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Mexico Experts

Concierge has the info for sure....

CXR,
You need to contact the concierge at GM Riviera Maya to get this info. They should have their schedules in place by now. They will certainly give you all the details and offer to make reservations for you if any are required. Not having been there for the 4th I am not an expert, but for the other holidays everyhting is done in grand style.
 
When you say the Grand Mayan one bedroom, I hope you mean the suite that includes the kitchen and living room(??). The one bedroom suite has the dipping pool on the deck, always refreshing. If it's the lockout only, it will be tight, and the deck is smaller, but a lot more useable than that of the MP.

Since you are guests of the GM, you can use the Sanctuary which is very cool, day and night, and their artificial beach area. The real beach is not swimmable but I love the palapas on the beach, good breezes even in the summer.

Never went for the July 4th weekend, but if you want a full day of activities to include: swimming, snorkeling (bring your own or not), Mayan ruins, underground river, beach, manatees, turtles, dolphins, etc and a knock your socks off night time show...go to Xcaret for a great day. To me, it's the Mexican version of Disney. It's not far from Playa del Carmen.
Ron
 
rpennisi said:
. . . if you want a full day of activities to include: swimming, snorkeling (bring your own or not), Mayan ruins, underground river, beach, manatees, turtles, dolphins, etc and a knock your socks off night time show...go to Xcaret for a great day. To me, it's the Mexican version of Disney. It's not far from Playa del Carmen.
Ron
Click to expand...

I'll second that, it's a wonderful place. And unlike Disney which is pretty much all entertainment and mostly fake, XCaret is also educational and mostly real. :clap::clap:
 
rpennisi said:
When you say the Grand Mayan one bedroom, I hope you mean the suite that includes the kitchen and living room(??). The one bedroom suite has the dipping pool on the deck, always refreshing. If it's the lockout only, it will be tight, and the deck is smaller, but a lot more useable than that of the MP.

Since you are guests of the GM, you can use the Sanctuary which is very cool, day and night, and their artificial beach area. The real beach is not swimmable but I love the palapas on the beach, good breezes even in the summer.

Never went for the July 4th weekend, but if you want a full day of activities to include: swimming, snorkeling (bring your own or not), Mayan ruins, underground river, beach, manatees, turtles, dolphins, etc and a knock your socks off night time show...go to Xcaret for a great day. To me, it's the Mexican version of Disney. It's not far from Playa del Carmen.
Ron
Click to expand...

Thanks...

how do i know the difference? the exchange says 1 bedroom sleeps 5.
wouldnt the lock out be the hotel unit?

planning on xcaret definately.
what about shopping. can we get a nice watch there or just buy here.
 
In Cancun you can go to the Luxury Avenue at the Kulkukan Plaza. There is a Cartier and Ultrajewels. Ultrajewels carries Rolex and other name brands. Know your prices before you go. We have bought many watches--Rolex and Tag in Aruba but none in Mexico.
 
cxr said:
couple more questions...


should we bring our daughters life vest with us for snorkeling? or are they readily available.
masks and snorkel , I was just looking at them at CVS should I buy them and take them with us? wait until we get there and buy from walmart? or just rent them at the various places we end up snorkeling?
and what about the biodegrabale sunscreen. do we pick that up at walmart? or is it a specialty item?

also from reading looks like Tulum and Akumal are hald day trips each, how can i get from one to the other without a rental car. collectivo, taxi?


are there better times of the week to head to Tulum, Isla Mujeres, pirate ship, Xcaret or Xplor?
Click to expand...

If you buy a snorkel at CVS or Walmart, I can just about guarantee it will leak.
They are cute but do not work. Ditto for goggles. You can get goggles at a sporting goods store. Check with your resort about rentals or go to a scuba store and get fitted if you want to buy a snorkel mask.
 
momeason said:
If you buy a snorkel at CVS or Walmart, I can just about guarantee it will leak.
They are cute but do not work. Ditto for goggles. You can get goggles at a sporting goods store. Check with your resort about rentals or go to a scuba store and get fitted if you want to buy a snorkel mask.
Click to expand...
Ditto.

And getting leaky goggles is a good way to sour the kids on ever wanting to snorkel again.

I recommend renting a from snorkeling a company. Almost all snorkeling tours will have decent gear for use by customers. If you want to do some snorkeling on your own, find a local shop that rents decent gear.
 
cxr said:
Thanks...

how do i know the difference? the exchange says 1 bedroom sleeps 5.
wouldnt the lock out be the hotel unit?
Click to expand...

If the confirmation says you have a kitchen, your are in the 1BR, which is what you want.
 
For both goggles and masks, ensure that you and the kids are properly fitted. The store or facility should put the device over your eyes/face and give it a bit of a push. If properly fitted, it will form a vacuum that you can feel. If not, it will leak.

There are some relatively inexpensive brands that do a good job; I can't remember the name, but the one I'm thinking of is a larger set of goggles than usual, and there's a little triangle mark just above the nose. Push on the triangle, and you should feel the suction form.
 
pjrose said:
For both goggles and masks, ensure that you and the kids are properly fitted. The store or facility should put the device over your eyes/face and give it a bit of a push. If properly fitted, it will form a vacuum that you can feel. If not, it will leak.

There are some relatively inexpensive brands that do a good job; I can't remember the name, but the one I'm thinking of is a larger set of goggles than usual, and there's a little triangle mark just above the nose. Push on the triangle, and you should feel the suction form.
Click to expand...

A quick test for seal. With the goggle in place, cover the tube and your mouth and try to inhale through your nose. If the goggle fits you should feel a bit of panic due to your total inability to bring in air. If there is even the slightest amount of air coming in, you don't have a good fit.

A better test is an odor test using banana oil, but that's not usually available. If you find a shop that checks seal using banana oil before renting the gear, that's definitely a good sign.
 
cxr said:
Thanks...

how do i know the difference? the exchange says 1 bedroom sleeps 5.
wouldnt the lock out be the hotel unit?

planning on xcaret definately.
what about shopping. can we get a nice watch there or just buy here.
Click to expand...

If it says, sleeps 5/4 where the four is the number for sleeps private, then you have the kitchen/living room and a separate bedroom.
Ron
 
rpennisi said:
If it says, sleeps 5/4 where the four is the number for sleeps private, then you have the kitchen/living room and a separate bedroom.
Ron
Click to expand...

Four are sleeping privately in the separate bedroom?
 
pjrose said:
Four are sleeping privately in the separate bedroom?
Click to expand...

pjrose- the bedroom will have a king bed and there are 2 sofas that are quite comfy (twin beds with bolster pillows for backs) - both of these have pull-out trundles.
 
Yes, private means a couple in one room and a couple in the other room....I didn't mean to insinuate a private orgy of 4...:)

I think the one bedroom suite usually lists as 6/4, where as Phyllis mentions, 2 can use the bedroom and 4 (not private right?) could sleep in the living area on the sofas and pullouts.

Ron
 
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