IsabelaS

To my mind, there are two ways to experience the Yucatan region. One is to stay in a nice hotel (AI or not) or rental in a touristy area, take some day tours by bus or private van, buy souvenirs at the shops, and eat and drink well by the pool. The other is to get out there on your own (rent a car from Easyway, for example, or use the ADO buses) and explore all the ruins, meet the local craftspeople in their homes, swim in more remote cenotes with just a few locals, stay at posadas, and eat at some great little local restaurants. Each has its merits for different people and fits different purposes for a vacation. I prefer the latter option, and we found it very pleasant, and undaunting even for a first trip to the area.

I'd spend my beach time in Tulum, one of the most beautiful beach areas I've been to. We found PdC way too honky-tonk touristy. From Cancun airport, you could make a big circle by immediately heading for Valladolid as a base for a few days to see CI and EkBalam ruins, swim in some cenotes, as well as explore this charming Colonial town itself and meet some lovely local Mayan people. On to Merida and Uxmal, with perhaps a detour or two, and eventually circling to Sian Ka'an and Tulum to relax on the beach there and snorkle at Akumal.

stevelyon

Many thanks everyone. I could of course spend 7 nights AI PDC and then 7 nights touring. Regarding nature and PDC, I was drawn to the hotel Tucan (which of course may have been landscaped) as it apparently comes with resident howler monkeys, flamingoes, and jungle -I guess if it is fabricated (engineered) I am less attracted to it. Thanks again.

RAC

It appears that the 'wild' animals at the Iberostar Tucan get fed by humans with some regularity, and I can guarantee you that flamingos don't hang out on hotel grounds of their own accord. So, more like an open air zoo than an authentic blending in with nature.

If you want to get up and close with monkeys while helping a great cause, check out The Jungle Place, a monkey rescue shelter where they offer 'tours' where people get to hold and feed rescued monkeys who can't be returned to the wild, with the proceeds going to help feed and shelter those monkeys. It's in the general PdC/Akumal area. There are wild nesting areas of flamingos near Celstun and Rio Lagartos.

zootsi

If you want nature near Playa Del Carmen, this place is the real deal - about an hour south of PDC. Tulum ( a very fun little town) is close by.

http://cesiak.org/index.htm

RAC

Zootsi is right--Sian Kaan is great for nature. Imagine the Everglades, completely restored to pristine condition, and that's what you get.

We used Community Tours of Sian Kaan and they were great (have heard nothing but good things about CESIAK as well).

http://www.siankaantours.org/en

Christina

There are other ways to do things than Isabela's two biased extremes, of course. I stayed in PDC but it was in a local-run smaller hotel and I don't spend my time at the pool. Believe it or not, if you stay in PDC, you can take local buses, the ferry, etc., and you can actually talk to locals and eat in small local restaurants! YOu don't have to stay outside PDC to do those things, nor do you have to rent a car to do those things.

TC

Like others, I would (and do) skip PDC. I don't believe that either flamingos or howler monkeys are natural to PDC. If that is your main reason for going, I fear you're in for disappointment.

Why not Cozumel? It certainly has a much more local feel than PDC. Even though some cruise ships stop there during the day, it's easy to avoid the tourists from the ships. They don't venture too far from the middle of downtown and by dinnertime they are back aboard and sailing away. That leaves all the wonderful restaurants for those of use staying on the island.

CZM is a small town with all that entails. On Sundays the Main Street is closed to autos so that the locals can walk and enjoy the central area. The big central square will often have music and dancing on Sunday nights. It's a real opportunity to see and get to know people who live there.

As for nature....snorkeling the reefs of CZM is easy and fun. The reef creatures are the natural inhabitants of the Yucatan.

Or you can take a kayak tour or camp overnight with Robert of Sylvestre Tours. Robert lives on the island and does amazing birding adventures.

Or spend a day with Tati of Cozumel Photo Tours. Not only does she do the little city/culture tours, she does a half day around the island nature tour. You will see all the natural wonders and learn how to take better photos of them.

Cozumel has some small ruins, but you can easily take the ferry across the channel to visit Tulum or even fly to the pyramids at Chichen Itza for a day.

You can take a cooking class, shop the "local" market, sit on the beach, wind surf or sail. Cozumel has it all in a nice, small, safe package. We spend a month there every year and never get bored.

Robert's tour review:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...Peninsula.html

Tati's tour review:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...Peninsula.html

stevelyon

Thanks, I am open to ideas so I am not closing my mind to Cozumel or other suggestions. I sort of guessed I might be being naive about the nature in Igberostar Tucan. And apologies if I have given the impression that I am into snorkelling - which I am not, but then again willing to give it a try. I think I will do some more homework but thank you all you have helped me think beyond my initial target of the Tucan.

Odin

I don't think there is enough to do on Cozumel if snorkelling and diving is not your thing. There aren't any beaches to speak of, only on the windswept Caribbean side which doesn't have anything except for a few beachside restaurants. It reminded us of Bonaire. We rented a jeep and it took half a day to see everything that there was to see. There is definitely a local feel and the main town is cute. It's much quieter than PDC. We had 7 nights there and it was 1 or 2 nights too long and we had even done 8 dives over 4 days.

If we go back, we will probably stay in Cancun hotel zone, rent a car and explore from there, maybe couple nights further south in the Tulum area to visit Sian Kaan and revisit Coba, Valladolid and maybe Merida and the other places mentioned in this thread. The beaches on Isla Mujeres looked stunning but crowded, would consider that as well for the beach. We rest we didn't care for, Akumal was a disappointment from the point of view it was purpose built and the original town was moved, Tulum ruins were stunning and the whole area.

Bitter

OP: if you boil down the comments, it appears you could spend the two weeks in or near PDC and make day trips when not on the beach. Without trying, I'm counting nearly a week of day trips: Cozumel, Tulum, Akumal, Cancun, Coba. (I've done and enjoyed all but Cancun). There are more ideas above.
Even if you aren't snorkeler there are glass bottom boats available for hire at the Cozumel pier.

zootsi

I highly recommend trying snorkeling if you are anywhere near Akumal - it's always one of the highlights of our vacation. Yal-Ku lagoon is a good place for beginners - safe, inexpensive, tons of fish.

Rohelio

Two weeks is no where near enough time to visit all that the Yucatan has to offer. Make PDC your home base and then just make a schedule that will suit you best. There are many good suggestions listed here above that I would take into account. DO see Akumal, Coba ruins (you can still climb the highest pyramid in the Yucatan), Merida (on a week end where they close the streets for Sunday folklore, Cenotes, Isla Mujeres, Valladolid and Ek Balam ruins. DO NOT bother with Cancun, Tulum ruins, Chichen Itza or Cozumel. Keep your valuable time for the best that the region has to offer. I rented condos in PDC for 7 years at 2 to 3 month stays at a time, I am quite certain that you will enjoy the region. You can always go back next year for the other ares not mentioned here, there are lots more...

stevelyon

Thanks again, I will take my time and reflect on all your kind advice and look at my guidebooks again along with other people posts. It is going through my mind but dont need to ask the question at this time (ie no need to respond just yet)whether there are more advantages to making a good choice and staying in one place and travelling from there rather than split my time between two areas on the Yucatan.