Wonderful Vacation in the Rivera Maya

Must do day trips - Tulum, Tres Rios, Isla Contoy

Quick Tips:

Bring a backpack for your day trips. No purses. Use a fanny pack. Always carry sunscreen, mosquito repellant, small package of tissues (some bathrooms do not have toilet paper), long-sleeved, light-colored shirts, hat, sunglasses, comfortable waterproof-walking sandals (like rafting sandals), antibacterial gel. Some of this may sound obvious, but there are some people whom you'll see walking around with heels or turning beet red with no cover to the sun. Pack light. Always have small change. Learn the basics in Spanish. Also, do a little research before traveling. Check out website, online reviews & forums. Check out guidebooks & travel videos from your library.

Best Way To Get Around:

Take the green striped buses, taxis or vans.

Best Things Nearby:
No other resorts close by.

Best Things About the Resort:
Beautiful pool.

Resort Experience:
We stayed at the Mayan Palace in Playa del Carmen. Before the trip, I called the concierge to find out about the MP shuttle from the airport to the resort. They told me that there is always a shuttle waiting & the cost was $15/person. There was no shuttle. Luckily, we did find a taxi that would take us for the same price. If you are adventurous enough, you can leave the airport (keep in mind you have all your luggage) and find taxis for much cheaper.

The ride from the airport to the MP was about 40 mins. It depends on if you are in a taxi w/other people going to resorts on the way before the Mayan.

We arrived at the resort early & the people at check-in said it was no problem. It took about 2 hours for them to get the room ready, but we were just waiting by the pool.

The MP in PDC is beautiful. There are no other resorts close. There is construction still going on, the gym & spa are not completed. If you have been to the MP in Nuevo Vallarta, it is not as lush with plants & flowers there. We went to NV last year & it was beautiful. The trees here are very bare & plants are not full yet, but still very pretty. The pool is huge & very nice. It has a swim up bar, with 2 happy hours every day. You can check out towels near the pool.

We stayed in the master suite. I would not recommend this sized room. It's one room w/ 2 double beds, tv, phone, fan, a/c, dresser, small closet & small patio. The bathroom has a hairdryer & line that runs across the tub to hang up wet stuff. Though it's so humid there that nothing really dries. There is no small fridge for your beer & no utensils. You can request a free iron. All the staff we came in contact with were always polite & friendly.

We had room service 3 times. Ordered their pizza 2 times, which was good, but small. It is very thin, so order 1 per person. We ordered the chicken mole since we like mole. Do not order this. Instead of bittersweet chocolate & chili sauce, it was like eating a melted chocolate bar on chicken. They were kind enough to bring something else to replace it. There is a laundry mat. $7/load, $10/load if the attendant does it for you. The price includes soap & softener. You check in your laundry with the attendant. They will figure out how many loads you have, then give you coins for the machines. (See Free Form for rest of review)

For more photos...
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=gal898x.5wi1ltk9&x=0&y=qhm2sm

• Unit Type: Studio
• Activities: Very Good
• Amenities: Very Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Good
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Very Good

We also had lunch at La Floresta, recommended by Lonely Plant. It is right at the corner of 307 & Juarez. Loved this place. Ceviche, fish tacos, shrimp taco were great. Crab tacos ok. Great prices. Outdoors & very casual. Cash only.

Ate at Pirates, whic is owned by Capt. Dave from Memphis, TN. Ask for Charlie to be your waiter. The restaurant is right on the beach & very casual: plastic chairs & tables. We went here 2 times & the food was simple & good. The 1st time we had ceviche ($10). The 2nd time, 2 whole red snappers ($15). They were lightly battered & fried. Served w/guacamole, Mexican salsa, cabbage, rice & fresh corn tortillas. Beer $2. We came back here the last night in Mexico. We were the only customers & had their little beach area all to ourselves. We talked w/Dave for so long, we almost missed the last bus out of PDC! If you are looking for a casual place, good food & nice people, go here. Cash only.

One night while on Isla Mujeres, we hung out at Jax, owned by a woman from Dallas. My husband was looking for a place to watch the all-stars baseball game. Every place but Jax had soccer on. The beach is right across the street from the beach. Had the cheesiest nachos. Fun place.

We asked a few tourists where to eat. Several people said not to eat at the big seafood restaurant right on the beach. We found out why after we got there & eventually decided to leave after waiting 10 mins for water. The service was terrible despite the nice location.... So, after walking out, we found El Picudo Azul, a little family owned place. $3 for 3 tacos, fish or shrimp. $4.50 for the pollo enchilada verde. There are 3 table sauces, red (hot), green tomatillo & this brown thicker sauce. It smells like roasted coffee. That was really good, very hot too.

