Playa del Carmen and/or Cancun?
 

I'm planning a family trip to the Yucatan and would appreciate advise from those who have been there! We have 9 days, two of which will be traveling to and from. I am having difficulty deciding if I should split the time between Cancun and Playa del Carmen or just Playa del Carmen. My children are ages 23, l9, and 16 and don't care either way. The older two have been to Cancun but my husband and I haven't!

Personally, I didn't care much for Cancun. Too much concrete, too many huge hotels right on top of each other. We ended up spending two full days on Isla Mujeres, much more our speed than Cancun.

On the other hand, Playa del Carmen is fun. Large enough for your kids not to get bored, but small enough that if you walk a couple blocks in from the beach, you can still find authentic Mexican restaurants with really cheap prices. Also, lots of wonderful small hotels. The area also has beautiful all-inclusive resorts, if that's what you're looking for.

If you've got really laid back kids, you could split your week between Playa del Carmen and Isla Mujeres. Jean

Personally, I'd split my time doing both...1st Playa, maybe a small nice hotel like the Playa-Maya. PDC is wonderful to spend time in, browing in shops, eating in good restaurants, and people watching.
Then, I'd go to Cancun and stay at a great, luxuriouis hotel like the JW Marriott. The beaches in Cancun are truly unbelievable, and beautiful. Although it gets a lot of negatives here, it's not a world famous popular spot for nothing...and it isn't all teenage partying and drunkeness if you know where to go...

Thanks to both of you for your help. I haven't made up my mind yet but am leaning toward spending the entire time in Playa Del Carmen so we don't have to pack and unpack. Hopefully, my husband and I will have another opportunity to see Cancun.

If you like PDC than the next time back visit Isla Mujeres--you will love it.
web sight is isla-mujeres.net
If you do not like PDC than Cun is your place.