stevelyon

In 2013 we are considering Mexico as opposed to possibly Thailand, St Lucia, Tobago, or Barbados. We love good food, beach and hiking, nature is top of my list. The Tulum area seems to be a good match, and seeing we are celebrating that year will love somewhere on the beach. Partner is rather risk averse and will try and persuade me to go all inclusive unless I can persuade her otherwise. St Lucia was being considered but posts seem to suggest not the best beaches, limited excursions and poor transportation. Thanks for any help.

jamie99

There are no all-inclusive hotels in Tulum. Dreams Tulum is north of Tulum proper in the town of Tankah, and Catalonia Royal Tulum is further north still, in Xpu-Ha.

Friend stayed at Cabanas Tulum last year and liked it, saw the room and it looked nice, they have electricity (but no blow dryers as the beach hotels have to provide their own electric via solar, wind, etc.). They have AC 7pm to 7am and a nice restaurant and beach club onsite, the food was good. They just opened a new adults only section (was working on it in May)which was supposed to have a pool for that section.

qwovadis

azulik.com
ecotulum.com

Nice options for Tulum if it is all about the beach.

mexico.bookit.com Dreams or Secrets nice for AI.

St Lucia greener mountains nice beaches here

The Jalousie Plantation, St. Lucia. ... The resort faces secluded Jalousie Bay between St. Lucia's signature twin peaks, ... Jalousie Beach Soufriere, St. Lucia

and here

jademountain.com
ansechastenet.com

www.expedia.com/Hotel.h1218288.Hotel-Information

hopefulist

We stayed in Tulum Pueblo for a week at the start of our 2010 visit to the Yucatán. Posada Luna del Sur was amazing and gets rave reviews on Trip Advisor.
http://posadalunadelsur.com/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...Peninsula.html

Worth checking out! Our trip photos with links are below if you're interested. Happy trails!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections

qwovadis

Victoria-house.com
robertsgrove.com

also very white beaches with lots of nature
a bit greener and more to do than Tulum.

Whitest beaches will be Belize Tulum

St Lucia off white brown due to river run off in some areas.

pinksandsresot.com one of the best for me PINK sand Great!

stevelyon

Thanks everyone.
Hopefulist, thanks for hotel recommendation - looks nice but balconies look small.? Also, notice from your albums you have been to Panama - I wondered if you had heard of the Pearl Islands off shore there?

hopefulist

The Panamá collection is photos from our son Carlos' student exchange year, so I'm no help to you there. We loved everything about Posada Luna del Sur but it's not on the beach if that's what you're looking for.

jette

Steve, my son and DIL spent their honeymoon on the Pearl Islands. They LOVED it!!! They stayed in a very small resort and ended up the only guests so had the whole place to themselves....talk about lucky.

stevelyon

Thanks jette
Do you remember which of the Islands and where they stayed?

jpie

If you are going for a great beach experience over "city" experience you might consider splitting your time between Akumal and Tulum. We found the snorkeling much better there because it is much more protected. We love the Hotel Akumal Caraibe:

http://www.hotelakumalcaribe.com/

Akumal is great because you can swim with turtles and rent a bike and go to Yal Ku lagoon.

http://www.hotelakumalcaribe.com/activ/act-wtrsprts.asp

This is our favorite place to stay in Akumal because the food is great, prices reasonable and the beach location is great.

You should also consider where you go based on whether you will have a car or not. We stayed for 3 nights in one of the eco-resorts in Tulum and it would have been difficult without a car to get into town or to visit the park, etc. And be forewarned we found ecohotel prices high especially considering no air and many with no/limited electric after dark.

You also might consider splitting your time between Akumal (which is great for 3-4 night max I think) and Playa del Carmen instead of Tulum. We found a bit more to do in Playa although more "westernized" than the town of Tulum-so depends on what you are looking for.

zootsi

Tulum would be a good choice if you are into nature and beach. Tulum has miles and miles of wide, sandy beaches. Much of the beach is nearly deserted. The surf can be rough at times. For snorkeling from the beach, head to Akumal or Cozumel. Tulum abuts a vast jungle wildlife preserve. There is lots to do in the area, however I wouldn't consider this part of Mexico a prime hiking area. It is flat, covered with dense scrubby jungle and sprinkled with glitzy resorts. There is still lots of Mayan culture to be found in small jungle villages however. Tulum is unique in that the pueblo (downtown) is several miles inland from the beach. The pueblo has a funky Mexican/counter culture vibe. Both the beach and downtown areas have lots of good dining options. The beach road is lined with all kinds of lodging possibilities, from bamboo huts with no electricity, to small upscale hotels.
Go to locogringo.com for lots of useful info.

stevelyon

Thanks again for the suggestions. The hotel Akumal Caribe looks very nice, and I like the idea that you can book bird watching and jungle trips with them. Also wondering about Playa Carmen - I am guessing Tulum and the national parks are reachable from there. 2013 is a while off, so we have time to consider other options - we are also considering possibly a two island option; Jamaica/Tobago or Jamaica/St Lucia or Barbados/Tobago etc.

jamie99

Hotel Akumal Caribe is my favorite place to stay, been there at least 8-9 times now, last time in May for 3 nights before moving into a condo. Very clean, AC, small fridge, 5 gallon bottled water, pool and steps to a great beach. Safe in the room also. Good security as well. Have fun planning.

pepper131

I think your partner will feel very comfortable at Villa Las Estrellas in Tulum. It's tricky booking with them directly at times; try booking through locogringo.com.

It's a shame to do AI in the area - many many great restaurants in Tulum all attracting an international crowd.

jpie

We have been to the three times now and our favorite is to split our time between Akumal 3-4 nights and then Playa del Carmen 4 or 5 nights. We love the fact that the hotel in Akumal donates a percentage of their profit to their foundation which helps education for children in the puebla area nearby. Also, just FYI the location there is better than any of the other hotels we have seen nearby-they got there first in the 1960s as a dive resort and they are on the calmest cove with the best snorkeling area-so clear water lots of turtles, etc. They also organize diving trips. We have stayed in both the hotel and the "casitas". I probably prefer the little casitas since they are more private and homelike.

If you decide to go to Playa del Carmen, we love staying in downtown Playa since you can walk everywhere. The area we prefer is the neighborhood bordered on the west by the beach and the east by 10th Avenue Norte, and north of the street called Constituyentes and south of 34 Norte.

It is the section sometimes called "little Italy" of Playa due to lots of Italian restaurants and coffeshops. It is a much newer area than the old really touristy area down by the ferry boat terminal and a bit quieter since there aren't as many nightclubs. But there are plenty of shops and restaurants. We stayed at http://www.aventuramexicana.com/ which is small boutique hotel in that general area. It is not expensive/fancy but very nice. Other moderate hotels near there are Luna Blue, Posada Mariposa (but it is on 5th which is the busy main street so could be noisier.)

You also might consider a condo-there are pretty reasonable prices in the spring and some wonderful places.

Also, just FYI, the Club Caraibe can arrange to pick you up at the airport and then drop you in Playa afterwards. That is a great way to go if you don't want to bother with renting a car. You don;t really need one in either Akumal or Playa. And if you wanted to rent one for the day to go to Tulum yo could do that from either place (Akumal is closer) and then just return it.

stevelyon

Thanks for all your help, and afterall this we have decided on Jamaica in 2013. Mexico is on our radar for the future, so comments are useful. Thanks again.