Exploring taking the family to a Mexican Beach resort between Christmas and New Year's. Gulf side only. Kids will be 16 and 18. All inclusive. Decent Beach. Thanks in advance.

Xcaret, but it will be $$$.
Dreams Playa Mujeres
Moon Palace Grand (beach sucks here but resort is amazing).
Hard Rock Riviera Maya - beach is in rocked coves - so no waves. But has water park.
Hyatt Ziva - great beach but may not have tons for the teens (not to be confused with Riviera Cancun).


For the easier on the pocket book options:
Iberostar Paraiso Maya
Barcelo Maya Palace

If I can help, my email is in my profile.

Independence H-D said:

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Exploring taking the family to a Mexican Beach resort between Christmas and New Year's. Gulf side only. Kids will be 16 and 18. All inclusive. Decent Beach. Thanks in advance.

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Maybe your driveway will be done by then...it will be a celebratory trip!

ETA - JMac helped me with a Mexico trip in 2023. She's good.

Hyatt Ziva Cancun
Good beach, great pools,
Great food.

What's your budget? That will obviously be a pricy week to travel

Just started the looking process. Would like to keep it at a grand or less per night. Don't know if that's realistic.

Quick glance, 5 nights (not counting flights)

Dreams Natura (cheapest out of Dreams - not good beach): $7727
Iberostar Selection Paraiso Lindo - $7241 (not sure if has access to waterpark)
Barcelo Maya Palace - $6080 (lower end Barcelo properties are under $5k)
Planet Hollywood - $6380
Hard Rock Riviera Maya - $5555 (these rooms are small and it is double beds, not queens).

Le Blanc Cabo was top notch and they have one in Cancun. I'd go there.

We live right across from Barcelo Maya. From what I've heard, people with teenaged kids really enjoy it and Iberostar. One my flight to IAH last week I had a family of 4 from KC that stayed at Barcelo and loved it and another family behind me that stayed at Iberostar and loved it. They both had kids in the 12-16/18 range.

The only thing I'd add to your list is the checking the proximity to ASUR airport vs TQM for where ever you decide to go. TQM is a much more travel friendly and family friendly airport. Much smaller and far more intimate and less of a total cluster f than ASUR. Plus you never know the traffic between PDC and Cancun. When I left on Wednesday, it was backed up for probably 15km between PA and PDC and again from PDC to PM.

If you're worried about Sargassum then try to stay north: Isla, Holbox, or anything Cancun Resort Zone or north.

Bayou City said:

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We live right across from Barcelo Maya. From what I've heard, people with teenaged kids really enjoy it and Iberostar. One my flight to IAH last week I had a family of 4 from KC that stayed at Barcelo and loved it and another family behind me that stayed at Iberostar and loved it. They both had kids in the 12-16/18 range.

The only thing I'd add to your list is the checking the proximity to ASUR airport vs TQM for where ever you decide to go. TQM is a much more travel friendly and family friendly airport. Much smaller and far more intimate and less of a total cluster f than ASUR. Plus you never know the traffic between PDC and Cancun. When I left on Wednesday, it was backed up for probably 15km between PA and PDC and again from PDC to PM.

If you're worried about Sargassum then try to stay north: Isla, Holbox, or anything Cancun Resort Zone or north.

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My only concern there is transfers are harder to come by, but I know Amstar services out of there. I assume over time more will as well.

I actually saw a USA transfer around the other day. I haven't seen one of them around us in a hot minute.

Heck of a valid point thought. It's hard to tell tourists to take the ADO.

If I find one that's good I'll definitely let you know

Bayou City said:

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I actually saw a USA transfer around the other day. I haven't seen one of them around us in a hot minute.

Heck of a valid point thought. It's hard to tell tourists to take the ADO.

If I find one that's good I'll definitely let you know

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Ohhh I'll reach out to USA - that's who I use for 90% of my clients! Thanks

On a side note, I had clients who WANTED to take the train awhile back, but I wasn't comfortable. A local travel agent keeps us fairly up to speed on that stuff. I want to be sure there are taxis at the stops, etc to take them to hotels. Just want to know more about it before I recommend it.

We used TQO airport for the 1st time last week & it was so easy compared to Cancun. Canada Transfers was our transfer company…no issues. About 40 minutes to/from secrets Tulum.

Do they still have sand everywhere at that resort?

Flights from IAH to TQM are SUPER cheap. We got round trip tickets for less than $150 and a big chunk of that was taxes. Hopefully more people start taking it during high season so they don't fold the route. Our Thanksgiving tickets were like $250 each and Christmas was less than $500. I was shocked.

