Hello, first post! (reformed lurker)

and i could really use some advice--the endless research in circles is driving me buggy!


Trying to plan a 10 day romantic escape--March 15-23. Now i just have to figure out where.

Ultimately looking for a B&B experience, rather than a resort, with beach-time and a little bit of town/city to explore.

NOT looking for loud spring break-ism or a party scene.

was all settled on Lareto--then i found out that LAX to LTO is $800
still thinking about doing it anyway--found a lovely looking B&B there and it is cheap enough ($70/day) to almost make the expensive flight worth it.

Are there other places i should be looking at? Or a better way to get to Lareto? I looked at San Jose Del Cabo--the B&Bs are fewer there and more expensive--leery of PV and Cabo San Lucas because of spring break.

i would be very grateful for any suggestions that anyone has of how i can pull together this potentially awesome escape.

(i am coming from boston, she from LA--figured i would meet her there, but if there is another city is better to fly from she could meet me instead.)

thank you very much

dave

Dave

You are talking Mexico and prime spring break time so airfares are going to be bad, worse and horrid.

Have you thought about renting a house and doing your own thing? More room and probably less expensive.

An option could be Rocky Point (Puerto Penasco) Mexico. It is driveable from LA (there is a new toll highway from Algadones (by Yuma). Then she can chip in for your flight to LAX. Which would be WAAAAYYYY cheaper than flying into Mexico.

Rocky Point is a medium size fishing village with an indigenous industry as well as a base for the Mexican Navy. It has evolved into a beach resort for Arizonans (Hey it used to be ours until the Mexican American war!!). There are a number of second homes that are available for rent. Lots of decent to excellent restaurants and if you rent in Los Conchas it is a guarded/gated community. Look for Los Conchas in the Puerto Penasco/Rocky Point rentals. Rocky Point has a spring break reputation but that is on Sandy Beach that is why I am recommending Los Conchas as an area to stay. 20 miles and a millenium away from the spring break madness.


Rocky Point has huge long white sandy beaches with some of the largest tide shifts in the world. Dolphin watching, seals, great fishing, I'm not sure if the gray whales will still be in the Sea of Cortez at that time in March or not. Good sea swimming and no big sharks (ever since Jaws I've been paranoid). You can take sea tours out to the seal rookery (bird island) rent 4 wheelers and explore the largest national park in the world (when combined with the US park on the north side) or just chill with a cerveza.

Should the political situation take a turn for the nasty it is a short 50 minute drive to the border (always have a bug out position when in a different country - rule number 6).

If you think about this it is a way you can save money on airfare and spend it on nicer accomodations, good food, etc.. There aren't any B and Bs in Rocky Point that I am aware of but VRBO.com has lots and lots of condos and homes for rent.

Couldn't say on flights (into/out of Cancun), but Isla Mujeres fits the bill in terms of choices of accomodations (all ranges of prices, B+B's, apartments, hotels, etc.) and the "scene," which is laid back. Has a small walkable town and a few distractions like friendly gift shops, rentals for fishing, scuba and snorkeling or swimming with the dolphins; and outside of many excellent restaurants and good beaches, not a lot else.

Do a FIND "Isla Mujeres" on this site and you'll see impressions and reviews by a number of people, including me - it's small, not crowded and slow paced.

Hello davecole and welcome to Slow Travel. We always love to see reformed lurkers joining in.

I wanted to check. Do you mean Loreto instead of Lareto? I have been reading several nice articles on the village. It used to be rather undiscovered (9 hours bus ride from Cabo) and popular with nature lovers. Alaska started flying there from the US and it has started picking up interest from the west coast. I was surprised to see the fares were so expensive. The Cabo flights were less but I suspect because there are more frequent flights to Cabo.

I don't think it is that popular with the Spring break crowd. But as Rome Addict mentioned, I found in general warm destinations in the west to be pretty expensive in March. We like to go to Tuscon and have paid up in the range of $600 from Seattle.

If you do go, I'd love to hear about your trip. And again welcome.

quote:

Originally posted by Jeff H:
Do a FIND "Isla Mujeres" on this site and you'll see impressions and reviews by a number of people, including me - it's small, not crowded and slow paced.

Slow Traveler Sheri returned recently from Isla Mujeres, and wrote a little recap of her trip HERE.

How about Sayulita? Its a very small/fishing/surfing village about 45 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta. We went in June and loved it. I finaly just finished my trip report and loved it. Here is their web page.

http://sayulita.com/

I do think if you are goingover Easter it may be more crowded.
I posted about if here if you do a search on my name llee here you will find some info I posted on it since I don't know how to attach it to here.

My husband went last year to Loreto and didn't like it at all. He said it was run down and so many half finished bldgs that because of teh economy construction was stopped.

Laurie

LAX - PVR (Puerto Vallarta) is less than $300 total for your dates on Alaska Airlines. So that's a possible starting point, even if you choose not to stay in the nearest touristy parts.

We are long time visitors to Rocky Point and spend several long weekends a year there. Las Conchas has many houses to rent in all sizes. We use www.rockypointvacationhomes.com when we want to book a small condo on the Beach or at the Pinacate Condos (located at the end of Calle 13, a long, fun strip of shops, bars and clubs.)

Also check out this place www.lavilladelensueno.net The owner, Jerry, is very accommodating and you do not need to rent the entire place, there is a smaller apartment attached to the main house. We've stayed here with 28 of our friends for the past six years and call it our Mexican Casa.

Rocky Point is a relatively small town with a very laid back attitude. You can find a lot to entertain you, and many fine restaurants to enjoy. The Malecon is a favorite hang out with fresh fish vendors occupying concrete open-air stalls at street level and rowdy restaurants on the second floor overlooking both the ocean and the street. And you must try the 'street tacos', they look rather dangerous but I can assure you, we eat dozens of them during our trips and have never had an issue.

Spring Break happen the entire month of March but if you stay out of the more popular clubs (Pink Cadillac, Manny's) and. as Rome Addict advised, don't go anywhere near Cholla Bay or Sandy Beach you'll be fine.

Good luck!

We just came back from a lovely trip to a B and B just north of Tulum in the Yucatan. We loved it and it has gotten rave reviews on several sites. You would need a rental car and we had no difficulty with driving (including at night). It is just a short drive into Tulum, which has several really nice and/or cute restaurants and one of the most beautiful beaches in the world just south of the town. Akumal is only about 15 minutes north and it is a beautiful calm bay with good snorkeling (we saw turtles!). The B and B is Casa Amor del Sol and is run by a retired caterer and her husband from Wisconsin. There are only two rooms and there is a pool and a rooftop hot tub. Very private if you want it to be and it was also fun to talk to the other couples who were there.

Another vote for Isla Mujeres!!! NO CRUISE SHIPS! What that means is slow pace, tons of fabulous local food, too many too mention, gorgeous beaches, inexpensive, tons of different accomodation...no spring break crowds! They all stay in Cancun...and a short flight from Boston! We can't go for another year and we can't wait to get back for our third trip!

Romantic B & B...could be Casa Sirena and Hotel Secreto on Isla...google it!