che

Using miles with a stop in Mexico City. Was hoping to go to Playa del Carmen, but we are traveling with our 8 month old and heard this was a pretty bad season for Dengue Fever.
Have you heard this?
Got other ideas for a great trip at the end of Aug in Mex?

obslop

Never heard about the Dengue fever issue. Playa del Carmen is a fairly busy, tourist town (not as touristy or big as Cancun). You might want to also consider Ixtapa or even Puerto Vallarta (sp?) - I have never heard of Dengue in either of those places and they make a nice visit for a day or two.

che

Thanks obslop. We love PV but have been there a lot. Wanted to try somewhere different. We've got about 8 days. Is Playa more touristy than PV? Would you do Isla de las Mujeres instead of Playa?

Remember we've got a new baby though we are pretty good travelers.. I think we'll want AC on this trip. My main concern is the Dengue thing if anyone can weigh in.

blondlady

IN June we were warned about the mosquito's and Dengue Fever in PV. A friend reported two cases. I personally think you have to be careful about the mosquitoes this year -use your products and other recommended precautions.

emd

It looks like PDC and Cozumel are going to get hit by the hurricanne, and that might be a more immediate and bigger reason not to be going there at end of August.

Are you set on the beaches? No consideration for the wonderful colonial towns closer to Mexico City?

virginia

hi che, i just read for about a 1/2 hour on this subject so while i don't know much i can report a bit of what is real vs. "we heard"
my take is that playa del carmen is a fine choice. all the articles speak of numerous cases in texas and several of the mexican border states (tamaulipas, matamoros as well as mexico city, puerto vallarta and acapulco). they do mention that they have sent mex version of cdc ppl to cancun to chat with local health officials in advance of spring break but more of them to pv, mex city, acapulco.
i do not think pdc is more touristy than pv.
isla is extremely quiet. like you get around on golf carts, snorkel and hang on the beach.

harleysmom

Virginia,
I am planning a trip to PDC with my tweens. We are looking for somewhere kind of quite, really interested in snorkeling. You mentioned that isla is extremely quiet, hang out, snorkel...I've never been so sorry about the novice question but where is that, and where did you stay?

che

Thanks all, and sorry for the double post. I didn't get a lot of response, so I posted one specifically on Dengue.

We did end up deciding on Cabo. I was looking forward to Playa, but we'll do that another time. With the hurricane and dengue possibility, I just decided better to not stress out about taking a baby traveling.

If you have ideas on Cabo, please post them to the other thread.

Thanks so much!!!

virginia

harleysmom, i have not been to isla yet but am considering it for a week during next trip to maya riviera. it is a tiny island a bit further out than cozumel. good friends did just return. they reported that they were able to "see" the whole island by golf cart. that the snorkeling is very very good. the restaurants are very low key and the bars are loads of fun. def not a go&do vacation. if you don't mind putting an e-mail address in your reply i will forward you a huge (30 page) report compiled by another fodorite who goes there all the time, (she e'd it to me)
if you decide to stay in the pdc area be sure to take the tweens to yal-ku lagoon in akumal, xel-ha a/or x-caret eco-marine parks to snorkel. yal-ku is a small lagoon. nothing except snorkeling. and cheap to get in.
xel-ha and x-caret are big and bigger parks with tons of stuff to do. here are links to both from locogringo. lg is the absolute best web site i've ever found - explore it throughly! be sure to look at the aerial maps. you'll find them by clicking on the little airplanes near the bottom of most pages.
x-caret = http://www.locogringo.com/past_spotlights/dec2006.cfm
xel-ha = http://www.locogringo.com/past_spotlights/may2002.html and http://www.locogringo.com/past_spotlights/mar2007.cfm
can't be much help on specific resorts as we stayed in a villa in the tankah area.
again this island or whole area may suffer devasting damage from dean but we'll all know before you would be booking. another smaller island - holbrox - is just off cancun and was evacuated yesterday....
oh i guess i could give one hotel recommendation. akumal beach resort. it's a small ai located in akumal. nice beach. snorkel right there. not big and fancy like many of the ai's. you can walk into akumal. cool restaurant, lol-ha just down the beach. here's a web cam from the restaurant: http://www.locogringo.com/Upload/akumal-beach-cam.html as i look at this today i must note that normally there are lots of small boats moored just off the beach - apparently all pulled or moved in preparation for the storm.
also if you contact lg after the storm and give your specific requirements they will give you a list of appropriate options, with availability during your time frame.

harleysmom

Virginia,
Wow, thanks so much for all the helpful info. My email is [email protected]. Again, thank!.

beachbum2

Virginia,
I'd also love the report as we are heading to Isla with our family in March. [email protected]
harleysmom, I love Playa and plan to return in May w/ a friend. You will love it. Isla is closer to Cancun. It is a small island which was an old fishing village (like most of the mexican coast towns). It is supposed to be more laid back than Playa. We are staying at Ixchel Beach Condos when we go. We are renting a penthouse condo from VRBO. The condo gets incredible reviews on Tripadvisor. I can't wait!

virginia

harleysmom and beachplum2, isla info sent.