Mayan Resorts

Hello, can Mayan Resort timeshare owners recommend their favorite locations and time of year to visit? We have recently purchased a timshare. thanks, Bob & Colette Alaska

We are Mayan resort owners. Our favorite is our home resort in Acapulco. The perfect vacation time is February. You are almost guaranteed perfect weather each and every day.

colettem8 wrote:

Hello, can Mayan Resort timeshare owners recommend their favorite locations and time of year to visit? We have recently purchased a timshare. thanks, Bob & Colette Alaska

Welcome Bob & Colette,

Where were you when you bought? You must have liked that! We have only stayed at Mayan Palace Puerto Vallarta at the Marina and Acapulco but have visited Nuevo Vallarta. If you like a compact resort in walking distance of shops and restuarants, PV Marina is for you. Nuevo is HUGE. It has a little train and a boat that will take you around to see the grounds. It is a world of its own, far from Puerto Vallarta proper. (And if you go there the Red Cross may not let you give blood for a year due to malaria danger in that state--though I'm sure the resort sprays like crazy.) Acapulco is also an expensive taxi ride from town, but if you are not big on city night life you won't really care. It is just a fantastic place. Cabo is not open yet. Ponte Penasco is new and very nice but I can't figure out how one gets there. Mazitlan is billed as a Sea Gardens instead of a regular Mayan Palace because it is the oldest Mayan and the 2BR units have only one bath and smaller than average rooms. However, if you haven't been spoiled rotten by the others, you will like it. Cancun is where we technically own. We have never been there because it is a really hot rental! It took hurricane damage, but was repaired and re-landscaped at top speed. We are hoping the beach will be even better than it was, since that was the one negatative I've heard previously. But as you must know, Mayan pools are so fantastic that the ocean is just additional scenery. Enjoy.

Mary D

Mayan has taken pity on older owners (for a price). You can now buy into a program that reduces your maintenance fee by half at age 75 when you are present yourself. (Not if you rented it out, banked it, or sent the kids.) At 77 the fee drops to zero if you go. If you do not use or bank it at all in some years, there is NO maintenance fee. If you leave the Right to Use to your kids, they will need to pay full fees for at least 5 years. After that the half at 75 and free at 77 will apply to them. Guess we older folks aren't hard on the furniture.

We just went to the Grand Mayan (Mayan Palace) Riviera Maya (Playa del Carmen, near Cancun). It was fantastic! Luxury all the way, marble floors, baths, stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and the largest pool I have ever seen. It is a 15 minute ride away on a public bus to the city of Playa del Carmen. Very easy to catch and ride. Nice town to sight-see, great restaurants, bars and entertainment. We went in January and the weather was 80's everyday and 70's in the evening. Perfect.

colettem8 wrote:

Hello, can Mayan Resort timeshare owners recommend their favorite locations and time of year to visit? We have recently purchased a timshare. thanks, Bob & Colette Alaska

I've stayed at MP Cancun (not really Cancun, but 15 minutes north of Playa del Carmen, and I'm glad it is where it is, far from Cancun proper). Will be staying there again this May. May is mid-low season for the area.

I've visited MP Puerto Vallarta, MP Nuevo Vallarta.

All three locations are very nice. I probably would not choose to stay at MP Nuevo Vallarta at this time because it is too far from (any) town.

Some areas, you rent a car, other areas you use cheap taxis. PV is a place where you use cheap taxis, even cheaper buses, and cheap water taxis. There is really no reason to have a car in PV. MP at Nuevo Vallarta is still too far from most things, so you either pay a bunch for taxis or rent a car if you plan trips.

On the other hand, I would never go to the Cancun MP location without a car. We use the MP strictly as a home base for seeing and doing things in the area. There are too many things to see and do, and most of them are beyond taxi range. The well known ruins (Chitzen-itza) are a couple of hours away. The good ruins that the tour buses don't usually visit are also pretty far away. World class diving/snorkeling is a ferry ride away to cozumel. It is centrally located, but if you don't want to go anywhere, also very remote. You don't get a bunch of trinket vendors sharking on you every 5 minutes.

I was just at that same Mayan Resort that is south of Cancun and just north of Playa del Carmen. Fantastic! We did not rent a car because we thought the public transportation was more than adequate. However, we did not venture to Chichen Itza, we're more beach people. I wouldn't be against renting a car but didn't want to risk a DUI since we'd be having some cocktails and didn't want to worry about who was responsible.

There are collectivos, busses & taxis. All are fairly inexpensive. We ventured all the way to Isla Mujeres, an island off of Cancun without doing a "tour". I thought the tours were pretty expensive and took advantage of people who weren't adventurous enough to arrange their own transportation. We saw quite a few people on tours (at the beach bar in Isla) and suddenly they were gone because they had to leave with their tour leader! We stayed as long as we wanted. Don't be shy, if you don't rent a car (which is another great option) try public transportation. Everyone recognizes the Mayan Palace bracelet.

denise1130 wrote:

I was just at that same Mayan Resort that is south of Cancun and just north of Playa del Carmen. Fantastic! We did not rent a car because we thought the public transportation was more than adequate. However, we did not venture to Chichen Itza, we're more beach people. I wouldn't be against renting a car but didn't want to risk a DUI since we'd be having some cocktails and didn't want to worry about who was responsible.

