In the spirit of the Mayans am going to sacrifice my up-coming 2 week time in late March in Jam to go somewhere i've never been that presented a good opportunity (ie good deals)..

I've never been to the Yucantan Penisula(and have zero interest in cancun) but Tulum is 2 hrs south and seems like a great place to discover-same Caribbean sea-lots of cool little hotels that go towards being "green" with solar and lim.electrical use at night (like 7-10pm) after that is all about candles and flashlights,lanterns..Seems to be lots of ex-pats there as well. and of course the multitude of Mayan ruins and Cenotes to explore..

Whats really cool is am going to take an excursion to Chichen Itza for the spring equinox(mar 21)..It was a huge deal to the Mayans and still a huge deal for us modern people(ie people come to witness the serpent down the stairs at equinox,from allover the world)
I;m sure it will be a zoo there-but according to the Mayan calendar its the last time I may witness it (LOL-so hoping their wrong)..I plan on visiting the many other ruins also ...

So here's a couple questions I'd like to throw out there:

1. Does anyone else have this quagmire: Their love and want to keep going back to Jam.VS. their wanderlust to see other parts of this world(I only have lim. time and funds (ie usually shoestring) but also "aint getting any younger" and want to see and exp. other cultures before my health fails and/or have not the funds...???

2. Has anyone else been to this area and what were your experiences???

Hope you all have a very Blessed 2012....

I love Mexico and in the past 10 years have been there more times than I have been to Jamaica by land, air, and sea. It's really a more relaxing vacation for me plus they think it's cool that I 'know' Bob Marley:-) We stayed in Playa del Carmen but visited the ruins in Tulum, climbed the one in Coba, and spend the day in Chichen Itza....wow! I love the history, the food, and the top shelf liquor at the cheap resorts:-)

My goal and desire is to see the world, not only a country. However one of the countries I fancy seeing most is the good old USA (Hawaii in 6 weeks). What amazes me about Jamaica is most of what I travel to see in the rest of the world is right there. I often feel the further I travel away from Jamaica is the closer it takes me back.

IMOP, if you keep going back to the same place, without experiencing others, it can easily close your eyes to the reality of the place, which includes the beauty. I have noticed this with some of the Negril addicts and Sandals/Couples fanatics.

Thanks all for sharing...Yes, am definitely going to do Coba-and El Kamal(?sp)I dont like big tourist places.
But I have to go to Chichen Itza-one of those once in lifetime things..
I grew up in the Latino culture(though am still a "gringo" LOL) so am comfortable
around the culture(language etc), and I love the food-and have traveled to many places in Mexcio(Baja and western area only) but never the Yucatan-I'd rent a car if I wasn;t traveling alone..

Thanks for the awesome pics Macy....I agree with your post..and girl "you get around" (LOL... all the places you've gone and will go to in the future) I'm envious your doing Hawaii-another place I must exp.in the future..

JJ-your too funny-

We were in that area last year, and I am sure we'll take the ferry to the mainland from Isla Mujeres and hop a bus again this year to the Tulum area . It's just too lovely...We became very comfortable with the busses (just like a US bus), so explored quite a bit. Except for downtown old Cancun, that whole area is spotless; the locals or tourism agency makes sure it's pleasant/safe for visitors. There are sidewalks, and street lights, and places as over the top or under the wire as you might desire. I like it there - lots.

This year airfare is waaaay to high for me to consider JA. That, and the prices for everything on that island have gone up without the quality changing as a result. I love Jamaica, but she is starting to become neglected, and by the time all of the family owned inns are overtaken by huge conglomerates, I wouldn't be able to afford going there, so I finally feel this is the time for me to see more of the world, and yes, the US, too, which has some beautiful places to explore. Not a bit of guilt. I have been blessed to go there and make some lovely friends, I have paid EASILY well over $60,000 to their economy over my many visits, but where is it going? The roads are still crap, they wouldn't know a sidewalk from a racetrack, and sadly, even when I buy a trinket, a necklace, a drink from a bar (tipping, of course), or bring shoes for kids, it's been years since I heard a thank you. My one desire when I go back is to stay at Cher's place Jamaica Jewel in Duncans Bay. There, I think I would find again the place I originally fell in love with.

And one of the deal breakers was that Virgin Airways(exc.airline)has non-stops flights from LAX-and $175.less than airfare to Jam at the same time..

Tulum's beach is much nicer than Negril's beach and there are no higglers.
I love Jamaica's vibe but it's time to explore and maybe learn a second language.
We were in Brazil in May and loved it. South America and Latin America are where I want to explore more.

We had a great time on the Mayan Riviera. Stayed at the Grand Palladium south of Playa Del Carmen but the time we spent off the resort is what made the vacation. Its very easy to travel along the coast in either the collectivos or buses, both are dirt cheap. As was mentioned, there are spectacular beaches near Tulum. If you enjoy snorkeling I would recommend Xel-Ha. It is a huge lagoon where you can be in the water all day and see large numbers of big fish. There were parrot fish probably 3 ft long, had no idea they got that large.

I agree with others - I love Jamaica and look forward to returning, next trip will be east of Mobay though, need to check out the Port Antonio and Boston Beach area. But I want to see other places too, the world is too big to limit trips to the same place all the time. Was in Cuba in November, very nice. Friendly people, zero hassles and not a jet ski to be seen. Just booked a flight to Puerto Rico this morning, flying out on Feb 24th. My passion is fishing and it would appear there is tarpon fishing second to none just off the coast of San Juan. Was going to go to the Florida Keys but the flights were almost the same cost, car rentals are about 1/3rd the cost and fishing charters 1/2 the price of the guys in Florida.

Yes, on #1; Don & I are actually planning a two-week snorkeling trip to Belize to celebrate my having reached the end of my cancer treatments & surgeries. Also yes on #2; I've been to both ruins, although it's been a looooong time, I loved seeing both & found them very inspiring. If you go along the coast south of Cancun, you will find many great places to stay! Enjoy!

Tequila, eh, DN? hmmm, wonder what we can do about that ?

Nova Scotia isn't too bad either !!!