Cancun Tours Party Hopper Three 9 hole courses, Dunes, Jungle, & Lakes Huatulco Tours Crocs & Turtles Deep Sea Fishing Rough Guide Tours booked with Teresa in Crucecita Los Cabos - Cabo San Luca Wild Canyon Adventures - Ekopark Neuvo Vallarta/Puerto Vallarta Tours City Tour & Pirate Ship Rhythms of the Night and Sierra Madre tours

Mayan Riviera Tours Catamaran trip to Tulum Chichen Itza Coba Excursion Tour Coba, SeaLife Plus, Xcaret & Xel-Ha Coba Mayan Village Coba Jungle Tour Coco Bongo - Playa Del Carmen Hidden World Isla Mujeres Jungle Crossing Tour from Alltournative Playa Del Carmen Travel on your own - Cozumel, Tulum, Xcaret Tulum Ruins, Dos Ojos, Xel-Ha Tulum Ruins Tulum Extreme Xcaret Xel-Ha

We did the Party Hopper to Cancun. They pick you up in a van and drive you to Congo, Senor Frog and Coco Bongo. The three bars were great and all drinks were included. Coco Bongo is sure something to see, the bar holds 3000 people and they put on a pretty good show with impersonators, balloons, bubbles, overhead trapeze artists, just awesome.

NOTE: If you are going for the Golf, book a golf package, we were told stand-alone golf cost $250.00 US$ per day. Incidentally if you were to play one day only you would find this price very reasonable for the class & style of golf course you will experience. Rental clubs appear to be Muzzuno. (Personal preference for 18 holes was the Dunes & Lakes combo).

The ‘Rough Guide’ took us to a couple of the nearby bays for the incredible views (and a new Mexican Naval Base!). From there we went in the town La Crucecita. After a couple a shop visits mentioned below, we were free to explore the area. Remember that the town is only 20 years old. The main market is hidden in the block to the east of the plaza. This is one of the better places to purchase anything. On the west side of the plaza is the church. The interesting thing about the church is a mosaic in a nave along the north wall. This icon is popular among Catholics, but the interesting thing about this one is that it includes lettering that indicates that it was copied from an Eastern Orthodox version!

Our second tour was the ‘Crocs & Turtles’ tour. After a long drive, it was an interesting ride around a lagoon and a turtle sanctuary. Finished with a late lunch in Puerto Angel, a lovely fishing village and bay. Our main complaint is that there are many ‘extras’ that had to be paid for, such as entrance to the lagoon, the turtle sanctuary, and of course, lunch. What did your $35 pay for? Just the ride. Minor problems included the Signature rep never mentioning to our group to bring a swimsuit and towel to swim in a bay. And while having lunch on the beach in Puerto Angel, we were bombarded with peddlars while waiting for our meal.

My girlfriend was celebrating her 50th birthday and it just so happened that that was the day we booked a deep sea fishing trip with Gregario Sanchez (“Mahi Mahi”). We had met another couple down there that decided to come with us, so in total there were 6 of us. About an hour into the fishing trip, we landed a beautiful mahi mahi – our captain said it weighed around 50 lbs. A short time later, we landed another one and then another one, all of them weighing between 45-50 lbs. So each of the guys had the experience of landing one. All in all, we caught 4 mahi mahi, and saw lots of dolphins and Tortugas. We were absolutely thrilled with our catch! We would highly recommend Gregario. We only wish we had stayed another week to do another fishing trip with him. Maybe next year.

The best day of our trip came when we got a local fisherman ( Gregario Sanchez/ cell # 9585833145) to take ourselves and another couple out for a morning of deep sea fishing. He was recommended to us by a couple from Calgary who had gone out with him the day before flyfishing for mackerel and bonito. They had returned with a couple 25-30 lb yellow fin tuna and a nice mahi mahi and had seen dozens of porpoises and Ridley sea turtles. They were amazed at how hard this man had worked to make it a successful fishing trip. There are fishing trips that can be arranged by the resort that depart out of the Santa Cruz marina ( inshore fishing- $220 US for 4 hrs/ deep sea fishing-$550 US for 5 hrs) but they were too pricey for our budget. The fishing boats that sit just off the pool area of the resort will take you out for a scenic tour or out fishing. Most of these boats are poorly set up for deep sea fishing. You have to be selective. Gregario charges $50 US per hour. He has excellent tackle, Penn reels and Ugly Stik rods. The day we went out he even brought live bait in anticipation of catching a large sail fish or yellowfin tuna. Marlin and sail fish are quite abundant in April and May, but the odd sail fish can still be caught. He owns his own boat and takes great pride in what he does. His English is weak but he enjoys conversing with people on his boat and learning new words. Our 6 hour fishing expedition started when he picked us up at 6:30am on the beach (Playa Tornillo). The sunrise was spectacular. We caught an 8 foot sail fish, a 4 foot Mahi Mahi (which is the name of his boat), several bonito and a 200 lb manta ray that we hooked by accident (live release). We saw many dolphins/porpoises and Ridley sea turtles which added to this amazing experience. Be sure to take a camera and video camera if you have one.

We visited La Entrega beach ourselves by taxi. This is a lovely beach, great for snorkelling, but try to go in the week when it’s quieter. The Mexicans descend on it at the weekend. While we were there we met GilbertoAlegria who told us about his boat for fishing and bay trips. We hired him to take us fishing one morning. It was £50 for 4 hours for just my husband and myself. This was the cheapest price as most of the locals were quoting £80-£100. He was very good and picked us up at our hotel in his brother’s old banger and took us to Santa Cruz where we picked up his boat. He provided the rods and bait, and he had a young lad to help him. I just went for the ride, and my husband caught bonita and mahimahi. Gilbert filleted the fish for us and dropped us off right on Tangolunda beach in front of our hotel. We took it straight to the restaurant and they agreed to cook our fish for us for lunch on that day and the next day free of charge. The kitchen not only cooked it to perfection but also presented it on the plate with vegetable flowers and small mounds of rice and it looked wonderful. Needless to say we tipped the cook who had really put a lot of effort into it. She did the same the next day too with a different presentation and it was delicious.

Los Cabos - Cabo San Luca

We went zip lining with Wild Canyon Adventures - Ekopark in Las Cabos and my family had an amazing time. WE FELT VERY SAFE! We booked it through Walmart which was only a 10 minute walk from the Sante Fe and where we found the best prices. The cab ride which was part of the price picked us up on time and there was no problem getting there and back to the park. Fernando Ortiz was so friendly and helpful and was always reasuring the whole way! My kids ages 10 & 12 had the time of their life. The view from the main grounds was breathtaking as you could see the ocean and the dessert from one spot. They also took beautiful pictures while zip lining which you can of course purchase for a reasonable fee. My husband and son also went Dune buddying on the beach - a little pricey but highly recommend it. They will hit you up for $35.00 extra for insurance once you get there and the guy at the Walmart tour booth does not tell you this. The insurance is worth getting because if you even !

Neuvo Vallarta/Puerto Vallarta

Sierra Madre tour.
A drive through rural Mexico in the back of a UniMog, similar to an army truck, with seat belts,a canvas roof and very knowledgable guides. Up close and personal with small town Mexico, farms and farm homes, a jungle tour and a pristine beach with an excellent meal. If you do not mind wind in your hair, bugs in your teeth, rock and roll rides then you will love this tour. If you have a bad back, are picky about your hair or dislike being up close and personal with strangers then find another way to see rural Mexico.

We did two excursions, the city tour which included the tequila tour, and the Pirate ship. Both of them were great, however, the Pirate ship does not include your transportation to the Arena and does not include the fee to get into the Marina. Apparently, the taxi drivers don’t let buses into the resort to take guests places, another charm to this whole experience, We were never informed that the Marina would charge us admission to get to the Pirate ship, and luckily we all brought money with us, that is extra money after paying the cabbie to get there. We went on the Pirate ship at night and the view and fireworks were spectacular. A cool night out nonetheless.

Mayan Riviera

Just a quick note that we travelled by the collectivo bus almost everywhere. It's defintiely the cheapiest and is super easy. It cost 25 pesos/person each way. We went to Xel-Ha one day and another adventure park called Hidden Worlds another day. Hidden World was particularly fun, you get to ride their sky-bike, zipline across the jungle as well as zipline into a cenote, as well as rapelling into a cenote and finally snorkeling in the cenote. They provide all the gear for you at each station so you really don't have to bring anything! WE also went to playa del carmen for half a day as well as Coba.

