Mexico again or somewhere else?

[rugbyleague]

Earlier this year we spent 2 weeks at the Hotel Xcarate Arte in the Playa Del Carmen region.

The holiday was fantastic and we ended up buying a hotel voucher which made the next visit quite a bit cheaper.

Its now time to use the voucher and book our next holiday.

For 2 weeks including use of the voucher its going to cost approx £9k to visit Arte again. The hotel/holiday was fantastic earlier this year however I'm wondering what £9k would get me elsewhere........

The trip would be 2 weeks end of February into March 26.

I've trawled past posts on here and I haven't seen anything that hits the spot. Where's a good place to look for suggestions please?

I'm thinking luxury break somewhere warm, after that I will try almost try anything.

Can you help me again?

PH has previously been successful for a holiday in Canada, holiday in Scotland and 2 new motorbikes

[nvubu]

If you want to go to Mexico again, I'd fly into Cancun, hire a car and do a road trip - Chichen Itza, Merida, Campeche, Isla del Carmen, Villahermosa, Palenque, Chetumal, Tulum.

[onny]

For that kind of money I would head far east and go to Vietnam and Thailand. Maybe 1 week in each country, you will have lots of change from that amount. Try any of the bigger 5 star resorts around Da Nang in Vietnam and somewhere within 1 hour of transfer from Phuket in Thailand. They are nowhere as big as some of the Cancun resorts but I think they are nicer because of it as they are more personalised.

I've done both Cancun Mexico and especially the Far east resorts. The best thing about the far east resorts in the areas I mentioned above is that you can easily go for day trips to lots of nearby places of interests either via stupidly cheap locally organised tours or just get a Grab (Uber) taxi (or even hire a motorbike or bicycle) and go exploring by yourself. While in Cancun, you're pretty much stuck at the resort because most of the resorts are in the middle of nowhere and hard to get transport without being in an organised tour.

The difference between the Cancun all inclusive resorts and far east resorts is that the far east don't usually do all day fully inclusive drinks. They usually just provide an hour or 2 each day with free flow drinks. But alcohol are cheap in the resorts and stupidly cheap outside of the resort. They will all usually provide breakfast, lunch and dinner meal as part of the package. The best thing with Asia is also if you fancy having a meal outside of the resort then you have limitless choices within a 10 taxi ride.

If you and your other half like spa and massages then Da Nang is for you. Some of the best I've experience anywhere and stupidly cheap.

Feb/March is the best time to visit the far east because they are the cooler months and the weather is perfect.

Try this sample search for Da Nang for 7 nights B&B March 2026 in Aus$ (basially they are all less than GBP 1K per week), just add a bit more for lunch/dinner/drinks package on top if you like. There're so many resorts in the area at any price point you're after:

https://luxuryescapes.com/au/partner/crowne-plaza-...

https://luxuryescapes.com/au/partner/radisson-blu-...

https://luxuryescapes.com/au/partner/fusion-resort...

https://luxuryescapes.com/au/partner/furama-resort...

https://luxuryescapes.com/au/partner/sheraton-gran...

PS going by your user name, you could do a side trip to Australia (Say Brisbane or Sydney) after your Asia trip and catch a NRL game if you're here in March. Kill lots of birds with 1 stone.

Edited by onny on Monday 26th May 08:12

[simons123]

Cancun is an absolute dump imo....was shocked how bad it was......loved the rest of Mexico though and food was amazing. But why people flock to Cancun I'll never understand.

Thailand/Vietnam/Cambodia.......stretch it to 3 weeks of you can and do all 3......if just 2 weeks then Thailand with a short flight to Cambodia to see Angkor Wat for a couple of days then rest in Thailand (Bangkok, Chaing Mai, Phucket)

[sherman]

For 9k I would do something like 5 nights in New York or other east coast US city and 7 nights in the carribean

[RichFN2]

I agree with those suggesting SE Asia region, and when your looking at going will be just out of the peak season but still in the dry season.

Start in Bangkok for a few nights, somewhere like this which is close to the BTS and ideal for exploring:
https://www.carltonhotel.co.th/

You could then do 5 nights in Raffles Siem Reap for about half the price of your hotel in Mexico.
https://www.raffles.com/siem-reap/gallery/

There are other options available if you still want a 5 star resort without paying a premium for a Raffles hotel:
https://all.accor.com/hotel/3123/index.en.shtml
https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/cambodia/park-hy...
https://www.anantara.com/en/angkor-siem-reap

Before heading home you can spend a few nights in a quieter part of Bangkok, riverside would be ideal and still has the BTS.
https://www.shangri-la.com/bangkok/shangrila/