Where should my girlfriend and I go for vacation in Aug-Sept? Cozumel, Cancun, Puerto Vallarta or Acapulco?

Question

We want to go diving, dancing, check out the mayan or aztec temples, ride jet skis and be in the best all inclusive resort.

Answer 1

Howdy danny. I've been to 3 of the 4 destinations you are looking at (sans Acapualco) and will give my opinion of each. I'm from Michigan and my favorite vacation spot anywhere is Cozumel-and I'll start with it. Cozumel definitely has the best snorkeling/diving of the three (and I'm sure all 4) spots. Cozumel also isn't too inconvenient to get to the Mayan ruins at Tulum (not bad but not the best) or you can get to Chichen Itza by ferry to the mainland and a long bus ride, or spend a lot of money and take a plane. Cozumel has a spot where you can rent jet skis- Mr. Sanchos Beach and there are enough bars/restaraunts/nightlife (both the Americanized places like Senior Frogs, Hard Rock Cafe, etc and more authentic Mexican places). As for the nicest resort, that is hard to say there are many posh resorts in all the places you are looking at; we stayed last time at the Hotel Cozumel which was nice (but not the poshest) and had its own dive shop. I suggest going to www.gocozumel or searching cozumel mexico resorts for more info and, if you go there, you can look at some of my other answers or contact me for more suggestions. Cozumel is the smallest, quietest of the sites and I felt safe walking most anywhere at any time. Cancun, on the other hand, is probably the most convenient location to get to the best Mayan site of Chichen Itza and the spot with the best nightlife; being the largest most modern, most Americanized of the destinations it probably has the largest selection of top-rate resorts. On the other hand, the diving pales to Cozumel. I'll tell you I had a bad experience in Puerta Vallarta and am biased against it. Puerta Vallarta has more of a European/Mediterreanean atmosphere and is probably the middle ground between Cancun and Cozumel as far as size and also has very nice resorts-we stayed at the Grand and Club Marival whichmay have been the most luxurious resort we haved stayed anywhere and you may want to check out; it also has lots of bars/spots to dance ,etc and, in my opinion, is the prettiest of the spots I've been in Mexico. Being so far south (as is Acapualco) and being on the Pacific coast, I don't believe the city is conveniently located near either any Mayan or Aztec ruins. My issue with Puerta Vallarta isn't really with the city or people itself- we had a very bad experience, as Americans, with the large number of French Canadian tourists (and if you are French Canadian I apologize) staying at the resort at the time (February or March?) who just had an open hostility towards Americans I'm still not sure why. The beaches are nice but, another issue we had with the French Canadians, they would get up early and "save" spots at the beach and/or pool very early in the morning whether they used them or not; it literally wasn't until our 4th day we, and some other Americans, had enough and simply removed items from these unused "saved" spots (the anti-American hostility started before this event). I'm not sure about the diving in Puerta Vallarta but I do believe there are places to rent jet skis; it is also a good spot for parasailing and, depending on the time of year. whale watching. As I say, I have not been to Acapualco but I imagine it is fairly similar to Puerta Vallarta. Another suggestion even farther south may be Costa Rica. Although I've only been to the Pacific side, I hear both sides are nice and provide some very nice resorts and an experience different from Mexico. Costa Rica is nowhere near the Aztec or Mayan civilizations but is definitely the safest from any hurricane or tropical storm being so far south (especially August or September)and offers different recreational options. We stayed at the Blue Bay Inn on the Gulf of Papagayo @6 or 7 years ago but I am sure the resort has changed names; the resort was very nice, had jet skis to rent at the resort and provided a very nice dinner show/dancing every night. Hope this helped and, if you think I can be of any more help, message me.

Answer 2

I recently took a cruise to the Western Carribbean and found a great deal on the following website. There were also places of interest and information about various vacation destinations, so this might help you out as well.

http://www.vacation-tips.net

Answer 3

Cancun. Everybody I know loves Cancun!