We went with the Iberostar Paraisio Star friends one night to Coco Bongo, in Playa Del Carmen. It was $60US / person and we left by bus at 10:30 pm and came back at 4:30 am. We had VIP seats and all you can drink, except for shots from the wandering waitresses which were $5. The bar is 5 levels with seating on 3 sides and elevated stage on the other. The music is loud, and the people there to have a good time. The show runs until 3 am and is a blend of cirque du solei, lip sinking, videos, and dancers. We’re not into clubbing but we had a blast and the crowd is mostly tourists. The show is awesome and it beats Senior Frogs by a mile.
Check them out at www.cocobongo.com.mx

Board the biggest catamaran in the Mayan for a 2 hour, all you can drink, trip to Tulum. It was a very windy and wavy day, which for most of the people made it quite interesting and fun. But for some people, they didn’t have so much fun and were quite seasick. Once arriving at Tulum, the catamaran weighs anchor for some snorkeling at a huge reef system and then its lunch time. Lunch is a buffet on board and it isn’t anything too special, but good none the less. Small boats then take everyone, 10 people at a time to a really sweet public beach. You get a little time to play at the beach then everyone is taken by van to Tulum for a guided tour of the ruins. Tulum is definitely something everyone has to see as it is the history of the Mayan People.

Jungle Crossing Tour from Alltournative tours. You start out in a picturesque bay near Akumal into which you kayak out and have a guided snorkeling tour at a nice reef. After the snorkeling you have a snack and drink on the beach and prepare for the next part of the tour. It is a drive into the country side on a crazy 4x4 army type vehicle, the ride is wicked bumpy, and you end the trip at an authentic Mayan village. At the village you go on a guided snorkel tour through an underground river system. You then go for a short walk, watch out for the acid trees and mosquitoes, and you end up at another Cenote for a cool swim there. After you return to the village, it’s lunch time and an authentic Mayan meal. Very tasty, make sure to try the hot sauces, they aren’t so hot, LOL!! After lunch you go back to the beach where you started for some rest and relaxation and a chance to purchase pictures they have taken of your day.

TULUM RUINS
We went to Tulum Ruins on Saturday morning at 8am. Taxi is 7$ (well 70 pesos, most drivers will convert that to 7$ American, but one wanted 8$ and another 10$!) and entrance is 48 pesos (I’m pretty sure you need to pay in pesos, not American dollars). The ruins are open every day from 8am-5pm. There is no extra fee for professional camera but there is for videocamera. A guide costs 400 pesos (this is for 1-6 people, then slightlight higher for more people, for example 450 pesos for 7-9 people, etc). We didn’t bother getting a guide since it would have been 45$ for our group of 8 people. It was already quite hot at 8am. We walked around half an hour to an hour then hit the beach. There is no washroom near the beach, so where your suit under your clothes, otherwise you can change behind a big rock with the help of a towel. As said many times before the beach here is absolutely stunning. There are no rocks in the water, the water is crystal clear and the waves are large. Everybody had a blast swimming, the half hour in the water is one of the highlights of our trip (especially getting our parents out there with us!). Everybody started getting ready to leave at 9:45am and my fiance and I were going to stay behind and enjoy the beach for a few hours, but within 10 minutes throngs of people were filling the beach and so we ended up leaving with our family. Really, it’s insane how this place fills up at 10am when the tour buses arrive. There must have been a 500-1000 people dropped off there right at 9:45 or 10am. You cannot take wedding pictures at the ruins (more on this below). If you walk in wearing your dress they make you take it off and put it in your locker.

We bought the Coba excursion package for $119 USD per person. It lasted from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. We had fun but the tallest ruin in Coba was the only attraction compared to the many ruins available in Tulum or Chichen Itza. I would not pay $119 next time because it should have been worth no more than $60 per person.

If you are in this area do not miss the Coba Mayan Village tour. It is a full day but is well worth the time. Our guide Louis was fantastic. During the 2hr bus ride he told us the history of the Mayan people and many many other interesting facts. We were able to climb the pyramid in Coba and then visited a family in the Mayan village. If you are thinking of doing this tour they ask that you bring pencils, books, or other supplies for the village children. They ask that you don't give the children money as that encourages them to beg.

The last excurion we did was the Tulum Extreme, it started with each of us doing three zip lines over the jungle ceiling, then swimming in an underground cenote, repelling down a cliff, then lunch, then they take you to the ruins of Tulum and give you a tour. I've been to Tulum before so skipped the history lessen and went right for the Tulum beach, gorgeous. Just something amazing about frolicking in the rough ocean waves and staring up at the grandeur of the Mayan temple. Breathtaking.

We did two excursions. One was the Tulum Extreme. This was well worth the $100 price. This included, swimming on the cenotes (underground water caves) propelling off a cliff, 3 zip lines across the jungle and the tour of the Mayan ruins. This is from 8 am to 3 pm. Then we did a parasailing trip to two snorkel spots. Very fun, that one was $50 a person.

EXCURSIONS: I know everyone has different experiences on tours and what they find interesting, so this is just my opinion on what's good to see & remember I've been here twice.

Playa Del Carmen, 5th Avenue. You must visit the city and tour the famous 5th Avenue. It is $20US to and from the Lindo. Playa Del Carmen is getting pretty commercialized and is turning into a small American city, with McDonalds, Burger King and Subway everywhere you look. There are some nice little shops selling cheap trinkets and souvenirs that are neat to visit and haggle for better prices. The beach in Playa is fantastic and the view of Cozumel is cool, as you can see the high rise buildings on the island. We spent a couple of hours walking around, spent a little bit of money, and had a good time.

This is only a 20 minute walk from the hotel (Riu Playacar) or a 5 minute, $5 taxi drive. We walked it the first time during the day. It is a great walk, you can look at all the pretty houses and it is very safe. 5th Avenue has lots of shopping, bars and restaurants. Since the hotel is all-inclusive we didn’t eat out anywhere. We did stop at a Cuban bar and Senior Frogs for some cocktails. Both bars had a great inviting atmosphere! We shopped at 5th avenue 3 nights. This place is a must!!!

Playa De Carman – we went to the famous 5th avenue in Playa de Carman and it was a GREAT spot to haggle prices and find souvenirs for family and friends. If you are buying silver SHOP AROUND I bought a chain that was 85 USD at one store and I finally got the exact same chain from another vendor for $25 USD. Don’t be afraid to make them an offer they are expecting it. Haggle and bargain with them and know that you could possibly be getting ripped off but if you like it and pay the right price for it who cares.

Chankanaab Park/Dolphin Encounter
This is Cozumel's Marine National Park, and a 10 min and $10.00 taxi ride from resort. You have 3 dolphin discovery activities to chose from. Encounter (basic package) at US$79.00, then there is the Swim Adventure at $99.00 I think (handshake, kiss, snorkel and belly ride), and the most expensive is the Royal Swim Adventure (ride with 2 dolphins). We participated in the Encounter (kiss, hand shake, touch and watch it perform). We pre-booked our activity with our air canada rep. This must be pre-booked because of popularity. Was told cameras are not allowed during the encounter, but in fact are, as long as they are waterproof. Pictures and video of your group will be taken by park staff. Look for someone wearing the dolphin discovery shirt at entrance to park, and make sure to check-in with dolphin staff 1 hr before your scheduled activity. Your entrance to park is incl in cost, as well as taxi ride back to resort. Will be given life vests to wear, and receive a 5 min explanation of what to expect. Showers, washrooms and lockers are to the right of dolphin gift shop. Lockers are free of charge, key incl. Everything is very clean and is of course new since being rebuilt after the hurricane destruction. We also got to see a 4 day old baby dolphin with it's mommy. Ahhhhhh, so cute! Were in ocean (waist deep) with 2 dolphins for approx 25 mins. Wear water shoes or will have to go barefoot if you have sandals of any sort. There is a white line at edge of the platform. Trainer will tell you when to step forward for an activity as a group or 1 by 1. Ocean is 9 ft deep beyond the platform. Chain link fence behind you to grab onto to keep your balance. Wonderful encounter, dolphins are beautiful, skin is amazingly silky soft! Once done, you will be led to viewing room to watch video. Very well done DVD, $30. Expensive, but worth it. Pictures of you shaking hands/fins, and kissing are $15.00 for 1, $28.00 for 2. Gift shop has some very nice items and reasonable prices. There were several dolphins swimming in the center large ocean compound area where the activities take place, as well as their coming up for air in their individual pens along the 2 sides of center compound. Even if you don't participate in any of the hands-on activities, you will still be able to watch from a distance. As for the rest of the park, majority of activities are also in the ocean. You have swimming, snorkeling, diving, snuba, seatrek or just sit back in the shade and enjoy the scenery. Walk around the park and take in the reproduction of mayan ruins. Not much else to see.

Tulum is only $4.50 US per person. You can take the $2.00 collectivo and it’s an inexpensive day. The ruins and beach are beautiful. You cannot climb any of the ruins. Bring mosquito repellant as there are a few bugs when you walk through the jungle to the main property.

