Our second trip was a group trip.  We went to the Gran Bahia Principe Coba with five other couples.

The Gran Bahia Principe is another large mega-resort complex.  Way too big for my liking but for the group we were with it offered something for everyone.  A smaller resort may not have suited such a large and varied group.  I know I would never book it as a couple.

It was pretty, food was good and the rooms were great.  Service was what you would expect from a resort of this size.  The beach was awful – I only realize that now after having been to other beaches in the area. It was on this trip we found Yal-Ku Lagoon.  We spent an entire day here snorkeling.  Funny thing, we hired a van to take us.  The driver gave us his card to call when we were ready to leave.  We were there for several hours, when we came out we asked to borrow a cell phone only to find out that driver waited for us the whole time!  We tipped him very well for such great service.

It was this trip where we also discovered snorkeling with the turtles at Akumal Beach.  My husband did a solo excursion for this one.  He was like a little kid, so excited when he came out of the water after seeing so many turtles.:

Akumal Beach is beautiful, we make a point of going here every time we are in this area.  I am not much of a snorkeler, ok I am petrified of it, but I happily will sit with my feet in the sand or at the local beach bar while my husband gets to experience the beauty of Akumal Bay.  There is a new Secrets resort there now and one of the old staple resorts of the area has been totally renovated.  I really hope that they respect the amazingness of the area and what it offers to it’s visitors.

We also took the opportunity to visit the Tulum Ruins and Playa Maya.  After experiencing the Coba Ruins, we found Tulum to be way more touristy and not as spectacular.  Worth a visit though just to experience the history associated with it.  You really can feel it all around you.  It is easy to see why it they built here.  You can see out to sea forever.  Anyone approaching from this area by sea could not hide.

Playa Maya is by far the biggest, whitest and most beautiful beach we have seen anywhere.  There are no resorts and very few tourists.  Our group did a snorkel trip off the ruins from this beach.  Just amazing.  There are beach bars and lots of other things to see.  It is just amazing.  So bright it hurt the eyes!

This was a fun trip.  Our next trip however was the first, but not the last, that we did on our own.  And when left to our own vices we got a little more adventurous!  Off to Cozumel!