Mar 19, 2008
In the month of April and afterwards, remarkable vacation bargains are available in Cancún and the adjoining Mayan Riviera
Puzzled by the pricing of Vacation Travel Mart's (tel. 800/288-1435; www.vacmart.com) air-and-land packages to the Caribbean, I placed a call last week to its president, Jacques Abitan. "Are you aware," I asked, "that you are charging the same for a five-day stay in Cancún as for the Dominican Republic?"
"Of course," he answered. And he proceeded to tell me about a collapse in prices in the Cancún area because of the immense amount of recent hotel construction. In the Mayan Riviera (the stretch of Caribbean coast immediately south of Cancún), some 4,000 new rooms opened in the two-month period of November-December of 2007 alone. And there are now some 40,000 rooms in the "hotel zone" of Cancún itself. You can hear a podcast of my interview with Jacques Abitan at the opening of the first hour of March 16's Travel Show, at www.wor710.com (click on "Weekend Programming").
Because the hotel/resorts of Mexico's Caribbean coast are giving discounts to tour operators of 40%, 50% and even 60%, the package values are tremendous indeed; they result in prices identical to those charged for air-and-land packages to that longtime champion of bargain vacations, the Dominican Republic.
And it gets better. According to Jacques Abitan (a veteran of many years of tour operation to the tropics), the radical, low-cost fares to the Caribbean of upstarts JetBlue and Spirit Airlines have wrecked the normal airfare price structure and forced American, United, Northwest and Continental to cut their own fares to many Caribbean locations. Because of that -- again according to Jacques Abitan -- tour operators are sometimes enjoying lower fares to the Caribbean from New York, Chicago and Detroit than from Miami!
Contact them and you'll find air-and-land offers for a five-day stay at an all-inclusive resort in Mexico (and the Dominican Republic), including round-trip airfare from Miami and all three meals daily, for as little as $587 per person (and just a tiny bit more from northern cities). Those rates will dip further in April (an off-season month in a year when Easter occurs so early). You'll find similar stays at a new super-deluxe hotel (the Valentin) on Mexico's Caribbean coast, again including airfare and all three meals daily, for $1,000. In a travel world where Europe has become the expensive destination, the Caribbean is now the cost-conscious place to go.
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"Of course," he answered. And he proceeded to tell me about a collapse in prices in the Cancún area because of the immense amount of recent hotel construction. In the Mayan Riviera (the stretch of Caribbean coast immediately south of Cancún), some 4,000 new rooms opened in the two-month period of November-December of 2007 alone. And there are now some 40,000 rooms in the "hotel zone" of Cancún itself. You can hear a podcast of my interview with Jacques Abitan at the opening of the first hour of March 16's Travel Show, at www.wor710.com (click on "Weekend Programming").
Because the hotel/resorts of Mexico's Caribbean coast are giving discounts to tour operators of 40%, 50% and even 60%, the package values are tremendous indeed; they result in prices identical to those charged for air-and-land packages to that longtime champion of bargain vacations, the Dominican Republic.
And it gets better. According to Jacques Abitan (a veteran of many years of tour operation to the tropics), the radical, low-cost fares to the Caribbean of upstarts JetBlue and Spirit Airlines have wrecked the normal airfare price structure and forced American, United, Northwest and Continental to cut their own fares to many Caribbean locations. Because of that -- again according to Jacques Abitan -- tour operators are sometimes enjoying lower fares to the Caribbean from New York, Chicago and Detroit than from Miami!
Contact them and you'll find air-and-land offers for a five-day stay at an all-inclusive resort in Mexico (and the Dominican Republic), including round-trip airfare from Miami and all three meals daily, for as little as $587 per person (and just a tiny bit more from northern cities). Those rates will dip further in April (an off-season month in a year when Easter occurs so early). You'll find similar stays at a new super-deluxe hotel (the Valentin) on Mexico's Caribbean coast, again including airfare and all three meals daily, for $1,000. In a travel world where Europe has become the expensive destination, the Caribbean is now the cost-conscious place to go.
