La Tortuga & Playa del Carmen - Dec 2007 Trip Report
Playa del Carmen Review and Photos: This is our full report of our trip to the Mayan Riviera. The travel dates were December 15-24, 2007. This was a 50-year birthday celebration for Dan. Dan and Janean traveled with all their kids and significant others: Daniel and Reanna, Alissa and Devin and Jennifer and Dylan. We flew into Cancun on December 15 and USA Transfers provided ground transportation to the La Tortuga hotel in Playa del Carmen. La Tortuga is the Trip Advisor #1 rated hotel in Playa del Carmen. We visited Cozumel and Xcaret. We also went to 4 Mayan Ruins - Chitzen Itza, Ek Balam, Tulum and Coba. We hired a private van and driver through Playa.Info in Playa. We enjoyed the famous 5th Avenue in Playa and the beautiful Caribbean beaches, including use of Mamitas Beach Club.
Click on photos to enlarge them or jump to more detailed report information.
La Tortuga Report. We started our research in early 2007. At the time, La Tortuga was ranked #8 on Trip Advisor. We read reviews and sent requests to La Tortuga and others. The reviews we read and the personal response from Anna convinced us that we would have the best experience at La Tortuga. So we reserved our 4 rooms in early 2007. Since then, the Trip Advisor ratings for La Tortuga have climbed steadily. La Tortuga is now rated the #1 hotel out of 150 hotels in Playa de Carmen. Way to go Anna, Jessica, Anne Marie and everyone at La Tortuga! This is a first class hotel that has earned and deserves the #1 rating on Trip Advisor. With all that La Tortuga has to offer, what really makes La Tortuga an outstanding hotel are the people. Every single person at the hotel is friendly, attentive and dedicated to the guests.
Playa Beach & 5th Avenue Report. La Tortuga is a few blocks from the beach and a short block off Quinta Avenida. This is where the action is. At anytime of the day, you can shop, sit and sip a drink, watch the crowds go by, enjoy the breezes off the Caribbean or participate in some dickering with the local vendors. Many restaurants offer 2-1 margaritas and $1 beer to attract patrons. Playa del Carmen is the perfect size for us. It is big enough to offer fun, varied activities, shopping and great restaurants. It is small enough that it still has an authentic local feel. The hotel is just a few steps away from 5th Avenue with all its action. The street buzzes during almost all hours of the day and night. It is also just a few short blocks from the shores of the Caribbean.
Chitzen Itza Report & Photos. On December 17, we hired a private van and driver through Playa.Info and went to Chitzen Itza. Click the photo to see our report and photos of Chitzen Itza.
Ek Balam Report & Photos. On December 17, we hired a private van and driver through Playa.Info and went to Ek Balam. Click the photo to see our report and photos of Ek Balam.
Tulum Report & Photos. On December 19, we hired a private van and driver through Playa.Info and went to Tulum. Click the photo to see our report and photos of Tulum.
Coba Report & Photos. On December 19, we hired a private van and driver through Playa.Info and went to Coba. Click the photo to see our report and photos of Coba.
Xcaret Report & Photos. On December 20, we went to Xcaret which is just a few miles south of La Tortuga. We had a fun day and saw a great cultural show - the "Xcaret Spectacular Mexico Night Show". Click here to see the Xcaret report and photos.
Cozumel Report & Photos. On December 16, we took the ferry to Cozumel and toured the InterContinental Hotel on Cozumel. We enjoyed a great lunch, the beach and the town square in Cozumel. Click here to see the Cozumel report and photos.
PRIVATE VAN & TOUR. The best deal we found for our day trips to Chitzen Itza, Ek Balam, Tulum and Coba was through Playa.Info located right in Playa del Carmen. We paid about $300 per trip plus tip for van and driver Reyes for 2 - 12 hour per day trips the Mayan sites. We didn’t count the seats – we think it was a 15 passenger van, but it had plenty of room for our group of 8. The van was brand new and very comfortable. Reyes was prompt, safe, spoke English well and very informative. He even accompanied us on our bike tour of the Coba ruins and there are a few photos of him on that link. Their website is: http://www.playa.info/
GROUND TRANSPORTATION. We reserved our airport transfers online at www.entertainment-plus.net/tour_transport.cfm with USA Transfers. This was the best price we found for our group of 8 for round-trip to Playa del Carmen. The cost was $115 round-trip for all of us. We paid cash $85 US to the driver at the Cancun airport and the $30 US balance to the driver on the return trip. We also tipped each driver $15-20 each trip for their help with our 12+ bags. The USA Transfer service is excellent. Everything worked for us exactly as promised. Brant Boston sent us a separate confirmation email for each leg of the transfer with very clear instructions. He also sent us a reminder email 2 days before we left home confirming the dates of arrival, flight information and hotel information. Their driver met us outside the airport with a large sign clearly displaying our name. It was a quick, efficient and professional routine at the airport. If you have ever had ground transportation hassles at the airport, you know how much that peace of mind is worth. We highly recommend USA Transfers for transportation between the Cancun airport and the Riviera Maya locations. USA Transfers offers private tours and transportation around the Riviera Maya locations. Their prices are most competitive if you are based in Cancun.
Links for services during this trip:
Playa Info Private Van Service
Trip Advisor ratings: Trip Advisor #1 Hotel
We didn't miss the Utah snow!
