Hello,

I want to make my 9-year old son somewhere "cool" in February during a school break.

Looking for:

Palm trees
Zip-lining
Swim with dolphins
Snorkeling
"Natural" environment (not excessively touristy)
Not Cancun

I know I may be asking for too much.

Considering Cabo San Lucas, Ixtapa, Cayman Islands and anything else you can recommend.

Thanks in advance!

-SB

The Yucatan south and west of Cancun is awesome and flights there are frequently cheaper than other areas to fly into. Belize Roatán, Honduras also spring to mind, especially the latter where you have all of those including snorkeling from shore in one spot. Loads of photos and trip reports below. Happy trails!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections/

Oops - should have been Belize AND Roatán.

Belize and Honduras take a bit of effort with flights. Belize (Ambergris) doesn't really offer snorkeling from shore. Roatan does, but I don't think its for beginners. Is your son a strong swimmer?

There are ziplines, dolphins, palm trees and great shore snorkeling in Cozumel, Mexico. Not sure where you are starting out, but Cozumel is easy to reach from most of the U.S. There is always lots of activity on the town square on Sunday evenings -- not tourist activity, but locals. If you happen to hit the right time in Feb. you could even participate in Carnival (Mardi Gras). On Cozumel, Carnival is very family friendly with lots of kids participating.

Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo has all you are asking for.

Lots of easy areas to snorkel from shore on Roatán but I just noticed this was posted on the Mexico forum so I sort of spoke out of turn bringing it up. Sorry!

victoria-house.com Belize

cavesbranch.com for adventure

the coolest

also

hotelvillacaletas.com

arenal.net

desafiocostarica.com

tabacon.com

Both better than Mexico for me for adventure/cool

Ecotulum.com

Xel-ha.com

best for budget trip

spirit.com cheap flights

Thank you so much for your recommendations!

Anywhere in Mexico's Riviera Maya area would suit your needs. Playa del Carmen area would be great.

I second Riviera Maya - we took our kids this past summer (ages 10 and 12) and they had a blast! If you click on my name, you can find my trip report. We did many of the activities you mentioned. Your son will love it there!

Belize or Costa Rica or Roatan