This was our first trip to Mexico and we look forward to a return visit! Our family of four included two boys aged 13 and 10. Our main requirements for choosing a place were safety and low key with potential for day trips. We had a car but it is not needed if you just want to hang around the condo and explore locally.
The condo in Puerto Aventuras (PA) fit our requirements perfectly. PA is a gated village with all amenities onsite. The village is laid out with the shops and restaurants in the middle with the condos and resorts on the sides. It was a nice 5 minute walk to the village center from the condo. We ate about one meal a day at the restaurants (Café Ole was fantastic) with the rest of the meals eaten in the condo. There is a grocery/department store called Chedraui located just across the main highway and a few convenience stores located within the village and just outside the PA gates. We stopped at the Costco in Cancun just after we landed (10 minutes from the airport) to pick up a few items before heading to the condo.
Condo owners, Jackie and Steve, provided us with many insights and tips for our stay. By the time we arrived we felt like we had already been there from all of our communications with them. Check in was a breeze with the property manager located in the village center of PA.
The condo is on the second floor with a private set of stairs down to the pool area. Our balcony overlooked the pool so we were able to watch our boys while they were in the pool. This condo building is located on the beach so you can go for a walk or take in the amazing view. The condo has everything you could need or want from top quality cookware, big TV, and excellent Wi-Fi connection. By far, one of the best set up condos we have stayed in.
Our day trips included snorkeling in Akumal, you have to wear a life vest that can be rented from the shops onsite. Another trip was to the Azul Cenote, about a 5 minute drive from the condo, this was the only cenote we visited during our stay but there are many more you could visit. We recommend wearing water shoes. The ruins in Coba are located just over an hour from PA. We were able to climb one of the large pyramids which was quite an experience. After Coba we visited the Tulum public beach, not the beach at the Tulum ruins.
We were very impressed with Mexico, even more impressed with this condo, perfect for us. Last tip, pay with Peso if you can the exchange rates offered for $US is not very good.