There are collectivos, busses & taxis. All are fairly inexpensive. We ventured all the way to Isla Mujeres, an island off of Cancun without doing a "tour". I thought the tours were pretty expensive and took advantage of people who weren't adventurous enough to arrange their own transportation. We saw quite a few people on tours (at the beach bar in Isla) and suddenly they were gone because they had to leave with their tour leader! We stayed as long as we wanted. Don't be shy, if you don't rent a car (which is another great option) try public transportation. Everyone recognizes the Mayan Palace bracelet.

This just shows that each resort or location is going to be viewed differently by different people. Nothing wrong with that. I drove over 1000 miles all around the Yucatan on the past trip, so a car was a must for me. I also never wore the bracelet because I felt like I was waving a target to any would be opportunists. But then again, I was venturing out beyond the tourista policia jurisdiction. They gave us a hard time at the gate each time, but no big deal.

colettem8 wrote:

Hello, can Mayan Resort timeshare owners recommend their favorite locations and time of year to visit? We have recently purchased a timshare. thanks, Bob & Colette Alaska

We own at a different resort in Cabo, but we traded for the MP Riviera Maya and just got back yesterday. I totally agree with bryan21 in this discussion. The resort is beautiful, the pool fantastic, the beach in nice, but not great---if you want to go in the ocean you could walk down to the Iberostar next door since the beaches are public or better yet go to Playa Del Carmen or Isla Mujeres for the day.

We rented a car and used the resort as a base. We went to Chichen Itza, Ek Balam, Tulum, Playa Del Carmen, Isla Mujeres, and snorkeling in Puerto Morelos (a small fishing village about 15 minutes north of the resort).

If you go to Puerto Morelos for snorkeling, ask for Fabian who is located next to the Pelicanos Hotel on the beach . His boat is bigger and has a glass bottom. Most important, he is the nicest person and will go with you snorkeling to help you see the most you can; rather than just dumping you off the side of the boat!

Hi Collette, We also just purchased, however we have been going to Riviera Maya Mayan Palace every End of Jan-Beginning of Feb for the last few years. The weather has been good for about half our stay and rained and/or was cloudy for half our stay.

It isn't the first or second week but about every other day, it would be rainy off and on. Not cold rain, but frustrating to us because we wanted all sunshine.

It's a beautiful resort, you can't beat all the things to do in the area. Playa del Carmen is great to hang out at all day. There are must go to parks, like Excaret (All day) Shows, Sea creatures, buterfly parks, exhibits, underwater rivers, snorkeling with beautiful fish and/or turtles in a bay.

We are going to Nuevo Vallarta at the end of May. I hope the weather is better, I hear it has a fabulous waterpark for the kids.

I'd also like to know when and where the best times and places are, so let me know how your experiences go and I'll return the favor, eh?

Deena/Oregon

orvillef2 wrote:

Hi Collette, We also just purchased, however we have been going to Riviera Maya Mayan Palace every End of Jan-Beginning of Feb for the last few years. The weather has been good for about half our stay and rained and/or was cloudy for half our stay.

It isn't the first or second week but about every other day, it would be rainy off and on. Not cold rain, but frustrating to us because we wanted all sunshine.

It's a beautiful resort, you can't beat all the things to do in the area. Playa del Carmen is great to hang out at all day. There are must go to parks, like Excaret (All day) Shows, Sea creatures, buterfly parks, exhibits, underwater rivers, snorkeling with beautiful fish and/or turtles in a bay.

We are going to Nuevo Vallarta at the end of May. I hope the weather is better, I hear it has a fabulous waterpark for the kids.

I'd also like to know when and where the best times and places are, so let me know how your experiences go and I'll return the favor, eh?

Deena/Oregon

Would you mind telling us a little more about Excaret? I gather we are not talking Disney-type theme part. How expensive/far from Mayan is it?

MD

http://www.xcaret.com/

I would not consider xcaret "authentic" , but more like a sanitized version of Mexico's Mayan culture built just for tourists. Some reviews have equated this place as Disney meets Mexico. I don't know how else you would describe fake ruins in a region that has the genuine article all over the place.

Unfortunately, the term Eco- has been stuck on everything you see from Panama to Baja. I don't know whether or not Xcaret subscribes to any legitimate eco-program, but I know many tour operators have jumped on the eco-trend.

BTW, I have seen advertisements for "eco-jungle tours" where the photo shows a '50's era Unimog crashing through the vegetation with a load of tourists in back, complete with the "fantasy Island" fringe canopy. I'll bet they don't use bio-diesel.

Bryan

adahiscout wrote:

orvillef2 wrote:

Hi Collette, We also just purchased, however we have been going to Riviera Maya Mayan Palace every End of Jan-Beginning of Feb for the last few years. The weather has been good for about half our stay and rained and/or was cloudy for half our stay.

