I'm interested in taking a vacation in Mexico, but I don't want to go
to the tourist-saturated areas such as Cancun.  At the same time, I
don't necessarily want a roughing-it/adventure vacation.  I'd like to
strike a balance between experiencing the culture and having a
relaxing beach experience.  I am looking for uncrowded beaches that
are still friendly to foriegn travelers.  I would love to find a
dependable guide to this kind of travel, and some recommendations on
places that are reasonably priced and not too remote, as I will not be
able to spend more than a week traveling.

---

Request for Question Clarification by journalist-ga on 07 Nov 2002 19:01 PST

Are these the types of places for which you are looking? This site
shows what it claims are secluded and out-of-the-way places:
http://www.mexicoholiday.com/

SEARCH PHRASE:
beach ruins mexico uncrowded private

---

Clarification of Question by litedaughter-ga on 11 Nov 2002 15:18 PST

journalist:

This is a great start, thanks!  If there is any chance to get access
to some sort of discussion/consumer reviews/recommendations, as well,
that would be lovely.

Best,
litedaughter

Greetings again!  I have discovered some area reviews for your perusal
that seem to be genuine customer reviews.  I revisited the link I
provided you in my clarification and searched the name of each resort
mentioned there and then searched the names including "review" in each
search phrase.  I am including only the resorts that had promising
reviews.

About La Posada Del Capitan Lafitte, one reviewer stated in part "If
you want wild nightlife, discos, nightclubs etc then this place is
defintely not for you. However if you are searching for peace and
tranquility and want to be treated by the staff as a person rather
than a number then this is the place."

Another reviewer stated in part "The resort consists of several
white-washed red-tiled casitas strung out along the shore of the
Caribbean. These are charming and simple with Mexican folk art,
textiles, bright colors, ceiling fans. You will certainly not be awed
with the lavishness of a Four Seasons-style hotel, but the simplicity
of this resort is its charm."

All the reviews on La Posada Del Capitan Lafitte are located at
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g150812-d154733-Reviews-La_Posada_Del_Capitan_Lafitte-Playa_del_Carmen_Yucatan_Peninsula.html

From a personal web site, I found this: "On another earlier visit to
Playa, Cathie and I discovered what we believe is heaven on earth, the
laid back resort of Kailuum II."
http://www.threebridgestravel.com/2001_letter/2001.htm

Another past guest stated in part about Kailuum II "Your room is a
"tentalapa," which is a cabin-style tent with a palm thatched roof
over the top located just steps from the water. Inside is a double
bed, a shelf for personal items, and nightstands with candle lanterns.
In front of your tentalapa are 2 private hammocks. No electricity
here! At night the staff lights candles and tiki torches throughout
the resort, which is magical. The food/bar is excellent, far better
than at a big resort, and is served family-style in a beautiful,
GIGANTIC dining room with a soaring thatched roof, candlelight and
sand floors."
http://www.caribbean-on-line.com/hotelreviews/cn/020612124309.shtml

Places like Kailuum II are called "camptels" or "eco resorts."  I
found no customer reviews of Costa de Cocos but from reviewing their
web site, it seems to be a charming and relaxing place.  From their
web site "This environmentally friendly resort has 10 thatched roofed
cabañas nestled in a coastline full of coconut palms.  There is
electricity 24 hours a day generated by wind turbine, and water is
purified by desalinization & reverse osmosis.  A hot shower is always
available.  Meals are included in the Coco's seaside restaurant and
the food is excellent.  Happy hour banter at the mahogany bar is
typically a review of the day's adventures as the guests exchange
stories about their discoveries along the Caribbean coast."
http://www.locogringo.com/xcalak/costacocos.htm

I found no customer reviews of KaiLuumcito but their web site looks
promising - again relaxed and friendly.
"The accommodations are the classic KaiLuum tent under the
'tentalapa', more than clean and comfortable. It looks so much like a
miniature KaiLuum II, it's hard to believe."
http://www.mexicoholiday.com/destinations/kailuumcito.html

