HELP! St Croix or Cancun
 

Over Christmas and New Years we will be traveling with our 4 adult children and can't decide where to go. Been to Kona and Maui numerous times as well as Aruba and Bermuda. We want to eat great food, swim and be in gorgeous surroundings. If we decided to go to Cancun which area do we stay in? The same for St.Croix, which side to we stay on?

hi :)

Just to let you know, you are comparing two very different places.

St. Croix is beautiful, quaint and quiet. It's a lot more of a "slower pace" than Cancun. My husband and I stayed for a week at the Bucaneer and we really liked it. It was very relaxing.

Cancun (and surrounding area) is also beautiful but it much more lively. There are many bars and clubs - great nightlife. The hotels are beautiful and there are lots of adventurous things to do. I have been may times and have always had a great time.

Since you will be traveling as an adult family, I would recommend Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. You will fly into the Cancun airport and drive (on a highway of American standards) for 40ish minutes to Playa Del Carmen.

In my opinion, that would be the best choice for a family with adult children. The beach is beautiful, the hotels are beautiful, great food and there are places to have a drink at night - some nightlife without it being overun by teenagers. you can arrange day trips for snorkle or scuba or tour the ruins of Tulum. You can swim with sea turtles or explore a Cenote.

We stayed at the Banyan Tree Mayakoba and it was stunning. There are tonnes of hotels to choose from just make sure you read the reviews and look at the photos on tr1p advis0r.

Hope this helps and have a great trip!

I would fly into Cancun and then go south to the Riviera Maya area (which include Playa del Carmen mentioned above).
Do you want an adults only resort? Do you want all inclusive?
What is your budget?
The Riviera Maya area offers more activities than St. Croix as there are many ruins to visit, cenotes to snorkel, zip lines, etc.

We have stayed many times at LIVE AQUA in Cancun with our adult children. It has beautiful rooms ( especially the AQUA SUITE which comes with its own whirlpool and huge deck), lots of pools, a wonderful spa, a well-equipped gym, and an enviable location on a quiet strip of beach.

Food is very good for an AI, with many choices, and if you do get tired of the hotel food, you're within easy taxi distance of many good restaurants.

The hotel can arrange day trips to most places along the Mayan Rivera and beyond.

Slight downside is that there is an undertow at the beach, and so when the lifeguards tell you to stay out or get out, you need to pay attention.

I can't remember whether this was also true in Playa del Carmen because it's been several years since our last visit.

To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked Cancun after always thinking that I would absolutely hate it. Loved every minute of our stay at Live Aqua, and so did our kids!