Tell me your tips for Mexico in mid June from humidity levels, beasties and best repellant to excursion must see places. We are Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen

[NippyNinjaCrab]

This is our first trip to Mexico and we do like relaxing at the pool and beach but we are not huge sunbathers. As long as ive got my brolly and a book i like to chill that way. We do want to see a bit of the area, safety permitting. Happy to walk places, we love any type of food and activities just not anything major like rock climbing 😂 if you can give us some places to go.

I'm a bug attracting person and do get bitten in the UK especially horse flies! What repellant is recommended that is possibly deet free?

I had read a couple of reviews that they took humidity pouches for their wardrobes, is that really necessary? Our hotel is part of a 4 complex and we are in the jungle part at bits (i know, I'm stupid!)

Anyone i know who's been, have been either on a sunbed toasting for 2 weeks or at Coco Bongos 😆 so they are no help!

Sounds fantastic, we are going diving so hopefully will avoid excess heat etc.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a sun cream brand which meets the requirements?

Also, currency, pesos, or does everyone want dollars?

Can't recommend a brand but there are plenty of compliant ones on sale there.

Peso's v dollars varies over time - I would say peso's are better, but I always carry an emergency stash of dollars anyway. Cards are widely used now too. BTW they use $ in front of pesos, just to confuse! If using cards I have alerts turned on in my apps for all transactions - that means I can almost instantly see any transactions I make; or to be more precise, any transaction I didn't make. I've never had an attempted fraud abroad, but like anywhere, it is always a risk.

You will be hassled on the main shopping strip in Playa del Carmen. Locals will call “hey family” and try to get you to enter their shop or sell you whatever they have. They will tell you that they are your waiter from your hotel. If you are going all inclusive and have a band on your arm, they will say the hotel name to back up their story. There are armed police on the strip so you’ll see them up by the designer outlets. Use the dedicated taxi rank opposite Miniso to stay safe.

Xcaret is an amazing day out as already recommended. Don’t miss the show at the end, it’s breathtaking. Take your swimming costumes as you can snorkel down underground rivers to the sea where tropical fish swim around you.

Coba Mayan ruins are close to Playa Del Carmen and are in the jungle so much cooler than Tulum, but make sure you spray with insect repellent.

Ah we're thinking of booking PDC this year too end of July / beginning of August. I'm a bit worried about the seaweed. Seems summer is the worst time of year for it. Anyone been in July or August?

Thank you, i do take B12 daily, I was thinking last week maybe this year wasn't going to be as bad for horseflies as, touch wood, I've not been bitten.. yet. Maybe it is the B12!

Thank you for the currency question @Flumpaphone I forgot about that one. @PhilippaGeorgiou we will take a mix then and we do have our cards anyway. Thank you for that advice @2pence as long as it's not as bad as Tunisia when we got locked in a shop 😆 ffs, it was with exh maybe I should have just left him 😂
I wish i could snorkel but I wear glasses and I'm not allowed contact lenses at all now so I won't be able to see unless there's a snorkel mask that can go over specs. I might ask the opticians again to look at my eyes and see if I can get them for temporary use.
You are all making me so excited now 🏖🌴

@Flumpaphone https://savethereef.org/about-reef-save-sunscreen.html
I had a look on here, I've already got one here but the other 3 are unfortunately not so I wouldn't use them unless just walking around or pool side.

Nothing to do with Mexico but I'm a horsefly magnet too and managed to avoid them last year by wearing different clothes! Initially they are attracted to the Carbon Dioxide you breathe out as that signals 'nearby animal' to them. Then they use sight to guide them to what looks like a horse/cow flank or limb. So avoid dark plain colours that are tight fitting eg leggings/teashirts. Wear looser clothes in lighter colours and ideally patterns, as that confuses them. I have no idea if they have horseflies in Mexico but these tips might help you here - made a massive difference to me!

@Shetlands they are evil beasts! That's usually my walking uniform black leggings and plain stuff but this year I've been wearing bright printed leggings and although plain tops maybe that's helped. I've had bites through my clothes! One on my arse that drew blood through the leggings 😂
I've mainly got bright prints for my holiday clothes, dresses and trousers. I might just get a huge net around me or a hasmat suit 🤔 😅

Sorry another question

we’re self catering, I’m guessing there are plenty of supermarkets etc in PDC, what is the cost of living like food wise? We will eat out but have a bbq and full kitchen where we are staying so intend to use it.

Also, any supermarket food recommendations?

If you don't like DEET get a Picaridin based repellent. It's been found to be as effective as DEET, but it's a little more pricey. We used Sawyer Picaridin Insect Repellent and it was effective, but you do need to cover all exposed skin.

The summer before last I got 13 bites in one afternoon on my thigh and bum cheek through black leggings. I had a terrible reaction and ended up seeing my GP, who gave me anti-histamine and steroids! Changing my clothes has made a huge difference and last summer I gardened and dog-walked in peace! Good luck!