We did two independent trips one to Cozumel and one to Tulum. Just go to the Hacienda and go outside the resort. There are the Collectivo buses waiting or at least come along very frequently. They cost $2 usd each way and take you to Playa del Carmen one direction and Tulum the other. If you fancy going to Cozumel get the bus to Playa del Carmen and then the Ferry which is about $20 return trip. Once there we caught a taxi to the national park and did some fantastic snorkelling. The taxi costs $10 each way. It was a great day out and a change of scenery. Tulum – get the bus and go to the ruins and take a costume for the lovely beach there. We also went to Xcaret which was a fantastic day out. Snorkelling in underground caves, dolphins, Mayan village, and best of all the fantastic show in the evening. What ever you do do not miss this show. It was awesome and truly spectacular. It was worth paying the entrance fee for alone. See the Mayans playing their ball game and see them playing the ball game with a flaming ball up and down the arena, the singing and dancing were fantastic. Highly recommend this. Every night there is a show in the hotel but nothing like this one!

We only took the included tour to Isla Mujeres-- we were going to go to Tulum but instead decided to stay at the resort and take the 90-minute sales pitch tour so I could get a discount for the spa. We took this vacation to relax, and didn't feel like being herded around. The trip to Isla was okay. We took a tour bus down to Cancun, which is really devastated from Hurricane Wilma--most of the hotels were still closed, and the ones that are open are still under construction. From Cancun, you get on a party boat to Isla that takes about 40 minutes. They have beer, water, and soft drinks on the boat, and a very enthusaistic and entertaining crew, although they were a little over the top on the jokes about homosexuality, especially with so many kids on the boat. I was a bit offended, but not enough to complain about it to anyone other than here. Once at Isla, the herding began--we were told that we'd have to register for snorkeling right away, so my husband and I ran over to the little booth to wait a poorly-organized line. All of the various mini-tours and activity registrations were out of that booth, so it was hard to tell which of the 7 lines we should be in. Eventually we got checked in and told where to go, but we didn't really have time to stop for towels. The snorkeling was fun--it was the first time I'd ever been. I'd like to try it again with my own gear, in a place a little less crowded. When we got back, we stuffed ourselves with taquitos. They had a buffet with some other foods on it, but none looked as good. There was no really good beach there for swimming, sadly--the water was very seaweedy and dirty looking close to shore. We just sat around and drank beer and ate until it was time to board the boat to go to the shopping area. We ended up getting 3 t-shirts for $10. Don't bother--out of the 3, one of them got ruined the first time we washed it. They're not very good quality. The shopping was boring--I'm just not a big fan of tourist traps. Luckily we only spent an hour or so there. On the boat ride back, the tour guides put on a crazy show. Part of it involved some sort of crazy mix of tequila and fruit punch that they ran around squirting into people's mouths. It was fun watching other people do, let's just put it that way. I was getting tired and wanted to get back to our resort. Back in Cancun, we had to wait for the buses, and then I found out that the bus we were on didn't have a bathroom. I ran back to the bar we were at and used the public restroom there, but other people didn't, and it had to stop halfway back. About 10 minutes after we got back on the road, the bus almost got into a wreck and something went thump when we swerved. Next thing I know we get pulled over. The driver has a 3-minute conversation with the police officer and then restarts the bus, and the transmission is obviously ailing. The low gears just weren't working...and the trip had a lot of stop and go traffic. By the time we got to Playacar Palace to drop off a few people, we were wondering if we were going to make it back. We ended up getting back about two hours later than scheduled. After that, I figured I'd go to the spa instead of Tulum.

We took the Xel-Ha tour which was good. Snorkelling was a little disappointing because there was a lot of sand but some fish around the rocky areas. The most exciting thing I saw was a stingray which was pretty cool. The neat thing about Xel-Ha is that it is all inclusive (75 USD) and that includes your food, booze, towel and snorkel equipment while giving you a new snorkel every time. Dolphins were very cool but at a very expensive cost. For 30 minutes, you could go in the water with them for 109 USD and for 149 USD, you got to spend 40 minutes with them. Although I wanted to do it, I didn't and kind of regret it now but we simply ran out of time. As it was windy, the lazy river was a lot of work but the initial part of the river was really, really cool as it's a natural park with cool critters (on the shore such as crabs). You can also use bicycles and there is a play area for kids ... it's a really cool place to visit and am glad we did it. Longer bus trip than expected though as it stops at other hotels too.

We went to Xel-Ha for the day from the Iberostar Paraiso. It is some of the best snorkeling in Mexico (sheltered, lots of fish) and a great way to spend the day. There’s also lazy river tubing but unless to plan on spending hours floating wear you fins or cut the trip short once the river opens. They’ve introduced all inclusive entrance fees which for $75 US which also get you all the food and drink. The food was great and I especially liked the Mango Margarita! We paid $119US at our resort which included bus transportation. Snubba and related scuba activities are at an additional cost but weren’t active our day because of rough seas.

I highly recommend Xel-Ha. Great snorkeling, ALL INCLUSIVE park. Don't book at the hotel... save yourself money and just take a taxi to Xel-Ha which is just ten minutes away, and pay at the entrance gate. No need to bring towels or food. This includes food and drinks at about three different restaurants, lockers, fresh towels, inner tubes, kayaking, and snorkel gear. Everyone gets a new snorkel that you can keep and take with you. We spent five full hours snorkeling and ran out of time to take advantage of other activities at the park. GREAT DAY!

Xel-Ha Ecological Park. This was our second time here. This is a great place to spend the day snorkeling down the fresh water river, towards the ocean, looking at fish and other aquatic animals and plants. The park is all inclusive meaning all food, drink, snorkeling equipment, towels, showers and dressing rooms are included. Along with the water activities, there is plenty of stuff to see on land, with nice restaurants and bars, shops to visit, hiking thru the park is great and there is so much to see. You also have to try and walk across the floating bridge, it’s a blast in a wavy day. This is one trip I definitely recommend everyone try.

Xel-Há/Tulum at $139.00 US + tax each was a bit of a disappointment. It would have been much cheaper to rent a car and pay the admission. Xel-Há was in the morning hours and there was a small-guided tour of Tulum in the afternoon. Our tour guide mentioned you’d probably need a waterproof camera and eco-friendly sunscreen that they sell at the water park. Amazingly, he just happened to have both for sale onboard the bus for a discounted price as well as soft drinks, water and beer! The refreshments were needed in the 37 degree C heat. No one at Xel-Há checked to see if we actually had eco-friendly sunscreen at the park. Our guide also pushed some jewelry that they sold at Tulum with your personalized name in “Mayan letters” (hmm…can you say commission?). Xel-Há, though enjoyable and picturesque, wasn’t as impressive as the videos and brochures would lead you to believe. Many things are extra like SNUBA and interacting with dolphins. Our meals, refreshments, lockers, snorkel equipment and towels were included with our particular package. By 10:00 am things get pretty crowded. Not as many colourful fish as we’d like and it was murky due to the fresh and saltwater mix, but that may vary depending upon the area. Lots of clean washrooms in the park and floating down the lazy river in an inner tube was rather relaxing. As soon as you get off the bus at Tulum the vendors are on you like flies. It is wise to take the train to the ruins, because it is a very hot walk to get there. This should be included in the price of admission, but it is not ($2.00 US). The washrooms in the small shopping centre at the Tulum site as well as the ones in the visitor center near the ruins are quite disgusting. No toilet paper, few paper towels, often no seats, overflowing plugged toilets and disgusting smell. They are truly awful! The ruins are impressive set against the turquoise sea and the beach is lovely. Many of the ruins are now roped off to prevent further decay. It was a long day from 7:30 am pick-up to drop off at 6:00 pm but we would have regretted not trying it.

Chichen Itza... Great historic site. One of the "New Seven Wonders" of the world. Chichen Itza is about two hours from the resort. This is the one trip worth booking through the hotel. I am not too sure young children would enjoy this trip, but this is a truly amazing place and is worth the day trip. I would go back!

The other trip we did was to the Mayan ruins of “Chichen Itza”. It’s a long bus ride but the bus is air conditioned and the seats were very comfortable. The ruins were unbelievable! You have to see them for yourself! One thing we do recommend is to buy the Chichen Itza guidebook in the hotel shop and do a little reading before you go and bring the book along with you. You only have around 2 ½ hours at Chichen Itza. They provide a wonderful guided tour but this really cuts in to the limited time you have to explore. We wished that we had a guidebook so we could have skipped the tour and had the whole 2 ½ hours to explore on our own as there was much that we did not get to see. The ruins are fantastic and are endless! It’s awesome to see them and imagine what life was like back then! We strongly recommend this trip but we strongly recommend getting a guidebook and reading about it ahead of time then going to see what you want to see on your own. Be sure to grab all the bottled water from your room before you go on either trip as its very hot in Mexico and you need to replenish your fluids constantly! In fact, we brought insulated water bottle holders to Mexico with us and it was definitely good to have them so you didn’t have to walk around looking for bottled water. We filled them with the bottled water in our room and we took a couple of extra bottles too! Get the kind that have straps so you can sling them over your shoulder or the kind that are attached to fanny pack belts so you don’t have to carry them in your hands.