On our last night in Mexico, we wanted to have a nice dinner in a restaurant where we had not yet eaten. We chose Limones, but DO NOT EAT HERE. I had read reviews about how some places get you into the restaurant by telling you one thing, but then it's not true. The guy who got us into the place, Chino, told us that beer was $1.50 & that they would give us a free drink each. Luckily my husband double-checked with the waiter before we ordered. He said beer was $2.50. When telling him what Chino said, he actually agreed that Chino tells people what they want to hear! We paid for our water & walked out. It is really sad that people like Chino are out there trying to get customers in the door by lying, and then the waiter, who is working hard, has to pay for Chino's lies.

Before eating at Pirates, we had beer at Xlack. We had read in Lonely Planet's guidebook that this was a good place to go. We did not eat here, but we enjoyed the place & talking with the Swedish owner. Beer was $1.70, mixed drinks were $3-4.

One day after a trip to Tulum, we went to PDC for dinner. First, we tried Pinata's right on the beach. The staff here was not friendly at all, so we decided to go up the street to D'Nada. The staff at this new restaurant was very friendly, but the food was not good.

One day after a trip to Tulum, we went to PDC for dinner. Went to Pinata's right on the beach. They were not friendly at all. After waiting for a couple minutes & watching waiters walk right by, we were not greeted, so we left.

We had lunch at, what we think was called, the municipal building at the 2nd stall. $3 for 3 fish or shrimp tacos, really good. Cash only.

Additional Notes for the Mayan Palace in Playa del Carmen (see separate timeshare entry for the bulk of the review):

There is also a mini-store on the property. Most stuff is way over priced here & sometimes not marked. I'd suggest doing your shopping in PDC or Cancun. 6 pack can of beer was $12. 2 liters of Coke $3. In the same building as the store, there is internet service, souvenirs, clothing, furs & jewelry shopping. It's $7 for 30 minutes of internet usage. They have both English & Spanish computers.

The beach is ok, but a little rocky. Water is beautiful. There are chairs & palapas right on the beach. A separate company will offer to take you to the reef to snorkel for $35 for 30 minutes including gear. We didn't do this, but you can find other snorkeling trips more worth your while & money.

Use concierge service. We stopped by their desk everyday on the way out for day trips. They have a tour reservation & car rental office that we did not use.

They have vans that will take you to the front gate if you want to get out of the resort for day trips. Here you can catch buses or taxis. We noticed that a taxi pulled up in front of the report in their driveway area. The gate guard came right to the taxi to hear what the driver was offering us. We heard that all the resorts have set prices w/the taxis, if they come onto their resorts. We chose to catch taxis that would stop on the street as their prices are negotiable. Or catch the bus. The green buses & vans are $1/person & are considered 2nd class. This is b/c they are not direct. The Riveria bus is 1st class & runs from the main terminals from the bigger cities non-stop. For example, from Cancun to PDC non-stop.

I'd recommend using the green buses & vans for getting around. Unless you have a large group, then you may be able to get a good rate for a taxi. Hwy 307 is the road that most of the towns you may visit, is off of. If you want to rent a car, this road is an easy drive. It's when you get into the bigger cities that driving is a little crazy.

For photos... http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=gal898x.5wi1ltk9&x=0&y=qhm2sm

Extra Notes:

This was our 1st visit to the Cancun area. I was expecting it to have a very touristy & partying feeling. Some of that is right, but the area was so much more than I expected.

When you leave the passport check area at the airport, be wary. There are so many timeshare people just waiting to get you signed up for the places they work for. Right as we walked out of this area, we started to look for car rental. They will act like they rent cars for whatever price you want. Then they try to get you signed up for a timeshare presentation. I have met people that are willing to spend the 90+ minutes listening to a hard pressed sales pitch, in order to get the freebee.

We have some friends that met here and absolutely love it here. It is nice, but busy and touristy. The beach has white sand and beautiful water, but they are completely crowded. If you get here by bus or taxi, you will have no problem finding the beach or shopping strip. The bus station is right on the shopping strip and the taxis drop you off there as well. There are public bathrooms here, but you pay 20 cents to get in.

The shopping strip was being paved with bricks when we visited. I would not recommend wearing heels. I saw so many women with these heels on and they were wobbling around just asking for their ankles to turn.

The people in the stores will tell you anything to get you in. Sometimes they will follow you for a couple stores down. If you have your Mayan Palace wristband on, everyone knows where you are staying.

We went here on a Sunday and thought we'd buy some beer while in town to take back to the resort. Only some places will sell beer on Sunday after 5pm, none of the bigger grocery stores.

