Riviera vs. Cancun/Cozumel

[purelygeneric]

Can someone please compare the beaches/experience. I have been to Cancun, Cozumel, and Costa Maya. How does Acapulco/Cabo/Puerto/Zhiua compare as far as beauty and population? Thanks!!

[cynbar]

We live on the East Coast and have done Cozumel and Cancun multiple times, both on cruises and land vacations. This past January, we did the Mexican Riviera on Diamond Princess, and we loved it. Puerto Vallarta reminded us a little of Cozumel but seemed a little cleaner -- we also did a tour, and this port has cliffs with hotels and restaurants set into them, something you don't see on the Yucatan. Mazatlan is a city with a resort/hotel area -- we did a private country tour here up into the Sierra Madre and saw small villages and a lot of the real Mexico. Cabo was a lot of fun and nothing like the Yucatan --- it's upscale in terms of restaurants, etc, and mostly desert, but the water views and whale watching were spectacular.The beaches are also wonderful here. Of course, part of the attraction of these ports may well have been the fact that they were all new to us--