Interesting place in Mexico that's not a typical tourist beach resort, but close to one of those airports
 

We are not at all interested in your typical lounge on the beach at a resort that caters to Americans type vacation, We've never been to Mexico but have travelled extensively and independently in both eastern and western Europe, so we are not at all worried about being able to handle a different culture and foreign language. Do you have any suggestions for destinations? We are middle-aged and like outdoor activities (my husband's a fly-fishing enthusiast, but that doesn't need to be a part of our trip), history, and cultural events. We don't need or want anything fancy or upscale, nightlife, Americanized restaurants, shopping etc. We'd like to be able to fly to one of the typical beach resorts as that is where the cheaper flights from Minneapolis go to and then take off from there. We've always rented cars in Europe so assume it would also be no problem in Mexico. Do you have any suggestions for interesting locales or destinations? Or any places we could happliy base ourselves for a week and then take day trips? Thanks for the suggestions.

Fly into Cancun and then:

1.) Take the ferry over to Isla Mujeres
or
2.) Take a taxi an hour south to Akumal or Tulum or Puerto Aventuras
3.) Take the bus or a taxi 45 minutes south to Playa del Carmen if you want/need a lot of shopping, nightlife and dining options - otherwise select #1 or #2

This will give you a location where you can visit many of the ruins and can explore the Yucatan, but still get the less expensive airfare and get in and out without too much time invested in just getting there.

PDC is the most touristy of the choices, but it's an international crowd of all ages.

If you are ready for a much more authentic experience, the interior towns and the Merida area are within reach too, but take longer to get to.

(We are beach people and thusly stay in coastal towns.)

Look at locogringo.com to get a taste of the area.

I would suggest you fly into Cancun and drive south to Puerto Morelos which is about 30 minutes south of the Cancun airport. Somehow, this town has mostly been bypassed by the Americanization like Cancun and Playa del Carmen. Not much to do here but nice beaches, a town square and several reasonable hotels. (The hotel Ingleterra is an nice, simple choice)
I would also recommend a visit to Merida--especially on a Sunday. A very nice colonial city without the rampant tourism.
Enjoy!

Robert

Shangri-La Caribe, just north of the town of Playa Del Carmen. Mexican ambience, nice mixture of Americans/ Europeans/Latin Americans. Barefoot elegance and a good deal to boot. Nicer beach than the Playacar area where all the AI's are. Good choice of excursions ro ruins, biopark excursions, etc. You can also take the ferry over to Cozumel.

if he likes fly fishing, consider Punta Allen. To get there, fly into Cancun and then take a bus or rental car to Tukum, then turn off the main highway (Mx 301) and travel by dirt road through the Sian Kan Bio Reserve. Punta Allen is about 1-1/2 hours from Tulum on this dirt road.

Why all this bother?

A completely rustic beach town, whose main industry is fishing for spiny lobsters and which has some of the best bonefishing in the world.

On the Web, check out "Boca Paila" which is a resort catering to fisher folk. Not your typical Mexican beach vacation, and a once in a lifetime experience.

Whoops! I also meant Puerto Morelos - not Aventuras.
(Reading Robert's post made me realize my mistake.)

I would suggest Puerto Escondido on the Pacific coast of Oaxaca. You can fly into the city of Oaxaca and then fly to the airport in Puerto Escondido. If you like history and culture, I'd spend 2 days in the city of Oaxaca while you are down there. Fantastic city.

While in Puerto Escondido, I would suggest staying at one of the hotels on Playa Zicatela.

From your description, it sounds as if you would enjoy Merida, the surrounding Maya ruins, and Campeche - all within a few hour bus trip of the cheaper air fares into Cancun.

As an alternative, Oaxaca and Monte Alban are a short flight with connectins through Mexico City, or even one of the west coast resort areas.

Thanks to all of you for all the good suggestions. I am especially impressed that I got the help since every time I went to get on the site I'd get the message that the site was down. I'll start doing my checking now.

Nickyboss--for my husband's sake I'll start with your suggestion because I know he'd love the bonefishing part.

The Costa Alegre "Happy Coast" of southwestern, mainland Mexico! It has several beautiful bays adn village settings.

www.mexicomexico.info

I'm a big west coast Mexico fan. So I'll throw in Puerto Vallarta as your airport, rent a car, then north &/or south along the coast. Beautiful!! Quite different than the Caribbean side recommendations (not better or worse but the two coasts are very different in history, geography, "feel", local people, etc.).

I just had to reply to your e-mail. My husband and I are going to Merida in February. We usually go to Europe because we like the history and cultures of the different countries. We have been to Merida before and it sounds like what you are looking for. They have several parks and each evening have live entertainment in these parks. Tourists may attend but it is for their own citizens. You may take trips to the Mayan ruins (very interesting) or to other towns in the area. Have been to Mexico four times to other areas, but Merida is a city I love.