All Inclusive Mexico Tips (first time traveling)

My girlfriend and I and planning to go to our first Mexico trip this coming August (between 19th-30th). And I was hoping some of the more experienced travelers could shine light for us. Here’s some brief info about us:

  1. Age: Both of us are 23 years old
  2. Live in Vancouver as students (so we’re a bit on a budget)
  3. Budget: Between $700-$900 per person
  4. Duration: 5-7 days
  • Other: Both of us are fairly inexperienced travelers (I already done some research on general safety in Mexico: drink bottled water, avoid salads, stay in the resort unless you’re with a big group, make sure you only go to the Resort shuttle bus that’s parked outside of the airport , not with some stranger in the airport). With that being said, we’re not planning on going anywhere outside of the resort. We just want to enjoy the beaches, food & meet new people.Finally, my girlfriend is pretty food sensitive. She doesn’t have food allergies, but if the food isn’t properly made or fresh she WILL get stomach issues.

And that’s about it. I guess I was hoping you’d tell me what do ya’ll think would be the best place & hotel for us to visit based on your experience. Ideally we’d love to go to a resort with other young couples so we attend to some night events.

I’ve also heard that non-all inclusive resorts are MUCH better than the all-inclusive ones. Do you feel we’d be able to fit a non all inclusive resort in our budget?

Thank you all in advance!

Comments

  1. Do yourself a favor and leave the resort on your own at least once. I honestly don’t like Quintana Roo (the state you’re going to) because it’s expensive and people harass tourists nonstop but nothing bad is going to happen to you. The entire place is pretty much a Mexican version of Disney World. Safety in Quintana Roo should not be anymore of a concern to you than it would be if you went to Seattle.

    Most fun I had there was renting snorkeling gear and going with my girlfriend to Akumal (between Playa Del Carmen and Tulum) at 6am to swim with turtles before the tourists arrived. I recommend you do the same if you’re up to it. The turtles are always there so you won’t be disappointed. Afterwards, go to the nearby Cenote Cristalino and swim with the freshwater fish.

    Regarding transportation, ask somebody at your hotel about the collectivo service. Collectivos are transport vans you find in Mexico that run along busy roads. They are reliable, cheap, and safe. You just stand on the highway in the direction you want to go and you should see a van within no more than 2 minutes. Flag it down, tell the driver where you want to go, and pay the driver once you get off. Intimidating at first but you’ll feel comfortable after your first ride. They start at 5am, so we tried to catch the earliest one possible to see the turtles.

  2. You can lay on the beach for a week without paying for the resort, have a better time, and save a lot of money. I just traveled Mexico for five months and it was not dangerous AT ALL, especially in Quintana Roo. You need to break your pre-conceived notions on Mexico and just go and explore it. Also, if you want beaches, go to the coast of Oaxaca. I liked the beaches there a lot more and it is not overrun by tourist like Quintana Roo. Plus the whole state is absolutely stunning, the food is arguably the best in Mexico, and the culture is incredible and very apparent, unlike in Quintana Roo. Mexico is a very special place, there’s no reason to treat it like just some beach somewhere. With that being said, sorry for sounding so harsh dude and enjoy your stay there, it’s incredible.

  3. Kind of a ramble here… I don’t think you’re going to be able to make this happen. The Canadian dollar has tanked recently and you need somewhere with a decent star rating in order to deal with the stomach issues. If you want the “standard” Mexican experience you’ll want to go somewhere on the Mayan Riviera (though if you only want to lay on the beach and can just swim in the pool, you can look around Cabo or PV). The cheapest price I’m seeing at the moment is $1195 pp for eight days at a three-star called the Bellevue Beach Paradise (I don’t know it) in Cancun, with the next-lowest price being $1321 for the four-star Golden Parnassus in Cancun as well (seven days there). I would recommend going with Westjet Vacations or Air Canada Vacations as Sunwing seems to have more problems with their flights (just an observation, I don’t have data to back that up). I did an all-inclusive in Cuba last year and found that prices for mid-August were lowest in late July, if you’re comfortable waiting that late to book. Still, I don’t think you’ll find anything in your price range. I recommend watching redtag.ca like a hawk and then, when you see a great deal, booking directly through the tour company’s website.

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