Trying to plan a 7 night AI trip to CUN over holidays; help me save some money

Hello everyone,

I am trying to plan a trip for a group of 10 adults + 5 kids to CUN from 12/25 through 1/1/13. We are set on AI option to make the trip more relaxing. As expected, prices are through the roof, especially plane tickets. So far, I have the following hotels on my list:

Privilege Aluxes All- Inclusive

Grand Park Royal Cancun Caribe All-inclusive

Iberostar Paraiso del Mar on Playa Del Carmen

Dreams Tulum Resort and Spa

Ocean Coral & Turquesa


What we are looking for is some peace and quiet, good service, kid friendly, good beach and hopefully not in the middle of nowhere so we could go to downtown, etc. Our number one choice was Riu Palace Las Americas, but the package prices are completely insane. Can anyone help pick the best hotel for our needs or recommend another option? I would really appreciate your help.

My personal advice: do not do this.

The very high season begins 15 December, and prices go up on that date. Not only is the area you are headed popular with visitors from cold Canada, the USA and Europe, it is very popular with many Mexicans as well - and they will holiday hearty arriving before Christmas and departing after the New Year. Everything will be, IMO and experience, horribly crowded with queues, people in each other's faces, lots of trash everywhere, scarce and very expensive food, drinks, excursions and sites.

No way to save money, as you are going when everyone else wants to be there and is willing to spend more, obviously. Even the all inclusives will be chockers to the max, noisy, crowded, services will all likely be overloaded and poor quality, and of course they will charge premiums and there will likely be "misunderstandings" on room assignments and types, maybe even sell outs, that will not make for a pleasant family holiday. Certainly not "peace and quiet"!

Sorry for hijacking this old thread but I have somewhat similar plans but our travel dates are little more flexible and can go maybe a little later. When will the worst be over? Would first or second week of January be significantly better?

Yes, the first week in January will be better. The second week in January will be a little better still. Basically, the week between Christmas and New Year's is the busiest week of the year at these resorts. In fact, there tends to be a correlation between the number of children off from school and the occupancy at the resorts. I can only speak for the U.S., but once you get past New Year's Day most children will begin to return to school, easing the crowds at the resorts. January can still be a popular time to vacation away from winter weather, but it will not be as bad as the week of Christmas and New Year's.

A friend recently returned from Villa Del Palmar with her daughter - they both loved it. They felt it was a great value, and offered a lot to families. It is north of CUN rather than in the zona hotelera.

(For reference, they have spend times at various all inclusives in Turkey and the Caribbean, iirc.)

I went to Playa Del Carmen around the same dates in 2010. I would recommend you stay close to 5th Avenue at Playa Del Carmen (very family oriented) and I promise you won't regret it. The only bad thing is the dates that you chose and for those dates are always expensive unless you get them about a year before. I wouldn't do the all inclusive because you will feel that you have to stay at the hotel all the time. Staying in PDC by 5th street will also save you money, there are alot of places close by to eat very cheap. I stayed at condohotelsplayadelcarmen.com I would recommend you look for something on vrbo.com where you can stay close to 5th street. From PDC everything is closer and I promise it's much better than Cancun. I would recommend going to Tulum Ruins, at those ruins there is a tourist place where you will find the cheapest prices for ALL tourist attractions. The things you will like to do is visit Xcaret, Xplor Adventure park. The best site for things to do is tripadvisor.com If possible, I would change the dates and get a cheaper price during a different week. If you do want an all inclusive I suggest Gran Porto Real Resort and Spa, it's located in PDC on 5th Street. On 5th street there is also the docking area where they have the boat that takes you to Cozumel. I would recommend for you to visit Cozumel 1day.