The MexiMonth : Help me work from the tropics for a month (1 Viewer)

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you might want to check puerto rico.  

Damn... some great spots. 

How important is it to be in "Downtown" San Juan / Near Old San Juan? 

Looks like some great options across the bridge in Condado / Parque area.. still on the coast but not as walkable? 

 

[Judge Smails]

If anyone wants cheap, no frills and in the thick of the action in Cabo this is a good spot.  $75 a night if book in advance and probably could negotiate cheaper long term.  It's more of a boy's trip in my opinion.  We stayed here for a 50th birthday bash and it was perfect.  Stumbling close to everything.  Great restaurants, Cabo Wabo and all the night spots close by.  Walk to the marina/beach.  It's more of a room than condo.  No full kitchen, etc.  Have to check on the quality of their internet but I imagine it's good now.  If you go I have a restaurant guide to Cabo.

https://www.mardecortez.com/en-gb

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Damn... some great spots. 

How important is it to be in "Downtown" San Juan / Near Old San Juan? 

Looks like some great options across the bridge in Condado / Parque area.. still on the coast but not as walkable? 

personally, i would want to be out of town a bit, for more serenity.   but that's just me.

 

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If anyone wants cheap, no frills and in the thick of the action in Cabo this is a good spot.  $75 a night if book in advance and probably could negotiate cheaper long term.  It's more of a boy's trip in my opinion.  We stayed here for a 50th birthday bash and it was perfect.  Stumbling close to everything.  Great restaurants, Cabo Wabo and all the night spots close by.  Walk to the marina/beach.  It's more of a room than condo.  No full kitchen, etc.  Have to check on the quality of their internet but I imagine it's good now.  If you go I have a restaurant guide to Cabo.

https://www.mardecortez.com/en-gb

Cabo is definitely in the running... That room might be a little small for the two of us to work out of for a month, but I love the garden view rooms with a patio for normal stays. That rate is fantastic and looks perfect for a party weekend/week trip!  

 

[Hov34]

Try Ambergris Cay instead of mainland Belize.

Gotcha! Scoping San Pedro there. Some interesting options at first pass  Not sure what else is nearby (dining/etc). Gotta look more. Thanks! 

Great dining options - One place we ate at had dirt floors, but it was one of the best/most memorable for the food.  I'll try to look it up.

I know you said you didn't scuba, but Belize/San Pedro has the 2nd largest coral reef in the world.  We did a snorkel day and it was amazing.  Got to pet a nurse shark and had a sea turtle swim right by us.  On the ride back our guide stopped the boat circled round and dove in.  Came back with huge starfish and let our kids hold it.  Great time on the Cay and then lots of adventure at Cave's Branch. https://cavesbranch.com/

 

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While looking at Costa Rica, I had settled in on Tamarindo, but then found some links over to Samara Beach / Playa Samara... a bit less developed but still has dozens of dining options, and a gorgeous crescent beach shielded by a reef so it's warm year round. 

Found a couple nice places around the higher end of our budget that are tempting as well. Gotta dig more into these two places, but Costa Rica moving up the rankings. 

 

[belljr]

Be sure to have your gringo tax ready if you get pulled over

 

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Be sure to have your gringo tax ready if you get pulled over

Hoping to avoid driving much at all... if any.  

 

[belljr]

Hoping to avoid driving much at all... if any.  

A buddy of mine bought a house down there, I don't know where in costa rica. They would go surfing a few times a year.

Every time they do, they would get pulled over and "threatened" jail, then a "deal" was worked out for $20.   They had all there bathing suits stolen off the porch too

 

[Tusken Raider]

I can’t believe nobody here has suggested Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Heard about it from a buddy when we were doing hard time together a Maine prison. Sounds nice...

 

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I can’t believe nobody here has suggested Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Heard about it from a buddy when we were doing hard time together a Maine prison. Sounds nice...

Whoa... looks great! Going to make a deeper dive. Thanks for the recommendation GB.  

