I'm traveling to the yucatan in two weeks with 5 friends. We are trying to decide where to stay. Right now we have reservations at casa manga marriot but are considering switching to a hotel in playa del carmen. the reason we are considering switching is because we have heard that cancun is expensive(we are not staying at an all-inclusive resort) and that it is much too commercialized. If we opt for the playa del carmen route, will it be cheaper and will we have the opportunity to enjoy the same variety of watersports as in cancun? Also would it be advisable to take day trips to the other cities in the riveria maya from PDC? Thanks

Food and watersports will not be appreciably cheaper in Playa del Carmen. Cancun *CAN* be expensive, but it doesn't have to be. Avoid the big glitzy restaurants and head downtown to the more traditional eateries, or seek out less expensive, off the beaten path places.

Have fun!
Mark
www.tiogringo.com

You can certainly find a hotel on the beach in Playa del Carmen for way less than what the Marriott in Cancun will cost. The beach in town is narrower than along the hotel zone in Cancun. Still beautiful though. A few minutes walk north will put you on a great white sand beach with public beach clubs. If you wander a couple blocks off of 5th Avenue (the main drag) in PDC you will find great food at really cheap prices. Another benefit of staying in PDC is the ferry to Cozumel is right there. Also you can take a collectivo to the ruins in Tulum for a couple of dollars. All in all, I would guess you would save quite a bit of money staying in Playa rather than the Marriott in Cancun. There's a bus that goes directly from the Cancun airport to downtown Playa del CArmen for about $6.50 one way. Quite a bargain.

I went to Marriot 3years ago and found it very expensive!!!!However since you have already made the reservations I will say that it is a beautiful hotel great service and everything else you can think of. I would not mind staying there again however it can be quite expensive. I don't know what exactly you are looking for in terms of eating & drinking. They have a wonderful breakfast buffet for about I think $15.00 each. You can get it cheaper if you ask your travel agent about it and ask about any food or modified alll inclusive. Also they have a great dinner buffet I don't know on what nights but it is all you can eat and they have lobster and steak and the buffet. I think it's about $27.00. These are not bad prices the drinks are costly compared to P. Vallarta but if you don't drink much then I think you will be ok. There also is a great Italian Restaurant across the street and that is not expensive in fact it is very reasonable. If I can help you in any other way let me know. As far as Playa del Carmen If I do go back to Cancun I will try that area however since this is your first time in Cancun I think you should give it a try. One more thing somewhere along my travels I heard that the Marriott has a food plan or a modified all inclusive you might want to look into it. Good Luck

thanks for the replies....how are the watersports in PDC compared to cancun?