Job Discussion Forums

[dixie]

The old folks are coming down just after Christams and we're trying to figure out where to go (and fast before there are no choices!) My dad really wanted to go to Belize but ast I don't have enough vacation time (nor enough patience!) to take a 30 so bus ride, we're looking to stay in Mexico. The beach is a must but the question is: which beach and on what coast? Everyone here in D.F tells me either Acapolco or Cancun, with Cancun being the winner as having the better beaches. Personally, I'm thinking any place in the Yucatan/Quintana Roo area would be the better option (we're departing from D.F) but I really have no idea!

Any suggestions??? 5* resorts are not required as we are 'Canadian Campers' and can deal with the basics (although some place clean and safe is preferred!) We can even deal with 'cold water only' if we're on a hot beach and the weather is hot!

My dad was wanting to go to Belize as none of us have been there and he wanted to snorkel on the reef. I was told Cancun is just as good but what about beaches around there? Night life isn't a huge-huge issue as the old folks don't much care for the dance scene but...a little night fun would be good (for my sanity!!)

Thanks all. I really appreciate your help/advice.

....dixie

[MELEE]

Okay, the Pacific is not the Caribbean, never will be. But it can be pretty darn nice on the Pacific, and cheaper and closer. In my very biased opinion, and I'm sure you'll hear many more soon, on the Pacific, you can't beat Oaxaca. There are at least 100 beaches to choose from. From Rustic and not crowed even in the high season, to hopping all inclusive resorts. I avoided Huatulco for years and when I finally went, I was very pleasently surprised. There are hotels and restaurants in all price ranges and some decent snorkling (though not like Belize). Organized activities and you can just beach bum too if that's what you're into.

[dixie]

Thanks! Your thoughts have me wondering two more things:

1. No issues travelling through Oaxaca now? When I mentioned it to a Mexican co-worker last week, she was all against going anywhere NEAR the entire state (that said, I realize some Mexicans have just as intense ideas regarding areas of their own country as to outsiders who only know Mexico thorugh the news)

2. More specifically, what beaches would you suggest that have a good population (but aren't ridiculous), good pricing and options (beach bum, markets, surrounding area touring, etc).

Thanks!

[dixie]

I just realized that I spelled Christmas wrong.....

[lozwich]

I can't believe I'm saying this, but go to Playa del Carmen. Cozumel is well known as the second best reef in the world (second to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia) and Playa has a good amount of nightlife too.

You can get a flight from DF to Cancun, and then a really cheap bus from Cancun to Playa. Its a bit touristy and not what some people might call "authentic" Mexico, its the place to go for snorkelling and scuba.

Cheers,
Lozwich.

[dixie]

Thanks...Playa del Carmen is an option that we're considering. The reef is the same as the one that stretches down to Belize and continues down to Honudras that we checked out a bit when I was living there. I'm thinking that it might be the place to go...for now (while I have a little financial support! hehe)

But any beach advice is welcomed as there is lots to see and I hope to make time (and the $$) to see it!!

[ls650]

[dixie]

ls650 thanks for that info! Esp. regarding the cancellation of the midnight buses. Hopefully my spanish will someday (soon!) be good enough to understand the tv news/newspapers but sadly, for now, I get a general idea but still tend to misunderstand....

thanks again!

[Guy Courchesne]

Good to hear...I'm thinking about Puerto Escondido this Christmas.

[MELEE]

When I was in Acapulco two weeks ago. I heard about a bus there being hijacked by a bunch of students from the Normal (teacher's college) who needed the bus to take them to Oaxaca to "join the movement".


In my part of Oaxaca it is pretty much business as usual, but I don't think I'd recommend Oaxaca City as a destination now. Not because its dangerous, but because its ugly. There are sandbags and other baricades piled up in the streets. Almost every wall is graffitied. Many of the regal stone walls of the historic center are charred marking the places where buses were burned. Window are broken all over the city. I used to describe the center of Oaxaca as a movie set or theme park, it could still be a movie set, but a totally different kind of movie. I was trying to learn more about the APPO the other day and if you Google APPO and Oaxaca, you will find lots of first hand accounts in English from independent journalists.
Mabye LS650 and delacosta, and other lurkers down on the Oaxacan coast, could give us some first hand accounts about how things are down there?
In the Mixteca, its business as usual, unless you are a school teacher or public school kid, that is.

[ls650]

[dixie]

Okay...so we're thinking of Xpu-Ha which is suppose to be 15 mintues from Playa del Carmen. Anyone ever checked it out?? The hotel my mama found sounds really great and I think the area will have enough to satisfy us all.

Other question: click (mexicana) appears to be nearly booked for flights to cancun (there's only one choice for departure and return...opposed to the 3 that were there only last week!) and the price is a scary 4492!! [pesos]. The bus....I haven't yet found pricing but the 24 hour journey doesn't impress me! What other airlines might I check?? (or am I stuck between a rock and a hard place!)

thanks all!

[delacosta]

You'dnever know there's trouble just 200 km away from here. It's totally calm. It's slow season anyway but it's really really quiet in Zipolite.
I went to eat at Alquimista (rated as one of the top 5 most romantic places in the world to eat, in I forget which travel publication) and it was totally dead. It's normally full even in off season. All of this doesn't seem to be really bothering the locals, they're as chilled as usual. One of the teachers here who smokes grass mentioned that supplies are drying up as all the military check points in the sierra, looking for arms, are hurting business!
THere's no APPO presence at all. Most everyone I know supports the cause but are glad that it's happening in Oaxaca and not in their own back yard.
As for the teachers, no one respected them before the strike and they do so even less now.

[jessn]

Good choice, IMHO. Xpu-Ha is perfect for a family; it's a lot more laid back than Playa, and costs a lot less. It has a couple of gorgeous lagunas. However, if you're headed that far south, you're really almost in Belize!
Another great option for travelling 5-100 miles in Mexico (most other LA countries, too for that matter) can be finding a cabbie de confianza and making a deal to take you wherever. For a family like yours it can even be cheaper than a lot of bus tickets. Be sure to check the car out, and ask questions about it, of course. One of the nice things about that option is that he will stop wherever you want, and perhaps tell interesting stories about places along your route.
Good luck with the plane ticket. If you have no luck getting reservations, consider taking a deluxe bus from DF to Nautla, north of Veracruz. It's what, six hours?

[Polly0607]

Remember that you can get good prices with either Interjet or Volaris from Toluca to Cancun and several other places. It sounds like a commercial, but I saw a big difference in prices when I was shopping around.

Toluca - Cancun with Interjet around Christmas was 10,800 for a family of four.

D.F. - Cancun with Mexicana same time frame was just over 20,000 for a family of four.