May 6, 2004 -- It's an excellent idea to visit Mexico while it's in the fullness of spring, before it gets too darned hot, before the rainy season is in full force and especially before the risk of hurricanes along the Yucatan and southern Pacific coast is at its height. (For more details on Mexico's seasons, visit our "When to Go" coverage in our Destinations section of the site.) With that in mind, here's a fiesta of vacation savings south of the border through May and into June.
FunJet (www.funjet.com) as a "Funjet Vacations Loves Kids Sale" that allows children 12 and under to fly, stay, and eat starting from just $99.99 on trips to Cancun, Cozumel or Puerto Vallarta. The offers run through June 30, but actual travel dates vary per property, some ending as early as May 29. You must book by May 14 to get these prices for packages, which include roundtrip airfare, seven nights in a hotel at an all-inclusive resort (all meals, snacks, beverages and more), roundtrip airport/hotel transfers, and 24-hour assistance. A maximum of two kids per family can qualify for this rate.
Vacations to Cozumel from Chicago start at $649.99 for adults and $99.99 for children, staying at the Allegro Cozumel by Occidental. There's a kids club with programs for children and a playground area.
Trips to Puerto Vallarta from St. Louis start at $699.99 for adults and $149.99 for kids, staying at the Grand & Club Marival Nuevo Vallarta. Daily kids club for ages 4 to 12 years.
From Detroit Metro, vacations to Cancun start at $729.99 for adults and $99.99 for children, staying at the Caribe Real. They have a Kids Club, too, ages 4 to 12.
Taxes and security fees average around an additional $100 per person regardless of age.
Pleasant Holidays (800/448-3333; www.pleasantholidays.com) has a deal for you at the deluxe El Dorado Royale, on the Mayan Riviera just south of Cancun. Located on the mile-long Punta Brava Beach, this place offers a special rate to guests from now through December 22. The firm has four-night, land-only deals starting from $449 per person, based on double occupancy. It's an all-inclusive resort, so your price includes roundtrip airport transfers, lodging, all meals, drinks and activities, all hotel taxes and surcharges, and assistance on site from the PH customer service rep.
Six-night, air-inclusive holidays to Cancun from Los Angeles, for example, start at $1,146 per person. The El Dorado has a huge range of activities and amenities, including welcome champagne, bicycle use, water sports, scuba clinics, tennis, fitness center, and much more.
The firm also has deals to the Hyatt Regency Cancun and the Riu Palace Las Americas in Cancun.
Club Med (www.clubmed.com) is popular for its Mexican resorts and for its wide range of deals that are ever-changing. They have a "Family Beach Escape" program at their Ixtapa property from now through August 28, for departures out of New York or Los Angeles only, that runs $990 per person for seven nights, all-inclusive. You pick the week you want and they arrange your vacation at one of the following villages with Children's Clubs: Ixtapa or Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.
The company has brought back its "Wild Card Special" that lets you pick the week and they pick the destination for a weeklong vacation. The price is again $990 per person, and you will end up in one of these places -- Cancun, Paradise Island (Bahamas), Turkoise (Turks & Caicos) or Columbus Isle (Bahamas). This is only for people aged 18 and up, and the dates are from now through October 25. It's available for departures out of New York, Los Angeles or Miami only.
Club Med also has a two week vacation promotion, with or without airfare, to any village in the US, Bahamas, Caribbean or Mexico, in which you get 20% off the price of the second week.