It isn't the first or second week but about every other day, it would be rainy off and on. Not cold rain, but frustrating to us because we wanted all sunshine.

It's a beautiful resort, you can't beat all the things to do in the area. Playa del Carmen is great to hang out at all day. There are must go to parks, like Excaret (All day) Shows, Sea creatures, buterfly parks, exhibits, underwater rivers, snorkeling with beautiful fish and/or turtles in a bay.

We are going to Nuevo Vallarta at the end of May. I hope the weather is better, I hear it has a fabulous waterpark for the kids.

I'd also like to know when and where the best times and places are, so let me know how your experiences go and I'll return the favor, eh?

Deena/Oregon

Would you mind telling us a little more about Excaret? I gather we are not talking Disney-type theme part. How expensive/far from Mayan is it?

MD

You need to get there first thing when they open or you won't have time to see everything/do everything. Excaret is probably an hours bus ride from the mayan palace and you can catch it outside the gate, or just make travel arrangements with the mayan. It is not about bright plastic and screaming babies and long lines as someone referred to "Disneyland". It's all day shows, horse and rider, acrobatics and just before they close the park has a huge show depicting the different states and/or villages of Mexico, when spain colonized Mexico (or shared their customs rather, and religion), some of the games the mayans would play (fireball) It's fantastic. At the end of the show everyone's busses and rides are waiting for them outside the gate. This is a beautiful park. It is so tropical, there are huge iguanas roaming and basking freely in the sun, the coast line view from the park is awesome. They have both contained areas full of fish and open areas (bay) to snorkel. The park also has an underground river. Long cave that is sometimes open to the sky and sometimes not,but well lit and even has some places where there's waterfalls and mangrove roots (jungle feel) There are places to Lay out and lots of seating with little table and umbrellas. You lay out while your husband and kids snorkel in front of you. It's beautiful and I haven't even touched on seeing the panthers and different kinds of deer and manta rays and tropical fish and Mayan Ruins etc. Of course I could be negative and say "It's Stupid" but I would have to be one of those kind of people that can hardly ever have fun and isn't impressed by anything. It's fun for my husband and I, but then we like variety, entertainment, new things, the wonder of nature EVEN IF IT WAS PLANTED THERE, which another reader has suggested. We have done alot of things in the Maya Riviera, but we've never skipped Excaret!

Deena

orvillef2 wrote:

adahiscout wrote:

orvillef2 wrote:

Hi Collette, We also just purchased, however we have been going to Riviera Maya Mayan Palace every End of Jan-Beginning of Feb for the last few years. The weather has been good for about half our stay and rained and/or was cloudy for half our stay.

It isn't the first or second week but about every other day, it would be rainy off and on. Not cold rain, but frustrating to us because we wanted all sunshine.

It's a beautiful resort, you can't beat all the things to do in the area. Playa del Carmen is great to hang out at all day. There are must go to parks, like Excaret (All day) Shows, Sea creatures, buterfly parks, exhibits, underwater rivers, snorkeling with beautiful fish and/or turtles in a bay.

We are going to Nuevo Vallarta at the end of May. I hope the weather is better, I hear it has a fabulous waterpark for the kids.

I'd also like to know when and where the best times and places are, so let me know how your experiences go and I'll return the favor, eh?

Deena/Oregon

Would you mind telling us a little more about Excaret? I gather we are not talking Disney-type theme part. How expensive/far from Mayan is it?

MD

You need to get there first thing when they open or you won't have time to see everything/do everything. Excaret is probably an hours bus ride from the mayan palace and you can catch it outside the gate, or just make travel arrangements with the mayan. It is not about bright plastic and screaming babies and long lines as someone referred to "Disneyland". It's all day shows, horse and rider, acrobatics and just before they close the park has a huge show depicting the different states and/or villages of Mexico, when spain colonized Mexico (or shared their customs rather, and religion), some of the games the mayans would play (fireball) It's fantastic. At the end of the show everyone's busses and rides are waiting for them outside the gate. This is a beautiful park. It is so tropical, there are huge iguanas roaming and basking freely in the sun, the coast line view from the park is awesome. They have both contained areas full of fish and open areas (bay) to snorkel. The park also has an underground river. Long cave that is sometimes open to the sky and sometimes not,but well lit and even has some places where there's waterfalls and mangrove roots (jungle feel) There are places to Lay out and lots of seating with little table and umbrellas. You lay out while your husband and kids snorkel in front of you. It's beautiful and I haven't even touched on seeing the panthers and different kinds of deer and manta rays and tropical fish and Mayan Ruins etc. Of course I could be negative and say "It's Stupid" but I would have to be one of those kind of people that can hardly ever have fun and isn't impressed by anything. It's fun for my husband and I, but then we like variety, entertainment, new things, the wonder of nature EVEN IF IT WAS PLANTED THERE, which another reader has suggested. We have done alot of things in the Maya Riviera, but we've never skipped Excaret!

Deena

Thanks for the feed-back, folks. I've heard reference to this park before but never had much idea of what it contained. This was very useful.

MD