rlt

Planning a trip with my husband and two daughters who will be 10 and 7. Planning for Thanksgiving week. We've narrowed it down to Punta Cana and Riviera Maya. Need suggestions on which location to go to, which is safer with families, and the best all-inclusive for us to stay at. We like big resorts with lots to do- prefer 4 or 5 star hotels.
Need beautiful pools, kids activities and beautiful white sand beaches.
Would appreciate any input!

suze

Punta Cana is OK if you just want to go and stay only on your resort property. But there's really not much else to do there. In the DR people tend not to leave their resorts.

Mayan Riviera has the nice resorts but also has towns you can go visit, like Playa del Carmen, Akumal, Tulum, etc. so would strongly be my suggestion.

both places are "safe".

virginia

my vote is for maya riviera. if you can tell us your budget we can suggest specific resorts.
assume you are looking for all inclusive. off hand - look at riu's, iberostars & i really like this place because it's connected to one of the eco marine parks: http://www.occidentalhotels.com/grand/Xcaret.asp

here's a list of all available that lets you link to each hotel from the page http://www.all-inclusiveresort.com/R...nd_Resorts.cfm

there is tons to do. ziplines, horseback, ruins to tour, atv jungle rides, golf/tennis, dive/snorkel, 2 marine parks to play at, fun duty free shopping in playa del carmen, fishing - bone & deep sea, kayaking the sian ka'an biosphere, caves & cenotes to explore, aviary, botanical gardens, wonderful beaches, fun towns to explore especially tulum & akumal. << you can tell we had a good time.

locogringo.com is an especially helpful site for planning.

gillybrit

Another vote for Riviera Maya. We stayed at the Barcelo Maya and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. There were plenty of excursions available, if you don't want to stay on the resort the whole time. Friends that came with us went to Punta Cana the following year and regretted not going back to Riviera Maya.

BellaClaire

I just got back from Punta Cana. Stayed at the Majestic Elegance which was great, not a lot of kids but had kids....the beach was BEAUTIFUL - I saw all kinds of kids enjoying the ocean. I'd suggest getting a swim up room....if you have any questions, let me know. The resort is beautiful!

rlt

Thanks for all your suggestions. I have been leaning toward the Riviera Maya also. We are looking for an all-inclusive there and our budget is around $6000 for the week including airfare. Iberostar is top on our list. One thing that has changed, we were originally planning to go this November, but a trip has come up with our in-laws this Fall so we are going to push our tropical trip to April (spring break) of 2013. Since it's a bit warmer then, we have also added the Atlantis in the Bahamas to our list. I wish it was all-inclusive, but we would do the better food plan there. Any thoughts on there?

KVR

Skip the Atlantis. Over priced and mediocore food. You will be better off with the Riviera Maya.

If it matters to you, if you wait until the 2nd or 3rd week of May, prices and crowds will drop.

rlt

Unfortunately we have to go then, as that is when my kids will be out of school. We are already taking them out for a week the beginning of the school year.
It's funny, people I know who've been to the Atlantis say the food is great and that even thought it's very expensive there, it's top notch and you get what you pay for- that it's a trip of a life-time. But I am hesitant because of the price and that it's not all-inclusive. I have been to Mexico before, before I had children, and always loved it there.

KVR

We have been going to that area of Mexico for several years now in either a November/December. To us, the pools are much to cold to swim in during that time of year and we have decided to stop going during those months. We used to go in August/September, but it's too hot and the hurricane issue became quite a bother. We went to Jamaica this past December instead and was glad. It's amazing how the weather differs so much.

Do a search for the Atlantis on this forum and Trip Advisor. You will find way more bad reviews than good. We went for a day trip while staying at Sandals and it was not for us. Granted we don't have kids, but even with the water park it couldn't lure us back.

There are so much more things to see and do off property in Mexico than the DR or Paradise Island, and less expensive.

rlt

I think Atlantis is definitely a resort for couples with children. If I was going away with just my husband I wouldn't pick there. Yes, I am doing searches on trip advisor- I've found everything I am searching for on this site does not have a lot of recent posts- much less activity. So I will stick to tripadvisor and hopefully come to a decision. We would be going to Mexico in April, so the weather will be fine then. I've been to mexico multiple times in the spring and it was great weather. We did make the mistake of going to Turks & Caicos in December once and the pools were freezing!! Thanks everyone for your suggestions!!