Mexico all inclusive

[BettyPitts]

I'm looking at booking an all inclusive adult only holiday and am thinking Mexico will fit the bill.

Has anyone been recently? I'd like to know if it's safe to walk around outside the resorts?

We are also looking at Costa Rica too (rainy season unfortunately) but open to suggestions

Thanks

I'm here now - Riviera Maya. Perfectly safe, we've done excursions we have organised with tour groups as well as jumped into collectivos on the side of the road and then wandered around towns with our kids, independently.

People we've met so far are friendly and welcoming without exception.

This area is fine - not sure I'd risk Mexico City though!

Thanks, is the seaweed still an issue? And is it expensive to eat out if you fancy it and do trips to see dolphins etc?

Sorry for all the questions!

We did Riviera Maya end April and loved it, did get a lot of seaweed but it was cleaned up every morning. Lovely people and really enjoyed our Tulum and Chichen Itza tours

Can you swim in the sea with the seaweed? DS loves to paddle board etc but I'm not sure if we should book elsewhere.

Thanks

The seaweed depends on the season. It's usually around May when you get it. It's perfectly safe around Vallarta, Cancun and Riviera Maya. Mexico City isn't more unsafe than any other big city. I go to Mexico at least twice a year :)

There is seaweed yes, depending where you stay the hotels do a fabulous job clearing it away. Check Trip Advisor. It's perfectly possible to paddle board etc where we are.

Unless you like supporting wildlife in captivity, if you want to see dolphins I'd recommend a trip to Sian Ka'an where you can see them in the wild. Xcaret, Xel Ha etc they are captive.

Oh and the snorkelling is fabulous in Sian Ka'an as well. We swam in the sea near the hotel each day, they cleared the seaweed and had barriers further out to prevent it from coming in. With masks etc we saw a wonderful array of fish here too.

Sian Ka'an - the clearest water I've ever seen ❤️

The hotel I'm looking at is called the Sian Ka'an and that water looks fantastic

I stayed at Occidental xcaret hotel just outside of playa del Carmen a few weeks ago and it was lovely. Only went in the sea at our hotel and they had a net thing to stop the seaweed coming into the inlet.

We went on the beach at playa del Carmen and the seaweed looked bad. It changes day by day I think though. I’m not much of a beach person so wouldn’t have gone to the beaches/sea much anyway.

We went swimming in the lagoon at Sian Kaan and the water there is amazing. I don’t think the hotel of the same name can be near there though as it’s in the middle of nowhere. We swam in cenotes more which I loved. Playa del Carmen felt safe enough, only went once in the day but I was happy walking about.

Looks like the hotel is just outside of Akamel. It’s the wrong side of the highway for a private hotel beach. You’d need a taxi or collectivio to get anywhere but you can easily get one of these. The collectivios are shuttle mini buses which run up and down the highway so you could get into Akamel or Tulum quite easily.

Akamel is famous for its turtles, good snorkelling. Tulum is famous for its ruins, it’s bigger so more shops, restaurants, etc. Has a bit of a hippy vibe and is expensive compared to Playa del Carmen. Playa is bigger and has more shops but is probably nearly an hour from that hotel. So depends what you want from your holiday really.

Betty - We stayed at the Luxury Bahia Principe Akumal which is one of the 4 hotels that are on the same complex as the Sian Ka'an. We went over to the Sian Ka'an one afternoon and it looked nice. Only downside is there is no beach there - you might be better staying in the adults only section of the Akumal which is on the beach and has a lovely infinity pool. Feel free to PM if you'd like more info!

Should point out the hotel is called the Sian Ka'an after the biosphere reserve Sian Ka'an, which is south of Tulum.

Thanks @AlpenCrazy I'll check it out, if rather be on the beach I think.