Regarding Xamas, I didn't locate an independent customer review but
they offer a review on their web site written by a reporter from The
Gazette in Montreal, Canada: "The room was simple (and) had a huge
tiled bathroom with hot shower and lots of clean drinking water. On
the porch were two hammocks. On the beach right in front of the cabana
were two low-slung wooden chairs and a small table under a palapa.
Barely two minutes away was the hotel's excellent restaurant, whose
chef turned out dishes like grilled snapper with olive salsa, shrimp
with achiote and honey-mustard chicken. Heat got you down? Hop over
for an agua de melon - cantelope juice - surely the most refreshing
drink on the planet. This could be paradise."
http://www.mexicoholiday.com/destinations/zamas-facts.html

TripAdvisor may be a site you want to bookmark for current and future
reference.  The main page is http://www.tripadvisor.com/ and when you
find a place you might want to visit, you could search the location
there to see if there are reviews available.

On a separate search, I found Majahuitas Resort and their website
states "What they and their son Alex have created there is one of
Mexico's most perfect seaside getaways. You can only arrive by boat,
and on reaching that classic cove and palm-fringed beach with its
handful of half-hidden casitas, you know you're about to redefine your
concept of holiday."
http://www.hypermex.com/html/lvg_prof.htm

I discovered that resort from a "mexico secluded resort" Google search
and adding the "review" extension produced a review from
DifferentWorld.com (at TripAdvisor)
http://www.differentworld.com/mexico/hotels/majahuitas/pages/opinion.htm

I suggest you also network with other visitors to Mexico to ascertain
their recommendations.  If you are a member of AOL (I am not) you may
discover message board or chat groups there.  On Yahoo! Groups, there
are 66 Mexico groups that deal with travel.  The link to the group
explanations is located at
http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/dir/Recreation___Sports/Travel/By_Location/Countries/Mexico?show_groups=1.
 You can peruse those links for various areas in Mexico.


I hope this information is of assistance in your quest for the perfect
vacation and if you need clarification before rating my answer, please
request it and I'll be happy to conduct further research in this area.


SEARCH PHRASES:

[resort names with "review" attached to search string]
mexico secluded resort

At first glance, I'd say this is a very thorough answer, I look
forward to following the fruits of your labor -- and, hopefully,
getting a great vacation out of it.  Thank you!

What about the Oaxaca coast? (http://www.tomzap.com/huatulco.html)

Dear litedaughter,

Perhaps you might want to consider going just a little bit south?

I stumbled across this place in the course of a webreview
discussion:

http://www.costarica-hotelkasha.com

Take a look at the low costs and the amenities in
the area - and the pictures of the gorgeous 
scenery and things to do.

You are right. Many tourist places in Mexico
are so excessively commercial that it's hard
to get past it all - especially the little
children selling chiclets instead of begging;
and the adults pushing time-shares every other
step you take.

Your TaxMama-ga

I don't have time to research an answer now,  but the suggestion of
the Oaxaca coast is a good one, as are some of the smaller resort
areas around Manzanillo.

One thing about Mexico is that often you don't have to go very far
from the most popular areas to find places where you can enjoy the
local culture and not be swamped with tourists.  Although I wouldn't
necessarily recommend it, you can see the culture even in the city of
Cancún, which is a few miles from the beach resort.  A few years ago I
spent an enjoyable few days in a small town about 150 kilometers south
of Tijuana. We had a kilometers-long beach all to ourselves (except
for a few local residents).  The downside, of course, is that the
choice of lodging and eateries was minimal.

Dear litedaughter,

I would also suggest that you look at some of the ecotourist sites.

Ecolodges
http://www.ecotourism.org/travelchoice/ecolodgelistings.html

I would also suggest that you check at the Lonely Planet online site
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/north_america/mexico/

have a good time.
pba

Thank you for your rating, comments and generosity!  After returning
from whatever area(s) of Mexico you choose to visit, consider joining
TripAdvisor and posting your own review for other people to find.  :)

As Journalist_ga said above, TripAdvisor.com is a great place to
research vacation places, and discover the in's and out's of whether
you want, for example,

   a quiet resort near a popular town, or
   a fishing village just before it becomes popular and
commercialized,
           or, say, 
   a resort popular with Mexicans and which still has a Mexican flavor
           (and price). 