Right now we're mainly looking at:

• Tamarindo / Samara, Costa Rica
  
• San Pedro, Belize
  
• Playa del Carmen / Akumal, Mexico
  

Still looking into San Juan, Puerto Rico, and now going to dive into Zihuatanejo, Mexico. 

Mexico/Puerto Rico have advantages with Cell phone usage being on our current plan. Work cell doesn't get used much, and I can forward calls... but I don't think my employer would add a month of international coverage if I'm not traveling for the company. Personal cell, can grab a local SIM or just buy a monthly international plan from VZW ($130 for 2GB / 1000 sent texts / 200 mins I think). 

 

[jps]

I have spent multiple weeks in all these places and they were all great.  I have spent up to 8 weeks in Akumal.  The cays of Belize would be the only place a car wouldn't be much use.  But both CR and Akumal area  are much better with car access to travel around to a bunch of different sites and adventures.  All the areas were very safe for us during our stays there.  We have done the Akumal area maybe five times with 4 weeks or longer.  Really loved it over the years, though it is starting to get built up a little more.  

We spent 6 weeks on the Baja at the start of the year, including 3 weeks in the Loreto area, a week in La paz, and the final two weeks in the Cabo area.  We must have visited another 10 towns and put a couple of thousand kilometers on our rental.  Glad you took Loreto off your list.  It is beautiful and a nice area but it was not very warm in January and February. We could hardly get in the water.  The TPC  Dizante Bay golf course was fantastic and we made the trip multiple times.  The Loreto course is fun and cheap.  But I would want to go back when the weather is warmer since the beach and water up and down the Baja looks wonderful.  La Paz had some great restaurants at generally good prices, the best we had for our Baja trip. 

Your choices of CR, Belize and Akumal will all have much warmer water and general temperatures.  Feel free to PM me if you want any additional information on the areas.  A great way to enjoy your work at home time and get a great vacation.   

 

[Van Dyman]

I have spent multiple weeks in all these places and they were all great.  I have spent up to 8 weeks in Akumal.  The cays of Belize would be the only place a car wouldn't be much use.  But both CR and Akumal area  are much better with car access to travel around to a bunch of different sites and adventures.  All the areas were very safe for us during our stays there.  We have done the Akumal area maybe five times with 4 weeks or longer.  Really loved it over the years, though it is starting to get built up a little more.  

We spent 6 weeks on the Baja at the start of the year, including 3 weeks in the Loreto area, a week in La paz, and the final two weeks in the Cabo area.  We must have visited another 10 towns and put a couple of thousand kilometers on our rental.  Glad you took Loreto off your list.  It is beautiful and a nice area but it was not very warm in January and February. We could hardly get in the water.  The TPC  Dizante Bay golf course was fantastic and we made the trip multiple times.  The Loreto course is fun and cheap.  But I would want to go back when the weather is warmer since the beach and water up and down the Baja looks wonderful.  La Paz had some great restaurants at generally good prices, the best we had for our Baja trip. 

Your choices of CR, Belize and Akumal will all have much warmer water and general temperatures.  Feel free to PM me if you want any additional information on the areas.  A great way to enjoy your work at home time and get a great vacation.   

I was in Akumal a long, long time ago. Just checked it out on google street view and WOW, you're not kidding. Still looks kinda sleepy and still lots of people on foot/bikes, but huge difference vs 20 years ago. Still looks more enticing than the tourist traps & huge resorts, though.

 

[Judge Smails]

I have spent multiple weeks in all these places and they were all great.  I have spent up to 8 weeks in Akumal.  The cays of Belize would be the only place a car wouldn't be much use.  But both CR and Akumal area  are much better with car access to travel around to a bunch of different sites and adventures.  All the areas were very safe for us during our stays there.  We have done the Akumal area maybe five times with 4 weeks or longer.  Really loved it over the years, though it is starting to get built up a little more.  

