If you are looking for cheap holidays that are full of sun and fun, look no further than Playacar.

Playacar

Playacar is a purpose-built, gated hotel zone to the south of Playa del Carmen on the Riviera Maya, about an hours drive from Cancun.

In Playacar you will find first-class hotels, a beach, watersports, swimming pools, restaurants, shops, small archaeological sites, the Xaman-Ha Aviary, an 18 hole golf course and driving range, tennis courts and much much more.

Playacar Golf

The sandy beaches of Playacar slope gently to the sea. The Great Maya Reef is a chain of shallow reefs and coral gardens which are perfect for snorkelling and diving.

CLIMATE

Playacar enjoys a tropical climate with two distinct seasons, wet and dry.
The dry season runs from November to April, with very little rainfall. During January and February the average temperature is 23C and rarly falls below 20C. From March the temperature starts to rise, reaching 27C – 30C in May. June and July are the hottest months with temperatures in the mid 30′s.
Most of the rain falls in the wet season between May and October.

Great Maya Reef

Set on a quiet peninsula on the Caribbean Coast, Playa Mujeres is Mexico’s newest luxury resort. This  quiet resort is situated 25 minutes from Cancun hotel zone and 10 minutes from Cancun downtown.

Playa Mujeres

On one side of the resort there is the Chacmochuc Lagoon, a national wildlife preserve offering striking scenery and lots of peace and quiet. On the other side is the Caribbean Sea, with the Isla Mujeres just a few kilometres west off-shore.

Chichen Itza

The area surrounding Playa Mujeres includes many of Mexico’s top tourist destinations such as the extensive ruins at Chichen Itza, including The Temple of the Warriors and El Castillo, the famous Mayan pyramid that has become a national symbol of Mexico.

About an hours drive south of Playa Mujeres is the tranquil Riviera Maya.

CLIMATE
With an average annual temperature of 26C, more than 200 sunny days a year, and less rainfall than either the Virgin Islands or the Bahamas, Playa Mujeres is the ideal resort destination.

Isla Mujeres

Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures for Playa Mujeres:
January-March, 20-30C
April-June, 22-32C
July-September, 24-33C
October-December, 20-31C.

Direct holidays to Playa Mujeres are always available throughout the internet.

The new resort of Huatulco (wah-tool-co) is situated about 270 miles southeast of Acapulco on Mexico’s pacific coastline. Huatulco is a new resort area and is set to become one of Mexico’s key beach attractions. Scattered across 20 miles of ideal Pacific coastline in the state of Oaxaca, the resorts are set in nine bays. The principal bays are Bahia de Santa Cruz, Bahia Chahue, and Bahia Tangolunda.

Huatulco

The resort has golf courses, horse stables, tennis courts, marinas, trendy restaurants and much, much more. Near the city centre there is an ecological park, Rufino Tamayo.

Close to Huatulco there are two other resort towns, Puerto Angel and Puerto Escondido. These quiet towns have lovely beaches and are well known in the world of surfing, Puerto Escondido hosts a major international surfing competition every year.

CLIMATE

Huatulco is hot and humid all year-round. The rainy season is from May to October, raining mainly in the late afternoon, leaving the evenings dry and cooler. September has the heaviest rain and the highest level of humidity.

Oaxaca Platter

CUISINE

Huatulco’s cuisine is the cuisine of Oaxaca, which tends to be exotic and very tasty. Popular dishes are mole, jerk beef enchiladas served with chilaquiles, wild boar and seafood.

THINGS TO DO AND SEE

Bay Tours
Huatulco’s Bay is ecologically unique with fascinating flora and fauna. Trees found here include tepguaje, cazarate, poppy, figus mecianos, colorin, mango, gallery woods and mangrove swamps. The local fauna includes, country rats, mice, tlacoaches, armadillos, rabbits, squirrels and white-tail deer

Eco-Tours
Ecological tours come in various forms, including bike tours, horseback tours and guided river-rafting tours.

Water Sports
Huatulco offers a wide variety of water sports, including jet-skiing, water-skiing, wind-surfing, parasailing and kayaking. 

Fishing
The waters off Huatulco are swarming with game fish.

Huatulco's bays

Scuba Diving
Huatulco’s nine bays have fantastic diving and snorkelling sites.  In Santa Cruz and San Agustin Bays there are several wrecks you can dive on, as well as reefs with an abundance of fish and eels. 

Jungle Tours
Take a guided tour of the area surrounding Huatulco which is covered by thousands of square miles of tropical rain forest.

FURTHER AFIELD

The Aromatic Region
About 45kms from Huatulco is an area known as the Aromatic Region.  This is where Mexico’s ‘pluma’ coffee is produced. Legend has it that the first plants were brought in by an English pirate. The area was later developed by German immigrants who abandoned their farms during the Second World War.  After the Germans left, the farms were taken over by locals and developed into the small villages that you see today.

