Vacation

[Blackout]

Haven't had a real one for awhile. When I lived in California I used to take my family to Maui about every other year.
I am going to Cozumel in two months and have never been there before.  We all have our passports. I'm taking my wife and two boys, age 15 and 11 so the titty bars are out. 
Anybody have any recommendations?

[pennyrobber]

Definitely make it to the main land. Playa Del Carmen is great and the Mayan ruins at Talum are a short ride south of there.

[spolic]

Just got back from The Grand Bay @ Barra da Navidad, very nice but a little quiet for the kids. 

[zooom]

are you flying straight onto the island or are you flying into Cancun and then going to take a taxi to the pier and cross to the island?

[cyrus buelton]

Definitely take the trip to Tulum on the mainland. It is well worth it.

I was just in Cozumel about a month ago, but noticed you said kids were going, so I really can't point out a nice cool local bar we found owned by an ex-pat and filled with a bunch of ex-pats as well. They give some good insight into living there. By far an interesting conversation.


As an FYI:

You can buy prescription medications in Mexico. Therefore, at your discretion, you can purchase pretty much any anti-biotic you can in the states (but require a prescription) at a cheaper price. I am not condoning the purchasing of other questionable medications or those listed above. We stocked up on several different anti-biotics, as they are good to have on hand in event of an emergency and you pay and walk. We had no issue getting them back home, but were on a cruise ship.

Visit several pharmacies before you buy, as prices change and get cheaper the further off the main st you get, but don't go more than 3 blocks inland. It gets a little sketchy.

Also, notify your credit card company or have a phone handy to call your CC provider as both my cards got turned off while in Cozumel.


enjoy the beautiful water 

[spolic]

Oh, yeah...and if I would have spend the 30 seconds reading the whole OP I would have noticed that you were going to Cozumel and not looking for suggestions of places to go.   

d'oh

[DoubleEagle]

Be sure to have plenty of heavy duty Sun Screen.

If the Sun is anything like Jamaica , it's like a Blow Torch.

Dolph     

[rockaduc]

My wife and I just got back from Puerto Adventuras this past saturday.(Very close to Playa Del Carmen, so it was a quick day trip to Cozumel for us).  We spent one of our days in Cozumel (I was diving and the missus was snorkeling).  AS you probably have found out, Cozumel is a national park, so the wildlife is abundant and beautifull.   We passed through Playa del Carmen on the way to the ferry.  PdC struck us as a very touristy place (busy, loud, not very relaxing).  Very similar to Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach, SOuth St in Phili, you get the idea.
On the Tulum, recommendations...my wife went to Tulum while I was busy getting my open water diver cert. and then on a different day we did Coba together.  She said Coba was the better of the 2.  Also, COba has the LARGEST pyramid on the Yucatan Pennisula.  Unlike at Tulum, you can still climb the limestone steps all the way to the top of the pyramid in Coba.  It might be interesting for you to visit both sites though, as they are from 2 different periods in Mayan history (one is from the classical period and the other is from the post classical period) If you have never been to a Mayan archeological site before, this is a good  place to start.  Of course, the next step would be to go to Tikal in Guatemala.  That place is so spectacular, you  will find nearly all other Mayan acheological sites boring...

+1 on brining plenty of sunscreen!!!

[il d00d]

This is from a couple years ago, but you may find some good info here
http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=6046.0

I still give a big thumbs-up to Xel Ha - I would go back there in a heartbeat. 

[muskrat]

there is so much to do in Playa del Carmen area.  Go to http://www.xelha.com/  http://www.xcaret.com/  and if in season go snorkeling with the whale sharks.  Don't miss Tulum and if you can go to the real piramids of Chichinitza.  Oh, and as for titty bars...........too bad because half are topless on the "Riviera Maya"

The most fun we had was an outfitter who rented 4 wheelers and let you go without the tour guide.  No rules, just fun and boy did we have it too.

