# Mayan Palace - Riviera Maya - What To Do?



## zzzScuba (Jun 22, 2005)

Going with Family to Mayan Palace - Riviera Maya, next week.
Looking for recommendations of things to do/places to see (other than scuba diving).
Tours and Tour Operators?
Rental Car, or Not?
Restaurants?
Which building to try to get?
Anything else you can think of.

All input greatly appreciated!


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## lostweekend (Jun 22, 2005)

Enjoy the pool and the ocean view.

Playa del Carmen is a neat town that has it all.  Beach, food, charm, and shopping.

We really enjoyed the all day tour to Chichen Itza but it can be very hot and too long for young children.  I'm not sure which tour co. we used but IMO it all depends on the tour GUIDE.  We had an awesome guide that made the trip very fun.  It's a long bus ride.

The rooms/buildings are pretty similar but they are built in a row away from the pool and restaurants so there is a pretty good walk for some buildings.

We're pretty easy going so some of the things that bother other people (long walks, bugs, heat, etc) don't bug us.  It's vacation.

What was the question?


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## bigfrank (Jun 23, 2005)

When I am at the MP, I don't care about going elsewhere. The pool in Rivera Maya is one of there Newest and largest. Tip:Get to the pool at 6 am so you can get a canopy bed.

Be sure to eat at there restaurant over looking the lit up pool at night. 

I did have a problem with ommunicating. Most of the workers did not speak english.
If you drive or take a taxi into Cancun, 2 restaurants that we enjoyed where Carlos and Charlies and Faros. C'&C is alot of fun, Be prepaired to get a hair cut there  , Faros had great food, make reservations for 7pm for a window seat, So you can see the show at the Mambo Tango.

In all honesty if I where to go back again, I would not care to go any where else but the MP. Just leave me there in the water at pool bar in the morning and carry me away at night.


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## DorotaG (Jun 23, 2005)

We had great time at GM, we had 1 bdrm and plenty room for 4 of us.We rented a car from National (reserved it ahead of time on the Internet), with taxes and some additional insurance it cost us $288.xx. for a week.  We went grocery shopping at Playa del Carmen, right on the main route on the left hand side when you coming from Riviera Maya, large supermarket. Fridge is not full size but it was enough for our needs. We had all breakfasts in the room, some lunches but went out for dinners most of the time. Food in the resort is good and not extremely expensive, but it is much cheaper in Playa. Take advantage of Happy Hour, LOL!!! 
One thing I missed was a washer/dryer in the unit. There is one on each floor, but they lock it for the night and by the time I figured out I need special tokens that are being sold on different floor, we were almost out of clothes! 
There is a show (free) every night at the resort, they were nice, you can just order a drink and enjoy. Thursday was the only night you had to purchase dinner during the show. 
My kids LOVED Mayan! We went to Playa del Carmen (just to walk around, do some shopping, eat), to Cancun (to visit friends who were vacationing in Royals), and Xel-Ha, Xcaret and Loma Bonita ranch. 
Loma Bonita is about 3 minutes drive from the resort, they have horse riding and ATV's. My husband with 4 year old son went riding through the jungle on he ATV while myself with my 11 year old daughter went horse riding. We all had so much fun! They let you ride a horse in the water, bareback. My daughter loved it and so did I. Boys had a lot of fun, too.
Xel-Ha was wonderful. I purchased all-inclusive tickets (about $56 per adult and 1/2 price for 11 year old, 4 year old free). For about $30 difference (adult ticket) you get all meals you can eat, snorkeling equipment rental, towels, locker, drinks. We all snorkelled there for the first time in our lives and all loved it. You can also do swim with dolphin there but we were planning to do it later at Puerto Aventures (sp)...
Xcaret was also great while more expensive - the tickets were about the same price but nothing but entry included. There is much more to see there: snorkel in underground river, take a boat in another river, visit aquarium,  dolphins (again you can swim with them there), monkeys, jaguars, butterflies, deers, bats, parrots, turtle farm, many shows with great big show at closing (shows start after 4 pm with the largest one at 7 pm). There is also a little lagoon where you can snorkel and there is so many fish that my 4 year old was a little intimidated by them. They also have  a little beach where you can just relax. With all this we still liked Xel-Ha more, it was more relaxing and snorkeling was much better (the price was right, too). Xel-Ha is about 45 min - 1 hour drive, Xcaret about 1/2 hour fro the resort. I recommend you purchase tickets on line, they are more expensive to buy there. 
on line: 
Xcaret:
Basic Admission
*Adult US $49.00
*Child US $25.00 (ages 5-12)