Puerto Angel

There are several interesting towns near Huatulco, the most popular being the beach towns Puerto Angel and Puerto Escondido.
Puerto Escondido is about 50 miles up the coast, with quiet beaches which offer some of the best surfing in the world.
Puerto Angel also has excellent beaches and waves, as well as a University for Marine Biology.

For those extra special summer holidays to Mexico there are always great offers throughout the internet.

The beach resort of Puerto Vallarta is the 5th largest city in Jalisco, Mexico, and is located along the shores of the Pacific Ocean’s Bahia de Banderas. It is bordered on the north by the fertile plantations of Valle de Banderas and to the southeast lie the Sierra Madre mountains.

Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta has about 25 miles of shoreline and a vast array of natural wonders, such as hills, forests, waterfalls and rivers.

The waters around Puerto Vallarta are visited by whales, dolphins and sea turtles. Playa Misamaloya, one of the beaches in Puerto Vallarta, is a hotspot for celebrities. Puerto Vallarta is very popular among couples and provides the perfect setting for weddings and honeymoons and those looking for last minute holidays.

There are lots of activities you can do in Puerto Vallarta. Watersports, including scuba-diving, snorkeling, fishing and extreme watersports, are very popular here. Puerto Vallarta is also popular with golf enthusiasts. Canopy tours, horseback riding tours and art tours are also widely available. Sculptures line the streets of the famous boardwalk (the Malecón). Painters also sell their artworks to visitors on the streets.

The Malecón

THE MALECON
The Malecón, the city’s boardwalk, is one of the most popular areas in Puerto Vallarta. The Malecón is a mile-long walkway by the beach in downtown Puerto Vallarta.
The Malecón is a popular spot for photographers and art connoisseurs. There are many landmarks and sculptures along the boardwalk, including the popular huge bronze seahorse. This is a replica of the original sculpture which fell into the water during a strong hurricane in 2002. Other prominent landmarks include the sculpture of the tall ladder and the Friendship Fountain. The stone arches of the Los Arcos

Friendship Fountain

Amphitheater are also found in the area.
Along the Malecón you will find shops and restaurants which offer fantastic views of the sunset over Banderas Bay. From the Malecón, you can also see Punta La Iglesia on the south and Punta Mita on the north. At the northern end of Malecón fishermen set up an open market each morning.
The Malecón offers a great beachfront nightlife and also hosts music and dancing events on the weekends. A bridge passing over the Cuale River allows visitors to reach Puerto Vallarta’s South Side, by Los Muertos Beach, where there are more restaurants, shops and bars.

BEACHES
Puerto Vallarta has over 25 miles of golden shoreline and more than forty different beaches. The beaches vary from isolated, hidden and secluded to the developed, urbanized and crowded.
The city beaches are usually bustling with visitors and are full of restaurants, hotels, sunbathing spots, and al fresco café’s. The beaches to the north are less crowded and are recommended for surfing activities The beaches to the south are also less crowded and are good for swimming and snorkelling.

Playa de Los Muertos

The busiest and most popular of Puerto Vallarta’s beaches is Playa de Los Muertos. Located near the downtown area, it offers many cafes and restaurants, a variety of watersports and activities.

WATER ACTIVITIES
The beaches of Puerto Vallarta are ideal for various activities both above and below the cool waters of Bahia de Banderas.
The excellent visibility in the area, together with the perfect temperatures, attracts divers from all over the world who come to see the wide range of tropical fish, manta rays and sea turtles, along with spectacular underwater cliffs and canyons and colourful corals. Popular snorkeling and dive spots in

Los Arcos

Puerto Vallarta include Los Arcos, Punta Mita and the Marietas Islands. More advanced divers can try more difficult dives at various areas in the Pacific Ocean, and can also try night diving.
Other watersports are also popular, especially in Playa de Los Muertos, including jet-skiing and banana boat rides. The northern shores are particularly popular with surfers. Surfing lessons are on offer in various areas, such as in Nayarit, Playa Cuatas and Playa Rosa. For the more adventurous types there is parasailing or bungee jumping over the Pacific Ocean.
There is a fully-equipped marina in the area, with boating, sailing and kayaking on offer.

Bay of Banderas

Several international fishing competitions are held annually in the city. A wide range of fish species abound in the Bay of Banderas, including swordfish, tuna and bass.
The dolphin research facility in the area allows close interaction with the dolphins which can be found in this area and seasonal whale-watching is also prevalent during the months of November to March.

GOLF
Puerto Vallarta is rapidly becoming one of the world’s top golfing destinations, with a selection of golf courses, set against the unparalleled background of lush tropical forest and the magnificent Pacific Ocean. 
These Puerto Vallarta golf courses include, the Marina Vallarta Golf Club, the Los Flamingos Golf Club, the Four Seasons Golf Club, the Mayan Place Golf Club, El Tigre Golf Club and the Vista Vallarta Golf Club.
The Marina Vallarta Golf Club is located at Paseo de la Marina and is part of the Marina Vallarta mega-resort. It has an 18-hole, par-71 championship golf course featuring lush tropical vegetation and natural lakes and lagoons.
The Flamingos Golf Club in Nuevo Vallarta is an older, traditional-style golf course. The 18-hole, par-72 golf course is considered to be one of the area’s easier courses.

