What excursions in Mexico?

DH and I are trying to plan a couple of excursions for our trip to Mexico. For those of you that have been to the Cancun area, what do you recommend?

Re: What excursions in Mexico?

have not been to cancun area, but i went to riviera maya last year and we did the boat/tour/jeep thing to cozumel.

i am goin to cancun in a few weeks and i think we might do the playa de mujeres excursion...

Re: What excursions in Mexico?

on our honeymoon (5 years ago) we did a 1/2 day snorkeling trip and the ATV jungle tour (you also get to swim in caves, it was fun)

enjoy!

check out tripadvisor, there is probably tons of info and reviews

Re: What excursions in Mexico?

Re: What excursions in Mexico?

We went to Xel-ha - it is almost like an all natural amusement park.

Check it out, we really enjoyed our day, but might not be for everyone....http://www.xelha.com/

Re: What excursions in Mexico?

Re: What excursions in Mexico?

We are going to the Riviera Maya in 5 days - I cannot wait

Re: What excursions in Mexico?

i was just telling a friend from work about our trip to cancun!

you must go to isla mujeras (Spelling?).... translation: island of women

we stayed at the riu and took a bus to the city (maybe its just called Downtown?) and from there, we literally hopped into someone's econoline van (yep- and no, we dont speak the language or anything) to the ferry station, took a 20 minute ferry ride and there we were...

or, you could take a cab to the ferry

once you get there, you rent a golf cart, and you keep it the whole day- you just get in and drive all around the island (make sure you have a ferryboat schedule so you know what time to return the cart to leave)- stop where you want to stop, there are no parking rules, swim where you want to, eat when you want... we snorkled at some beach where we saw the most amazing fish- for like,6 bucks. there was also a turtle sanctuary, beautiful scenery overlooking the oceans.. definitely our best day in mexico!

another day, we went on a tour to chichen-itza; saw a lot of ancient mayan ruins; people were able to jump into sinkholes (el cenote)...

other days we did a lot of snorkeling; took shuttels to different locations where we went- i happened to go to Purerto Murelos, and it was amazing- they made us lunch between snorkeling runs...

kinda makes me want to go back :)
let me know if you need anything else!

had to add this:
DO NOT WEAR SUNSCREEN, SUN TAN LOTION, TANNING OIL- if you go snorkeling! please!
all of that stuff stays on the fish, coral reefs and plants, and the fish eat them and die! many many species of fish down there have become extinct because so many people dont care or dont follow that rule, or say "its just a little"... please dont kill the last of the fishies down there!

Message edited 7/24/2009 3:20:15 PM.

Re: What excursions in Mexico?

we did: Chichen Itza, Coba, Xcaret and Tulum... I'd def. recommend all of them if you have enough time...

Re: What excursions in Mexico?

i am going in 8 days with my kids! anything anyone can tell me i would appreciate!!! WE are staying in the riviera maya at the Grand Mayan

Re: What excursions in Mexico?

We are going in a week... I cannot wait!!!!

Re: What excursions in Mexico?

Two days to go

Re: What excursions in Mexico?

Thanks for the advice everyone! We are definitely doing Isla Mujeras. And I'm glad I know why not to wear sunscreen when snorkeling now. I saw it all over the excursion info, but didn't know the actual reason. I'm going to talk to DH about the other ideas and see what he wants to do. When we went to DR for our HM we did nothing but lay by the pool and on the beach (which was exactly what we wanted to do) so I want to spend at least 2 days this trip doing other things.

For all of you going soon, have tons of fun!

Re: What excursions in Mexico?

Re: What excursions in Mexico?

I have never been to that part of Mexico, but been to other parts of Mexico,( Costa Maya, Cozumel), PLEASE watch your credit cards. I used my credit card in a store and within minutes my numbers were all over Mexico. I got a frantic call from my CC company and they had to stop the card, it was a mess.They had to call my sister in NY , she had to give my SS# to them I had to give her authorization while I was away to stop the card, etc. I am not trying to scare you just be very careful when using it in a store or to pay for a excursion there. HTH

Re: What excursions in Mexico?

Thanks for the Info

Re: What excursions in Mexico?

Re: What excursions in Mexico?

we just got back from rivera maya and last yr we were in playa del carmen

there are so many things you can do there. when you get to the hotel talk to the tour people (olympus is very good) and they will show you some of the different things you can do

last yr we did Chichen Itza which is so beautiful to see and they also took us to this natural spring that you can dive into - amazing, however it is a very long ride there like 3 hrs (but we are so happy we did it!!)

we also did the snorkel/jet ski excursion. you take the jet skis out and stop at different locations in the ocean to snorkel.

and we did swim with the dolphins which was so much fun we did the most expensive one where they push you by your feet and lift you out of the water.

this yr we went away with family so we didnt do as much. we just went to Tulum which i didnt really find worth going after seeing Chichen Itza

I was just talking to a coworker who was there last yr and she did this excursion where you snorkel with a flash light in the under water caves and also did ziplines and she said it was a lot of fun.

I love Mexico for this reason - there is so much available to do that you dont HAVE TO lay by the beach/pool all week you can do stuff to.

Re: What excursions in Mexico?

Re: What excursions in Mexico?

Re: What excursions in Mexico?

I have been living on Trip Advisor for the last week searching for additional feedback on this topic as I am leaving on Monday (woo hoo!!!) and I found the most incredible reviews about Edventure Tours. I can't speak from first hand experience yet, but as for the pre-planning bit, everything the reviews say are right on the money - they are fast to respond, answer every question, very patient, etc. What I like about them, from what I see on Trip Advisor, is that they are a small family-owned company and they take smaller groups, averaging 6-10 people at a time. Prices are more reasonable too - their basic is $75/pp and includes transportation to the tulum area, snorkeling in the cenotes (caves!) Dos Ojos and the lagoon aquarium, all with a guide. We've added on a visit to the ruins ($14 for DH and I together) and a zipline/cliff dive/canoe ride back ($20) for me only - DH didn't want to do a zip line when I booked but hopefully he'll change his mind when we're there! Check out the reviews and the website, I'll let you know how it is after I get back. So excited!!!

Re: What excursions in Mexico?

We just got back about 2 hours ago and we had a great time.

We swam with the dolphins at Wet and wild water park in Cancun. We paid $300 and that covered 45 minutes with 2 dolphins, food and drinks and the water park, oh transportation was included also.


We also went to Playa Del carmen to shop and buy souviners.

We stayed at the Catalonia Royal Tulum an we had a great time.

Scott

Re: What excursions in Mexico?

awesome thread

I am going in less then a month for 10 days...so I would love to do a few things on this trip!

Re: What excursions in Mexico?

thanks for the tips. We are planning on going next month!

Re: What excursions in Mexico?

I just came back yesterday - AMAZING!! The Edventure Tours that I referenced above...terrific...book with them!!!

Some quick tips on excursions and Mexico in general:

1. buy the heaviest possible bug spray you can find. I look like I have chicken pox on my legs. :(

2. The bio degradable sunscreen that you need to buy for snorkeling isn't nearly as powerful as the regular stuff. I would strongly suggest you not use it again - DH and I bought SPF 40 and both got burned after 3 hours in the morning sun vs our SPF 30 from CVS that we wore all day and were fine with.

3. Go ziplining - so cool! It looks scary but you'll love it, the bat caves are also awesome!

4. Tulum ruins - there is absolutely no shade here. I would suggest going in the morning as we did - and even then it was super hot. Wear a hat and bring lots of water.

You will love Mexico. We are already planning to return next summer!!!