Cancun - may or JUne 2015
 

I haven't been to cancun for over 10 years. What is a good all inclusive that is moderately priced. We are going for my 40th birthday. Is the hotel zone still the place to stay?

Actually, the place to stay now is Playa del Carmen (one hour south of Cancun). I am not an AI type as we always rent a condo for months at a time, but I do know that there are many AI in and around Playa. I would suggest you go to Playacar for an AI as the beaches are very similar to Cancun and your access to Playa can be made on foot or taxi depending where you stay. You can easily access Cozumel as the ferry is close by or visit some archeological site like Coba for instance...

I went to cancun and playa del carmen in May. I liked playa del carmen as a base to visit other places, so we stayed at an airbnb (beautiful apartment with 2 rooms, air conditioning, 1 block away from the beach for $150)

We stayed at paradisus cancun AI. It was also amazing! Enjoyed the activities inside. Best AI I've ever been to.

I don't think Playa del Carmen as become "the place to stay" rather than Cancun. Both are popular and have been for a long long time. Cancun is easier for some people, as it's right by the airport. And you can go some places from there which you cannot very easily from PDC as day trips (eg, Islas Mujeres, Holbox or Contoy des Mujeres, Isla Holbox), and it is closer to Chichen Itza. Cancun also has a lot more hotels with good beaches. PDC only has a few and others are not really in PDC but a ways away (self-contained resorts).

So both can be options, but if you are not aware of PDC and all the AIs down that route, you might want to check them out. Some are isolated, though meaning you can't stroll into town from them. Last time I took a van service back to the airport from PDC they stopped to pick some people up at an AI north of PDC, and it was way far back from the main highway on a sketchy road that took maybe 10 minutes to get to just from the highway.

In Cancun, the hotel zone kind of has to be the place to stay if you want to be on the beach.

May is a great time to visit, cannot help with Cancun only stayed once, sorry not for me. I like Akumal and Isla Mujeres.

We enjoy both Cancun and Playacar area. We usually stay at the Palace Resorts or Hard Rocks. They have resorts for all type travelers. The beaches in Cancun are beautiful, but Riviera Maya is also. You can get lots of info on the various type resorts in the Palace HR chain in a Forum for Palace Resorts group. There are hundreds of photos and albums of all the resorts to get a better idea if it's suited for you. https://www.facebook.com/groups/PalaceForum/ We travel there 3 -4 times a year and love all the resorts. We're happy to answer questions if you need help.

what PDC means ?

Playa del Carmen

As you get into summer it's 'rainy season' on both sides for the coastal resort towns.

So May would be a better bet for weather than June (or if June, the earlier the better).