This country is definitely special, the quality of the people, the food, the places, the culture, in short … I am in love with Mexico and luckily I have had the opportunity to go a few times.

If you organize a trip to Cancun / Riviera Maya I recommend stopping in Mexico City and staying even for a couple of days, which although it is chaotic is also beautiful, and I felt safe walking through its streets (of course, only in recommended areas).

While in Mexico City, I stayed at the NH Mexico City Reforma Hotel (in Rosa area). It has a great location for touring.

What you can’t miss in the city

Palacio Nacional
Basílica de Santa María de Guadalupe
Catedral Metropolitana
Plaza de La Constitución
Monumento a la Independencia, “El Ángel”
Paseo de la Reforma
Plaza Garibaldi

In addition, you can not miss TEOTIHUACÁN to see the Pyramid of the Sun and the Moon, among others. To get there, what I did was to take a taxi and tell him to charge me for the day to wait for me.

Being in Teotihuacán I recommend eating at a restaurant that is very close to it called LA GRUTA. It is inside a cave and the food is amazing.

Holbox

Thanks to some friends I had the pleasure of visiting this small and peaceful island, north of Cancun (we took the flight from Cancun). It was June, and perhaps at that time of the year the beaches are not as beautiful as they can get in a different month, but I liked it.

Here I stayed with my family at Casa Sandra. A rural hotel with a unique charm, that at that time had a Cuban chef who prepared incredible dishes, not to mention that the best chocolate cake I have eaten was in this hotel. It was on a friend’s birthday, so I don’t know if they have it available all the time.
I recommend this island if you want to go spend a few quiet days in Mexico, away from the city and the people (there are not even cars on the island, only golf cars).

Also, from this island we had the opportunity to swim with Whale Sharks. Amazing. We organized it in the hotel.

Cancún o Riviera Maya

I had the opportunity to stay in both places and if I have to decide I prefer Cancun.
In the Riviera Maya all hotels are quite far apart and there is no, or I did not see, public transportation. If you wanted to get out of the hotel, it had to be by taxi, and I particularly don’t like to stay in a hotel all day, even if it’s all inclusive, like the one I stayed in: the Barceló. I like to try different restaurants and be able to explore the city.

In Cancun I stayed at the Meliá Cancún because of my godmother’s recommendation. The hotel beach is BEAUTIFUL. Buses pass in front of the hotel and less than 2$ and few minutes, you can be in the center where all the restaurants, shops and clubs are.

Although I’m not a disco person, while in Cancun, I recommend going to CocoBongo. They have shows throughout the night that are really fun. There is also the typical Mr. Frogs.

Besides the clubs and the diverse restaurants options that you can find in Cancun, the places you should visit while in the area are more or less at the same distance from both Cancun and Riviera Maya.

To visit:

Tulum (a must)
Chichen Itza and Xenotes (also a must)
Isla Mujeres
Xel-ha
Xcaret
Xplor (zip line park)

Since it was my first time in Mexico, I payed for the tours to go to these places, but I think it would has been much better and cheaper to rent a car and drive there. Also, I think it is way better to stay at a small cabin by the beach instead of staying at the big well known hotels. But well, it was my first time, and I wasn’t making the decisions. Next time I’ll go my way.