Archived Thread

NFT: Cancun advice - Cozumel

gmangill : 6/17/2018 7:18 am

Happy Fathers Day BBI dads!

Quick Question... I am taking the family (Wife, 2 daughters 19,21) to Quintana Roo in July... We are staying in an all inclusive called Unico 2087..

the vacation is pretty much all set and planned out.. A few activities here and there (including a day SCUBA diving for me)... The one thing I haven't decided on is where to take the girls for a day trip shopping... My choices are Tulum, Playa, or Cozumel.

Tulum looks too laid back and spread out... 5th ave in Playa looks like it will fill the bill... But I don't know much about Cozumel.. It looks like a short ferry ride and while it looks real touristy it also looks like a lot of fun..

What say you BBI??

And please, you don't have to remind me how "unsafe" Mexico is... the area we are going to is very safe and we are mostly staying on resort.

thanks in advance!

For shopping

Kootch : 6/17/2018 8:28 am : link

Yes, 5th ave in Playa will do nicely. There's many nice restaurants there too. You just have to deal with the people trying to call you into every storefront. That gets old real quick. I must have said "No, gracias" a hundred times.

The diving in Mexico is incredible. The Mexico side is fairly flat but there are turtles, lionfish and other interesting things. My wife and I saw a large school of tarpon swim by. I'll never forget that. But Cozumel is on a whole other level. Walls, reefs, caves..you name it. An unbelievable experience. You'll love it.

Cozumel

GruningsOnTheHill : 6/17/2018 8:46 am : link

is a tourist trap; you will constantly be swamped with the Carnival Cruise crowds being herded on & off. The Yucat�n Peninsula--with the exception of downtown Canc�n--is very safe. I worked as an adventure tour guide throughout Mexico for a very long time.

Look into nearby Xcarat.

Bubba : 6/17/2018 8:48 am : link

Natural action park. Lots of attractions.

Had a good time

Gman11 : 6/17/2018 9:09 am : link

shopping at Mercado 24 (I think that was the number - it's 20-something). It's more like a flea market. If you speak any Spanish you can haggle quite a bit. Our snorkeling trip made a stop at Isla Mujeres. That was pretty good too.

Cozumel is good diving, not much else

Daniel in MI : 6/17/2018 12:00 pm : link

Playa del Carmen for shopping and nice restaurants. I�ll agree Xcaret is fun as is Xel Ha. Also, cool to dive/snorkel in cenotes.

I've been at the Riviera Maya since Tuesday.

Mr. Bungle : 6/17/2018 2:02 pm : link

Haven't seen the sun once. Horrible trip.

You should cancel. Go somewhere else.

Yes. Cancel because you were unlucky with the weather.

Crispino : 6/17/2018 5:37 pm : link

Makes perfect sense.

RE: I've been at the Riviera Maya since Tuesday.

mrvax : 6/17/2018 6:10 pm : link

In comment 13993165 Mr. Bungle said:

Quote:

Haven't seen the sun once. Horrible trip.

You should cancel. Go somewhere else.

Prior to booking, did you do your homework to check for wet/dry seasons there?

Been a while

ColHowPepper : 6/17/2018 6:24 pm : link

but Cozumel is funky cool once you get off the immediate Cruise population strip, very lay back, a bit of Mexico authenticity if you take the time and are so inclined...shopping? Nothing you wouldn't find in your mainland venues.

Playa Del Carmen

Giant John : 6/17/2018 7:12 pm : link

We were just there. Cool place lots of shopping. I�d cross off Tulume unless you have interest in the ruins there.

I second the Xel Ha

Reb8thVA : 6/17/2018 8:59 pm : link

Recommendation. That place was awesome. I wish I had more time to spend there.

Xcaret is good too. Similar to Xel Ha, but even bigger I think.

Crispino : 6/17/2018 10:36 pm : link

Also, go to Selvatica for zip lining if you get a chance. Much better than Xplore.

Stayed at unico last year when it had just opened

Giantfan in skinland : 6/18/2018 9:23 am : link

AWESOME place. I suspect it's even better now that they've been up and running for a bit. Really thrilled with just about everything about our stay there. We particularly enjoyed our scuba and snorkeling excursions. We agreed to sit through the timeshare pitch for an extra excursion which we thought was worth it (They did it over breakfast and pushed hard but let up when we gave a firm no thanks).

going in August. Staying at Paradisus... its awesome

GMAN4LIFE : 6/18/2018 9:40 am : link

i dont leave the resort and love the food.

I had a different experience taking an 17 and 18 yr. old

Beer Man : 6/18/2018 4:09 pm : link

to an all inclusive resort in Cancun. We took them their for their Senior trip, and I would never do it again. With the open bars, they and their friends were completely out-of-control for the entire week. The only thing that saved us was that the boozed was watered down. It was not a relaxing experience for any of the parents.

thanks all...

gmangill : 6/19/2018 6:37 am : link

Kind of confirmed what I had read... We'll do a 1/2 day shopping in Playa. that should make the girls happy.

rest of the week is pretty much Decompression.. We have a dolphin encounter for a few hours one day, I am diving another day, one day of shopping, balance of the time self medicating on the beach or at the pool..

looking forward to the trip...