Mexico Riviera Maya - tips please!

[NotPennysBoat]

We are looking to go to Riviera Maya next April with a nearly 5yo and a 21mo. We would be going all inclusive but I'm looking for ideas for days out that small children would enjoy, is it safe to rent a car and explore?
Any hints and tips most welcome!

It's fantastic, took our children when they were six and went back when they were seven.
We stayed near Tulum not at the cancun end.
It's is very hot and you may find that toddler is hot and cross a lot of the time, see if there is a hotel with some indoor air conditioned baby facilities so that toddler can go inside to cool down and play for a bit. Even better if some childcare but most hotels start kids activities age 4.
We didn't hire a car we just got taxis but roads are great, driving is good, everything is very well organised. Akumal beach you can go snorkelling and see turtles. Xel-ha amazing Eco water park. X caret is apparently fab but I haven't been. If ruins are your thing you are spoils for choice. Beaches, cenotes for swimming and snorkelling etc. Boat trip, lots f Eco reserves, jungle rope places etc.
Trips are expensive. E.g a day at xel-ha was about £200 for a family of four but is not to be missed.

Would definitely recommend Xcaret.

Its a beautiful park with lots of animals to look at, lazy rivers to swim down, beach, dolphin swims etc.

We went for a day trip, but if I ever went back would stay at the hotel there, looks amazing.

Alternatively we stayed at the Sensatori and it was amazing, so good for kids with a kids pool, toys in all the rooms and restaurants. Baby sitting service if you wanted couple time, and really, really good food and service.

We stayed in Cozumel (an island off Playa del Carmen - ferries go v regularly and it was a circa 20-30 minutes on a v posh ferry). As it's an island it was easy to get around - we hired an open top jeep which was fun. It was a lot less packed than the mainland which was a huge advantage - the Mayan ruins at San Gervasio we had almost to ourselves. We stayed AI at the Grand Occidental Cozumel which was beautiful (and cheaper than the resorts on the mainland!) - it had kids clubs, evening entertainment etc. It was about 10 minutes in a taxi to the ferry so we did some exploring on the mainland - Tulum etc. Would highly recommend it! A v small cautionary note, if your kids (like ours) like wandering around bare foot, we saw 3 tarantula spiders in the grass so keep their shoes on!

Nothing much to add about the location as we did a day trip from a cruise to Cozumel but if you're a blood donor give before you go as there's a six month ban after getting back from that part of Mexico (most other places are only 4 weeks).

We loved Akumal but didn't enjoy Cozumel sorry - didn't seem much there. A friend told me that Isla Mujeres is a better day trip.