| | |  Travel & Outdoors | September 2008 
Mexico Magic for Families
 Anita Draycott - Sun Media
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| As part of our new Vallarta for Kids video series, Sofia Ceja takes us to the Dolphin Adventures Center in Nuevo Vallarta, where she and her sister spent an unforgettable day of their summer vacation swimming with bottlenose dolphins.
To find more kid-friendly tours and activities in Puerto Vallarta that everyone in your family will enjoy, click HERE to watch our exclusive Vallarta for Kids video series. | | |
In today's hectic world, it's not surprising that the desire to spend more quality time with our families is becoming a major travel trend. And sun-kissed Mexico is the perfecto playground. Here are some ideas if you're heading south this winter:
Mexico's oldest resort, Acapulco, has all the ingredients for a family getaway - golden beaches, daredevil cliff divers and a fort built to defend against pirates.
In the posh Diamante area, Fairmont Hotels runs two sister properties, the Acapulco Princess and the Pierre Marques. Built in 1958 as the private retreat of multi-billionaire J. Paul Getty, the Pierre Marques has the feel of a swanky country club.
If the Marques sounds too sedate for your crowd, book into its adjoining big-sister Princess, built like a modern Mayan temple of concrete and marble. You'll enjoy swimming pools with waterfalls, beachside restaurants and gardens with sleepy flamingoes and strutting peacocks.
Fairmont's Princesslandia, a supervised children's program, offers mini golf, basketball, soccer, painting lessons and more. Football, ping-pong, pool tables, computers with Internet access and music videos entertain teens. Kids' clubs are complimentary and open to guests of both Fairmont resorts. For swinging families, test your game at the resorts' two 18-hole golf courses.
WET AND WILD
Hang on to your hat! Shotover Jet boats skim along the Puerto Marques Lagoon at giddying speeds with 360-degree twirls. Look for iguanas and armadillos as you zoom down the river where early Tarzan films were shot.
At La Quebrada, daring cliff divers put on five shows every day. The most dramatic is at 10:30 p.m., when torch-bearing athletes dive from a rugged cliff 35 metres high and disappear into the narrow chasm below.
Built in 1615 to protect the port from pillaging pirates, Fort San Diego is now the site of a historical museum and dazzling multimedia show that brings Acapulco's rich history to life. Entrance is free on Sundays. Next door, at the House of Masks, Senior Suarez has collected more than 1,600 fanciful and grotesque masks from all over the world.
Drive about 3.5-hours inland from Acapulco to Taxco where all that glitters is not gold. Hernan Cortes discovered silver mines here in 1522. You can buy silver trinkets all over town for a song. Hop on the "combi" van, known by locals as La Burra (mule) for cheap town tour.
Before John Huston's 1964 film Night Of The Iguana, Puerto Vallarta (PV) was a sleepy fishing village. Now it's one of Mexico's most thriving destinations. Although airports, hotels and golf courses have supplanted palm groves and jungle, PV still retains its colonial charms.
FAMILY FRIENDLY DIGS
At the Crown Paradise Club the philosophy is if the little ones are happy, then so is everyone else. The all-inclusive package features kayaking, sailing, windsurfing, pool scuba lessons, volleyball and an aqua park with nine slides, castle and pirate ship. Naps and storytelling are part of the Baby Paradise program for infants and toddlers.
At the Kids Paradise club youngsters can swing from a rope, watch movies, go on treasure hunts and strut their stuff at the mini-disco. Child-care professionals supervise programs.
Harness up for parasailing and a bird's eye view of Banderos Bay at Los Muertos Beach, then head into the Old Town where there are plenty of casual taco joints that don't charge gringo prices.
Yelapa provides a taste of rustic Mexico with not a resort or high rise in sight. Take a hike or ride a burro to the waterfall then buy a slice of pie from one of the lady beach vendors who balance the homemade goodies in plastic containers on their heads.
Sunday at sundown is fiesta time on the malecon, PV's seaside promenade, where you can dance with the locals in the main zocalo and enjoy folkloric spectacles in the open-air amphitheatre with the waves as background music.
Vallarta Adventures could keep families enthralled every day of the week with their well-run programs. One of their newest invites you to snorkel with sea lions at Las Caletas Beach.
Their Outdoor Adventure Circuit takes you into the jungles of the Sierra Madre, where you mount a mule and ride high up into the tropical forest. From there you embark on a series of thrilling zip lines, rappel down waterfalls and end with a splash in a river pool.
Take a local bus and try boogie boarding in the surfer town of Sayulita, about an hour north of PV.
Once you've worked up an appetite, head to Sayulita Fish Taco. Kids love their chocolate/peanut butter/banana milkshakes.
Cancun and the Riviera Maya are the fastest growing hotspots of the Caribbean. A third terminal at Cancun airport opened last May and efficiently delivers even more sun lovers to this coast full of natural wonders and Mayan ruins.
At the all-inclusive Occidental Grand Xcaret, the gang won't get bored dining around at the resort's 11 restaurants and 14 bars. A daily program for children, aged 4 to 12, includes snorkeling, an introductory scuba class, tennis and a host of other activities.
At the adjoining Xcaret ecological theme park, water babies swim with dolphins, snorkel through crystal clear subterranean rivers, dive without a tank using "Snuba" equipment or stroll along the bottom of the ocean wearing a Sea Trek helmet. Stone pathways lead through the jungle to ancient sites.
You'll need to spend at least a full day here in order to take in the butterfly pavilion, sea turtle pools, Mexican rodeo shows and more.
The spectacular evening show, complete with ancient Mayan ball games and a costumed cast of hundreds, is a definite wow for all ages.
BOTTOMLINE
After the United States, Mexico has become the most popular international destination for Canadians.
Many tour operators are offering all inclusive packages to Mexico this winter. See your travel agent for details.
The Mexico Tourism Board has an excellent website full of travel ideas and information. For details, contact 416-925-0704, 1-800-44 MEXICO or visitmexico.com. |
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