pre 'one big holiday' Cancun trip idea

[fortbethel]

I plan to fly in a couple of days before and am looking into Cancun specifically. I'm traveling alone so it sure would be nice to network and hook up with fans. I'm already doing research. Any thoughts?

[Crayton09]

Avoid Cancun and go south to Playa Del Carmen. I've only spent time in Playa, but we totally avoided Cancun and drove straight to Playa because its so touristy. Playa can be as well, but not on Cancun's level. Anyway, first thing I would say to check out is the cenotes(flooded caves and sink holes where fresh and saltwater mix) and lagoons in the area as well as Tulum. Those are the most obvious things to do, but there's so much more. I haven't been in a while so I'm gonna start researching as well and I'll post back in here with stuff as I come across it.

[walterfredo]

yes, definitely avoid Cancun, place is like Vegas in Mexico.  I'll second the Tulum area as a great recommendation, you can easily catch a nice air-conditioned bus from Cancun down to Tulum for cheap.  I'd highly recommend the Mayan ruins at Coba, also easily accessible via bus.  Try to avoid renting a car if you can, although we did it last year for a couple of days and had no problem.  And I agree on the Cenotes as well, so fun. 

[jaye]

Love the cenotes.  Also it's been awhile but Puerto Morelos was a nice town.

[fortbethel]

Thanks for all this feedback. I'll look into all of this. I also speak Spanish fluently so I have that in my corner.

[Crayton09]

yes, definitely avoid Cancun, place is like Vegas in Mexico.  I'll second the Tulum area as a great recommendation, you can easily catch a nice air-conditioned bus from Cancun down to Tulum for cheap.  I'd highly recommend the Mayan ruins at Coba, also easily accessible via bus.  Try to avoid renting a car if you can, although we did it last year for a couple of days and had no problem.  And I agree on the Cenotes as well, so fun. 

why do you say to avoid renting a car? I had planned on renting a car so my group wouldn't have to be on a bus schedule and so we could check out places that buses don't take you. last time I was there in 2001 we rented a jeep and it was a blast, had no issues.