Hello Ladies! We want to take our 9 year old son this summer to a beach in MX but we are undecided on Cancun, Play De Carmen, or Puerto Vallarta? What is your vote? Your guidance is appreciated.
I've been to Cancun (business trip) and Cozumel (vacation). Although the resorts were beautiful what stands out to me most was the starving, skinny dogs that roamed the streets. (This was over a decade ago though) I have also been to Barbados, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.
Hands down the Cayman Islands were my favorite. I loved Barbados too but it was a far trip coming from phila so I wouldn't go there again.
Our neighbors went to Cancun a few years ago with 3 kids - 11, 8 and 6 at the time. They had a blast. I was in Cozumel years ago (near Cancun) and I remember that many people enjoyed the chance to also visit the ruins on the mainland.
Look for options (snorkeling, sightseeing and other things besides just the beach) and perhaps a kids' program so you get an occasional morning off.
We've been to Playa a few times and loved it. I think you can't go wrong with any resort on either beach but I would make sure the resort has kids activities. My kids like the kids's clubs and the one liked best had an outdoor climbing wall and bungie trampoline.
We enjoyed Playa Del Carmen, as our resort was right in the jungle and there were cenotes, Mayan ruins and wild animals to see in addition to the beach. I would not have liked to have been in a city, and if the beach was the only thing to see we would have been bored. Our resort also had a water park, kids club and lots of activities!
I've only been to Cancun, but it does have amazing beaches. We had a wonderful family vacation there a few years ago. There's a fun waterpark in Cancun, too, that your son might enjoy. We also had fun ziplining and touring the cenotes down past Playa Del Carmen. We went on that as a tour through our hotel, Hard Rock.
We went to Puerto Vallarta last summer and had an amazing time. We rented a condo near downtown and Los Muertos beach. We walked and took a taxi everywhere, we never felt unsafe. I'm glad we didn't stay at a resort because we were able to experience so much more. They offer many activities, like parasailing and banana boat and we also went to Las Caletas and watched Rhythm of the Night. You can also sign up to do a day time trip to Las Caletas where you can snorkel, paddle board, etc (If you don't want to do a late night activity) We enjoyed Puerto Vallarta because it wasn't too commercialized.. I think no matter where you go, you will have a great time. Enjoy!