My husband choose to come to Mexico because he had always wanted to see the Mayan ruins. So we booked the full day trip to Chichen Itza. . We met in the lobby at 8:30 am and we did not return until after 7:00 pm. But is well worth the money. We took 4 bottles of water and ended up buying 4 more because it is very hot and there is no shade here. We also booked swimming with the Dolphins. We went to Puerto Adventuras ( a resort about 10 minute down the highway) Our tour guide operator recommended it because the people to dolphin ratio is very small. There were 5 of us in the water with 4 dolphins. Truthfully the most amazing experience of my life. I think everyone else felt the same way. We got to take our camera but the pictures and video they take are so much better. However they want $50 USD dollars for the video and $15 per picture. You are also given a free day pass to the Xcaret Park which is attached to the resort. Be prepared to spend the entire day here. There are amazing under ground caves that you may snorkel through at no extra cost.

Xcarat.. nice big park/zoo, some good swimming, good night show. Good for all ages. It was good but I won't be going back. If you are in the area for a long time and looking for something to do, it might be worth visiting, if you are not in the area very long, visit one of the other attractions in the area first.

The park opens at 8:30 am, we arrived a few minutes after it opened which is a fantastic idea. Bought the tickets at the hotel for $49 US per adult and both of my kids were free. Took a taxi from the lobby (just ask the bell boy to get you one) and it cost us $10 US each way. It was cheaper for us to buy our tickets and take a taxi because the tour package price was $65 US. We liked the idea of just leaving whenever we wanted from Xcaret, and the taxi's are just waiting to take guests back to their hotel in the parking lot. I took one stroller but my 3 1/2 year old still likes to be pushed around so I rented a large stroller for him, it cost $12 US and you need to leave a $30 US deposit. The stollers were awesome with 3 huge rubber tires that would run over anything. My kids did love to walk around too, but be very very careful, there are some spots that they could fall into water (ie/ the turtle area and manatee lagoon), I was surprise not to see someone fall down in there, it's easy to get bumped. The beach area was deserted early in the morning and we had any choice of spot to pick, we chose some chairs in the shade and played in the water. This is the perfect place for young children to play in the water. It's really like a large swimming pool with little fish the kids can chase. My kids didn't want to leave after hours of playing. My husband and father in law put on the lifevests and floated/swam down the underground river......they had a great time. There is also a boat that you can take down a river for those of you who don't want to get wet or for young kids. I would recommend this excursion to anyone, they even had wheel chairs to rent, the pathways are easy to get around and early in the morning wasn't busy. We left the park around 3pm. I also packed up our drinks from the minibar and made the kids jelly sandwiches at the buffet before we left, Xcaret charges $2.50 US per pop and hotdogs were $4.90 US, so I was glad to have packed up lots of water, pop and food. We left around 3pm after doing some t-shirt shopping (only $5 US), it's less than 10 minutes from the resort. I've been to Mexico before and had already done Xelha and Tulum, I knew the kids would enjoy Xcaret and we also enjoyed going for a second time. My father in law said it was "awesome".

A must do trip is to “Xcaret”. It was awesome! It’s a huge facility located on the Caribbean. It’s a short bus trip from the resort and you can leave in the morning and stay only until 1:30 PM or you can get a bus back at 5:00 PM or stay through until 9:30 PM!!!! The park has all kinds of attractions and exhibits, a Mayan Village replica, Mayan ruins to explore, an Aquarium, an underground river you can float down, a beautiful boat ride through the jungle, many wildlife exhibits and many swimming lagoons and beaches right off the ocean. There are places to eat and lockers to keep your stuff in and lots of outdoor showers to rinse off in and places to change etc… At night they put on a fabulous show with over 200 performers in a covered open air theatre. It was great fun and lots to see and do and many beautiful places. A MUST visit!

This was the highlight of our trip .Tulum is about 45 minutes away we contracted with Lomas to provide the transportation, it was a huge European Bus the tour guide Manuel spoke so many languages that I lost count. Both of our parents were born in Mexico so to us it was a chance to visit our ancestral past. The ruins are more breathtaking, totally stunning then the many internet pictures that are available. Word of caution: It is "mucho & I mean mucho caliente !!" (very very hot) take or buy bottle water, sun glasses , bathing suit ,your most comfortable walking shoes, sun tan lotions, mosquito spray sun hats/ caps, & dress appropriately for extreme heat conditions. The bus will unload you approximately a mile and 1/2 from the actual Ruins entrance & next to a souvenir shopping center, you have a choice if you feel like walking up a dusty gravel road or pay 20 pesos each to ride a tram . Considering my heart condition & extreme heat we chose the Tram . At the Ruins entrance there is a "last chance" potty break & bottle water is sold at the book store or from a little old man with a cart the guide will wait. Once you get past the main entrance there are no restrooms or water fountains & limited shade except near the ocean where there are palm trees The tour is approximately 1 hour (if you last) , You will be given a chance to jump in the ocean next to the ruins. We also saw a skinny snake so watch where you step your invading their territory.The following is very important: Be sure to remember the pick up time AND PLACE , bus number & description , bus color, license plate etc. and start looking for it about 30 minutes or more before your departure. We almost were left there because we couldn't find our bus and guess what by pick up time there will be a lot more buses in the parking area then when you arrived. One couple on our bus was left at Tulum after a good faith search by the bus crew failed to locate them.

We did the Coba Jungle Tour ($85 US) which includes a visit to a Mayan Village, Cenote swimming and the Mayan Ruins of Coba. My husband thought the village was a waste of time, but I liked it. The cenote swimming was fun although you’re not there very long. By the time we got to Coba’s ruins it had clouded over and was threatening rain. We started off on the walking tour (about 3 miles but you can rent bikes or get rides), and it started to pour. We were 1/3 of the way there and there was no place to take shelter from the jungle downpour so we all decided to keep walking. By the time we got to the pyramid we were all soaked but some people still wanted to climb it. All in all it was a good tour, but having done Tulum we were a little disappointed. We thought that Chitchen Itza was too far but maybe we will do that next time.

Tours

For about $60 to $100 CDN per person, the hotel offers various tours including an active volcano, several cities and an especially adrenaline generating trip to what is called the Mombacho Canopy Tour. You are suspended high in the trees to a wire cable by a harness outfitted with a clamp and pulley contraption. You jump off the platform and ride the cord to the next tree, hundreds of feet away, using your left hand as your brake. My claim to fame is that I will be forever known as the Canadian Pollo (chicken) because I insisted they get me the he_ _ down from there after four of these harrowing runs. (Trust me, that’s the only tree available to do it on and it’s not easy!) This trip also included a nice lunch, and a stop at a scenic view of a massive lagoon.

Panama Canal
Restaurants
Tours - Decamero Explorer

Deep See Fishing-my husband and his buddy went on this. They left around 7:00 AM and returned around 12:30. The cost was $150.00 USD. It included food, drinks, guide, equipment etc. They only brought back 1 fish but the day before 4 fish were brought in.

We chose the Panama Canal Partial Transit which gave us a 4 hour trip through two sets of locks in a 300 capacity boat combined with a lunch on board. At $110 each it might have seemed expensive until you hear what it costs to take a boat through the Canal. This trip runs Friday and Saturday with alternative days going north or south. The excursion was great but I wished that we had locked with one of the larger ocean vessels instead of the smaller yacht that joined us. Such is luck of the draw. I have posted a few pictures here: http://www.worldisround.com/articles/351162/index.html After the trip we went to a duty free shop and although the prices seemed good they were actually much higher than we found at the airport later on.

There are a number of side trips that are available, quite a number of them revolve around the Panama Canal. We took three trips Jungle Boat, Partial Canal Transit and the Panama Express and all three involved the Canal. We saw the canal three different ways, we crossed it on a small boat at the bottom end of Gatun Lake (a man made lake which feeds the canal with water) on the Jungle Boat excursion, we went through two sets of locks on the Pacific side on a boat in the Partial Canal transit. Our boat was late in coming for us so we made a stop at the Gamboa Rainforest hotel, an absolutely beautiful hotel laid out on a hill overlooking the Chagres River (one of the main rivers feeding the canal) but because this hotel is in the rainforest it does rain there constantly. We were fortunate that the day we went was very sunny and hot. Then we traveled by train from the Atlantic side to the Pacific along the side of the canal. This tour is very long and you travel by bus to the Atlantic town of Portobello, then on to Colon, the largest Duty Free zone after Hong Kong. This is followed by lunch at the Melia Panama Canal, a tour of the Gatun Locks and then you board the train at 5:15 pm.

We enjoyed this restaurant so much we went back the next day (last night) this time my husband had Caribbean King Crab for $35 (cousin to the Alaska King Crab) weighing in at 5 lbs., Jurg tells us that often they can be closer to 10 lbs. The shell is very hard so they provide you with a wooden board and a covered rock but the reward is a very sweet tasting meat that just melts in your mouth and Luz makes her own garlic butter sauce, that has no match and is so good you could eat it on it’s own with bread (as long as you’re a garlic lover). I had a large bowl of Clams with the garlic sauce and a large helping of bread. We both thoroughly enjoyed our meal. We made it to the restaurant on our own power Jurg drove us back both times, Thank you, Jurg.