[TiNi]

I've been all over the Yucatan, one of the best trips ever!
Home base was a resort just north of Tulum, we drove a rental across the yucatan to see the ruins.
We stayed in Merida (city) for a couple of nights and then drove back to the resort.
This is the trip where i acquired a taste for tequila 

Inland can be sketchy, but it is a true taste of their culture.

Tulum



Coba



Uxmal



Chichen Itza



Kabah



Have fun on your trip! 

[cyrus buelton]

If you go to Tulum, I think you have to pay a few dollars to bring your camera in and no video taping.

Is that still the rule?

[Bun-bun]

As an FYI:

You can buy prescription medications in Mexico. Therefore, at your discretion, you can purchase pretty much any anti-biotic you can in the states (but require a prescription) at a cheaper price. I am not condoning the purchasing of other questionable medications or those listed above. We stocked up on several different anti-biotics, as they are good to have on hand in event of an emergency and you pay and walk. We had no issue getting them back home, but were on a cruise ship.

Visit several pharmacies before you buy, as prices change and get cheaper the further off the main st you get, but don't go more than 3 blocks inland. It gets a little sketchy.

+1 on Juds antibiotics. Every time we go I pick up amoxicillin and a numbing cream for burns. Also xanax, flexaril, etc. I've never had a problem by air or ship.
PdC is a good day trip for shopping, just remember; HAGGLE! I generally start by offering 1/4 to 1/3 of the asking price, and go from there. Puerta Aventuras is a nice place for a relaxing dinner at one of the cafe's on the plaza, or around the dolphin pen.
Xel-ha is marvelous place to take the family for a day. tubing down the river, and feeding the giant fish off the bridge are two of my favorite things. A scosche pricy, but worth it. Get your tickets at your hotel concierge, or in PdC, and make sure they include transportation.
Isla de la Mujeres is nice, but since you'll be in Cozumel, there's really no point, since they're both about the same IMO.
Also IMO; Tulum=meh,just a bunch of rocks, but I'm not a history or ruins buff.
Save some cash for the duty free shops at the airport. You can bring back 5 bottles of alcohol and 5 cartons of cigs per person.

Have a wonderful time.

[Speedbag]

What the....

I can see the infamous RED DOT in the water to the left!!!!!   

[cyrus buelton]

+1 on Juds antibiotics. Every time we go I pick up amoxicillin and a numbing cream for burns. Also xanax, flexaril, etc. I've never had a problem by air or ship.
PdC is a good day trip for shopping, just remember; HAGGLE! I generally start by offering 1/4 to 1/3 of the asking price, and go from there. Puerta Aventuras is a nice place for a relaxing dinner at one of the cafe's on the plaza, or around the dolphin pen.
Xel-ha is marvelous place to take the family for a day. tubing down the river, and feeding the giant fish off the bridge are two of my favorite things. A scosche pricy, but worth it. Get your tickets at your hotel concierge, or in PdC, and make sure they include transportation.
Isla de la Mujeres is nice, but since you'll be in Cozumel, there's really no point, since they're both about the same IMO.
Also IMO; Tulum=meh,just a bunch of rocks, but I'm not a history or ruins buff.
Save some cash for the duty free shops at the airport. You can bring back 5 bottles of alcohol and 5 cartons of cigs per person.

Have a wonderful time.

You can't get xanax anymore. Mexico re-tooled their laws.

Now, there are some shops that will sell you Valium, T-3, or Percadone, but you have to know where they are. Fortunately, I found out as I needed some T-3 for my shoulder and picked up Tramadol as well. The T-3 was reasonably priced, but the Percadone and Valium were out of this world price wise, as they both aren't "legal" without a script. We were pointed to a perfume/pharmacia where the owner is good friends with the governor, so you just sort of have to ask.

We stocked up on the same meds you did, some Amoxocillin, Kephlax, and Cipro.


You might want to check the rules on what you can bring back, as your numbers are high.

It is 200 cigarettes a person and 1 or 2 liters of alcohol per person

that is..............if you want to play by the rules.


I usually don't.

Remember.............when you go through customs.........that is the Department of the Treasury, not the ATF.