Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco or Cancun
 

We are thinking of going to Mexico for a week end of July (I know it will be hot). We have a 5 year old and a 10 year old. Any advice on which location? Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco or Cancun area. We are looking for nice, clean beaches for swimming and snorkeling. Do not like tourist bars/restaurants. Looking to spend time learning about the culture. Ideally we would like to rent a house. Thank you for your advice in advance.

Cancun has gorgeous beaches with pure white sand and turquoise water, but is extremely touristy and commercial.<BR>HOWEVER, you can find great authentic cuisine in the downtown Cancun area (not the hotel zone), and it makes a good jumping off point for seeing ruins.<BR>I would recommend Akumal about an hour south of Cancun.<BR>There are beautiful villas to rent (some with pools) right on the beach, and some of the best snorkeling to be found on the Mexican coast is right there at Yalku lagoon.<BR>Check out locogringo. com.<BR>We've used them several times and were very pleased.

Learning about the culture will be a stretch in Cancun or Cabo (IMO). Puerto Vallarta or Acapulco are more authentic because these two were towns/cities first, and became resort destinations later. Cabo and Cancun were built up specifically for tourism.<BR><BR>Other considerations... All four destinations have loads of tourist restaurants &amp; bars, no doubt about it. Cancun has the best beaches and water. PV the reputation of being the friendliest.

The beaches are nicest in Ixtapa, Cozumel, Cancun, and Cabo. Puerto Vallarta area beaches can be dirty and the water's not as pretty, especially in late summer - the rainy season, when rain water runs into the bay from the mountains. It rains every evening in PV in July-August. We have a house there and have been going each summer for the last 9 years. We've also been to many other places in Mexico. I might recommend Cozumel for you.

You might give Costa Rica some consideration....it's very nice.

You will find nothing but Americans in Cabo. If you are over 25 forget about it. ACA and PV are nicer. BUT...the nicest of all is Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo. Ixtapa is a built up resort and ZIH is still a &quot;real&quot; fishing village. the beaches are wonderful and the people are friendly. AND its still cheap! If you want to rent a house there are plenty available in ZIH. Good luck