We spent 6 weeks on the Baja at the start of the year, including 3 weeks in the Loreto area, a week in La paz, and the final two weeks in the Cabo area.  We must have visited another 10 towns and put a couple of thousand kilometers on our rental.  Glad you took Loreto off your list.  It is beautiful and a nice area but it was not very warm in January and February. We could hardly get in the water.  The TPC  Dizante Bay golf course was fantastic and we made the trip multiple times.  The Loreto course is fun and cheap.  But I would want to go back when the weather is warmer since the beach and water up and down the Baja looks wonderful.  La Paz had some great restaurants at generally good prices, the best we had for our Baja trip. 

Your choices of CR, Belize and Akumal will all have much warmer water and general temperatures.  Feel free to PM me if you want any additional information on the areas.  A great way to enjoy your work at home time and get a great vacation.   

Sounds like a fantastic trip. We went to Loreto in January 2 years ago and weather was warm. You have me itching to go to La Paz

 

[El Floppo]

I have spent multiple weeks in all these places and they were all great.  I have spent up to 8 weeks in Akumal.  The cays of Belize would be the only place a car wouldn't be much use.  But both CR and Akumal area  are much better with car access to travel around to a bunch of different sites and adventures.  All the areas were very safe for us during our stays there.  We have done the Akumal area maybe five times with 4 weeks or longer.  Really loved it over the years, though it is starting to get built up a little more.  

We spent 6 weeks on the Baja at the start of the year, including 3 weeks in the Loreto area, a week in La paz, and the final two weeks in the Cabo area.  We must have visited another 10 towns and put a couple of thousand kilometers on our rental.  Glad you took Loreto off your list.  It is beautiful and a nice area but it was not very warm in January and February. We could hardly get in the water.  The TPC  Dizante Bay golf course was fantastic and we made the trip multiple times.  The Loreto course is fun and cheap.  But I would want to go back when the weather is warmer since the beach and water up and down the Baja looks wonderful.  La Paz had some great restaurants at generally good prices, the best we had for our Baja trip. 

Your choices of CR, Belize and Akumal will all have much warmer water and general temperatures.  Feel free to PM me if you want any additional information on the areas.  A great way to enjoy your work at home time and get a great vacation.   

Sounds like a fantastic trip. We went to Loreto in January 2 years ago and weather was warm. You have me itching to go to La Paz

Wife and I did La Paz and Todos Santos (?) down the peninsula 20+years ago. La Paz did have decent food, but so does PDC, imo. I don't remember much there  worth going back for tbh.

Jps...I hope you share the information in the thread and not in PMs- sounds like you've got some great experience down there. And I've been wanting to hear more about Akumal- we've only stayed there once for week, and the beach had been blown out by a hurricane or storm, so we spent more time elsewhere than there.

 

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I have spent multiple weeks in all these places and they were all great.  I have spent up to 8 weeks in Akumal.  The cays of Belize would be the only place a car wouldn't be much use.  But both CR and Akumal area  are much better with car access to travel around to a bunch of different sites and adventures.  All the areas were very safe for us during our stays there.  We have done the Akumal area maybe five times with 4 weeks or longer.  Really loved it over the years, though it is starting to get built up a little more.  

We spent 6 weeks on the Baja at the start of the year, including 3 weeks in the Loreto area, a week in La paz, and the final two weeks in the Cabo area.  We must have visited another 10 towns and put a couple of thousand kilometers on our rental.  Glad you took Loreto off your list.  It is beautiful and a nice area but it was not very warm in January and February. We could hardly get in the water.  The TPC  Dizante Bay golf course was fantastic and we made the trip multiple times.  The Loreto course is fun and cheap.  But I would want to go back when the weather is warmer since the beach and water up and down the Baja looks wonderful.  La Paz had some great restaurants at generally good prices, the best we had for our Baja trip. 

Your choices of CR, Belize and Akumal will all have much warmer water and general temperatures.  Feel free to PM me if you want any additional information on the areas.  A great way to enjoy your work at home time and get a great vacation.   

This is awesome, too! 
 

