Puerto Vallarta or Cancun?
 

Taking a family of 5 (3 teenagers) to Mexico for March Break. Kids have never been south (other than Florida!). I'm left with the choice between Cancun (Hotel Tucancun) or PV (Hotel Melia Puerto Vallarta or Allegro Resort Nuevo Vallarta). I want a nice beach with guaranteed(!) weather. Someone said that March can be very windy in Cancun, hence dangerous swimming. <BR>Any advise would be much appreciated, as I need to book soon! If anyone has been to any of these hotels, I'd love your comments as well.

Hey Ruth,<BR><BR>I would avoid Cancun in March unless you are into massive crowds of intoxicated college students! Cancun is one of the top getaways for spring breakers because you can get some really great group rates. I think besides Panama City (Florida) and South Padre (Texas) Cancun is one of the biggest destinations for college kids and if you have ever seen one of the MTV specials you know that it's all about boozing and sex! Not exactly the kind of place I would want to expose teenagers to by choice. PV is much less of a spring break hot spot, but you will probably still see some crowds during that time. I would check with the hotel about what the usual crowd is like at that time. Still, PV would be my choice anyway, the weather is great (less humid than Carribean side of Mexico)and the beaches are nice. The water is not the crystal blue/green you would see in the Carribean, but it is still nice. I don't know anything about the hotels you mentioned. We stayed at the Westin Regina in PV and it was really nice. Whatever you chose, good luck. You are brave just to even have thought about Cancun in March!

Am thinking of going to PV. Was looking at Expedia.com at some of the hotels there. Just a couple questions. Is this a safe place to travel too? Does anyone know of any good deals and where to get them. Am going there in June to see the Annular Solar Eclipse in 2002 whose Umbra will be in PV.

Hi Ruth<BR>I just got back from a quick trip to PV last week. Stayed at the Allegro, so here is my 2 cents on the resort.<BR>Nuevo Vallarta has very nice beaches for the west coast of Mexico<BR>and the Allegro is in a good location close to Paradise Village and the small shopping center there. You can walk forever on the beach and feel safe doing so. The Allegro hotel itself is very nice. The staff is very friendly, there are lots of programs for kids and watersports are right on the beach. The food was actually pretty good for an all inclusive. Especially at the A la Carte restaurants. The rooms are clean and the AC works too well. The bathrooms have a shower only, and there are no balconies. The lack of balcony was probably the only thing I found lacking at the resort.<BR>Neuvo Vallarta is quite a ways from downtown PV, and is somewhat isolated, but there are lots of tours and taxis that you can take from Nuevo that will let you experience the local culture.<BR>One thing though. Unless you are planning to get 2 rooms, it is very difficult to find an all inclusive in Mexico that will allow 5 people in a room. The only one that I know of in PV is the Holiday Inn in a junior suite.<BR>I know that the Melia is in the Marina area, and the beaches are not quite as nice as Nuevo, but it is more centrally located to PV. Good luck planning.

Thanks, Jay and Lynette, for your advise. We have booked the Allegro in PV (2 rooms) for March break, and we're counting the days!<BR>