Exploring on your own
Restaurants

Thanks to previous reviewers, we did not have a bad meal in St. Kitts. Marshalls (a $6 cab ride from TBR) was by far the best. The food, the scenery, the ambience were superb. Make reservations and request an ocean-view table. Entrees are priced from $15-35. The Marshall’s Delight was an excellent drink. Eat there early in your stay, because you’ll want to return! Mr. X’s Shiggidy Shack (right on the beach next to TBR) was the other place we ate at twice. The fish was excellent ($12), the lobster good ($20). Wear shorts, go barefoot, eat at picnic tables 10 yards from the ocean. We got an excellent pizza and calzone at PJs. PJs is halfway between the Timothy Beach Resort and the new Marriott (an 8 minute walk from either one). We did have to change tables because of many tiny bugs on our first table, but it is an open-air restaurant. The Garden Restaurant at Frigate Bay Resort ($6 cab ride from TBR) was just a bit disappointing. The entrees ($15-20) were good, but nothing special and the side dishes were so-so. Their Cherry Blossom drink (a cherry colada) was excellent! A trip to Turtle Beach Bar & Grill at the far SE tip of the island is well worth the long ride ($32 roundtrip cab fare). Entrees are $12-25. Go before dark, so you get to sightsee on your way. This restaurant is nicer than the beach shacks, but not as fancy as Marshalls or The Garden Restaurant. Ask to see the pig. If you like sweet frozen drinks, you must have their Turtle Colada. We tried to go to the Sunset Bar & Grill (a beach shack) one evening, but it closes at 3 p.m. If you want to try their lobster, go for lunch!

My fiance and I visited St. Kitts while on a Caribbean cruise. As soon as we exited the ship we were awestruck by how beautiful the island was. Our only regret of the entire trip were the plans we made to visit Turtle Beach. Everything I read about Turtle Beach praised it for how beautiful it was. This turned out to be completely untrue. We arrived at Turtle Beach with high expectations that were soon crushed. The beach was incredibly small, crowded, and disgusting. Cigarette buds, bottle caps, and other debris littered the beach. We were harassed the entire time by locals attempting to sell us all sorts of things. I felt uncomfortable and wanted to leave from the moment we arrived. The only highlight of the trip was the huge pig that wandered around drinking everyone's beer. I would never recommend anyone to visit turtle beach. There are so many other beautiful places to visit on St. Kitts. Please don't make the mistake that my fiance and I made by going to Turtle Beach.

Brimstone Hill - a must - the old fortress that protected the island has been preserved and is now a museum with tours

Brig Unicorn Sunset Cruise - Almond Morgan Bay
Canopy Zip Line
Gros Piton Walking Tour
Land and Sea - Almond Morgan Bay
Pigeon Island, Smugglers Cove, Gros Piton Nature Hike, La Soufriere Drive-In Volcano, Touraille Waterfall
Saluna Water Sports - Boat Tour
Vieux Fort, Snorkelling Tour, Soufriere Experience etc - Coconut Bay

I just returned from St. Lucia and would highly recommend the boat tour of the island by Saluna Water Sports. It leaves Rodney Bay/Reduit Beach and is a private boat that holds from 6-8 people comfortably. You get a personal guided tour of the island rather than taking a large boat which is very impersonal. Alcoholic and soft drink beverages are on board.

They only thing we really wanted to do was to go see the Pitons. They have catamaran tours, fishing, land tours. Not interested. We’ve done too many like this were you spend an hour picking everyone up and then your stuck to a schedule so we just hired a taxi with another couple to take us down to the Gros Piton because we wanted to climb it. The road from Castries to Soufriere was a roller coaster, 10 times worse that the other side of the island. I had thought of renting a car but I’m so glad I didn’t. They drive on the left side(UK style) and I’ve never been on a road with so many elevation changes and hairpin turns. I was starting to feel sick. And like most Caribbean countries the driving is a little crazy.

We chose to do the Canopy Zip Line. This was fantastic! It's a thrill and very cool to see the rainforest from a different point of view. This is a do not miss! We even had a woman with us who was affraid of heights, and she loved it!

You can find many pictures of these places in my photo album at:
http://www.zerokarma.com/modules.php?name=Photo_Album&file=thumbnails&album=15

Martinique Splendour (booked through travel rep for Air Canada) - definitely worth the money even if it seemed pricey when we were booking! You get it all on this trip - a 90 min. boat ride from Rodney Bay to Martinique while you eat breakfast, a walking tour of Fort de France, time for shopping, a big BBQ lunch back on board, then snorkelling and swimming off the boat and the boat ride back - all the while with a fully stocked open bar. While making the crossing we saw dolphins, a whale and flying fish, the captain also took us to see a vampire bat cave were we saw them sleeping (from a safe distance still aboard the boat) It was fabulous! The only warning with this trip is that the crossing can be rough and several people were feeling a little queasy (myself included) but a dramamine or gravol will solve this!

Don't hold me to this but I think this old fashioned sailing ship was the one used in the making of the mini series Roots. This two hour cruise is fun. When you step on the ship you get handed a rum punch drink which is mostly rum. Three of those and you will be chasing the parrot up the crow's nest. The only negative point about this excursion is that they use diesel to get you out into open water where they can unfurl the sails. Diesel is not my favourite essence. I think if you had some wind in the harbour it may not be a factor as that would serve to exhaust the fumes. It was not a major problem -and it was temporary but methinks you should be aware of that mute point. The crew was very entertaining. The brochure stated you could dance on the ship. After boarding my wife and I looked at each other and said, "I don't think so!" Wrong! After an hour or so the rum punch kicked in and people were dancing all over. Entertaining! We encountered a big cruise ship all lit up. What a contrast! Our ship (The Unicorn) had one light and that was over the bar. One light vs. row after row of lights. The Unicorn has cannons on the side and we tried to get the captain to let the cruise ship have it broadside but he wouldn't go for it. However, on that note when we were sailing back to harbour they asked for volunteers to fire off a couple of cannons. The guy beside us went for it and since the cannons are at deck level he had to sit and straddle the cannon in order to fire it. I think he straddled it a little too close because after he fired the thing he spent the rest of the journey talking a little funny. Free drinks except for wine on the Unicorn. They do give you a sample of wine to try---in theory you could run around the ship in advance of the serving girls and hence have it complimentary if so inclined. My wife started singing "Deep Purple Sky" because that was exactly the colour on the horizon. We have never seen that colour sunset before. Actually the purple colour came somewhat after the sunset itself.(45 bucks pp Air Canada, 55 at the desk) Worth it!

There is a dandy one to get an overview of the island. The first part is by bus--lots of nice stops like the volcano, botanical garden, lunch at a cocoa plantation etc. Then--second part is on a catamaran that really whips along and stops so you can swim/snorkel. You also zip into Margot Bay--where Dr. Doolittle and other movies were filmed. We found this boat trip a good way to see some of the other resorts too. In fact after the catamaran trip you disembark at Windjammer so you get a peek at it--that resort because you walk through it to grab your bus back to Almond Morgan. Drinks included on the boat. Lovely scenery. Again booking the trip through Air Canada saved us ten dollars each. (Paid 85 pp)

We just got back from St. Martin (January 18, 2005) with this trip marking the 20th Anniversary of our 1st visit. St. Martin is an Island of superlatives and we're foodies, so it's not often that we get knocked out in a place we've been to so many times but it happened this year, twice! Having eaten at most of the Grand Case standards we wanted to be sure to seek out one or two new places, if just to enjoy the thrill of the hunt. We read about La Marine being run by two young owners who had grown up in the restaurant biz and, since it is on the water side of Grand Case Boulevard (all the way at the end, by Rainbow), we figured it was worth a try, WOW was it worth a try. Almost without question the most comfortable room we've eaten in on the island. We were greeted by the valet who took our car and we walked past the art gallery at the entrance and up to the brightly lit ,yet still warm and inviting, bar that sits before the dining room. We were just looking around, sort of drinking it all in, when the person at the barstool closest to us turned around and said "You picked the best place on the Island", I'm not sure he was stretching it. To say the young owner grew up in the business is like saying Prince Charles grew up in England, it's true but doesn't convey the full story. His father, Dominique, opened La Vie en Rose when it was a paragon of haute cuisine on the Island and then moved on to La Calanq (sadly, long gone), one of the most memorable restaurants we've ever eaten in (we remember the entree and desert 20 years later - do you remember anything you ate that long ago?). The menu (which by the way is encased in varnished sections of wine cases - the one they gave me happened to be my favorite white Graves) is a little closer to the nouvelle French food we see in the states. Various influences were present not seen in many of the more traditional places up the block. Each course delivered as promised and we were thrilled to have found this gem. The service was both attentive and friendly with the answers to 'which of the this or the that would you choose' being carefully considered before a response was uttered. The wine list was clearly carefully assembled and was very reasonable. The big bonus was that our waiter turned out to be the owner who told us where daddy had set up shop. We went there the next night and had another outrageous meal but I think our meal at La Marine was every bit as strong as what we were served by Dominique. Either way when there are grandchildren in this family, we're going to try to eat whatever they cook! Tell them Bari & Ken sent you. It may not help but I told him we were so impressed that we'd try to get the word out (he's at the lonely end of the block) and I'd like them to know we were true to our word.