Xel-Ha
Basic Addmission
$19 adults, $11.40 age 4-12

www.xelha.com
www.xcaret.com
www.lomabonita.com

We were also going to do dolphin swim in Puerto Aventuras, but we ran out of time. 

http://www.dolphindiscovery.com/activities/encounter.asp

As previously mentioned you can just stay at the resort and relax at the pool (which is wonderful), but our family likes more adventurous kind of vacations. 
Either way you will have a lot of fun!
By the way, we did not have any major problems with communicating, they all try their best and since you are in Mexico, you need to expect to have to deal with people who DO NOT speak English. That reminds me of one (and only) time we had hard time communicating. It was in the grocery store in Playa del Carmen. We could not find milk and everybody kept pointing us at certain direction, but there were no refrigerators there. We passed the milk section several times never realizing they do not refrigerate it. It is packed in boxes and kept outside the fridge. It also tastes a little different and our kids refused to drink it.
Both of our children want to go back every year and are begging us to buy a timeshare there (after I explained to them that we could exchange only 1 in 4 years)....


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## debraxh (Jun 23, 2005)

Great information, DorotaG, thanks for posting.  Looking forward to our visit next spring.

zzz: have you read Claire's review?  Tons of information there, too.


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## zzzScuba (Jun 23, 2005)

Great Information !!!

Thank You !


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## zzzScuba (Jun 23, 2005)

Absolutely -

Reading and absorbing.
Looks like we're gonna have fun!


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## NJmom (Jun 23, 2005)

bigfrank said:
			
		

> When I am at the MP, I don't care about going elsewhere. The pool in Rivera Maya is one of there Newest and largest. Tip:Get to the pool at 6 am so you can get a canopy bed.



We  stayed at the GM president's week this year.  I sent my husband down to the pool @ 6:00 AM and all of the  Palapa beds were taken.  He was lucky  to get us an umbrella. We spoke to the family in the palapa bed next to us and found out they had gotten theirs at 4:15AM.  I went down to the pool @ 4:00 the next day with my blanket and was able to get a palapa bed in a prime spot.   Later in the week more people were catching on and when I arrived @ 4:00 AM  many were already taken.  

As crazy as this sounds I really enjoyed doing this. It was really nice to nap on the bed and watch the sun come up.  My DH brought coffee down about 6:00AM  and we spent most of the day by the pool.  (the kids and my MIL came down after 10:00AM)

Some people tried leaving their thing on the beds either the night before or really early, and returned to their room.  This backfired on them as security came around and picked up the unattended items.  The pool boys come around and put sheets out @ about 5:30AM 

Have Fun!


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## Sandy (Jun 24, 2005)

Wow, 

I thought the the previous post about 6 am was a bit much.  I can't imagine getting up that early, but maybe I will change my mind when I get there next March.  

Do people keep these all day, or is there a chance that they will be tired of the sun, or have something else to do at 2 pm or so? Or at any time, so that I can grab an empty one?  

Thanks for the info.


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## bigfrank (Jun 24, 2005)

Sandy said:
			
		

> Wow,
> 
> I thought the the previous post about 6 am was a bit much.  I can't imagine getting up that early, but maybe I will change my mind when I get there next March.
> 
> ...



