Hurricane season info can be found in the link below.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastprofile.shtml

Hurricane Paloma was the most recent to affect the Caribbean (a few days ago).

Pippy

hello,
im looking for the same kind of thing but for in december this year.

Ive just seen a good deal with thomson to riu cancun....obviously in cancun...i think this resort sounds like it would suit you but be careful which hotel you pick as some are far out....there are regular really cheap buses but if you dont fancy that then you might want to find a hotel that is nearer to the centre...however they do tend to be more expensive. It might help to read reviews on here, trip advisor ect or do an image search on a search engiene. Also be careful when looking at pictures of the beaches.....there are a few pictures knocking around of before the big hurricane where the beaches are wider, although i hear they are still nice i dont want you to be dissapointed if you get there and the beach is narrower.
Cancun sounds like it has lots of good things to do....ive heard the club conco bongos, dady o's, senor frogs ect are good and also the pirate cruise. Plenty of trips on boats, to island mujeres, xcarat, swim with dolphins, shopping centres, watersports, ....Ive never been but done a lot of reading up and i think this place would be suitable for me and my boyfriend so i am seriously going to book it any day now!!
Looks like theres a lot of international/american restaurants such as planet hollywood, starbucks...as well as local restaurants. one question i have is how much can i expect to pay for a meal out ad which currency does everyone from uk take with them??? can anyone help us??

thank you :o) happy holidays

you're great, all of that really helps! Ive tried to read stuff but i just get so overwhelmed and lost and forget what ive read about what! I cant even remeber what hotel it was that i liked but as its with thomas cook im a bit reluctant to book for the reason ive said above, I hate My Travel and they've now merged!

thanks again for your help, i really do appreciate it

If you are at a loss try the caribbean warehouse to see if they suggest any better options. There is a thread on them in the forum. I used them for my last holiday to Mexico.
Our hotel package was arranged with a local company and so they had different options to those just offered by the main TOs. Our treatment was actually better than that given to the FC people at the hotel at the time, but basically everyone is always treated the same regardless as far as I could tell.
The plane side of the journey is up to you and which option you want. We did in fact go with a MYT plane as it was a lot cheaper and a lot more convenient time wise at both ends, but we could have chosen different carriers and times for different amounts of money! They do have a lot of local knowledge and may recommend a better option for you.

no worries!

i booked my holiday to riu cancun with thomson last night, really looking forward to it now after many hours of searching the internet! Ill post a helpful honest review on here when i get back. just hope the weather is nice! has anyone been in december??
we paid £1418 for the 2 of us all inclusive from manchester. I did hope for a cheaper deal to be honest but we had to go either on 16th or 17th dec for one week only and i was getting fed up of searching for the best deal! Its such a relief now its booked!!
My advise would be to book one then go with an open mind. As long as no one moans about food poisoning or bed bugs how bad can it be?? An holiday is an adventure!! (she says with her fingers crossed hehe).
Also if you are looking for things to do try a trip advisor search for cancun and it will tell you everything with traveller reviews. I think this site should have one!
what i found helpful when looking for cancun hotels is this map http://www.cancunmap.com/assist/cancun_hotel_locator.html

please ask anything else and ill try let you know

I have fell in love with this hotel yesterday, excellence riviera cancun, it looks amazing but its not on the map!

I dont want to wait until my birthday to go away, i want to go now lol

my son is going to mexico in january, what currency should he take? some say american dollars and some say peso. Also what injections shoild he have?

If we go to Cancun next year, do we need to go AI or are there B&B type hotels and we can then choose where to have our evening meal. How much on average would be pay for an evening meal for 2 people - usually main meal and a dessert?

Shamus, we go to the Riviera Maya every year and have always only taken US dollars. Everything is priced in dollars, though obviously Mexican Pesos are accepted everywhere. Sometimes we are given Pesos as change and have always used this change for tipping.

Irishone, the Excellence Riviera gets great reviews (especially the Excellence Club upgrades) but it is on the Riviera Maya, south of Cancun and is somewhat isolated. If you want clubs and pubs, you will need to travel to Cancun or Playa del Carmen.

This link provides a map to show the ERC's location (you will need to click the zoom out magnifying glass).

http://www.expedia.co.uk/pub/agent.dll/qscr=dspv/htid=1120449/crti=1/hotel-location-map?mdpcid=expe.uk.001.008.01.ExpediaHotelMapsUK.ShowUserReviewsHotels

Cazz

We went to Cozumel this year and are defiantly set on returning to mexico next year as we loved the country so much!
We are not 100% sure whether we would like to return to cozumel or try cancun/riviera maya or PDC.. anyone got any ideas on hotels there?

We are both 20 so a young couple who enjoy relaxing, doing a few daytime activities and like a bit of nightlife but nothing too heavy!

Thanks for any help

hi i have just returned from cancun, mexico. We only stayed for a week and it was exhausting but enjoyable.

Went on lots of tours/trips.
First the jungle tour where you have your own speedboat...very good. Learnt to snorkell in lovely calm sea with nice fish.

Pirate cruise....didnt enjoy much because we were packed on the boat and couldnt see anything and all they do is pick on people from the audience make u get up and dance then send u upstairs for a rushed buffet type meal before more dancing then almost begging you for tips. We expected a nice dinner and heard they did lots acrobats and fighting.where was it???

