Member- Roe
- 9 years ago
- Wedding: June 2012
June 9th was the wedding.
June 12th we flew into Cancun and stayed until the 23rd. Two days after I got home, I was already wishing to go back! I would not ever hesistate to go to this part of Mexico again, I know that is a frequent topic on the boards, but we had a great time. And we stayed/went to off the beaten path, not super touristy areas while we were there and still felt completely safe.
Our first stop, we stayed in the Playa Palms hotel in Playa del Carmen, only about 2 blocks from 5th Avenue, where all the restaurants and nightlife happens. 
I liked the hotel okay. Its right on the beach, which is really nice, but fishing boats are parked out front 24/7, so its not a great area for enjoying the water. We stayed here for the proximity to 5th ave.
5th ave:
We liked Playa, but got a little tired of it after a few days. It (esp 5th ave) is expensive and there are constantly people calling out to for honeymoon excursions, photos with tiger cubs or lizards….or selling weed….and cocaine… Heh. Drug pushers and all, we never felt unsafe there, walking around at all hours. Just a little annoyed by the end of our 5th day from all the people soliciting business.
We drove down to Akumal, where there is a public beach with a reef that attracts many, many sea turtles, sting rays, and all kinds of fish! We rented snorkel equipment and spent the afternoon on the beach. It was so fun! No turtle pics yet–still have to develop the underwater camera!
And this van…was covered in Steelers decals. In Akumal. Mexico.
We went ziplining and cenote swimming at Selvatica, which was a nice day, but not overly exciting for anyone who has done adventure activities before.
After leaving playa, we drove our little rental car down to Coba to see the Mayan ruins. We climbed the last pyramid in the Yuctan that you are permitted to climb, and I got a little fear of heights kicking in before we went back down!
This is the road from Coba to our next stop, Tulum. Note the Kentucky Charcoal Chicken sign 😉
In Tulum, we stayed at the Cabanas La Luna. IT WAS AMAZING. This is our cabana when we arrived:
Cozy, romantic cabana, beautiful beach, quiet, no tv = perfect.
This storm rolled in our first day there!
….and this is 20 minutes after the storm. Gorgeous!
During the rain, my new husband needed proof that I had resorted to reading his comic books as I had burned through mine. Just to make sure he wasn’t caught, he took this through the window. 😉 (I spent so much time in that hammock.)
The next day we took advantage of our proximity to the cenotes (cave lakes/swimholes) in the area and drove to Escondido. There were only 4 other people there. It was nice to chat with them and relax away from the touristy areas for a bit.
Last shot of our cabanas:
Leaving Tulum (so sad!) we took the ferry from Playa del Carmen to Cozumel
After a short cab ride, we arrived at the Aura Cozumel Grand Resort. We had booked the Solarium Suite, which had our own rooftop pool!
Unfortunately, it rained the entire time we were there, so we didn’t get to do anything on the Island. But we sure did enjoy our awesome room and the resort!
I did full reviews of the resorts on trip advisor, if anyone is interested.
