I just replied to your other note! In general, I don't think it's necessary to pre-book hotels unless you want to stay in a particular place. However, you may want to think about the last 2 or 3 days of your trip given that you're there just before Christmas. I don't usually travel at that time, but I think a lot of people might.

Based on our experiences 3 years ago, we booked ahead in Playa del Carmen last February only to find that there's been a construction boom in Playa and there were lots of vacant hotels. We talked to a hotel owner who said that she can't ever imagine the day when all the hotels are fully booked. If you have a late flight getting into Cancun, you may want to spend the night there. We stayed in a small hotel downtown one time - it was fine for a night and I had booked that in advance because I didn't want to be lugging a bag around. But Playa is still fairly small and you should be able to find a hotel there easily.

We usually stay in Playa del Carmen and / or Cozumel. But another poster here (Texasgirl) recommends the Tankah Dive Inn. It sounds great. With 2 weeks, you'll not want to spend all your time in Playa del Carmen.

An alternative to the coast is to head inland. We've been to Merida and Vallodolid (visiting Chichen Itza). That was a wonderful trip and we really enjoyed it. Both places have a lot of inexpensive hotels and we hadn't booked ahead.

I'm sure you'll have a great trip.

I'd definately agree with getting out of Cancun, unless you like wall-to-wall high-rise hotel resorts. We spent a week in a beachfront condo at Puerto Morelos, about 20 minutes south of Cancun. Very centrally located for pretty much everything, and PM is a sleepy little fishing village that gives the flavor of "real" Mexico yet has some good restaurants (try Johnny Cairo's).

Personally, Playa del Carmen reminded me somewhat of Tijuana -- cramped, dirty, filled with souvenir-type junk shops, and not that nice of a beach.

Forgot to mention, while in Tankah be sure to grab a bit at Casa Cenote, a small restuarant situated under a huge palapa right on a shell-strewn beach. In Puerto Aventuras, plan a romantic dinner at Papaya Republic.

hi sheri, with two weeks and a car you can see quite a lot of the yucatan. I agree with susan, you really don't need to book ahead, except possibly those last few nights or if you have your heart set on a specific resort. depending on your flight time, you might want to book your first night also. if you arrive before say 2 p.m, you ought to have plenty of time to find a place that first night.

personally i'm not big on puerto morelos, but i didn't stay there, just stopped for a day, so maybe it grows on you. i thought its beach was kind of dirty and all i remember is the military barracks right on the beach, and a ton of soldiers walking up and down! an itinerary that sounds good is a few nights in playa, which has gotten pretty bustling, then on to tankah (i do like the tankah dive inn and also can recommend the casa cenote) I would also spend a few days in Tulum _ maybe Zamas or Piedras Escondidas or one of the other cabanas on the beach. They range from nice to pretty rustic.If you have time you might even go down to Punta Allen, more remote yet. There are supposed to be fishing camps and cabanas there too.

If you like ruins, try Coba _ much more remote than Tulum and really breathtaking. have fun....