Write and read comments about this post.
Jan 3, 2008
Though everyone is glibly referring to the "Mayan Riviera," what exactly is it?
What exactly is the Mayan Riviera, asks a reader? Strictly as a matter of geography, it's Mexico's stretch of Caribbean coastline starting just below Cancún and proceeding southward to Tulum. But in terms of substance, it is one of the world's fastest-growing resort hotspots, ranging from enormous all-inclusives (both moderately and exorbitantly priced) to exclusive and secluded boutique properties.
Cheaper digs are found in the main town of this "Riviera," which is bustling, nightlife-filled Playa del Carmen. There, options include both funky, inexpensive little inns and pricier hipster hotels (there's also Puerto Morelos, a smaller, more laid-back town closer to Cancún).
The beaches along this coast aren't its main draw -- if you want to get wet, it'll most likely be in a pool -- but there's a full panoply of fun activities, including famous eco-parks such as Aktun Chen, Tres Ríos, and the glitzier Xel-Ha and Xcaret (where you can snorkel among many other things).
The giant inland area -- the Yucatán Peninsula -- is more important than that strip of beach. What makes it special are its many ancient, awesome ruins of the sophisticated Maya civilization -- the observatory, ballplaying court and stepped pyramids of Chichén Itzá are the most famous, but there are numerous other ruins both on the coast and inland (Uxmal, Palenque, Cobá, Ek Balam, and Tulum, with its spectacular seaside setting. You can overnight at lodgings near most of them, but they're also doable in day trips from the Maya Riviera, Cancún, and the Spanish-colonial-flavored capital of the Yucatan, Mérida.
Another very atmospheric lodging option is the network of inns occupying restored haciendas (colonial-era estates) in the interior, such as Xcanatún, Yaxcopoil, and Ketanchel.
Packagers covering the Yucatan include Pleasant Holidays (tel. 800/742-9244; www.pleasantholidays.com) and Trek America (tel. 800/873-5872; www.trekamerica.com),but you can also fly there yourself via Cancún (with the most direct flights from the U.S. and Canada, on many carriers) or Mérida (via Mexico City); there's regular bus service throughout the peninsula and driving is fairly easy.
Write and read comments about this post.
Cheaper digs are found in the main town of this "Riviera," which is bustling, nightlife-filled Playa del Carmen. There, options include both funky, inexpensive little inns and pricier hipster hotels (there's also Puerto Morelos, a smaller, more laid-back town closer to Cancún).
The beaches along this coast aren't its main draw -- if you want to get wet, it'll most likely be in a pool -- but there's a full panoply of fun activities, including famous eco-parks such as Aktun Chen, Tres Ríos, and the glitzier Xel-Ha and Xcaret (where you can snorkel among many other things).
The giant inland area -- the Yucatán Peninsula -- is more important than that strip of beach. What makes it special are its many ancient, awesome ruins of the sophisticated Maya civilization -- the observatory, ballplaying court and stepped pyramids of Chichén Itzá are the most famous, but there are numerous other ruins both on the coast and inland (Uxmal, Palenque, Cobá, Ek Balam, and Tulum, with its spectacular seaside setting. You can overnight at lodgings near most of them, but they're also doable in day trips from the Maya Riviera, Cancún, and the Spanish-colonial-flavored capital of the Yucatan, Mérida.
Another very atmospheric lodging option is the network of inns occupying restored haciendas (colonial-era estates) in the interior, such as Xcanatún, Yaxcopoil, and Ketanchel.
Packagers covering the Yucatan include Pleasant Holidays (tel. 800/742-9244; www.pleasantholidays.com) and Trek America (tel. 800/873-5872; www.trekamerica.com),but you can also fly there yourself via Cancún (with the most direct flights from the U.S. and Canada, on many carriers) or Mérida (via Mexico City); there's regular bus service throughout the peninsula and driving is fairly easy.
Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: cancun, mexico, yucatan
Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
