My husband and I want to take my sister and her family on a seven-night trip next Christmas. We've gotten great advice from Fodorites and have decided to head to the Riviera Maya, but just need advice on which city/town. There will be a total of eight people (two adult couples and four kids: three girls ages 13, 17, 19; one boy age 17). The kids have never been out of the U.S. and they all have taken/are taking Spanish. The adults are pretty fluent. Here's what we are looking for--can you please help us figure out which area to concentrate on? Are Tulum and Akumal too secluded from everything?

We plan to rent cars. We definitely want access to a beach and the ocean; pool/jacuzzi access preferred as well. Some type of historic or cultural activities; things for kids to do at night.

Advice would be most appreciated!

PDC would give you an anchor place to go from either with a rental car or through public transportation and provide plenty to do for the teens during the day and at night. In my opinion Tulum and Akumal would be too quiet for them.

Thanks for that info. We're also considering doing an AI--any experience with that in PDC?

I think AI's are too expensive and they vary in quality from place to place. Many days, you are out touring and miss meals that you have paid for. AI's are good for kids and I did do it twice with my boys because they could pick what they liked and really fill up. I got bored with the same thing every day. PDC has wonderful restaurants and I prefer the varity of a different restaurant each day. You can eat cheaply or spend a lot, it is your choice and you will have plenty of choices.
If you will have a kitchen, get some groceries to fill in the gaps for growing kids between restaurant visits.
Akumal is very quiet. Small and nice. Kids might not like it.

Before I purchased a condo down here I stayed at several AI's and condos. When we did the AI thing, my boys were in their late teens and they had a great time. Plus I didn't have to worry about feeding them at any particular point and I knew where they were at night. Now, they're a bit older (in their mid and late 20's) and we have a condo here. It works well for us as they now go out where they want and eat here at home. Sometimes taking people out continually to different restaurants can be a bit of a hassle....over the holidays we were continually 10-12 for dinner since many of our neighbors were here also. It's difficult pleasing everyone in a restaurant every night.

Thanks for the advice and sharing your experiences!

I agree, if it were just adults we probably wouldn't consider AI, but it's attractive for the same reasons you both cite. Plus my sister and I want a vacation too, and if we go the usual route, we'll invariably be take over procurement, kitchen duty, and cleaning--not because the husbands or kids are lazy, but because we don't feel they do it to our standards (I know we need to relax). Thanks again, this really helps!

I really enjoyed a week at Akumal Beach Resort. This was about 7 years ago. I liked the proximity to Yalku Lagoon, Tulum, Coba, and Chichen Itza, all of which we visited. You can go snorkeling right off shore at ABR. It is a quiet place, there were no parties or things like that. You could go to PDC in the evening though. We got a package through a travel agent and it wasn't expensive.

I've been to all 3. We did an AI in PDC and the advantage was that everyone could eat whenever they wanted without any kitchen duty and there was always some type of activity going on. Only problem is, you tend to stay at the resort and miss out on all the wonderful sites and activities in the area. PDC is much more densely populated with resorts than Akumal or Tulum.

We stayed in a condo in Akumal (Half Moon Bay) and yes there was some kitchen duty if you wanted to eat in, but I like the convenience of having your own food when you wanted it. I also enjoyed the quiet and privacy and yet we were in close proximity to everything, such as ruins and cenotes, Yakul lagoon, etc. (we had a rental car). We could walk out the condo and be in the water in 20 steps. Great snorkling too. The little town of Akumal has some great restuarants and after 4:00PM or so when all the tour buses are gone, it is very quaint.

Tulum is a little quiet for teenagers I think unless you stay at an AI down there. I feel a lot of the places in Tulum are more couple-oriented. But, Tulum has the most beautiful beaches and some great beach restuarants. (You can always take a day-trip there)

We are in our late 40s with older teens and twenty-somethings who love sightseeing and adventure activities and we liked Akumal the best. Hope this helps.

Anya and Suru, thanks so much for sharing! Akumal looks very enticing. Did you do your own arrangements or did you use a travel agent?