Four Seasons golf course

The Four Seasons Golf Club is located in Punta Mita in Banderas Bay. The 19-hole, par-72 golf course of the club was designed by the famous Jack Nicklaus and is widely thought to be one of the most challenging golf courses around.
The Mayan Palace Country Club and the El Tigre Golf Club can also be found in Nuevo Vallarta. The Mayan Palace golf course is an 18-hole, par-71 course designed and the El Tigre golf course is an 18-hole, par-72 course. 
The Vista Vallarta Golf Club in Circuito de Universidad boasts boasts two golf courses in one. The first golf course is an 18-hole, par-72 course designed by Jack Nicklaus, while the second is an 18-hole, par-72 course designed by Tom Weiskopf.

MUSEUMS
The most popular museum in town is Casa Kimberley, or the Burton-Taylor Museum. Located in the downtown area of Puerto Vallarta, it was originally the house of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. While shooting the movie

Casa Kimberley

The Night of the Iguana, Burton and Taylor bought this house on top of the hill. Today the house has been transformed into a bed-and-breakfast and museum filled with the couple’s memorabilia.
The Manuel Lepe Museum has a vast collection of celebrated artist Manuel Lepe works. It also features original local artwork that includes ceramics, paper mache, jewelry, posters and lithographs.
The Huichol Indians are considered to be one of the oldest tribes in Mexico. At the Huichol Museum there is a permanent display of their beadwork, masks, jewellery and tapestries. It also features some of the works of Jose Benitez, a contemporary master of traditional Huichol techniques.
The Museo Ernesto Munoz Acosta also features a variety of works of the Huichol Indians together with the artwork of modern artists such as Sergio Bustamente and Manuel Lepe. It also exhibits the works of up-and-coming artists of the region.
The Naval History Museum in El Centro features a permanent collection of cartography, documents, images, navigation instruments, paintings, scale models and other objects that tell you about the Mexican armada, both past and present. A special section of the museum is devoted solely to the city.
 
WEATHER
Located along the Pacific Ocean’s Bay of Banderas, the city generally enjoys warm, sunny days and cool, comfortable nights.

Winter usually takes place from December to mid-March and is the best time to visit as rain practically non-existent rain, days are comfortably warm and nights are breezy and refreshing.

Spring starts in mid-March and lasts until the middle of June, with moderate temperatures.

Summer begins mid-June and lasts through late September. This signals the beginning of Puerto Vallarta’s rainy season. The season is marked by a notable increase in temperature and humidity levels, as well as the occurrence of regular afternoon rain showers and thunderstorms. Downpours usually last for a couple of hours, after which the humidity level goes down, creating a fresh and airy atmosphere.

Autumn lasts from mid-September to mid-December. Moderate temperatures are experienced during this season, similar to the weather conditions during spring.

Playa del Carmen is located 42 miles south of Cancun on the Caribbean coast on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.

Playa del Carmen

The city spans both sides of the busy Carretera 307, with the main tourism services close to the coastline. Avenida Quinta, a couple of blocks inland from the waterfront, is the heart of the tourist zone. Playacar, which has a golf course and several all-inclusive resorts, is located just south of the ferry pier.

Because of it’s location on the Caribbean Sea, Playa del Carmen is a year-round destination, making it perfect for all year round holidays.

Playa del Carmen has a long, wide town beach, but the more popular beaches are to the north off Calle 30. Several beach clubs with lounge chairs, umbrellas, beach beds and restaurants are located in this area, and water toys are readily available for hire.

Avenida Quinta

The beach really takes second place here, with the real action taking place around Avenida Quinta’s eclectic shops, restaurants and bars. Scuba diving and snorkelling tours to nearby cenotes (freshwater sinkholes), with cool and clear waters, are very popular. Some cenotes are part of larger cave systems with fascinating stalactites and stalagmites.

The Maya temples at Tulum (81 miles south of Cancun) are best viewed in early morning before crowds cram the pathways and the tiny beach beneath El Castillo. Only one-third of the archaeological site of Cobá (30 miles northwest of Tulum) has been uncovered and jungle surrounds several groupings of temples and pyramids.

Xcaret eco park

There is lots for children to do in Playa del Carmen, including a giant eco park at Xcaret (50 miles south of Cancun). Not to be missed is the fascinating nightly folkloric dance show. Nearby cenotes and the fantastic caves at Aktun Chen are also a must see.

You will be spoilt for choice when it comes to dining out in Playa del Carmen, including authentic Yucatecan cuisine, sushi, ceviche, pastas, and Brazilian and Argentinian beef houses. Inexpensive local eateries and taco stands are found in the back streets of Playa del Carmen.