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We are considering going to Akumal, Tulum or Isla Mujeres. We would like to stay directly on a beach (if possible) where our 2 toddlers could play right in the water (smooth beach, not rocky). Which area would you recommend? Also we would like to stay in a private villa. Any recommendations on one of those?
Thanks!
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Best Beach & villas--Akumal, Tulum or Isla Mujeres
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Tulum and Akumal both have beautiful beaches. For some great info on these area try this site:
http://forums.locogringo.com/forums/default.asp
We loved isla with small kids. You can walk everywhere. We stayed in a condo in Ixcel beach condos in North Beach. Great condos accessable to everything. Found them on VRBO. Akumal Bay is smooth...Half Moon is rocky
Tulum beach is better than Akumal's. The issue with Tulum, though, is the lack of a/c at most places which would seem to be problematic with 2 toddlers.
I would think that Isla Mujeres would be your best option.
I think Isla Mujeres is great for kids. Problem is, you won't find a private villa on a really nice beach. The best swimming beach is Playa Norte, it's line with small hotels and condos.
I dislike the looks of Ixchel Condos, they look like ugly white boxes.
Next door are Nautibeach Condos, an older property, but lovely. Fits in with the Caribbena Vibe much better than the starkness of Ischel.
On Isla, you are very close to lots of very good restaurants, only a few blocks. Easy to get around.
look at some of the villas on soliman bay beach or the south end of tankah bay beach - casa rosa is in a good spot on tankah bay beach.
http://www.locogringo.com/dynamic/lodging.cfm?area=Soliman Bay - Tankah&type=Villa
these are just north of tulum - about 10-15 mins where there is a med sized grocery.
we stayed at casa cavu on tankah and did the bulk of our shopping at the soriana in playa del carman.
more villa listings on http://www.bill-in-tulsa.com/
if you post on the latin america/mexico board someone can tell you which beaches have best sand currently. this apparently changes significantly year to year.
The water is too rough for toddlers to play in Tulum. Serious waves. I wouldn't let my six and nine year old go in there, actually they didn't want to when they saw how rough the surf was. Akumal has a nice calm beach.