Definitely please share everything in here  you're willing. These threads tend to become good references for others down the road too

 

[jps]

I will try and get back in here on the weekend. It's been a very busy work week.  I'm not a big poster but I'm happy to pass as much information as possible without boring everyone.  I have been traveling to Mexico and central america for over 30 years.  So I do have some experience to share.  Let me know what type of things might be of interest. Over the years I have taken many an unmarked dirt road just to see where it goes. We have found many great beaches and friendly beach bars that wouldn't hardly ever be on any travel list in the past.  With the growth there seems to be less real unfound gems anymore.  But I still prefer traveling to lesser areas and seeing the local country way better than being in the huge resort cities or trapped in mega all inclusive chains.  When my kids were very young those resort areas were our best choice. But as our kids were older than always preferred a out of the way Country to options like Disneyland or mega resorts. My kids laugh because they have never been to Disneyland after all these years.   Now days they still like to travel with us when they can because they say it's more fun and adventurous. (not to mention I end footing most of the cost)    When we are staying somewhere for a month or more they will pick a week to come visit and use some of their vacation time to join us. Good for them and it give us a little family time and company during all our travels, meeting fun people and possibly some excessive drinking.  Anyway I will check back in as I have more time this weekend.   

 

[fred_1_15301]

Man I love this idea.  If I didn’t have kids, my wife and I would totally do this.  I honestly didn’t think it would be possible to find a place for 100/night with your parameters.

 

[jps]

Akumal Mexico, about an hour and 20 minutes south of the Cancun airport

Around Akumal some of the best housing deals are in the Taos section of the Bahia complex.  Most of the houses and condos sit around the Bahia golf course. BTW the Bahia course is one of my all time favorite courses.  We generally use a vrbo site and then try to connect direct with the owners for deals.  We have negotiated great deals for our longer 4 to 8 week stays.  Typically we can get a 2 bedroom with 2nd story penthouse unit for about $2000 per month and these are great high end units.  We have also rented full 4 bedroom houses on the course for about $6000 per month. The whole complex and area is gated so very safe.  Good high speed internet, full well stocked kitchens, pools, elevators, high end finishes.  Also gives you access to all of the Bahia resort complex, including beaches, restaurants, bars, gyms etc.  They also have shuttles you can catch to go to the beach.  The town of Akumal is about a 4 minute car or cab ride.  No matter where you are in this part of mexico everyone speaks pretty good english or will find someone who can.

There are good beach front lodging available along half moon bay in Akumal. We stayed at one that was 4 bedrooms and negotiated to about $8000 for the month.  There are multiple big resorts in the area that you can book hotel rooms but we prefer homes and condos for the extra space and comforts.  There are also nice beach front homes where we stayed down in Soliman bay which were very nice and also in the higher end of $8000 month range. Soliman bay is about 10 or so minutes south of Akumal. It is on a dirt road with the only sign saying Ja####a hotel.  There is a great public/local beach at the end of the dirt road with a small food vender and bar. There is a manned gate at the Ja####a hotel you need to pass through but all you need to say is you are going to the Ja####a or the beach and they will let you in.  The vender at the beach has set up chairs and tables by the beach for your use. Beautiful coconut tress that provide shade if you want and plenty of sunny sandy beach.  It is a great bay with shallow entry and very good snorkeling and warm water.   We frequently stop and eat or have drinks at the Ja####a hotel as well. They are high end for mexico but a beautiful set up and a great 2 story patio overlooking the bay. The upstairs patio is great for drinks and pictures. Ja####a only has about 12 suites in the hotel, so very low key.  I think they get $500 to $1200 a night at the Ja####a. We have had a valentines day dinner there and a couple of just fun nights dinners there.  I would say eating dinner there is more a $50 per person cost but is a nice change of pace when in Akumal for a long trip. Most meals in the Akumal area are more like $5 to $10 per.        