Oh yeah, daddy's place. You didn't think we'd leave you guessing, did you? Great chefs have to be supported so they stay around. Le Saint Severin is a little French Bistro that you would never ever stumble into unless you were sent. Located in Bellevue (on the main road out of Marigot) the first thing you'll notice as you approach the restaurant is that the kitchen is way bigger than the dining area. The room is adorned with tons of bullfight posters and art. Many were for bullfights in France. Did you even know they had bullfighting in France? Me neither. We sat down and noticed that everyone knew everyone. Staff, diners, everyone. I got the sense if you come there once you keep coming back. Amen to that brotha! With shellfish and Dover Sole flown in from France at the end of the week we had no choice but to have the Sole which was outrageous, Shredded Oso Bucco was a twist on the dish we've never seen and was wonderful. Our fois gras appetizer was also a different interpretation of the dish and great. A similar wine list (a little beefier) to that at La Marine was also reasonably priced. Now I've eaten my weight in warm chocolate cake deserts and have never been knocked out but the one here is not to be missed. I finally understand what everyone else is trying to do, he does it!

We avoided L'Alabama having heard a truly disquieting story of how they treated patrons on New Year's Eve (we ate there last year and the experience was unremarkable anyway). We were treated somewhat coldly and friends came back with a story that made it clear they don't need our want our business. That type of arrogance requires much better food!

Aside from the excellent cheeseburgers at SSBB, we did our share of dining around the island. Overall, we much prefer the food on the French side; we don’t come to St. Martin to eat American-style food, but I guess it all depends on what you like.

VERY GOOD:
L’Amandier – Grand Case. Limited menu, but good food in a beautiful location.
Restaurant du Soleil – Grand Case. Nice blend of French and Caribbean cuisine.
Sol E Luna – Mt. Vernon. Italian with French attention to preparation.
Turtle Pier (for lunch) – Simpson Bay. Really good conch chowder and conch fritters (surprisingly, these are hard to find elsewhere on the island).

GOOD
Lee’s – Simpson Bay. Overrated in my book, but seafood was indeed very fresh.
Peg Leg Pub – Simpson Bay. Excellent selection of beers; American-style food, good burger.
Le Pinel – Cul de Sac. Food was excellent, but service very, very slow.
Bikini Beach Bar – Orient Beach. Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings. Was good, but Bikini’s regular menu is better.
Talk of the Town – Grand Case. Home style food right off the grill. A little too salty this night. Coconut ice cream was perhaps the best ice cream I’ve ever had, anywhere.

FAIR TO GOOD
Princess Casino free buffet – Port de Plaisance Hotel. It was free. Great coleslaw.
Turtle Pier (for dinner) – BBQ chicken, rice and beans, etc., was pretty good, not great.

There is little information currently available about Saint Maarten on the internet, so we will do our best to describe some of the restaurants we visited. After Hurricane Luis in the mid-1990s, it appears many restaurants relocated to an area near the airport, which was good for us because it was near our resort. Unless otherwise indicated, all of the restaurants below are on the Dutch side of the island, in the Simpson Bay area (west of Phillipsburg).

Lynette's - Phone: 52865 Description/Review
A French restaurant located on the second floor of a building along Airport Road in Simpson Bay. Lynette's is one of the few air-conditioned restaurants; be sure to make reservations. The big night at this restaurant is Tuesday, when King Beau Beau performs. We weren't there on a Tuesday, but we understand it gets packed and King Beau Beau gets everyone into the act.

Pepe's
A cozy Mexican restaurant in Simpson Bay with funky boat toilets (don't ask; they're everywhere on this island). Thursday night is Taco Night...an all-you-can-eat buffet. It wasn't bad, but also not the best Mexican we've ever had. The restaurant is not air-conditioned, but the bar over on one side is.

Goodfellas Cafe - Phone: 43176
An Italian restaurant located in the Simpson Bay Complex. The majority of this restaurant is actually outdoors, with a semi-air-conditioned bar and limited seating indoors. Goodfellas has wonderful brick oven pizza, which tastes great in the evening outside with an ice cold beer.

Sambuca - Phone: 52633
An Italian restaurant located on Airport Road in Simpson Bay. The restaurant is tile floors and adobe walls and very Mediterranean in decor (pleasing to look at). Because of all the hard surfaces, it is also quite loud, and there is no air conditioning. We opted to eat outside on the covered porch facing the water (be sure to put some bug spray on your legs first). The food was tasty and the service was friendly.

Coconuts - Phone: 53331
A restaurant on Airport Road in Simpson Bay. Keith declares their steaks absolutely magnificent, and far superior to anything he has tasted in any other steakhouse (although this restaurant does not bill itself as a steakhouse). This little-known treasure is rarely crowded and the service is excellent. We opted to eat out on the covered porch facing the water, but please be sure to use bug spray on your legs. Keith recommends ordering the filet mignon, and having it butterflied. Simply the most tender, tasty steak he has ever experienced (no sauce required), at a very reasonable price.

Arawak - Phone: 87 99 67
A cafe on the waterfront in Marigot (on the French side of the island). We had lunch there

Magnolia restaurant
Vastly over-rated and NOT worth a visit – in fact, should be actively avoided.
Wobbly patio tables outside.
Poor service – rushed, and of poor quality.
Undistinguished wine list.
Average food, at vastly over-priced rates.
Spoiled an otherwise lovely vacation experience in T&C – left a really poor taste in our mouths, figuratively and literally

Provo Restaurants--

Coyaba Restaurant--Coyaba is an old Arawak Indian word meaning "heavenly and it is in every sense of the word. It is set in a lush tropical garden and is a true gourmet dining experience. The menu is very ambitious and chef Paul Newman (not the actor) executes it flawlessly. Coyaba is a Chaine Des Rotisseurs Member Restaurant. Tracey and Gianni are the perfect hosts and the service is excellent. Definitely 5 stars!! Email www.provo.net/Coyaba

Anacona--The Anacona is located at Grace Bay Club and is probably the most romantic restaurant setting on Provo. It is near the water in large tiki huts and illuminated with candles and tiki torches. The bar is awesome. The food is very good and is a mixture of Caribbean and Mediterranean. A combo plays on Wed, Fri and Sat nights. Men are requested to wear long pants and shirt with collar

Bay Bistro-- Lovely setting on the beach at Sibonne Hotel. Chef Simon Poulin specializes in serving freshly prepared tapas, Black Angus steaks, seafood and oriental dishes. Try the cedar planked grouper. They serve brunch on Sat and Sun from 7AM to 2PM. Excellent food and service. E-mail www.thebaybistro.com. Live music on Monday night

Barefoot Cafe--Located in the Ports of Call shopping center Barefoot Cafe has expanded and now serves dinner six nights a week. Truly casual dining inside or under umbrellas on the patio. Bermuda shorts are fine and yes you can go Barefoot. Menu features Fresh Conch, Seafood pasta, char grilled jerk chicken and fresh fish. Try a double portion of the Conch appetizer served as an entree. The conch from the Provo conch farm is sweet and tender. Very good food at a reasonable price. A three piece combo plays Friday evening

Mango Reef--Located at the Royal West Indies resort. Food is sort of Caribbean fusion blending Mexican, Cuban and Jamacian. The lobster Quessidilla appetizer is enough for an entree or for four people to split. Excellent fish. Very good food and service.

Coco Bistro--Dine on the terrace under a canopy of plam trees. Very romantic. Coco Bistro features Mediterranean cuisine and it is very good. The grouper in puff pastry is excellent

Caicos Cafe--Located next to Ports of Call across from Allegro. Open air deck style restaurant with an eclectic French menu. Basically steaks, prime rib and great selection of local seafood. Wonderful large salads. Try the conchburger which is outstanding

Hemmingways--Located at The Sands Resort. Lovely place for lunch. Next to the pool and overlooking the beach. Try the Soft Grouper Taco or the Mango Shrimp salad. Probably the best Burgers on the island and great fries. Tuesday is Caribbean night with a buffet and live music.

The Terrace--Located in Turtle Cove. Dine on an open air terrace under the palm trees. Nice atmosphere. Excellent food. The Terrace has been written up in Gourmet Magazine. Monday is Peking Duck night and Sat is Sushi/sashimi night

Go Fish--New place in Center Mews. Very casual. Features Fish and Chips, combo seafood platters, conch fritters, cracked conch, conchburgers, hamburgers and salads. Super french fries. Most food is in the $7-8 range and very good. If you are staying in a place with a kitchen and are loking for seafood to cook in there in a fish market in Center Mews around the back of the building. Great selection of fish.

