Mexico!

[Mrsbadger77]

Has anyone been to Mexico with kids? I have a real urge to go next Easter and I'm looking at possibilities , so far I've been looking at the obvious resorts like Playa del Carmen and Cancun as these are easy to reach via tour operators. We wouldn't be interested in all inclusive as we love exploring the local area and fining restaurants, that is part of our holiday. If we stayed in a resort would we be experiencing the real Mexico at all or is it just one massive big tourist trap ? Any other resorts anyone would recommend? We like a bit of culture and sightseeing as well as beach days and water sports activities. Many thanks

A bit further down the coast and stay in Tolum.
Much more what your looking for.

I love Mexico. Head south, get as far from Cancun as you can. Tulum has lots of accommodation in all price brackets. Be aware of the sargassum problem and have back up plans for beach days if the sargassum is bad. We went to a lot of cenotes - fab natural swimming holes. Day trips to Tulum, Coba, Xel-ha, Xplor all great with kids from here.

You won't see real Mexico in Cancun! You will see real USA. I spent a month on Isla Mujeras, but I think that's now full of Springbreakers.

Beware that Easter is Spring Break in the USA. This is a week when all the college students go to Mexico to party and get wild. Whatever you do, get far away from that - and that means far from any large resort that is popular with Americans, such as Cancun and Playa del Carmen.

I haven't been but my relative has a little flat in Mazatlan, you might like to check that area out. It looks very authentic mexico from what she shows me; and she loves it there. It is a holiday destination, not a random town! From London you do have to go via mexico city though!

We stayed towards tulum in an airbnb for a week, mostly swimming in cenotes as lots of big hotels along the bit of coast we were near. The cenotes are amazing! Also visited coba and the si’an kaan bio park (manatees, dolphins, osprey, turtles) and then up to the wonderful holbox island for the second week again, in an Airbnb (drove up, parked near the ferry as the island is mostly electric golf buggies. We esp loved holbox: very laid back. We went there as it’s one of the places to snorkel with whale sharks and see bioluminesce, but my kids (teens rather than youngsters) loved it.

I’ve been to Cancun- there’s a reason why the US airlines consider it like a domestic route! I wasn’t disappointed because we lived in the US at the time so it was a short flight, got some sun during a cold winter and it was free on credit card points. Don’t spend long haul time and money on going there, it just isn’t worth it. Also, you might be clashing with spring break over Easter and that’s even more of an avoid as it’s all American college kids getting messy. So get far, far away from that would be my advice!

Also - another note on Cancun. It's absolutely NOT authentic Mexico for a very good reason. The Mexican government chose that location on the Caribbean Sea to build a resort for tourists, because of the beautiful beaches and the fact that there was literally nothing there before. So if you want authentic Mexico, go elsewhere.

We went to Playa del Carmen & enjoyed it. Did a lot of trips to cenotes, Tulum, Chichenitza and into Playa del Carmen itself. Felt real enough Mexico for what we were looking for & had a great time.

Great, thank you I had that impression of Cancun tbh. I don't think Easter clashes with spring break in 2025 as it's very late - 20April. Tolum sounds great so will look into that although Playa may be a good enough option for us and we can do day trips like PP has mentioned.

We went last December and did a self drive tour. Our first stop was Puerto Morelos which we loved. It is a small family-friendly place with a lovely beach. It's not a long drive from the airport, and is well placed for lots of different cenotes. Tulum was also lovely but had a much busier feel.