On our last night in Mexico, we wanted to have a nice dinner somewhere we had not eaten yet. We chose Limones-DO NOT EAT HERE. I had read reviews about how some places get you into the restaurant by telling you one thing, but then it's not true. The guy who got us into the place, Chino, told us that beer was $1.50 and that they would give us a free drink each. Luckily my husband double-checked w/the waiter before we ordered. He said beer was $2.50. When telling him what Chino said, he actually agreed that Chino tells people what they want to hear! We paid for our water and walked out. It is really sad that people like Chino are out there trying to get in customers by lying, then the waiter, who is working hard, has to pay for Chino's lies.

Ate at Pirates owned by Capt. Dave from Memphis, TN. Ask for to Charlie to be your waiter. It is right on the beach and very casual, plastic chairs and tables. We went here two times and the food was simple and good. The first time we had ceviche ($10). The second time, two whole red snappers ($15). They were lightly battered and fried. Served with guacamole, Mexican salsa, cabbage, rice, and fresh corn tortillas. Beer $2. We came back here the last night in Mexico. We were the only customers and had their little beach area all to ourselves. We talked with Dave for so long, we almost missed the last bus out of PDC! If you are looking for a casual place, good food, and nice people, go here. Cash only.

Before eating at Pirates, we had beer at Xlack. We had read in Lonely Plant's guidebook, that this was a good place to go. We did not eat here, but enjoyed the place & talking with the Swedish owner. Beer was $1.70, mixed drinks $3-4.

One day after a trip to Tulum, we went to PDC for dinner. Went to Pinata's right on the beach. They were not friendly at all. Decided to go up the street to D'Nada. They were very friendly, but the food was not good. We also had lunch at La Floresta, recommended by Lonely Plant. It is right at the corner of 307 and Juarez. Loved this place. Ceviche, fish tacos, and the shrimp taco were great. Crab tacos ok. Great prices. Outdoors and very casual. Cash only.

When you leave MP, take the bus to PDC, then buy a ticket to Tulum. You should tell the bus driver where you want to stop, but also watch out for yourself. The bus drops you off right on the freeway in front of a sign that says Tulum. I don't know if they charge for vehicles, but we walked in for free. When you get into the main entrance, there's a place you can buy tickets. We walked passed all this, skipped the tram & walked to the entrance of the ruins. You have to have a sticker to get in. We decided to walk down the road a little further. Have your mosquito repellant with you. A friendly dog decided to join us on our walk & stayed w/us most of the day, even though we had no food. We turned down one of the roads (3-4th exit) to find a little secluded beach & some cabanas. The beach was beautiful & not crowded at all. Had a few topless girls. Stayed till 6pm & then walked back to the ruin to find that there were many Mexican families there just walking around. We went in for free & stayed for about 30 mins until the park finally closed. The ruins are wonderful & since they are right by the water, the pictures you will take will be beautiful. I would definitely recommend a visit to Tulum.

For more photos...

http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=gal898x.7hmkzb8p&x=0&y=-fp9yhg

We took the bus from MP to the Cancun bus station. From here we took a cab to Puerto Juarez; pay no more than $2. Here you can take a ferry ($3.50) to Isla Mujeres.

The island was a little more crowded than I expected. You are able to get around town by foot easily, though they have scooters & golf carts to rent. Once we got off the ferry, we went looking for a hotel. Chose Caribe Maya b/c Lonely Planet recommended it. Was a family owned place, walking distance to the docks. $25 for a clean room w/2 single beds, fan, window unit & bathroom w/shower. $20 for room w/o window unit. Once we got our room, we had lunch at the municipal building at the 2nd stall. $3 for 3 fish or shrimp tacos, really good.

Took a taxi to Hotel Garrafon de Castilla. There is a huge park on the beach right next to this place that offers food, snorkeling, wrestling w/nurse sharks, etc. I'm not sure how much this place costs, but it is very crowded. We chose to go to the hotel next door for $2. They have a small area where you can snorkel, rent gear, lockers, and showers. It was not crowded at all when we went. Really enjoyed our afternoon. Watch for the conch shaped house on the way, very unusual!

That night we hung out at Jax, owned by a woman from Dallas. My husband was looking for a place to watch the all-stars baseball game. Every place but Jax had soccer on. Had the cheesiest nachos. Enjoyed our night here. The bonus for staying on the island is that all the tourists go home around 4-5pm. It is really nice walking around on the beach & you'll enjoy not having the crowds around.

For more photos...
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=gal898x.5qt5ijzd&x=0&y=7ybj0

The morning before day we took the Isla Contoy trip, we signed up for this trip with the fisherman's co-op. They are located just down the dock from the ferry on Isla Mujeres. Tickets are $40/person. Lunch, drinks, beer (until they run out), lunch, and snorkel gear are included. We were told to show up at 8:30am and we left around 9:30. They fill fit you for the snorkel gear before you leave. You should probably bring some water and have your breakfast before you leave.

