help --- I can't decide-----Cozumel, Cancun, Jamaica, Bahamas, Puerto Rico
 

We are 50 year old parents taking our 23 year old son for a quick get away after Christmas. Just looking for easy flights from Indianapolis, Warm weather, beautiful relaxing beach. Maybe snorkeling....maybe an all inclusive........we have never been anywhere really - and I am at a loss. Any advice would be really appreciated.

I have been to Cancun and Puerto Rico.

A 23 year old may like Cancun better.
Alot going on in town and on the beaches.

Puerto Rico seemed mellower.

I prefer Playa Del Carmen over Cancun. Cancun has become more like Miami Beach then Mexico. Playa Del Carmen, about 30 miles south of Cancun, has nice beaches and a good town. There are hotels right in town on the beach. There are also many large AI resorts. I think a 23 year old would prefer the variety in the town over an AI. The town is loaded with many good restaurants, all different kinds of food. There are also clubs and bars (although I'm not so familiar with them) and lots of shopping. The ferry to Cozumel is located there as well, which is an easy day trip.

We used to do AIs when our kids were small, but now they are in college, and like to do more of their own thing. We are taking them in January and renting a condo a few blocks from 5th avenue (the main street in town).

Also PDC is closer to many of the sights (Tulum, Coba, Xelha, Akumel, etc)

I just want to add that we've been to the San Juan Area and Rincon in Puerto Rico, and still prefer PDC. When my kids were young we did AIs in Jamaica. The biggest issue there is you have to be careful when wandering away from the resorts.

I agree with Playa del Carmen. 5th Avenue is great with lots of resturants, bars, entertainment and shopping. There are many AI choices in that area along with several boutique hotels right off of 5th Avenue.

There are also many things to see and do off the resorts; eco parks, cenotes, snorkeling, sailing, mayan ruins, ATV's, etc.

We just returned from Cozumel and of all the places we've been still loved it the best. Take a tour to all the beaches on the other side of the Island. The mercardo downtown has great resturants, bars and shopping.

If your interested, we've been to all the Islands you are thinking of. We have all of our vacation pictures posted and it may help with your decsion.

http://community.webshots.com/user/kvrlvn

Bahamas may be too cool for you. Mexico would be cheaper than the other choices and I agree that Playa would be better than Cancun with a day trip to Akumal to snorkel and Tulum to see the Mayan ruins.

Bahamas is too far north to be really warm in January.

I also would suggest Cancun or a bit further south along the Mayana Riviera or Playa del Carmen. Cancun is very developed but there are lots of AI's there. You could easily include Cozumel.

Jamaica is a bit more difficult to get around than Mexico. I liked the town of Negril (it's a good 90 mins from the Montego Bay airport) but there are several AI's there. So worth your consideration.

Mayan Riviera/Playa del Carmen has SO many wonderful AI resorts and lots to do off the resorts also.

Its easy to read my regular posts here and know that I would vote for Cozumel. We spend part of every winter there and have for 16 years. It has all the "I'm out of the country" flavor you're looking for, with none of the "I've never been out of the country" fears. The people are lovely, the food is wonderful, the snorkeling is amazing, its easy to get there from IND (I know 'cause my brother lives there) there are plenty of wonderful places to stay, there's a bit of nightlife for your son without anything scary, its inexpensive, and English is readily spoken everywhere. If you want more info, just let me know. I have a "Things To Do" list that I'll happily share.

Thank you for all of the info. So many comments I hadn't thought to even ask.... I hope to make a decision in the next few days. I did contact Cheap Caribbean. They have a package to Playa Del Carmen, Riviera Maya to stay at the Dreams Puerto Adventuras all inclusive. They quoted $3,324 for airfare and all for the 3 of us. Do you know how far of a drive from the airport? Would we need to rent a car? Anyone stayed at this resort? It looks great on the website. Cozumel sounds great too.

I'm not familiar with Dreams but Puerto Aventuras is about a 20 minute drive south of the town of Playa Del Carmen. Puerto Aventuras itself isn't much of an actual town. It's more of a little tourist hub in that area.

If you aren't interested in being in or near a town then most nice AIs in most of the locations mentioned would be fine. If you want to be near (walking distance) an actual town with entertainment, shopping and dining, Playa Del Carmen fills the bill.

I agree, you should probably pick a hotel closer to 5th Avenue in Playa del Carmen. Look at The Royal Playa del Carmen and it's sister resort the Grand Porto Real.

I'm not familiar with Dreams, but the pricing isn't anything special, so don't let that sway your decision. Standard airfare to Cozumel (I'm sure Cancun is the same or less) is going for about $500 per person. A week in a two bed-room, ocean front, condo at a nice resort on a spectacular reef in Cozumel, for the first week of January is $2170. Granted, that's not all inclusive, but unless you are really going to drink a lot of booze the AI feature is almost always quite boring. There are so many wonderful restaurants to try and they are so inexpensive, its a shame to sit in one place and eat dumbed-down, steam table food day after day.

We're paying about $2,000 (incl all tax and fees) for a 3 bedroom condo in PDC, within a couple of blocks of 5th Avenue and the Cozumel ferry. It's not part of a resort, but is part of a condo complex that is oceanfront and has a pool with swim-up bar.

I liked the AIs when my kids were young. It's easy, no need to think about money, everyone can eat/drink/snack when they please, and there are many kid-friendly activites (although my kids rarely partook). Now though, we all prefer a dining variety and my kids (who are both in college) like the freedom to come and go on tehir own into town.