Trip to Cancun

Definitely do a dolphin excursion. I did one in Cancun with Dolphin Discoveries and we took a boat to Isla Mujeres and they had a lunch special included in the price. It was amazing and I think the kids would love it. I didn't do the Maya Ruins, but I heard they were amazing by people who were on the trip with us. We also did an all-inclusive and rarely left the resort there was so much to do there. We also did an Zip-Line Course with Salvateca. That was by far the best part of our trip; however, I don't know if your 4 year old could do it. But if your 10 year old likes adventure and heights, it was great.

Hi Ale-

I went to Cancun in 1999.....We stayed at an all inclusive resort "royal solaris" and it was beautiful!!! If I recall we didn't do too many acitivites off the resort other than the "jungle tour" and that was on the lagoon part of cancun, it was really fun. My boyfriend at the time talked me into doing it and what is, is that you have to drive a boat out to a semi private island and snorkel. They take your picture on the boat for a souvenir which is pretty cool but the overall tour was a great experience. Most of our time was spent at the resort, it has mini golf a game room 3 pools the beach steps away, in the evening we would have dinner in their theatre room where each night was a different theme as well as the food, carribean night, mexican night etc... Have FUN!! I heard from other people that the ruins is a great tour to take.

We just got back last month and have traveled to Cancun/Riveria Maya about 4 times in the last 6 years. Honestly, I have never rented a car. If you do an excursion, they provide transportation and if you want to go shopping the buses are great and cheap. There is a great Flea Market and Mall in Town. And we always book our excursions through the hotel. If you booked with one of the travel co, like Apple, Funjet, etc... They have reps there at the hotel that give you all the info you need. I would decide on what tours you want to do when you get there. Have fun and be careful. Remember it is Mexico and getting outside of the tourist area can be dangerous.

I'm not a Mexico fan, but have made lots of stops there via cruises. However, unless you are comfortable with the language, I would hesitate about renting a car. Also, there is always the issue of child seats to consider when traveling anywhere. I think your best choice would be to arrange excursions through your hotel. That way you can be guaranteed of getting to your destination and most important, safety issues. A lot of all-inclusives are in real third-world areas, and as soon as you leave, you are at the mercy of the locals who may or may not be the most honest folks.

I am 53 and grew up with traveling, very adventursome parents who would rent cars in foreign lands. On more than one occasion I remember them having to hire a taxi for us to follow in our car because they'd get lost and didn't speak the native language. Of course, maybe if you have a GPS with Mexico maps loaded on it, that might help, but I'd still be more comfortable with arranging things through the hotel's concierge. Happy travels!

My GF just came back from Cancun last week with her hubs , 6 and 8 year olds. They went to the Dolphin Encounter and swam with the dolphins. They also went on an excursion where they swam through caves. They went to the ruins, the kids were bored and hot. They booked everything through the hotel and although they were there for 15 days they only rented a car for 3. They said they didn't really need it as they were also in an all inclusive, but weren't sure. They drove locally. She also said she felt incredibly safe wherever they went, police or security presence everywhere a tourist would go, it is their #1 business, tourism. Have fun and bring plenty of sunscreen :)

The bus is a great way to travel and inexpensive.
We loved the Xcaret experience but it lasts all day and the boys are small and may wear out before the evening show
Book excursions with the hotel not your travel agent on site, they always charge you more
Have fun and enjoy
We love Mexico
KC

We went a couple years ago (although we were in an all-inclusive a bit south - in Riveria Maya) and my daughter who as 8 at the time.

I would say it depends on how long you are there. We were there 7 days and I was fine to hang in the pool/ocean the entire time. There is SO much to do just at most of the resorts and/or shopping. I'm a scuba diver and I did dive a couple of the days, though.

However, we took 1 day and went to Xcaret. http://xcaret.com/

She had a B.L.A.S.T. we snorkeled in this amazing river/caves with fish and treasure. The animals are fantastic and we saw a terrific show with great costumes, fire and music!!!!

It's kind of pricey - but definitely worth every penny. However, you have to be careful about what's included. They have SO MUCH that is free, but then they offer packages of stuff that is almost duplicate that you have to pay extra for - so be careful.

