The drive on the tolled highway from Mérida to Cancún, Quintana Roo was a perfect drive, the whole way. Sure, there were tollgates along the three and half hour route, a few small towns and maybe one turn in the highway. In the state of Quintana Roo we stopped over at Mexico's top tourist attractions, Cancún and Playa del Carmen.
Cancún
Most travelers to Cancún will find wonderful accommodations, at one of the many Cancún beach resorts. However, when you travel with a pet the search for a hotel can be more challenging. We were fortunate to find pet friendly accommodations at the Holiday Inn Arenas.
When we reached Cancún we knew that we could now start to relax a little after our drive through Mexico. While our stop over in Canún was brief we had planned a week of down time for Thanksgiving at Playa del Carmen.
During our Cancún stay we were happy just to take in the beach scene near the hotel. Each morning we had breakfasts on the veranda overlooking the beach. We tried some domestic wines that were included with our hotel package. For my palate Cabernet Sauvignon was taste able but the Chardonnay was not. While the wines were not great the margaritas were good.
The hotel also has a spa service right on the beach. It is the perfect setting for a massage.
Cancún has much to offer in terms of accommodations, restaurants and spas. In fact Cancún is one of the premier spa resort destinations in the world. USA News ranked it as #2 for Mexican Beaches. It is on Frommer's list of best beach vacations. Travel Channel list of Top 10 Beach Resorts in Mexico, two of which are in Cancún (Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach and Le Meridien Cancun Resort and Spa). See Kelly McLaughlin's guide to Cancún and Mexican Riviera beaches.
After a two day stopover in Cancun it was onto Playa del Carmen, an hour's drive away. In Playa del Carmen we took a welcomed week’s break from our road trip from California to Guatemala.
Playa del Carmen
After two weeks on the road we took some down time at Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo. Like Cancún, Playa del Carmen offers many choices in accommodations, restaurants, spas and much more.
This time we located pet boarding for our cat and we stayed at the Mayan Palace Resort on the Mayan Riviera. The Mayan Palace was a great place, just to kick back and relax over Thanksgiving.
The resort has a number of restaurants. Thanksgiving was held at Restaurante Del Lago. It was a dinner buffet with a show. There was turkey, fruits, vegetables and pumpkin pie. Lots of carved fruits and vegetables were quite evident throughout the buffet area. There was even a special chocolate fondue section.
We enjoyed the break from our road trip and especially the Thanksgiving dinner with wine at Restaurante Del Largo.Yes, Playa del Carmen has great margaritas and beaches.
When we left Playa del Carmen we headed towards Chetumal, Quuintana Roo where we crossed into Belize and onto Guatemala. Check out my travels in Mexico and elsewhere in my travel column, or visit me at Spaswinefood.
© Sharon Parsons
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