Riviera Maya Mexico

[pilates]

Going in August with DH with two young teens.

Any do's or don'ts and trips/restaurants you would recommend?

Tulum is probably best for ruins. We didn't book a trip there , just got the bus (collectivo) from the main road. That was an adventure in itself

The whale shark trip was booked through Thomson and Xcaret/Xplor were booked through a local tour operator based in our hotel.

We also did swimming with dolphins as there was a dolphinarium in our hotel.

There are lots of mosquitos but jungle formula doesn't work! Wait until you get there and buy some 'OFF' spray (orange can) from the hotel shop.

Departure tax can be paid in either pesos, sterling or US dollars. It works out about £40 per person. Unless your Travelling with Thomas Cook - I believe they now include it in holiday price but you'll need to check.

We found normal mosquito repellent was fine but we were there in May, may be worse at other times of year.

Albus Hotel BlueBay Grand Esmeralda.

Senor Frogs is on the list too.

Where did you stay Tequila?

Madasamarchhare, we stayed at Grand Sirenis

What was it like as that's a hotel we have short listed along with a couple of the riu hotels. Would you recommend?

Yes it was a nice hotel. I think the 5 star rating may be a tad high mind. Huge resort, with golf buggys to take you around if you don't like walking. Fab lazy river which is ideal for kids and adults like, they provide the inflatable rings too.

The buffet was standard all inclusive buffet food, nothing amazing. There are a la carte restaurants too which get booked really quickly so you need to book when you first arrive. The Brazilian, Japanese and Steakhouse were all lovely. I was ill after eating at the Italian but not sure if it was the food or too much sun. Nice beach snack cafe too for lunch.

There is a dolphinarium on site where you can swim with dolphins, really reasonably priced too.

Nice enough hotel but I wouldn't hurry back. Mainly because I don't like being restricted to 3 a la cartes per week, and having to book them a week in advance. For me, that is not 5 star. The Riu's do this too. I prefer Dreams hotels - no reservations required, no wristbands to wear, and truly feel like 5 star resorts.

Happy to answer any questions you have though. Pm me if it's easier.

Akumal beach - swim with the turtles. And tulum, also if you get chance go to a cenote, and underwater cavern full of fresh water you can swim in them. There's a good excursion where you can go abseiling, zip lining through the forest and then go into the cenotes after and then a local family cook you home made food, really good excursion highly recommend :)

second Coba for the ruins, and pay for the guide, it's fascinating - it's huge but you can pay to bike yourself or have someone bike you round the ruins (our two are much smaller so it was great for us)

SO many cenotes to choose between!! Wish we'd been able to do the proper snorkle tours but again ours are too young, but you should defo do it

We stayed at sandos caracol eco resort, was pretty good (I hate the AI idea but it worked well for us and it was really well located)

dos ojos cenotes are epic, cenote azul was amazing as it's just locals there and there's a secret little cenote round the back which we ended up having to ourselves - also check out Grutas de Loltún, a dry cave system you can explore without having to swim