Mexico Beach Resorts - Which Of These 6 Options Is For You?

You’re planning on a Mexican beach break. Sun, sea, sand and...well...who knows? The thing is, you don’t want all the hassle of arranging flights, transfers, haggling with hotels, booking tours, and the multitude of other things that will eat into the time that you want to spend away from your job, relaxing. You need a resort. Everything laid out, helpful staff at every corner. All you need to to is turn yourself over occasionally on your private white-sand beach to make sure you tan evenly on both sides. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

The options for beach resorts in Mexico are more varied than you’d imagine. Check out the options below to see which fits your profile best, and get ready for an all-inclusive stress-free break.

1) The super-luxury Mexican beach resort
Lets get straight down to business. You want quality; not just any quality, Five Star Quality.
The Royal Hideaway Playacar offers an adults-only resort in Quintana Roo on the Yucatan Peninsula. Designed as 11 villas, each with a private concierge, it boasts the AAA-Five Diamond award distinction and is a member of Leading Hotels and Virtuoso. Rooms feature Mexican colonial architecture and a view of the azure Caribbean, and include a furnished balcony or terrace as well as all the trimmings with hotel monograms dripping from every towel, bathrobe, and slipper. This is going to leave a devastating hole in your credit card, but if you want to go all out and leave the kids lamenting their lack of inheritance, now’s your chance.

2) The party Mexican beach resort
We’ve all heard about the horrors of Cancun over spring break, so distance yourself from the madness with a step up in budget that few spring-breakers would be able to match. The ME by Melia Cabo is your more exclusive option with pricey suites, chic clubs, beachfront property and an over-21-only policy that will put a stop to rowdy 3am pool parties. If you want to re-live the college days, there are still plenty of west-coast University students about town that you’ll bump into at clubs such as the Giggling Marlin, Zoo Club and Sammy Hagar’s Cabo Wabo.

3) The romantic Mexican beach resort
Things flagging a bit? You need to inject some spice back into your life, and Mexico’s the place to do it! The solution, of all places, lies in...Cancun!

Yup, the AQUA club may sound like a bad idea (especially based on its Zona Turistica address), but you couldn’t feel further away from drunken students and screaming kids. Prepare for tranquility, privacy, panoramic blue skies and huge airy rooms. You’ll have a resident DJ spinning tunes to set the mood, and if you ever leave the bedroom you’ll only run into luxury minded 30-something clientele. Kicking economy to the curb, you can choose a suite with freestanding circular Jacuzzi tubs and Aqua Lounge access that will ensure stories that will never, ever get told to the kids.

4) The watersports Mexican beach resort
You’ve got salt water running in your veins. You’re headed for a beach, so what’s the point in spending time out of the water? The Cabo Surf Hotel is the option for you; a boutique beach resort located on one of the most privileged beaches in Los Cabos. Situated in Acapulquito, the hotel was voted the 7th best kept secret out of 21 by Elle Magazine, so you know you’ll be combining quality with maximum wave-time. All rooms come, naturally, with ocean views.

5) The butt-toning Mexican beach resort
Luxury complexes aren’t your thing; there’s no temple better than the body. The Amansala rustic-chic resort in Tulum offers a healthy, tranquil retreat without the excesses of the rest of the Mayan Riviera. Amansala is best known for its six-night "Bikini Bootcamp" - a robust regime of yoga, meditation, salsa dancing and more, designed to get guests into tip-top swimsuit-shape. Before any guys get too excited, they should know that some retreats are women-only. The all-inclusive program includes cabana lodging, with digs ranging from a one-room thatched-roof hut to an ultra-classy luxury suite. Rates also include all meals with an emphasis on low-fat, organic ingredients (if freshly caught grilled fish and fresh mangos are your thing). It’s not all pounding your body for the greater good, however. Extras like massages and a Mayan clay treatment help you reward yourself for all the hard work.

6) The nature-lovers Mexican beach resort
Getting away from it all should REALLY mean getting away from it all. How about Majahuitas Resort, named after a golden hibiscus-like flower that flourishes in the region? The private stretch of sand called Majahuitas is also home to a bucolic, solar-powered resort made up of eight enchanting little houses. The 18-acre oasis, accessible only by boat from Puerto Vallarta, is a primitive-style enclave without phones, Internet access, or even electrical outlets in guestrooms. The ‘world-away’ sanctuary provides an unmissable experience for nature lovers, as there’s a nearby underwater canyon and a jungle upstream well worth exploring. Since the sun is the major power source here, dinners are lit solely by flickering candles in a massive chandelier.

So, which was your favourite Mexican beach resort option? Whatever your preference, you can be assured that all the places listed are waiting for you to call, so pick up the phone or send an email to arrange the stress-free escape that you’ve been planning for months...

Author: Gary Sargent - Escaped to Peru / Escaped to Latin America

The Yucatan Peninsula - 4 Things You Need to See

Most people know Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula for the super-resort of Cancun and the white sand beaches of Playa del Carmen, but there is much more on offer. For visitors wanting to explore the varied delights of the Yucatan Peninsula, it’s a good idea to have an itinerary planned out in advance as distances between attractions can lead to spending too much time travelling between the different things on offer. It’s also worth timing your trip right, as the rainy season from May to October brings down temperatures that are normally quite high. Tourist season is also December to March, so for less crowds, plan your trip accordingly.

When considering your itinerary for Yucatan, here are four suggestions to make for an unforgettable trip.