If you do get one in the afternoon it will have someone else's pillow and sheets. They come around early in the morning to make the beds.
 It took me 4 days to get one. It realy was not that bad getting there early. I put some towels on the bed and snored away untill my family came down.


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## zzzScuba (Jun 25, 2005)

I just can't see myself getting up at 4:00 a.m. for a "bed" by the pool.


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## california-bighorn (Jun 25, 2005)

zzzzzscuba, I'm with you. I just can't see me in a bed by the pool under ANY circumstance. Too much to do and see and not enough time. When we were there in February, we did see all the people in bed by the pool so it does have appeal to many.


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## zzzScuba (Jun 27, 2005)

*5 Days and Counting ....*

5 Days and Counting ....

Any other ideas greatly appreciated!


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## bigfrank (Oct 19, 2005)

zzzScuba said:
			
		

> 5 Days and Counting ....
> 
> Any other ideas greatly appreciated!



So how did it go, Did you get a bed by the pool. Did you like the resort.


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## Strong1 (Oct 19, 2005)

*Some helpful websites*

Here is the site for Brant's entertainment card.  They offer discounts on many excursions/activities.  You can also arrange transportation from the airport to your condo through them:  http://www.entertainment-plus.net/english.cfm

Cancun Valet also offers transportation and excursions: http://www.cancunvalet.com/  they also deliver groceries to your condo if you want.

Here is the website for Playa del Carmen - lots of good info here: http://www.playa.info/

Hope this is helpful - we are going to Cancun in December - it's one of our favourite areas!

Colleen


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## Sandy (Oct 19, 2005)

*Hurricane Wilma?*

Wow, I am watching Wilma plow into the area, and concerned about my upcoming trip in March. 

I was blown out of a previous trip to grand cayman, and this was an alternative!


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## shagnut (Oct 21, 2005)

What is with it with a bed / in the shade? What happened to tan fat looks better than white fat? No palapas for me!!  shaggy


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## reddiablosv (Oct 22, 2005)

Sandy said:
			
		

> Wow, I am watching Wilma plow into the area, and concerned about my upcoming trip in March.
> 
> I was blown out of a previous trip to grand cayman, and this was an alternative!



Sandy,  I think I would start looking for alternate plans right now.  Cancun is going to be shut down for the indefinite future(ie. 8 months-1year) IMHO. Ben


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## John Cummings (Oct 22, 2005)

Strong1 said:
			
		

> Here is the site for Brant's entertainment card.  They offer discounts on many excursions/activities.  You can also arrange transportation from the airport to your condo through them:  http://www.entertainment-plus.net/english.cfm
> 
> Cancun Valet also offers transportation and excursions: http://www.cancunvalet.com/  they also deliver groceries to your condo if you want.
> 
> ...



Brant's doesn't do you much good in Riviera Maya. It is more for the Cancun area. I e-mailed him before we went last month. He sent me back an e-mail that essentially said that he really only covers the Cancun area. He could provide transportation from the airport to the Mayan Palace but it was 50% higher than arranging it directly through the Mayan Palace concierge. I highly recommend doing it directly with the MP concierge and it will be billed directly to your room so you don't need any cash. Brant said they do not have any discounted tours in the Riviera Maya.

We stayed in the Grand Mayan building 7 which is the closest building to the pools, restaurants, store, etc.

We booked tours for Xcaret and Chichen Itza through the on-site travel agent. Xcaret is totally awesome. Chichen Itza was very interesting but not in the same league as Xcaret. Both tours included a great buffet lunch.


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## John Cummings (Oct 22, 2005)

Sandy said:
			
		

> Wow, I am watching Wilma plow into the area, and concerned about my upcoming trip in March.
> 
> I was blown out of a previous trip to grand cayman, and this was an alternative!



Sandy,

I would e-mail the resort and find out how much damage, if any has been done. March is 5 months away which should be ample time to fix anything. There shouldn't be any structural damage as the Mayan Palace was built to withstand hurricanes. The big damage will be the erosion of the beaches.


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