Xcaret natural park....enjoyed this...swam in underground rivers then went to see animals, meal included very nice, then watched night time show. Didnt get chance to see everything but what we saw was things we havent seen before like pumas and sharks, manta rays and huge turtles! Wouldve liked another day here to see birds monkeys dolphins and enjoy the beach where u can relax on a rubber ring its so calm.

Jungle crossing....we thought we would see the real jungle! Only for 5 mins the very edge of it!! Still a good day tho...went in a umigo (?) for a rocky ride, underground caves/cenotes...kayaking out to sea to snorkell (a bit choppy here) then relax on a beach. Not what we expected but ok!

All trips very expensive and u need to take money if you want the videos/photos they try to sell you.

We didnt eat out in resort...we had a mcdonalds and it cost us £6gbp each! There is a few places to eat but not sure if they were expensive...most of them were american brands such as rainforest cafe, planet hollywood, ruth steakhouse, so i imagine they were.

There is a good choice of nightclubs, we only went to coco bongos and it was the best club we have ever been to with a show on all night, acrobats, and a good range of music. Crazy!! Didnt leave til 330am! The other major ones are Dady O, Dady rock, Bulldog, Hooters, Senor Frogs...you can look any of these up on the internet. For all clubs you pay a price and your drinks are included. For coco bongos its USD$55 but we went in daytime to get our armband and it cost us USD$45 each. Free bag n t-shirt.

Shopping...there are a few shopping centres...we didnt enjoy them much if im honest. There are nice designer shops but obviously very expensive like hugo boss ...dolce and gabanna, lacoste and lots of jewellery shops. Plus most things cheaper in uk even tho its supposed to be tax free. The tourist shops all sell exactly the same stock and the owners almost follow you around or watch u. Not the nicest way to shop. Also expensive, i bought a little bag of mexican coffee home for my parents...£5 in GBP. If you turn the wrong way in a shopping mall it can take you to where they all want your custom. All you hear is senorita senorita...!!! nooooooo!!!!! avoid the flea market area. La isla is nicest for a walk around. Dont bother with the aquarium about a tenner each to get in and not much to see at all.
I could not find a uk travel adapter anywhere and when i did the man wanted 499 pesos for it...about £45GBP!! no thank you...no straighteners all week no charging up of camcorder and camera batteries....disposable cameras cost about £8GBP so be prepared.

Currency...how confusing!!! Major things like trips and nightclub prices are in USD. shops are pesos except in la isla shopping mall where its USD. They can convert it for you if u ask and they accept both currencies. Change sometimes given in pesos when paid with dollars. We took about £450 (in GBP) us dollars and £150 in pesos. EACH!!!
One week....a few trips...one nightclub fee....a mcdonalds...photos and videos from trips...3 cameras...a few tips...a few tacky souveniers...one viewing from observation tower...biodegradable suncream...a new handbag (600 pesos)...1 phonecard...bus fares x6.....and we spent up!!! i bought home £27!!!! So very expensive unless you want to sit in your hotel all day!!!

All the hotels seem to be all inclusive...we stayed at riu cancun and it was right in the centre. 5 minute walk to coco bongos and other clubs. I'll write a seperate review on the riu cancun.
Buses run up and down the strip every 5 or so minutes. I think we payed about 30 pesos for the 2 of us. its the same price wherever u go to. Full of mexicans going/coming to work from downtown cancun. Sometimes u have to stand so busy and they drive fast. u have to jump on and off!! they dont wait about!

All in all a good holiday but didnt get enough time to relax, however i felt one week was enough in cancun! This was my first time to the caribbean and id read lots of reviews so knew it wasnt going to be the pradise setting id always wanted to see. The beaches are narrow because a hurricane washed them away...therfore crowded, and the sea is quite wavey and not that safe for swimming. If im honest had a better time in cyprus but glad i went to cancun and did the new things i did and saw.

Hope this helps...any questions please ask me!

How far would the excellence riviera be from the cancun nightclubs, i really like the look of this hotel but i also want to be in the buzz of things, not completely isolated?

thanks

The Excellence is isolated. You'd need to get a cab to Cancun and back. I don't know time/cost but I'd say 30 minutes/$30 each way.

We take a mixture of pesos & US Dollars, and get on fine. A lot of the small shops have items priced in pesos, although they will willingly convert to Dollars for you. We have been to the Riviera Maya twice AI both times. When we went into town we thought the food was expensive. We had a good deal AI so didn't mind going into town and paying for drinks now & again.

Danielle

Would definately reccomend PDC.

Iberostar tucan/Quetzal in Playacar is an excellent hotel. AI with jungle paths complete with wild monkeys,peacocks,pheasants,flamingos( hotel has small nightclub)

5$ US taxi fare into PDC (5th avenue) for nightlife where you can have it as quiet or as loud as you like.

For a smaller hotel in the heart of PDC

check out La Tortuga heard nothing but good reviews and the swim up rooms look fantastic

what is PDC?

Puerto Del Carmen on the Riviera Maya lovely place - check out the Riu Tequila - fab

PDC = Playa del Carmen

In my opinion- a much nicer place to stay than Cancun

Good location-not too far to Tulum,Akumel, Coba also very near to Xcaret park and Xel Ha isnt too far away either.

Ferry dock to Cozumel-located there as well

Just to clarify as there are two different answers to the PDC question it's Aaron who posted correctly that it stands for Playa Del Carmen (Puerto Del Carmen being in Lanzarote)