In a quick search I found the following about Cabo san Lucas (picked
at random):


(1) A recommended resort
========================

Los Cabos, Baja California: "Casa del mar The Best" 
Reviewer: Anonymous, Darien, CT, January 27, 2003

In a sea of high rise resorts Casa del mar is a real find! A real
mexican experience in an intimate and beautiful setting. Beautiful
architecture and a very attentive and personal staff. A good value
too.

Be sure to spend time in the spa. And ther resort can book tee times
and get you 25% off at el Dorado (Nicklaus) and Cabo Real (R.T. Jones)
courses which are absolutely spectacular! Bring extra balls though.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g150773-r847779-Los_Cabos_Baja_California.html


(2) A quieter part of Los Cabos -- San Jose del Cabo
====================================================

The three parts of Los Cabos, as described by a writer for Atevo, Inc,
comes up on a TripAdvisor link:

Los Cabos is made up of Cabo San Lucas, a lively and growing tourism
community, San Jose del Cabo, a serene Mexican village that borders a
natural estuary, and the twenty-mile land strip called the Corridor
that lies between.


http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUrl-g150773-r644139-e__2F__Tourism__2D__g150773__2D__Los_Cabos_Baja_California__2D__Vacations__2E__html-Los_Cabos_Baja_California.html


(3) This idea of the quieter town of San Jose is reinforced by this
website:

San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas enjoy equal access to the great
white sand stretched beaches along the corridor between the two towns,
but because the Cabo San Lucas harbor provides shelter for a large
sportfishing and recreational fleet, the preponderance of the
25,000-plus monthly Los Cabos visitors center themselves here rather
than in San Jose or along the Corridor.

Source: a travel agent, promoting a number of resorts in San Jose:

       Tel: 1 800 see Cabo
       http://www.cabotravel.com/caboinfo.htm


(4) At least one of the San Jose resorts recommended by the agent in
(3) above gets some great reviews on TripAdvisor
======================================

Hotel Royal Solaris Los Cabos in San Jose Del Cabo, Los Cabos

"Delightful Christmas Week" 
Reviewer: eileennow@earthlink.net, Milwaukee, WI, January 26, 2003

Thoroughly enjoyed our Christmas week stay. I love a great breakfast,
so found the all inclusive buffets, fresh waffles, omelets, fruit a
treat. Ate more delicious quacamole and chips by the pool in one week
than in my entire life. The side trip of ATVing through the country
side and on the beach was a highlight. The hotel staff was very kind,
hard working, and forgiving of my fractured Spanish. Not having to
forage for food, deal with changing currency, being presented with a
bill after an elegant meal, struggle with the language, worry about
the water safety, and more made for a truly rejuvenating vacation.
Best tip: take an abundance of one and five dollar bills. It is very
hard for them to keep and make US change in small denominations. Have
fun!

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g150773-r850443-Los_Cabos_Baja_California.html


(5)  The times they are a-changing
==================================

Another link in TripAdvisor about changes afoot in the little seaside
villages of Baja underlines the importance of getting up-to-date
information.

SANTA ROSALILLITA, Mexico — This remote fishing village on a
wind-swept point has no electricity, no running water and not a single
paved road. But it will have a marina for yachts courtesy of Mexican
authorities who are shelling out hundreds of millions of dollars to
lure U.S. boat owners to the rugged coast of the Baja California
peninsula.

    Construction crews are hauling boulders to form stone jetties that
jut out from shore at Santa Rosalillita like giant parentheses
shrouded in coastal fog.

    The new marina, 410 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border, will be
the first stage in Escalera Nautica, a proposed network of 22 new and
upgraded ports on the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez .. . .

    If all goes according to plan, the number of pleasure boaters who
cruise these waters would grow nearly tenfold . . . .

    "This project will create enormous amounts of development and
obviously a lot of jobs," said Alejandro Moreno, tourism secretary of
Baja California Norte, one of the peninsula's two states . . . . Not
everyone shares his enthusiasm . . . .