Akumal has two sections of town.  The first and most popular is the beach area. The bay right in town has the best turtle viewings for snorkelers anywhere in mexico. Spend an hour in the water and you will see 10 to 20 turtles, plus a variety of fish and rays.  The turtle area can get busy on the weekends when locals and tour busses come in.  But during the week is pretty laidback.  Several good places to eat, including a fish joint, a breakfast/dinner expat place with good ice cream, a italian/pizza place, all just off the main road and entry to the turtles. Then several beach side bars.  The classic one is "La Buena Vida"  it is a great place to be lost in margaritaville. I've seen a super bowl or two in that beach bar. 

Across the main highway is the other side of Akumal. It is the old town where the locals live and businesses other than tourist related are located.  But there are several very good restaurants in that part of town as well.  Some little taco places, an expat place just on the hill as you enter town on the right that is great.  A story about the expat place is  we took a trip down to Punta Allen one time and went out snorkeling/site seeing and it is the lobster capital for the Mexican Riveria, they supply about 80% of all Lobster up and down the coast.  Punta Allen is a little hard to get to town of about 500 people.  Anyway they invited us to the Lobster warehouse after our tour. Let us pick out 4 Lobsters to take with us. I believe they charged us $12 for about 15 lbs of Lobsters. Anyway we were calling around trying to find a place to prepare our meal. The expat place said they would do it but we would have to buy there dinner special that night of BBQ ribs.  No problem we said.  They cooked all our Lobsters put it on a 3 foot long platter,surrounded by the ribs, big salads, sides of rice, beans and tortillas. We ordered four big pitchers of Margs and beers and had a feast.  Everyone who was in the restaurant was taking pictures and wanted to place an order for the same.  When they finally brought our bill it was $48, I was so astounded I think I gave them a $50 tip. Mainly because I think too many margs and beers ended up on the floor that night.   Moral of the story is that many places will really go out of their way for you when you let them.  They love to show off what they do and their hospitality.  Easy to get cabs to take you anywhere but a car for a day is better. We rent our cars for the whole trip no matter how long. 

There are many great places to visit around Akumal,  drive 30 minutes either way and there are maybe 100's of cenotes to swim in . Great beaches, small quiet little beach bars, even the big resorts and big resort adventures like Xcaret or Xel-ha.   I can try and give directions to our favorites little out of the way places if anyone would like some suggestions. Most are places where you are treated well but never crowded.  They love it when people come to see and visit their little projects. They are so proud of everything they do and want to make you feel at home as well. 

Hopefully this isn't too rambling but too many great adventures start flooding my brain.  I will try and find the time to post on Costa Rica and  Belize as well

 

[jps]

Not sure why the filter would take out Ja####ta Hotel ,  really only one T in Ja####ta

 

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Akumal Mexico, about an hour and 20 minutes south of the Cancun airport

Hopefully this isn't too rambling but too many great adventures start flooding my brain.  I will try and find the time to post on Costa Rica and  Belize as well

Awesome post! Definitely Not rambling! Thank you for sharing. 
 

I was curious on tips for where/how to book? Some say local places/agencies offer better deals. Or should AirBNB be fine? 

 

[bagger]

If anyone wants cheap, no frills and in the thick of the action in Cabo this is a good spot.  $75 a night if book in advance and probably could negotiate cheaper long term.  It's more of a boy's trip in my opinion.  We stayed here for a 50th birthday bash and it was perfect.  Stumbling close to everything.  Great restaurants, Cabo Wabo and all the night spots close by.  Walk to the marina/beach.  It's more of a room than condo.  No full kitchen, etc.  Have to check on the quality of their internet but I imagine it's good now.  If you go I have a restaurant guide to Cabo.

https://www.mardecortez.com/en-gb

Great suggestion. Flights to Cabo are super cheap.

 

[BassNBrew]

Surprised you're not finding better deal in a pandemic.  We're trending back to the bake your mail and groceries days.  I wouldn't be booking a thing unless I could do it with no money down or at least until I was in the window I could dispute any credit card charges.  I'd also be looking at medical resources in case you do have covid issues while aboard.  The plus side of covid is that a plan like this is now doable.