1) Dive with whale sharks
The largest fish in the world, the whale shark is vast but harmless and notoriously hard to find. Countless scuba-diving stories crop up all over the world of trips to find whale sharks that ended in disappointment. However, between May 15th and September 15th Holbox Island off the coast of Yucatan is one of the few place in the world at which dive companies can confidently offer a guarantee of swimming with one of these gentle giants. Strap on your fins and gas tanks and get ready for the dive of a lifetime!

2) Visit a world-famous archaeological site
Thought to be one of the most important regions in Mesoamerica, Yucatan plays host to a huge number of temples and ruins, particularly from the Mayan period. Indiana Jones wannabees can watch a huge serpent of shadow climb the steep steps of the Castle Pyramid at Chichen Itza during the time of equinox, wander the coastal fortress city of Tulum next to the electric blue sea of the Caribbean or climb the Pyramid of the Magician at Uxmal to marvel at the intricate stone carvings that adorn its walls.

3) See nature’s finest in an ecological reserve
Fortunately, the natural treasures of the Yucatan Peninsula are well conserved in a huge number of parks and reserves. Wildlife on the Peninsula is diverse to say the least, and visitors can see over 450 species of birds if they have the patience to keep count. A couple of well known options are the Rio Celestun park, where you can see flamingos, and the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve which has mangroves, lagoons, savannas, coral reefs, rain forest and Mayan temples to explore.

4) Cool off in a Cenote
The Yucatan Peninsula is home to a huge variety of natural wonders, and cenotes (or sink holes) are one of them. Over 3000 exist on the Peninsula, composed of four different types; those that are completely underground, those that are semi-underground, those that are at land level like a lake or pond and those that are open wells. Some of them are accessible for swimming and cave diving, but this is something that should only be practiced with a professional guide. Visitors to sub-terrainan cenotes can expect to see impressive selections of stalactites and stalagmites, as well as magical lighting from the sunlight falling in columns from natural holes in the ceilings of the caves.

The Yucatan Peninsula has much more to offer than the suggestions above. This will make the greatest problem for your tour or vacation to Mexico not that you can’t find anything to do, but how you are going to do and see everything!

Author: Gary Sargent - Escaped to Peru / Escaped to Latin America

Mexico City - 5 Things To See And Do

Despite resting on the ancient Aztec capital, Mexico City is an example of a modern city that is pushing for progress. At roughly 23 million inhabitants, it is one of the biggest cities in the world, and visitors will be spoilt for choice with the wide range of activities and experiences that the city offers. To try and cover everything in Mexico’s capital would be impossible, so here’s 5 things to whet your appetite during the day, and something for the evening if you’ve still got some energy left.

5 Things For The Daytime...
1) Visit the floating gardens of Xochimilco
With Aztec farmland scare, the population developed a system of floating reed mats covered with soil to create gardens on the lake that surrounded their ancient capital. Visitors today can take a journey in a flat bottomed boat around Xochimilco, an area in the south of the city to see the impressive floating gardens where most of the city’s flowers are grown. You’ll also have the opportunity to get an understanding of the immense scale of the agrarian canal system that watered the Aztec capital.

2) Take a city tour
Plenty of tours exist to help you get an overview of the most engaging parts of Mexico City without getting overwhelmed by all the options of museums, architecture, sights and sounds. One of the options that could be included in your tour is the looming Metropolitan Cathedral, the largest church in Latin America, which houses many treasures from the colonial period of the city’s history. It took a back-breaking 250 years to build, well demonstrated by the variety of architectural styles as new people took up the project over the years. Another option could be Chapultepec Park, home to 5 museums, 2 lakes, a zoo, tranquil botanical gardens and, on the other end of the scale, an amusement park with one of the world’s largest roller coasters. For those with a desire to learn about 3000 years of human evolution, a visit to the world-class Anthropological Museum will satisfy you. Thousands of artifacts are displayed, including burial tombs, giant Olmec stone heads, the famous Aztec Calendar Stone and a reconstructed Mayan temple.

3) Visit the ancient ruins of Teotihuacan
The most impressive reminder of the Aztec order, the huge pyramid of Teotihuacan is an easy day trip from Mexico City. Walk the Avenue of the Dead and watch the sun set over the Pyramid of the Sun to get a feel for the once mighty capital that was said to have held a population of 200,000 at its peak.

4) Find some souvenirs
Bargain hunters can’t do much better than the Ciudadela Market, Mexico City’s arts and crafts bazaar. A buzzing hub of activity and trading, shoppers will find handmade artifacts from all over Mexico and are sure to bag a beautiful keepsake.

5) Get serenaded by a Mariachi band
If you enjoy the sight of a group of Mexicans wearing matching costumes and gigantic hats sidling up to you with instruments eagerly at the ready, pay a visit to the Garibaldi Mariachi Plaza. It’s a site surrounded by cafes and restaurants, perfect or open air concerts and wandering musicians. Either receive the full personal treatment from a band or watch from a distance - either option is well worth it.

...And A Slice Of Nightlife
If you can’t face heading out on the town to one of the countless bars or dance clubs after pounding the streets of the city all day long, Mexico City has the option of you. Hosted in the majestic Hidalgo Theatre, Amalia Hernandez’ Folklorico Ballet of Mexico of has performed more than 12,000 presentations over the last 50 years and represents the preservation of traditional music and dance throughout Mexico. It’s a wonderful assault on the senses of colour, sound and movement. The best part is that after a long day on your feet soaking up the wonders of Mexico City, you get to enjoy it sitting down.

Author: Gary Sargent - Escaped to Peru / Escaped to Latin America