We will be going there again with our family next year, and I am considering just staying at their all-inclusive resort that is connected (so your all-inclusive fee includes admission to the park).

I wouldn't suggest the Maya Ruins. It's a TON of walking and it's VERY hot and dusty. My daughter was really interested in the people and the culture and would have been bored-stiff (the performance at Xcaret gave GREAT information about the history and cutlure of the Mayan people and she LOVED that). My mom, bro & sister-in law went one of the days and said most of it is now roped off and you can't even get to the good spots (they had gone previously a few years before).

Most of the all-inclusive places have a 'kid camp' or whatever. find out what is going on each day. I would hate for you to PAY for dolphin encounter and then have them miss the day that they would have gotten to see dolphins for free!!!! But that depends on the resort - some of the kid clubs are better than others, depends on where you are!

Oh- also we didn't rent a car and were fine with taxis. The hotel picked up/dropped off at the airport and they also had a shuttle to Xcaret.
My SIL did rent a car and we didn't use it a couple of the days because we found other transportation that meant we didn't have to figure out/pay for parking etc. However, she did say it was safe and easy to drive and get around.

Have fun!

We've traveled a lot with our two boys, 2 and 4, and they are much younger than yours and usually I would definitely suggest renting a car if you want to do sightseeing, you have a lot more flexibility in how long you stay somewhere, when to go, etc, but we took buses in Cancun. We always booked thru the hotel, they can give you suggestions that I think are much better given that you have 2 kids to also think about, and you have the flexibility of going on different dates if you get there and decided you want to just stay at the hotel and then go on excursions. The buses are cheap, but with two kids, it's hard to try to negotiate your way on them, they are fast and very crowded most of the time. Plus, depending on where you are staying, a lot of things are within walking distance. I would probably wait and check with your hotel if a car is needed or not, especially if you go on planned excursions, they have the nice, big comfy buses, so you would really only take the local ones if you want to go shopping in town

Hello! I have 4 children ages 2, 3, 7, and 10. We are heading back to Cancun in November. We went last year for Christmas. We rented a vehicle, but we were not in an all inclusive and we were about an hour south of Cancun. It is an amazing little town called Chan-Chemuyil that has little Mexican homes to rent. We stayed in Casa de Playa Mexicana that was a 2 bedroom, 1 bath with pool. It was way cheaper than a hotel and my kids loved it! We found a grocery store in Tulum with our onsite manager's help to cook easy breakfasts and picnic lunches for the beach. We ate dinner out. Again saved us lots of money. The Xcacel beach was like a private beach because you had to have a special card to get in it that comes with the house since it is right across the road from it. It was a better beach than the ones we have been to in Hawaii. The jungle right behind it is awesome with fresh cenotes. My kids enjoyed the Mayan Ruins in Tulum and snorkeling in Akumal Bay (equipment right there to rent cheap). We all loved Hidden Worlds Family Park where we were able to skycycle, rappel, zip-line, and cavern snorkel. They just strapped the young ones to us and let us go on everything with 2 young ones. The older ones could handle everything on their own. I think this gives you some things to research online, but mostly I pray you have a fun, relaxing, and safe vacation.
God Bless, T.

OMG, unless you have a death wish do not rent a car in Mexico! It is so scary!! Most excursions will have buses to pick you up and once you see how they drive, I'm guessing you will not want to be on the road with them!! ;)

We went to someplace called Shell Ha (I'm sure that's not spelled right) and it was awesome!!!! It is an estuary (where fresh and salt water meet) and there were so many awesome things to see and do. I think you all would love it there! That was definitely one of the highlights of our whole trip and we didn't even have kids!

You'll love it! Have fun!

I've been to Cancun several times (not with the kids though) and never rented a car. The bus (and cabs) were always sufficient. It's pretty easy to get around in Cancun, in my opinion. We did not do any tours, but I always pre-book my airport transportation ahead of time. If not, you will be swarmed when you get off the airplane with taxi cab drivers (and people selling excursions). They say you "must stop H. before you leave" -- like it is something you HAVE TO DO... but you abolutely do not. Once you get your bags and leave customs, go straight to your pre-arranged transportion company (there are signs and people in uniforms to help). Absolutely ignore everyone else! Have fun. I love Cancun (once I leave the airport, that is!).