I've looked at that after reading about deet free, it was the sawyer one someone had said was good and felt so much better rather than the jungle formula. X

If I can stay bite free I'll be delighted 🤣

You don’t have to snorkel at Xcaret. You can float gently down the river in your life jacket. It’s cold when you first get in but you soon warm up and the small sea bay you end up in is warm

After cataract surgery I can now see (yay!) provided it isn't reading (reading glasses) but.... you have plenty of time yet. Get your prescription from the optician, and get online. You can buy prescription masks - about £50 for a very much good enough (obviously you can pay alot more but that would be good enough for years). You can get a bit cheaper if you search around. It's a purchase that is really worthwhile.

Definitely schedule a trip to Isla mujeres if you can. There is a turtle sanctuary which was amazing. We also visited Richard on his floating plastic bottle island which was pretty cool. Exploring the island by golf buggy in the torrential rain was the highlight of our honeymoon!

We went in January on an escorted group tour with Tui, and it was really well organised from start to finish. It took a long time to collect luggage at the airport so be prepared to wait a while. We toured around different Mayan ruins staying in various towns/cities and can honestly say we felt completely safe going out in the evening in all of them. We ate out every night at different restaurants and weren't ill at all.

We then spent a week in Play del Carmen, again felt safe, 5th Avenue was busy but no more hassle than anywhere else we've ever been, in fact way less than Gran Canaria in the 90s!! The animals around the hotel grounds were lovely, if you leave them alone and just observe they won't bother you at all.

Some of our group did get bitten, but we used Boots Soltan with insect repellent in it during the day and either Jungle Formula or Avon Skin So Soft at night, and neither of us got bitten at all. Not sure what the others in the group were using.

We had a lovely time and would return.

Oh forgot to mention the con at the airport. When you land in Cancun reps will approach you as you are leaving the baggage claim and say that you have to go through the information centre for your taxi or to pick up your coach transfer. You do not. They will insist you do and often escort you to a room full of reps trying to sell excursions. Once they’ve got you in a conversation, it’s hard to get away without buying something so do your best to avoid.

Also, some hotels sell time share so unless you want to waste a day indoors being pressured to buy timeshare, don’t agree to attend a presentation. Some hotels offer attraction tickets and a free buffet if you go to a presentation but the atmosphere soon turns sour if you attend but don’t sign up.

I must sound like I hate the place but we’ve been going there for years. Playa del Carmen used to be a small village with a nice beach and a ferry but it’s exploded and becomes more like Cancun every time we go. It’s absolutely unrecognisable now from how it was. You’d think you were in North America if you stay in Playacar.

That’s another thing, it’s pretty cheap to jump on the ferry to Cozumel so check out how much it’ll cost you independently before buying any excursion.

Coba, hire bikes and cycle around.
tulum ruins
xcaret
various cenotes.

we hired a car and I drove us around. The excursions were very expensive, American exchange rate type prices I guess . Car hire was cheap. We went in july and very hot!

Another vote for Xcaret - an amazing place
Tulum and Coba too
And snorkelling in the sea, which is as warm as a bath and full of fish and sting rays

Bring a wide brimmed sun hat and a few pairs of cheap sunglasses - the light is much brighter than UK light.

Cover as much of yourself as possible with long sleeves and pants legs, and use mosquito repellent. Bring benadryl gel for bites, or buy some at the Walmart in Playa del Carmen.

Mosquitos are more active early in the morning and in late afternoon and evening.

Thank you for so much info and posting it's fab and I'm noting everything.
I'm a wee bit worried about the hotel because of some reviews being posted recently about some of the rooms. Basically the beds being stained and toilets overflowing and with excessive mould on the bathroom area and roller blinds. I'm seriously thinking of seeing if we can move hotels. There are pictures to back up the reviews. Then there are fabulous reviews and no complaints at all. It's mainly the rooms that's bothering me. Anything else is just different people's expectations really so don't bother me.
Maybe we would be better not in a jungle area or are the mosquitos bad everywhere?

I don’t know about that hotel but as long as the majority of reviews are positive I’d ignore the negative ones. In a large hotel with a high turnover there will always be the odd hiccup. I don’t think the mozzies will be worse from one hotel /area to another to be honest. The whole country is a bit hot, humid, jungley and water so there will be mozzies.

Has your hotel got a Facebook fans/visitors page? The last few hotels I've stayed at in the Caribbean have them and they're really useful to ask questions and see what others are saying about the resort. Might give you an idea of the state of the rooms currently. Some people ask on there for recommendations for particular rooms e.g ones with a good view or afternoon sun etc to specifically request a room from reception.

We have a mosquito bite zapper from amazon. It heats the bite to quite a high temperature for a few seconds, hurts a but but really takes the itch out.