baloney

My husband and I are looking for recommendations for the perfect warm, sunny place (in Mexico or the Carribean or even Florida!) to de-stress with our 6 year old for a week in February. We'd like to be near water and natural beauty, but since we're not people who can hang out at the pool or beach all day, we'd appreciate an area that had other places to explore, such as ruins or lush rainforests, or waterfalls. We'd love any recommendations people might have -- both for a destination and for a place to stay. As for places to stay, we prefer places which are low key and not in an area that is so built-up and touristy that its lost all of its natural beauty and cultural identity. We're not big resort or Club Med tpes, though it would be nice to find a family-friendly resort or hotel where our son would be likely to find other playmates. We've never travelled in the Carribean or Mexico and the many options seem overwhelming. Any suggestions would be welcome!

faithie

I posted on the caribbean forum to your question as well . Costa Rica would be perfect ! ( Tobago as well ) We just returned with our 6 and 8 yr. old from Costa Rica . It was our third trip but the first with kids . We decided this time not to do a ton of tours and driving , but to basically relax in Manuel Antonio and do nature walks etc and a few tours. There are canopy tours in this area as well as other adventures . It is a good area to start your first time to Costa Rica , nice lodging options , tons of animals , restaurants , easy to get to , very scenic , pretty safe swimming beaches , lots of lush jungle , a good introduction to an incredible country !!!!! Perhaps you could also do a couple of nights in Arenal to see the Volcano and hotsprings , then move on to the beach . depens on how much time you have etc.

pepper131

The west coast of Fla (south of Tampa) isn't too built up, it you'd like to stay in the US.

A couple of small towns along Mex Carribean to stay - Puerto Morelos, Tulum. You will find ruins and jungle here.

suze

The Yucatan peninsula would give you a mix of Mexico but with the Carribean side. Using Cancun as the airport there are many nearby areas that fit what you're after (well actually i'm not sure if there are waterfalls, but generally speaking).

baloney

Thanks to everyone for your helpful suggestions! Are there particular places anyone would recommend for kid-friendly accomodations in Manual Antonio,Costa Rica; Tobago; Tulum; or Puerto Morelos? They all sound appealing. Since we're planning this trip very last minute, it would help to have particular suggestions for places to stay. Many thanks.

pepper131

A larger hotel/resort is most likely going to have other kids for your 6 yr old. There is an AI called Sunscape Tulum that I've heard is small and not-so-AI. Another is Copacabana in Xpu-Ha.

Posada Captain Lafitte is family friendly north of PDC. Their rates include beakfast and lunch and they have a small pool.

If you go to my favorite stretch - Tulum beach. First try Ana y Jose since they attract more families than anyone else.

baloney

How would people compare Tulum, Puerto Morelos and Akumal? Is Playa del Carmen too built up? (A friend has recommended a small, low-key, family friendly resort called Capitan Lafitte there.) We are also considering places that have been recommended in the Caribbean -- Tobago, St. John, St. Lucia, and Costa Rica. I have a sense of what Costa Rica is like (and it's definitely on the strong contenders list), but don't know much about Tobago, St. John or St. Lucia or how they would compare to the Mexico spots. (Except for travelling in Brazil, Bolivia and Ecuador, I have mostly travelled in Europe, and Mexico and the Caribbean are very unfamiliar to me.) Any help people can offer in narrowing this down -- particularly with accomodation recommendations -- would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, again.

TC

I believe Captain Lafette is quite rustic, not sure, but check it out.

I would recommend Cozumel - in particular the Coral Princess Resort. Here are my reasons:
-Cozumel is an easy flight from the States. 3+ hours non-stop from many locations is about all a 6 year old can handle.
-Cozumel feels both Mexican and Caribbean since it is an island.
-the small city of San Miguel is large enough to have a good grocery stocked with many familiar food and child items you might need.
-in case of emergency, there is a very good English speaking doctor
-the Coral Princess resort offers condo style accomodations with a small kitchen, dining and living room. A big plus for not eating every meal out.
-the staff at CP love kids!
-there is a comfortable man-made sand area for kids to play in, but its not a beach so you don't have to worry about the little one wandering into the sea.
-you can snorkel right in front of the resort - the house reef is amazing.
-there is a small kiddy pool right on the "beach"
-there is a children's room with toys and videos each afternoon.
-the resort is low-key, not too big, very well maintained.
-you can even have a massage right on the beach while baby plays in the sand.

www.coralprincess.com

Send me an email if you want to know more about "things to do with kids" in Cozumel. [email protected]

zootsi

We just got back from 3 nights in Playa del Carmen, 4 nights in Akumal. I think this area would meet your needs - it's beautiful, clean, safe, inexpensive, with lots to do. The daytime temps were in the mid 80's. Playa is getting built up, but it's still a fun town and the beach is wonderful, especially around 8th street.There are so many restaurants and shops. We stayed at the Treetops Hotel - immaculate rooms 1/2 block from the beach for $80 a night. Akumal was very quiet, our hotel was on Half Moon bay which was almost deserted, again $80 a night at the Vista Del Mar. The one drawback was the bottom was quite rocky (great for snorkelling), you had to walk about 10 minutes to get to Akumal beach which was all sand. There are so many things to do in the area it's hard to choose - the ruins at Tulum and Coba; the Eco-parks, boat rides, snorkelling, etc,etc. Check out the locogringo.com site for a feel for the area.

pepper131

Look at locogringo.com - they do a great job at giving truthful descriptions of the towns along the Mayan Riviera.

Captain Lafitte gets good reviews. We stayed there once, but I thought it was merely ok, while my husband liked it.

baloney

Help!! We finally narrowed down our choices to Tulum or the outskirts of Playa Del Carmen, but have found no availability at the places that sounded like good fits for us: Ana y Jose and Cabanas La Conchita in Tulum and Capitan Lafitte near Playa Del Carmen. Can anyone suggest another place that would be a restful, more secluded place to stay in Tulum or near Playa Del Carmen, that would be kid friendly?