Cancun, Ixtapa or??
 

We are a couple in our early 50's and can't decide on a destination. We are not real party types, but do enjoy entertainment, great beach, good food and some sightseeing. We are looking for a relaxing week,and can't decide whether to go to Cancun or Ixtapa. or? Not really interested in PV or Mazatlan. We are looking for a 3+ to 4* resort, AI.
We want to leave in 2 weeks, so your help is appreciated. Can you give us the pros and cons to the different destinations as well as recommending a nice resort.
Thanks for your help, in advance!

Personally, I don't care for Cancun at all. Way too much concrete and large hotels. Doesn't have any sort of Mexican feel to it at all. What it does have is a stunning beach and that incredibly beautiful blue Caribbean water. So, my suggestion would be to fly to Cancun, then head south to one of the resorts outside of Playa Del Carmen. Only about an hour south, but much more laid back. If you stay at one of the resorts in Playacar, you're very close to the town of Playa Del Carmen, if you want to get off resort property for a change. I can't help with resorts because we stay at the smaller hotels right in town.

If you are looking for a relaxing week as you say..then go to Cancun.
The hotels are all very nice and almost all of them have the AI.
The beach and the Caribbean torquise water is very lovely.
You can take whatever tours you want from your hotel, or you can take none..since you just want to relax.
If you do take a tour,you might as well go to Chichen Izta for the day, it is one of the nice Ruin places.
If you want a little taste of the downtown Mexican life...then from your hotel ,just walk out the front door and walk straight ahead to Kukulkan Blvd.
From here the bus seems to run every 5 minutes.
Bus fare is about 50 cents US.
This takes you right down town..get off the bus and walk around.
See all the trinklet shops and sidewalk cafes and the people asking you to come into their shop and/or restuarant.
This is the hussle and bussle of downtown Cancun!
If you have never seen this before then go!

Ixtapa...you say !!
Well the only three places there that have the AI is:
1.Barcelo's
2.Fontan( next door toBarcelo's)
3.The PresidenteInter-Continetal( next door to Fontan)
This is like a best of both worlds deal because ..the tourist area is Ixtapa...very nice and safe for walking around and just seeing things.
The tourist shops are right across the street.
Then out your front door you hop the bus..cost is 50cents USA, ( 5 pesos) and the bus takes you on a very nice 20-25 minute bus ride to the town of Zihuatanjo...this is the town where almost all the Mexican that work in Ixtapa live.
get off the bus at either Benito Juarez street or at Cinqe de Mayo..ask the bus drive and he will let you off...or he may give you that look that says,"hey,I am almost at the end of the line..time to get off", in which case you will be almost at Cinqe de Mayo.
From here walk about 3-4 block and you are right at Zihuatanejo Bay in the heart of Zihuatanejo.
Now you are ina very nice Mexican town with all its charm.
Sit at a side walk cafe ..have a drink and people watch!!
The beach is much nicer in Cancun. If swimming is your thing.
Hope this help a little
Percy

Jean & Percy,
Thanks for the input... I did book today and ended up with Ixtapa. We thought we would save Cancun for when we have more than a week to spare as there seems to be a lot more to do there. For this week just the R&R sounds great, with maybe a trip to Zih. Perch, thanks for the tip on the bus and what to do while there. All advice appreciated.
We leave in 2 weeks! Yahoo!

Percy, sorry didn't mean to call you "Perch" :)
Also meant to mention we booked into the Presidente, so hope it is decent.