Smokeys by the Beach--If you have a car and want real local food go to Smokeys in Blue Hills. Have the Cracked Conch with beans and rice, cole slaw, potato salad and fried plantains Yum!!! Right on the water.

Top O' the Cove Deli--Right next to the Napa store on the main highway. If you want to get a picnic try this place. Great sandwiches, salads, sweet rolls and desserts.

Fairways at Provo golf club. Thursday is lobster night with lobster prepared 5 diferent ways, --grilled with lemon garlic butter, blackened with mango chutney, coconut rice and curry sauce, thermidor, sauteed with penne pasts in a bleu cheese cream sauce and grilled (no Shell) on spicy Thai crispy noodles. The entrees are $33

There were a few restaurants on the island that we enjoyed very much. Grace’s Cottage at the Point Grace resort was absolutely superb. It is not oceanfront, but it is an amazingly romantic cottage with various decks where the tables are arranged in small clusters. The service was top-notch and they have an amazing pastry chef. My husband and I both had seafood entrees and they were terrific. This restaurant is fine dining and pricey (about $36 an entrée), but absolutely worth every penny.

We also enjoyed another higher end restaurant, Anacona, located right next to RWI. This restaurant has chic décor and is right on the ocean with live music and a lounge where people gather later in the evening. We found the food here to take risks, and be quite good.

A more moderately priced restaurant ($26 an entrée) was Caicos Café. It is a rather treacherous walk on the road from RWI and may be worth a cab in the dark (minimal sidewalks, fast cars). Although this restaurant is located in a shopping plaza, they also have created a wonderful atmosphere with interesting trees and string white lights. The service here was lacking, except for the French woman who appeared to be the owner, but the food was good.

I would HIGHLY recommend venturing off the resort in an SUV. It was SO worth the $69 for the day. We rented from Scooter Bob's. They picked us up at the hotel and took us 5 minutes to the car lot. We got a Toyota 4-Runner in very good condition, with air conditioning. We had brought our son's carseat and he came with us. Scooter Bob's also had snorkel gear for rent for $10 a day - again, worth it as you will visit some amazing beaches. This was our second visit to the island and we knew where to go. If you visit T & C, you MUST visit Chalk Sound and Sapodilla Bay. I just cannot emphasize this enough!!!Just 10-15 minutes from the hotel, this sound and bay boast THE most amazing water in T & C. The sound is a HUGE area, as far as you can see, and looks like a huge lake of waist-deep, clear and almost "neon-like" turquoise water. The sound/bay is dotted with tiny islands the size of a few cars. It is a very ethereal (sp?) experience to see this bay. It feels like you are on another planet!! There are amazing houses along cliffs surrounding the sound and bay. It is THE most beautiful sight I have seen yet on this earth, and you cannot miss it if you go to T & C. You can see the sound beautifully from the road and there is a little pull-off area to stop, take pics and breathe it all in! Go further up the road and ask someone how to get to Sapodilla Bay Beach - a small, deserted beach with again amazing knee-deep water as far as you can see. You can park there, sun and relax. It's a little hard to find but worth it.

Whale of a Tale - American Yacht Harbor, Red Hook 775-1270
We had dinner here our first night. Our waiter, Byron, was excellent and let us take our time. We chose a table out on the balcony. Byron thoughtfully provided bug spray for our legs. This restaurant is located on the upper floor (above Molly Malone's). The vaulted ceiling was wooden, and there was a small bar. We began with garlic basil bread. Lori had the steamed clams (very tasty) and Keith had a delicious house salad with mandarin orange vinaigrette and slivered almonds. Lori had a great time with her Alaskan king crab legs - some of the tastier she has had. She had a side of penne with scampi sauce but the crab held her attention. Keith opted for Pasta Al Forno - provolone, mozzarella, basil, garlic, and marinara sauce over penne. A nice place for a nice, quiet, dinner.

East Side Cafe - Red Hook
This is a quiet, out-of-the-way place that we stopped in for dinner on a Saturday evening. First we sat down at the bar to scope out the place. The bar was unique - it had a stream flowing through it and nearly everyone touched the water to see if it was real. After perusing the menu (decidedly Italian) and having a drink at the bar, we opted for a table. The place is decorated somewhat like the tasting room of a winery. It has a lot of potential but was inconsistent on the night we visited; however, the service was unerringly friendly. We were seated and ordered a bottle of champagne. They didn't have the one we ordered and recommended another. It came out, was poured, and we knew we were in trouble - it was warm, and they hadn't even bothered to attempt to chill it. We ruefully put some ice cubes in our glasses and decided to let the bottle chill in the ice before attempting any more. The bottle should not have been served warm; we should have been given the option of waiting for it to chill or ordering something else (we weren't given the opportunity to taste it). We figured they did not serve many bottles of anything.

Our next hint of trouble was the bread - it was a completely burnt loaf. We joked about how bad dinner might be if they burned the bread. Next was an appetizer we had ordered - baked mozzarella with olive oil and herbs, served with crostini. It was surprisingly very good, so we had renewed hopes as the champagne continued to attempt to chill. Keith had the veal with proscuitto, mozzarella, and marinara sauce, which was good. Lori ordered the rigatoni quattro formaggio with shrimp. The server returned to say they were out of shrimp; would Lori like chicken (?). No thanks. A few minutes later the server returned to say they had "borrowed" some shrimp from a neighboring restaurant (she shouldn't have). The rigatoni was badly undercooked and there was something seriously wrong with the shrimp. Lori passed on the rest of her dinner. As we left, we realized we were remiss in not telling the owner what the problems were (how can they fix things if they do not know what is wrong?).

Molly Malones - American Yacht Harbor, Red Hook
We sat outside by a man-made waterfall and stream that was nice. The food and service were fine but unremarkable. We ordered a bottle of wine - apparently not a normal thing, for our server had to run upstairs to A Whale of a Tale for the bottle. Keith had the filet and baked potato, and Lori had fried shrimp. There was good warm bread, but in tiny portions.

Molly Malone's is also a decent place to go for breakfast. We had breakfast there one morning - Keith had eggs benedict and Lori had eggs benedict sans meat.

XO Wine Bar - Red Hook
When we had stopped in at XO a few nights earlier, we had perused the menu, which looked promising, so we stopped back for dinner. Unfortunately, they were "out of" everything we wanted. There was no crab, no pesto (obviously not fresh made), and no brie. Keith had some poppers and Lori had cheesy garlic bread. We ordered a bottle of Wild Horse Chardonnay, which was excellent. The pizzas were disappointing - they were Boboli crusts. Lori's had a sweet sauce (not fresh) and cheeses, and Keith's Greek pizza had feta and garlic.

Blue Moon Cafe - Secret Harbour Beach Resort, Red Hook 779-2262
Blue Moon Cafe web site
Blue Moon was a recommendation from Byron, our server at Whale of a Tale (who also worked at Blue Moon). It was a short taxi ride to Secret Harbour. The restaurant is open air and is located down by the beach. It is a beautiful view, even at night. There were snorkelers with lights on their masks and it provided an eerie, beautiful glow. Although the restaurant is casual, it is elegant as well, and we were immediately glad we had found it. Lori had an appetizer of a crab cake with a creole mustard sauce - good and filling. Keith had a salad of baby lettuce with roasted pine nuts, bleu cheese, and shallot vinaigrette. His entree was a filet mignon with brandy, peppercorn, and garlic, which was great, and accompanied by mashed potatoes. Lori had the seafood pasta, which consisted of caribbean lobster, shrimp, and scallops in a sweet vermouth cream sauce over pasta. We had a nice crisp wine - Ponzi, an Oregon pinot gris. We had a couple drinks at the bar afterwards, where we spoke to some guests who return to Secret Harbour every year - sometimes more than once each year. We recommend the Blue Moon Cafe.

Agave Terrace - Point Pleasant Resort, Red Hook 775-4142
Agave Terrace web site
If you go to the Agave Terrace, be sure to make a reservation. We didn't, and when we arrived at 6:40 they told us they could seat us at 8 (our fault), so we went to the bar. We decided to order drinks and appetizers. Keith had the 5-pepper dip with fresh chips, and Lori had the crab paradise (wontons with crab and cheese accommpanied by orange marmalade sauce with a kick). Just as our appetizers were coming out, we were informed our table was ready (much earlier than expected), but they assured us we could relax at the bar, and when we were ready to let them know. We ended up being seated at 7:15.