Our tour had about 15 people including the captain and crew. The boat is not big, but was covered. About 40 minutes into the ride, we stopped at a reef and snorkeled. There were tons of beautiful fish and brain coral. Life jackets are offered for those who aren't comfortable swimming in the ocean or just want to snorkel comfortably. While we were out of the boat, the fisherman caught our lunch, a 15 lb red snapper.

The ride to Contoy took a little over an hour. It's a beautiful trip. The water is just incredible. Once we got the island, there were only five other people there from another fisherman's co-op tour. There is a little museum and tower to visit (clean bathrooms too). A little hike inland, there is a huge water area with tons of birds. We were there for about two hours with the island basically to ourselves, then this huge tour boat shows up. I bet 100 people got off. Luckily, they stayed on the other side of the beach and we never heard them.

The fisherman grilled our lunch under some trees and benches were provided for their tour groups. All the fisherman's co-op tour groups share the food. It's a nice time to meet some other people. They grilled the fish, made guacamole, rice, ceviche, cabbage salad, and served it with corn and flour tortillas. It was the best meal I ate on our entire trip. Around 3pm, the big tour boat left and we had the island all to ourselves again.

There is a friendly local manta ray that comes to the shore trying to get handouts. There was also some kind of tall fish that was swimming around with the ray. It looked funny because his fins were too high for him to be swimming in such shallow water, but he knew that he'd get some food! There are harmless hermit crabs and iguanas everywhere, so watch where you step. Bring your mosquito repellent. In the shade they are really bad.

On the way home, the fishermen caught their own dinners. It was a wonderful day. I think this is a must-do trip. Definitely do the trip with the fisherman's co-op and not one of those huge tour boats. Make sure to tip the fisherman when the trip is over!

For more photos... http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=gal898x.8smrm32x&x=0&y=cgq8b1 and http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=gal898x.94bj6l2x&x=0&y=-vc09ee

One day we decided to try out Puerto Moreles. You take the taxi from the Mayan and they will drop you off right at the exit to PM. From there you will take a taxi into the town. There is not much to this town at all, very quiet. There is a little shopping. We asked a couple tourists where to eat. Five people said not to eat at the big seafood restaurant right on the beach. We found this out after we got there and eventually decided to leave after waiting 10 minutes for water. The service was terrible, but we sure had a nice spot on the beach. After walking out, we found El Picudo Azul, a little family owned place. $3 for three tacos -- fish or shrimp. $4.50 for the pollo enchilada verde. There are three table sauces, red (hot), green tomatillo, and this brown thicker sauce. It smells like roasted coffee. That was really good, very hot too. Didn't stay in PM too long as there is not much to do at all. Take a taxi back to the main highway where you can catch a bus.

Our last day trip was to Tres Rios. What a perfect way to end our trip. This is one of the smaller eco-parks. The larger being Xcaret & Xel-ha. I had read some reviews & guide books before the trip. The larger parks really didn't sound like what we were looking for, too touristy & commercial. I don't know if that's true b/c we didn't go, but we sure are glad we went to Tres Rios.

You can take a taxi or bus from MP & they will drop you off right at the highway entrance. You can tell the driver where you are going, but it's good to keep an eye out for the sign. You will do a short hike to the ticket booth. Here someone will give you a quick update on all that's available in the park. There's an all inclusive package that includes your food, drink, speed boats, horseback riding & what is included in the basic package. We took the basic package. I don't remember how much this was, $30-35/person. With this, you have use of the bikes, canoes, kayaks, snorkel gear & 2 non-alcoholic drink tickets.

Once you take another short hike, you will get to the bike area. Here you can get single or tandem bikes. You will ride to the next area which is a cenote so that you can snorkel your way to the ocean. There's a small hut where you can give a person your personal stuff. They will bag it up for you & send it to the beach. You will have a number on your wrist band to claim it. Also available are life jackets & snorkel gear. The cenote was COLD, but was so pleasant after being in the sun. It is clean, clear, fresh water. You can either take the plunge by diving in, slide or stairs. From this cenote you can snorkel down the river to the beach. Once you are close to the beach, you can tell where the fresh water meets the salt, it gets a little blurry looking & the water is a little warmer. On the beach there you can either lay out under the palapas, go canoeing down another cenote (one you can't go swimming in), kayak out in the ocean.

When we visited, the park was not that crowded which was great. The park has a restaurant, little bar, showers, lockers, bathrooms & outside showers. There are a couple places you can hike inside the park, I wasn't that impressed. It was hot & had lots of mosquitoes. Still, I really recommend coming here. If you are looking for a place to relax & don't need all the entertainment that the larger parks give you, come here. It's cheaper too!

For photos... http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=gal898x.5vumk8op&x=0&y=-4hrtat and http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=gal898x.c2l6bum1&x=0&y=-dk01b0