5 women, 1st time in Mexico, house or condo.... where?
 

My daughter, sister, 2 friends, and I are thinking about a week in Mexico, probably in March. We rented a house in Hawaii this year and it was perfect for us. Now we'd like to try someplace different. We loved having the privacy/quiet of a house.
For Mexico, we'd like to be somewhere in or near a town - not huge (not Cancun). Somewhere with a nice atmosphere and reasonably close to activities like snorkeling, Mayan ruins. We're not into bars or nightlife, but would like a decent selection of restaurants. Would prefer to be on the beach - preferably one that's not terribly crowded.
We range in age from 30-60.
Is a house rental an option? Or are condos our best bet?
Would appreciate recommendations for a particular town/beach as well as any accommodations/activities.
(Would consider Belize or Costa Rica, but never been to Mexico and are leaning toward it for cost reasons.)
Thanks!
Karen

Anyone?
I've read the other threads asking similar questions. So let me give you some additional details to help set us apart. We'd like privacy so we're not interested in a big resort. And we definitely are not into swinging parties or anything like that. We do, however, enjoy strolling quaint shopping areas and eating out at local atmospheric restaurants. We want a sandy, not rocky, beach, one that would be nice for strolling.
In Hawaii we stayed at Lanikai, which suited us extremely well. We're not necessarily looking to repeat that experience, but something quiet like that, but not too isolated, would be perfect.
Ideas?

If you're looking for something on the Pacific side and relativey easy to get to I would look at Sayulita. I really like the town and it's bohemian feel - lots of bars and restaurants and an easy-going attitude and a nice beach. It's got a surfer vibe but there are folks of all ages - lots of families as well. You can rent a house there or there are some boutique hotels (villa amor).

If you want to visit Mayan ruins, then you probably will want to be in Playa del Carment or further south like Akumal or Tulum. take a look at the lodgings both villa and condo over on Locogringo.com

Yes, definitely want to see ruins. Leaning toward Akumal or Tulum. Thanks.

I would also suggest Playa de Carmen.

After further investigation, Akumal may be too small. We definitely want SOME town close by. It looks like Akumal has just 3 or 4 shops and restaurants. Is that right? Playa might be better for us. We'd prefer a house to a condo, though, preferably something within a couple hundred feet of the ocean. Also, we'd prefer to be on a sandy beach vice a rocky one.

Akumal has about 5 shops and a bunch of restaurants. Although Playa del Carmen would have a larger selection of shopping and dining, you also then need to consider that Playa is a city so depending on the area could be noisy. Playacar would be a quieter location and there are some nice homes there.

Puerto Aventuras is a nice marina community with a few more shops and restaurants, although few are worth raving about. There are a couple houses on the beach, the rest are on a rocky shoreline.