New Rates out of Tulum Airport for ground transportation!

https://riviera-maya-news.com/tulum-airport-ground-transportation-rates-adjusted-in-time-for-summer-travel/2024.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3r8aCQZH4aq4byGlOShff0WA6F0QMAXg2b7AUt8Bj6F4N7i0BfgAX4A7Y_aem_slkJF9U-RjfTBnpDc4ULSw&cn-reloaded=1

Latest sargassum update. Great news!

https://www.rivieramayanews.mx/minimal-seaweed-impact-predicted-for-this-year/

We did Barcelo Palace a bunch of times with a bunch of different families over the years. Kids loved it.

Bayou City said:

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Latest sargassum update. Great news!

https://www.rivieramayanews.mx/minimal-seaweed-impact-predicted-for-this-year/

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we're doing royalton splash in october which is riviera maya.. this is pic from someone's stay this month..




I hope it looks better when we go.. that looks like ass.

Granted, it doesn't look like that pic is near a resort.. maybe they walked a while down the beach for the pic.

Sadly, that's nothing compared to at its worst. I'd say that's like a 5/10. Luckily, by October usually the water starts to cool and the beaches clear. They have been beautiful the last couple of weeks which is rare for August.

XCARET is great, but NOT a good beach. They've got some sand out for sunbathing but it's a rocky shore. Other than that, it's a great choice if in your budget.

My wife takes photos at all of the major resorts here and Barcelo is one of the favorites.

Bayou City said:

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New Rates out of Tulum Airport for ground transportation!

https://riviera-maya-news.com/tulum-airport-ground-transportation-rates-adjusted-in-time-for-summer-travel/2024.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3r8aCQZH4aq4byGlOShff0WA6F0QMAXg2b7AUt8Bj6F4N7i0BfgAX4A7Y_aem_slkJF9U-RjfTBnpDc4ULSw&cn-reloaded=1

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So I looked at rates and they are so high! $274 for Secrets Akumal (Amstar) out of there, but only $190 out of Cancun (USA Transfers).

Canada Transfers and Xaman (never heard of) were higher.

Do you have any other recs?

There are some on Viator but I don't know anything about them.

I'd give Dan Wheeler a buzz w TopKlass Travel. His email is topklassplaya@gmail.com and phone number is +1 438 366-0109.

I think he could be a great asset for you down here. He is a transportation and excursion wizard. Great guy and GREAT reputation from Tulum to PDC to Cancun. Very fair prices, too. if he can't help, he can point you in the best direction.

Thank you!!

62strat said:

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Bayou City said:

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Latest sargassum update. Great news!

https://www.rivieramayanews.mx/minimal-seaweed-impact-predicted-for-this-year/

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we're doing royalton splash in october which is riviera maya.. this is pic from someone's stay this month..




I hope it looks better when we go.. that looks like ass.

Granted, it doesn't look like that pic is near a resort.. maybe they walked a while down the beach for the pic.

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What part of Galveston is that?

More taxi strikes planned this week to protest the arrest of the taxi union leader. If you're coming into QR, be prepared for them. Last week the entire highway was closed from Cancun to Tulum for 9+ hours multiple days. Something to be aware of if you're flying into Cancun or Tulum in the next couple of days.

Here's the news from last week:

https://riviera-maya-news.com/tulum-taxi-drivers-hold-second-protest-after-union-leader-charged/2024.html

Bayou City said:

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More taxi strikes planned this week to protest the arrest of the taxi union leader. If you're coming into QR, be prepared for them. Last week the entire highway was closed from Cancun to Tulum for 9+ hours multiple days. Something to be aware of if you're flying into Cancun or Tulum in the next couple of days.

Here's the news from last week:

https://riviera-maya-news.com/tulum-taxi-drivers-hold-second-protest-after-union-leader-charged/2024.html

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Lovely. Arriving in Cancun at 10am tomorrow. FML.

Independence H-D said:

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Exploring taking the family to a Mexican Beach resort between Christmas and New Year's. Gulf side only. Kids will be 16 and 18. All inclusive. Decent Beach. Thanks in advance.

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Cancun/Riviera Maya is sometimes chilly and cloudy/rainy that time of year. If you want guaranteed warm weather and sunshine you need to head to Huatulco on the other coast of Mexico. Beautiful part of Mexico with several different bays and nice beaches. Quite a few good all inclusives to choose from. Another advantage of Huatulco is that you don't have to worry about the smelly seaweed/sargassum that occurs in Cancun and all along the Riviera Maya.

Sargassum season ends in October.