Hi Dave, we stayed at the Riu Carribe in Nov and used the Cuncun's facillities a few times as you can get all the All Inc stuff at either hotel,

Would recomend you take the bus the few stops south and spend some time at the Carribe too.

The Cancun was nice and is close to the downtown parts of the resort.

Money wise we took USD but would take a mixture next time.

thanks for the info millemiglia,i wasnt aware we could use facilities at the caribe as well.will certainly spend some time there.First time longhaul,wife needs a break following the loss of her father last month,and cancun has always been on her wish list,so cant wait

You could also consider a trip to the Riu hotels in Playacar (you may need to get reception to phone through first to let them know you are coming). Get the bus (air conditioned coach) from Cancun bus station to Playa del Carmen (about $8 return, takes about 45 minutes and they run every 10 minutes) and then go to the Riu complex (Riu Tequila, Yucatan and Playacar hotels) in Playacar which is a $5 taxi ride or 20 minute walk from the town centre. You can then see Play del Carmen and afterwards go and get drinks and food etc at the Rius in Playacar, or even get a ferry over to Cozumel.

As for currency, when we went last year the peso was by far the best currency to take. e.g. the taxi was $5 or 50 peso (fixed price). At that time $5 was about £3.50 but 50 peso was only about £2.50. The shops all used a peso to dollar exchange rate of about 11 to 1 when converting prices but the actual exchange rate was about 14 to 1 so everything was more expensive in dollars. I'm not sure what the exchange rates are now though so you would definitely be better checking them before you buy.

Cheers

Keith

Thanks for the info keith,will defo spend a day at playacar now as i had looked at the said hotels befor opting for riu cancun.