Pattie
You are right in the heart of Ixtapa.
Across the street from you are many little shops that you willfind pleasant to walk about in.
There are also many eating places. But you have the AI.
You must walk across the street and then to your left about half a block to this nice ice cream place.
Have some Coconut ice cream.
The ice cream place has a blue tarp hanging down the front to keep the sun out.. it is not right on the street but about 30 feet in , as there is a little parking lot in front.
If you want to call home ...then get a Telmex phone card,you can buy them anywhere.
Then put the card into the phone and dial 011,then your area code,then your home number.
If you want to send e -mail home then,walk across the street from your hotel, then walk to your left about a block until you see Senior Frogs Restaurant.
Okay now walk up to Senior Frogs restaurant..okay you are facing the entrance steps now... now look ahead and to your left( over the roof tops) and you will see this Huge Tree about 60 feet away...this is where the Internet Cafe is that has English keyboard computers.
One more thing if you cannot type @ ( that little "a" with a circle around it) then this is what you do:
Press and hold down the ALT key, now type 64...and the @ will appear.!!!
You said maybe a trip to Zihuatanejo!!!?
There is NO maybe about it.
You CANNOT go to Ixtapa without taking that nice 50 cent bus ride to Zihuatanejo.
If you like walk, as you come out the front door of your hotel, on the main avenue..turn left and walk down to the Marina, you will pass by many of the other hotels on the way...it is a nice pleasant walk there and back..about8-10 blocks.
Percy

Percy,
Thanks very much for your suggestions. I appreciate the internet and phone advice as I do need to be able to keep touch with home on an almost daily basis, this trip.
We will make the trip to Zihuatenjo.

oops, posted before I finished! Do you have any suggestions on what not to miss in Zuhuatenejo? I assume it is easy to find the correct bus to take us there?
Thanks again!

When you get to Zihua, and you get off the bus and arrive at the Zihua Bay, you are at the
Playa Principal..the main TOWN SQUARE

Just walk all the way along the Bay..it is nice to just walk and look.
You will come to a canal but there is a small bridge across this canal...
You are now in Playa Madera, just a different beach area.
Now keep walk until you get to Playa La Ropa.( another different beach area)
But to get all the way to the end of Playa La Ropa , you will have to get off this walk way you are on ,which is right along the beach and move inward into the residental area..but ONLY for about a block..it is kind of like circling arounda bit , then you will come onto
"Camino Escenico Playa La Ropa" , this is just the name of the road.
There are nice small hotels here and places to just sit and have a drink.
I would take the boat ride across the Bay when you are at the Town Square... you cannot miss it.
The ride is $3.00US /per person
This will take you right straight across the water to Playa Las Gatas.
Okay now at Playa Las Gatas..you can walk to a lighthouse called El Faro.
It is about a 1/2 hour walk ,up hill bbut oh so nice to come back because it is all down hit
The view from the lighthouse is superb..it is very secluded and lovely but worth the walk there.
Also once you get off the boat ride across the Bay from Principal to Las Gatas, you can just sit on a lunge chair , order a drink and just relax.
Bring a beach towel if you can.
Percy
Oh yes ,I can tell you how to get to the lighthouse, becuase it seems that no one on the beach knew how to get there.!!
Percy

This is a note to Percy:

What do you think of Cancun for me and my daughter (12 years old). We were thinking of a beach vacation in March, with a little education thrown in. Is there much to see ruin/archeology-wise. Also, it seems as though all of the hotels on the beach are large, all inclusive types. Anything you know of that is not like that? Thank you

Janicew:

Yes all the resorts are All Inclusive it seems along the big "strip" of Cancun.
You can ask your travel agent that you want air only and to book you to the hotel of your choice along this nice "strip".
The problem is that it is waaay more costly that way.
You will be paying a large price for the room and then eating and having drinks at the hotel is not cheap.
If you do not eat at the hotel , then you will always have to go elsewhere to eat,either walking... hmmm I wonder to where....or taking the bus to downtown Cancun and all those quaint restaurants there.
But to do this 3 times a day is really wasting your holiday time looking for places to eat.
That may be one reason why,going All Inclusive at these huge resorts is better.
There are resorts that do not do the All Inclusive, in fact, your agent will know about these places.
You can go to see the ruins at Tulum but better still go to Chichen Itza.
Going to Xcaret is no big deal if you are not going to Snorkel.
You can also just hop on the bus and go downtown for several hours just to walk around and see the real Cancun.?
Ask anything you want.
Percy