how much is the price for adults and children as members?

It states $79 usd and $59 usd for general admission.

Second question, typically the vacations are sold as weeks. We have gone for 1 week and it's not enough. 2 weeks is too much.

So the solution I was thinking was to go to vidanta for 7 days then check somewhere else out maybe in PDC or Cancun for 3 or 4 extra days.

Any recommendations? I'm open to stay at a smaller resort or even a nice little hotel with pool near the beach. PDC might be fun

 

[hurnik]

Can't answer the Jungala question, someone had alluded to a discount if you went and got a multi-day pass, but I don't believe anything was ever posted back to actually confirm that. I do know that I had some guests go on an SFX exchange and they got Cirque tickets AND Jungala for $115 each I believe.

Anyhoo, yes, we've done the 10-night and stayed at a condo rented by VRBO in Playacar (next to PDC) mainly because the time of year that we went had that BPM festival and we didn't want to hear the "thump thump" of the music all hours of the morning.

But otherwise, LOTS of options (condos especially) in PDC itself right on the beach or near the beach. All depends on how many rooms/bathrooms and your price point.
I tried to avoid the RESORTS in PDC because I think all of them are mandatory AI, unless you're into that type of thing. For us, it's way too expensive.

 

[vantovidanta]

Can't answer the Jungala question, someone had alluded to a discount if you went and got a multi-day pass, but I don't believe anything was ever posted back to actually confirm that. I do know that I had some guests go on an SFX exchange and they got Cirque tickets AND Jungala for $115 each I believe.

Anyhoo, yes, we've done the 10-night and stayed at a condo rented by VRBO in Playacar (next to PDC) mainly because the time of year that we went had that BPM festival and we didn't want to hear the "thump thump" of the music all hours of the morning.

But otherwise, LOTS of options (condos especially) in PDC itself right on the beach or near the beach. All depends on how many rooms/bathrooms and your price point.
I tried to avoid the RESORTS in PDC because I think all of them are mandatory AI, unless you're into that type of thing. For us, it's way too expensive.

Ok thanks for reply..... no we arent looking for AI. I read in another thread about lagunamar or islander.

Will stay in PDC one of these days.
I have visited the strip there but only a few hours at a time by taxi.

Thanks in advance for all the info and any suggestions

 

[nomadio]

Isla Mujeres would be my choice for 3 or 4 days.

 

[vantovidanta]

Isla Mujeres would be my choice for 3 or 4 days.

Thanks for the idea. Any suggestion of accommodation? I'm open to AI or non-AI resort on par with say Lagunamar. Something more modern if possible. Kitchenette would be handy

 

[nomadio]

I would stay on or near Playa Norte, the nicest beach on the island. There are beach bars/restaurants along it in addition to various hotels. Playa Norte is adjacent to El Centro, the main commercial area containing most of the restaurants and shops. Something like the Ixchel Beach Hotel sounds like it might suit you. Right on Playa Norte, fairly modern and some of the units have kitchens and separate bedrooms. Probably not on par with Lagunamar but still nice. There is another condo building on North Beach called Nautibeach although it is more dated.

We stayed at Las Palmas when we went. It’s a couple blocks off Playa Norte. It has sort of a communal vibe where you can interact a fair bit with other guests if you choose. There’s only a plunge pool on the roof. We loved it but I would say it's probably not for everyone. Our son was very young at that time but now that our kids are older we would need something with a bigger pool.

There are I believe four all inclusive hotels. Privilege Aluxes is right on Playa Norte and I think it is AI optional. There is also Mia Reef, which is near Playa Norte but in a very cool location on its own little spit of land. Seems like the food gets mixed reviews at these first two. Then there are a couple others further down the island. Isla Mujeres Palace and Izla, which is newer. I wouldn't stay at either of these myself as we usually don’t do AI and a big part of the charm of IM is El Centro and Playa Norte.

If you look at the hotels on tripadvisor sorted by traveller ranking I’d say you couldn’t go wrong with most of the top 20. Most of those have been around for a long time.

You can rent golf carts to tour the island which is only 7 km long. There are other activities too. Again, check out tripadvisor. Have a great trip!

 

[vantovidanta]

That's a great suggestion Nomadio. I appreciate that. The Playa Norte and El Centro sounds perfect.

Seeing as we both have younger children and your consideration of that I take your opinion and suggestion with much value.

I wanted to rent gas scooters like we did in SE asia but golf cart would do.

Do they rent scooters on that island?

Due to noise and pollution I'd imagine they may have a no car or no gas combustion engine policy on such a small island like some many golf resorts do but I could be wrong.

Your overview gives me a better idea of what to expect so we arent in the dark and have some first hand knowledge given to us.

 

[nomadio]

Yes I believe you can rent scooters. There are cars on the island but I don't believe there are any car rentals.

With kids aged 6 and 7 I'd rent a golf cart and go to the turtle farm. There's also a small place for snorkeling next to garrrafon park called garrifon de castilla that has a small beach area and rents snorkel and mask (or bring your own) Garrafon park is $$$, garrifon de castilla has comparable snorkeling and it's $8 a person. Bring water shoes for the kids- there are some crushed shells as you get in to the water, after that its sand.
They have food and drinks there but I would go there early in the morning (10 am), snorkel a couple hours and then go have lunch some place else. If it's a windy day, I would skip the snorkeling, it gets murky when its windy. (I blatantly stole this write up from a tripadvisor post, but we went to both the turtle farm and garrifon de castilla when we were there and would recommend).

Also, if you get a golf cart don't miss the drive thru beer store!