 

[Ilov80s]

Surprised you're not finding better deal in a pandemic.  We're trending back to the bake your mail and groceries days.  I wouldn't be booking a thing unless I could do it with no money down or at least until I was in the window I could dispute any credit card charges.  I'd also be looking at medical resources in case you do have covid issues while aboard.  The plus side of covid is that a plan like this is now doable.

Yeah when the pandemic started in March, I considered going to Cancun (round trip flights were like $50) but I am glad I didn't. I would have been stuck with my in-laws for 3 months. It would have been on the beach with a resort meant for 2 thousand people basically all to ourselves but still. 

 

[Ron Swanson]

Ja####a            

I'm feeling a little slow today.  What be this?

 

[culdeus]

Surprised you're not finding better deal in a pandemic.  We're trending back to the bake your mail and groceries days.  I wouldn't be booking a thing unless I could do it with no money down or at least until I was in the window I could dispute any credit card charges.  I'd also be looking at medical resources in case you do have covid issues while aboard.  The plus side of covid is that a plan like this is now doable.

The mexico beach places are booming and packed and all the flights are full, a good number of flights are being diverted to Cabo and Cun

 

[Alex P Keaton]

Whoa... looks great! Going to make a deeper dive. Thanks for the recommendation GB.  

Right now we're mainly looking at:

• Tamarindo / Samara, Costa Rica
  
• San Pedro, Belize
  
• Playa del Carmen / Akumal, Mexico
  

Still looking into San Juan, Puerto Rico, and now going to dive into Zihuatanejo, Mexico. 

Mexico/Puerto Rico have advantages with Cell phone usage being on our current plan. Work cell doesn't get used much, and I can forward calls... but I don't think my employer would add a month of international coverage if I'm not traveling for the company. Personal cell, can grab a local SIM or just buy a monthly international plan from VZW ($130 for 2GB / 1000 sent texts / 200 mins I think). 

This is a great thread.  I'm super jealous.   We aren't super comfortable taking a plane right now, but if we were there is zero doubt we would go spend a month or two in Costa Rica.

Of your list above, we've been to both San Pedro and Tamarindo the past two winters.   (full disclosure:  we love CR and are considering it as a possible part-time retirement spot)    San Pedro is the perfect place if you like fishing, beaches, a downtown with more activity, etc.   It's a charming place - very few cars, everyone drives around in golf carts, people are friendly, good food.   On the downside, we didn't really think the beaches were all that great - you can't walk for miles and miles - and it is like a 90-minute boat ride from Belize City.  If we did it again, I would fly a small charter into San Pedro airport.   Oh - other downside that I forgot but my son reminded me:  the WiFi there was hit & miss.  Could be where we were staying.....but it wasn't great.   When we asked our host she said "yeah, we're on an island, if it's windy or storming we don't get a great connection."

We find Tamarindo to be more our speed.  Beach town.  Great surfing.  Beautiful beaches that you can walk on.   Tons of restaurants.   Day trips if you have time on the weekend to see other parts of CR.  We've been there 4 times - solo without kids, and also with kids.   Downside:  if you want an authentic Costa Rica experience, this isn't the place to go.....locals call it Tamagringo for a reason.  It's touristy - but it also not like being at Disneyland.    Last anecdote:  a co-worker ended up in Tamarindo two years ago and when he came back was raving about it ("dude, you should go here since you like Costa Rica so much.  it's really amazing").  He was a bit chagrined when I explained that we've been going for years and that he first heard about it from me back in 2016.  Haha.

Anyway, no bad choices on your list.   Whatever you choose man, enjoy the time and don't forget to step away from the work stuff a bit and enjoy wherever you end up.

 

[El Floppo]

Not sure why the filter would take out Ja####ta Hotel ,  really only one T in Ja####ta

I'm feeling a little slow today.  What be this?

I'm thinking its like S####horpe United. Come on you ####s!

 

[Dark Matter]

Headed to Loreto for the week….MÍRAME!!