The Hottest Alternatives for Cancun
 Alfred Borcover - Chicago Tribune
| | All along Cancun's famed hotel strip, laborers are working flat out to patch up the wounds inflicted by Hurricane Wilma, replacing smashed windows, planting new palm trees and rebuilding torn up sidewalks. Mexico's government is pouring money into restoring Cancun, whose roughly 100 luxury seafront hotels, resembling giant wedding cakes, have helped make tourism Mexico's third-biggest earner after oil and wire transfers from migrants working abroad. (Reuters/Victor Ruiz) |
Every time the snow falls and icy winds drill your forehead, thoughts turn to a hot weather vacation spot. For tens of thousands, Cancun was the easy place to go, a kind of no-brainer getaway reachable in half a day or so. But with Cancun temporarily a construction zone because of Hurricane Wilma, there's a scramble for alternatives.
Last year the Cancun area had some 7.1 million sunseekers, 34 percent of the foreign tourists who flew into Mexico, according to the government, and now is losing about $15 million a day without its normal influx.
With winter upon us, now's the time to book a trip to the place you'd like to thaw your bones for a week or so come January, February, even March. It's not that every warm-weather room will be occupied come the first of the year, but if you're picky about where you want to be or stay, it's best to nail down a reservation that fits your budget during the pre-holiday booking lull.
So what's it going to be? The Riviera Maya, about 11 miles south of Cancun International Airport? Or Acapulco, Cabo San Lucas or Puerto Vallarta, popular playgrounds on Mexico's Pacific Coast? Or those Caribbean islands you can reach on the same day almost as easily as you could Cancun? Or someplace just a little farther like Costa Rica or Belize?
The key for many people seeking a Cancun alternative is to go someplace that can be reached easily. From Chicago, for example, you can find scheduled nonstop flights to Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Nassau, the Bahamas; and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. And to southern Florida, of course. There are many more nonstop options if you buy a package that includes a charter flight.
If you're set on Mexico, any of the west coast resorts--Puerto Vallarta, Huatulco, Mazatlan--would be good options, but you've got to look at the logistics, advised Peggy Marc Kaz, a travel agent with Beale Travel Service in Chicago. "How long does it take to get there?" Mexico, she said, is a good deal price-wise, and with morning flights you can be on the beach in the afternoon.
In a survey of its agents, Carlson Wagonlit Travel Associates, based in Minneapolis, found that 46 percent of its people chose Mexico's west coast as the best alternative to Cancun. The Car-ibbean was second with 24 percent of the vote.
Susan Coty, a Carlson agent in Chicago, said there are great deals to the Dominican Republic, including all-inclusive packages to Punta Cana. "That's what I've been pushing, and it makes sense. You can get there nonstop on charter flights offered by both Apple Vacations and Funjet Vacations." She cited an all-inclusive seven-night stay at Sunscape Beach at Punta Cana for $1,465 a person, double. A week's stay at the all-inclusive Couples Ocho Rios in Jamaica costs $1,801 per person, double.
Linda D'Arcy, a travel agent with American Express in west suburban Oak Brook, also touted Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta in lieu of Cancun, as well as packages that include round-trip air, transfers and accommodations. In the Caribbean she suggested Punta Cana, as well as the Turks & Caicos, which lie southeast of the Bahamas; Aruba for casinos, and the Central American countries of Belize and Costa Rica for soft adventure and eco-tourism.
D'Arcy's advice to sunseekers: Reserve now and take advantage of early booking discounts. Also, she noted, there's usually a flurry of bookings for the periods around Valentine's Day, President's Day and spring break when hotel space is limited.
Besides the travel agents, tour operators also offered their views of the winter season with Cancun in the main on the sidelines.
"We've seen a lot of business go to Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas," said Tammy Lee, vice president corporate affairs for Milwaukee-based Mark Travel Corporation, which owns Funjet. Mark Travel sends about a million vacationers a year to Mexico. "Right after the New Year we see a sharp spike in bookings," Lee said. "So for people who know they want to travel this winter, now is really the time to make reservations. . . . There are always places available, but you pay a higher price by not planning ahead."
Among Funjet's many offerings: three nights at all-inclusive Iberostar Punta Cana, from $814.99 a person excluding taxes; seven nights at Melia Puerto Vallarta, from $979.99 a person.
Apple Vacations, based in Elk Grove Village, has air service from 50 cities across the U.S. to resort areas it sells. Sandy Babin, Apple's marketing director, said its nonstop charter service to Cabo, Huatulco and Puerto Vallarta is very popular. Since Hurricane Wilma, Punta Cana and Puerto Vallarta have been selling very well. Apple offers four flights weekly from Chicago to Punta Cana and two to Puerto Vallarta. Among its deals: seven nights at Punta Cana's all-inclusive Natura Park Beach Eco-Resort & Spa, starting at $899.99 a person, double; seven nights at Mexico's all inclusive Barcelo Ixtapa Beach Resort for $999.99 a person, double.
Richie Christy, vice president of Dallas-based American Airlines Vacations, said, "We see strong bookings to the traditional top six Caribbean islands--Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Aruba, U.S. Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic and the Bahamas." All air service is aboard scheduled American flights. Among AA Vacations options in Costa Rica are two resorts on the Pacific Coast: a five-night package at Occidental Grand Papagayo for $2,924.40 for two; a four-day, three-night package at Paradisus Playa Conchal All Suite Beach & Golf Resort, from $616 a night per person excluding air.
Hotel groups also are experiencing heavier-than-usual business for January, February and March. Victor Lopez, senior vice president/operations for Hyatt Hotels in the Caribbean and Florida, said his bookings are up. "Typically in the winter months, our occupancy rate is in the low- to mid-80s, but now we're looking at mid- to high-80s, even the 90s," he says. Room rates are pricey, depending on the room category, how close you are to the water and your view--all the way from the low $200s up to $600 a night.
Ronald Muzii, marketing director of the Palms and Sands at Grace Bay, in the Turks and Caicos, said bookings were strong, but it was hard to tell if it was the result of Cancun. "We're seeing more same-month reservations, but we're probably a third away from where we want to be." Rates at the Palms start at $575 a night, the Sands at $275.
Viva Wyndham Resorts said its properties in the Dominican Republic--Dominicus Beach, Dominicus Palace at La Romana, Tangerine at Cabarete and Playa Dorada at Puerto Plata--are running at 90 percent occupancy. The Wyndham Azteca and Maya at Playacar, Mexico, also are about 90 percent booked.
What sunseekers now need to do is warm up their credit cards. |
Vallarta Weddings
Travel & Outdoors | December 2005 
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