Hi,

My girlfriend and I are planning a 2 week holiday in Mexico during October and are looking for advice on the best place to stay!

I DO NOT want to stay in Cancun! What I want from the holiday is to see the Mexican culture, visit archiological sites and explore jungles ...my girlfriend wants the beach and that's about it

We'd also like to be able to hire a car and do some driving, perhaps even on overnight trips.

We also like it quite lively at night, but not in an over-the-top way like Cancun.

Puerto Vallarta looks nice from what we've seen on the web, but we've no idea if it's the right location for what we're looking for.

Where do you recommend we go? And any cheap travel agents/tour operators would also be greatly received!

Mexico is such a huige place we just don't know where to start, so many thanks in advance if anyone can offer some guidance

Steve & Sarah

The perfect place for you seems to be the Mayan Riviera. You fly to Cancun, but pick a resort from the Playa del Carmen area. Great beaches, and close to all kinds of archeological sites like Tulum and Chichen Itza. Playa del Carmen is a funky small town with great shopping, and not too overrun with tourists like Cancun, although it's getting closer each time I return.
Check out my website, lots of trip reports, hotel reviews and other cool stuff . It's called "Ursula's Ultimate Mexico Travelpage" and is at
http://www.infometrics.net/ursula
Hope that helps !

MAYAN RIVIERA. I have stayed at the Barcelo Maya, and Occidental Xcaret. Love the area, saw Tulum,Xcaret (the night show is excellent), Xel-Ha which is a must for snorkelling.

Hello: We have a time share in Playa del Carmen. It is at Fisherman's Village. It sits in front of the ocean and we're not using it until January or February. Our phone # 832 375-0785. Call us for more information. Thank, ITN. My email is itnewman@earthlink.net.