Michael was our fantastic server. Both he and the restaurant had been recommended to us by Mary, our bartender friend from Sopchoppy's. Agave Terrace is known for the catches of the day. Keith chose Mahi Mahi, and with Michael's welcome assistance, decided to have it blackened with the chilano sauce. Keith said this was the best Mahi Mahi he has ever had (Lori isn't fond of Mahi Mahi but she agreed it was good). Lori was not as brave and had the crab cakes with coconut shrimp (very good). We had a bottle of Taittinger champagne. The place was nice, it was a true dining experience, and was enhanced by Michael. We highly recommend Agave Terrace.

Caribbean Saloon - American Yacht Harbor, Red Hook 775-7060
Caribbean Saloon web site
Michael, our server of the previous evening (Agave Terrace) told us Caribbean Saloon would be serving a full menu on Thanksgiving, so we chose to dine there. Lori had shrimp cocktail and crab cakes. The crab wasn't so great, so Michael took it off the check; we didn't ask him to, but it was a nice gesture. Keith had the veal piccata, which wasn't the best but also wasn't the worst he has had. We hung out with Michael until midnight, when we realized we needed to get going because we were headed home the next day. Caribbean Saloon is a good place to hang out to watch sports games - they have many TVs and a big screen as well. It is indoors and is air conditioned. They also have DJs and live entertainment some nights. This is one of those places that stays open until 4 a.m.!

The Lime Inn - St. John, USVI, 776-6425
We visited the Lime Inn on a recommendation from our friendly bartender from Sopchoppy's, Mary. The Lime Inn is an open, shaded restaurant with lots of ceiling fans to provide breezes. It is easy to find since it is painted a lime green color. The ferry ride from St. Thomas and our brief, 3-block, walk from the ferry landing to the Lime Inn had us thirsty, so we ordered a carafe of their "Swamp Juice", which is a mixture of iced tea and lemonade, and was more refreshing than anything else we could imagine. We both ordered cheeseburgers, which were very tasty. The burgers were accompanied by bowtie pasta in a buttery sauce, which Keith really enjoyed. We recommend Lime Inn.

Nightlife
The east end area of St. Thomas is not redolent with nightlife - most restaurants have bars, and the bars are where the action is after dinner. Some of the bars stay open as late as 4 a.m.

Sopchoppy's - American Yacht Harbor, Red Hook
Sopchoppy's is an open-air (covered) bar located on the second floor of the complex that serves American Yacht Harbot in Red Hook. We enjoyed Mary, the very friendly bartender, who let us try her version of the local drink, the Bushwhacker. She was friendly and full of helpful hints and suggestions.

XO Wine Bar - Red Hook
We went to XO Wine Bar Saturday evening after dinner. XO is one of the rare places in Red Hook that is enclosed and very well airconditioned. It is a small bar that would look more at home in Boston or Philadelphia than in the islands, but we enjoyed it. They have many different wines by the glass as well as a good selection of liquor. We met up with Mary, our bartender from the previous evening. We bought her a drink and she proceeded to write down many recommendations for us.

Venezuela is a beautiful place and there is alot to see.That is why we went on alot of Tours organized by the "Innovation" tour guide named john john ,he was great he help us with whatever we needed and he plan all our beautiful tours that we did such as the safari jeep tour which takes you too see the whole island which is beautiful, we also went to see the angel falls which is something you can't miss ...it was breath taking what you got to see.We decided to go with innovation company which works at the hotel...tour john john because it is a more safe thing ...there a guy marcos on the beach which also books tour but not as efficent as the innovation team.

The only tours we booked were with Marcos Ochoa of Marcos Tours. What can I say, Marcos is EXCELLENT. His English and knowledge of the Island is way above standard. I found him in advance online and was not disappointed. We took his Jeep Safari, his open jeep takes 6 passengers around the whole Island for the day and includes drinks and lunch. This is a small sized group tour, so you can change it along the way if you like, his service is very personal and exclusive.

This is a very beautiful Island, and small enough that you will get to see it all.. you get a swim and lunch at a beach, a boat ride through a Mangrove, the market, everything.

We spent a full day shopping in Porlamar. The 2 streets, we recommend are Santiago de Marino and Quatro de Mayo. Nothing is imitation here like it is at the Flea Market. If you are interested in Designer Brand shirts/clothing, you can get it for half the price you would pay in Canada. Leather is cheap in Venezuela, so shoes and sandals cost almost nothing. Because of the pearl industry in Venezuela, you can get the most beautiful Pearl Jewellery for ridiculously low prices. Venezuelan Gold (14k or 18k) jewellery must be on your shopping list.

Our family of 5, with our kids being ages 18, 16 and 12 visited Margarita Island from Dec. 27th til January 3rd, 2007. We had a fabulous time, but the icing on the cake was because of Marcos Ochoa of Marcos Tours. He can be reached by email marcostours@yahoo.com His website is www.marcostours.com

I really want to write a review so that others can have the same experience that we did.

Marcos and I emailed back and forth several times- he answered all of our questions and quoted prices which were much less than the tours that were available by the reps in the resort. I had prearranged with Marcos by email for him to pick us up at the airport. He was waiting for us with our name on a sign! We arrived at the Laguna Mar Resort (that we really loved) over an hour ahead of the people on our plane who took the hotel shuttle bus, thus no line ups for us. Marcos became our tour guide for the 30 minute trip to the resort and he ensured that our check in went smoothly. He made arrangements to meet us later that night in order to finalize our tours, after we were settled in, had pool time, dinner and drinks.

We booked a day of snorkelling at Los Frailles Island-it was amazing! The weather was perfect, the boat ride over took approx. 1 hour. Because of Marcos, the crew sat our family at the front of the boat so that we didn't get soaked, and gave us drinks as soon as we climbed onto the boat. We were treated like VIP's the entire day and we know that it was because of Marcos. Marcos made arrangements for a taxi to pick us up at the end of the day to take us back to our hotel. He called us on a cell phone via another driver to ensure that the taxi was waiting for us and to hear about our day! What a guy!!

We spent an entire day with Marcos on an island tour, he knows his island inside out! We saw most of the island in one day. The tour also included the boat ride at Restinga National Park through the mangroves. The boat driver lifted starfish out of the water from the roots of the mangroves and also showed us live seahorses. It is a trip not to be missed! While we were on the boat, Marcos was busy ordering our lunch. We arrived at the restuarant, were immediately seated and our lunch was delivered with no waiting. We did a trip to Diverland that afternoon as well to swim with dolphins. Again, Marcos prearranged it all, there was no waiting for us! He sees to all the little details such as ensuring that we had seats in the shade! He took us to an exchange store to exchange our US dollars to bolivars as well, at a far better rate than what the hotel was offering. (2800 bolivars/US dollar as opposed to the 2100 that the Laguna Mar was exchanging for over New Years.) The island tour also include our lunch and drinks all day! Ice cold rum and cokes and cold beers really hit the spot! What a great way to spend New Years Eve Day!

Marcos Ochoa is a classy gentlemen who really made our vacation wonderful! Our family highly recommends him for anyone who wants to see Margarita Island and feel confident and comfortable with an honest and genuine man who goes the extra mile to ensure you have a great time!

Everybody loves Marcos! Contact: marcostours@yahoo.com or www.margaritaisland.com.ve

I emailed Marcos before we left and he phoned me the next day! Marcos is very helpful with any questions you may have. He gave me some pointers about traveling to Margarita and told me about his tours. When we got to the Dunes he phoned us in our room the next day. Apparently he was waiting for us to arrive at the hotel but our plane was late. Marcos is a clean cut gentleman with a friendly face. His is a little soft spoken, and is anxious for you to enjoy your visit. We were very impressed. He can usually be found at the Dunes beach if he is not on a tour. He went above and beyond for us. I would highly recommend him, the personalized service and attention was well worth it. All the tours below were booked with Marcos. jeep tour

Marcos picked us up at the front gate of the hotel at 9. Our day lasted until after sunset at 6:30. We toured the whole island! Pedro Gonzales was quaint and we were able to go inside a gentleman's home. Wonderful sights. I told Marcos that I am a photographer so I was interested in taking photographs, and we wanted to shop for pearls. He kept this in mind and took us to all the right places. He even waited for us for over an hour, maybe two, as we shopped in a gorgeous jewelry store. Lunch was a treat. We went to a local restaurant (not tourist restaurant) and had a traditional meal. Cuchapas and coconut drink. Yummy! I even forgot my sunglasses at one of the stops and Marcos raced back to get them himself. Great day! Must see. Canaima one day

Marcos got us on a nice little 16 seater plane. What a thrill. We went to a national park and walked behind El Sapo falls, it was incredible and exciting. Seeing angel falls from the plane was incredible and we had four passes to be able to take pictures. The tour guide spoke fluent English and was very knowledgeable. Lunch was another local treat, excellent chicken. Advice for this one, waterproof camera and water shoes. You walk in a lake and over some rocks to get to the falls, you need footwear that can get wet. It can be very slippery and we had one guy take a fall. He was ok, but you need good footwear. And you must have a camera to capture it. They put everything that isn't waterproof in a bag so your regular camera would be protected. Great day. Marcos picks you up and drops you off on this one.