Next week I’m off on my first press trip to Mexico. I’ve been all over the world, but the only time I’ve been to our southern neighbor is for less than a day on cruise day trip (Cozumel, if you’re curious). That’s right, never been to Tijuana, Cabo or any such thing.
The press trip is to Riviera Maya, part of the state of Quintana Roo on the Yucatan Peninsula. Playa del Carmen is the city at the heart of the area. The final itinerary isn’t in my hands yet, but here’s what I know:
- The actual trip is from Sept. 7-11. I’ll be staying in the relative area until October 5th, with the intent of visiting Cuba and Belize, as well.
- We’ll be staying at Barceló Maya Beach Resort.
- We’re also supposed to: zipline, visit the Sian Ka’an Biosphere, have the chance to SCUBA or snorkel and explore the Mayan ruins and the city of Playa del Carmen.
I’m one of six people who are supposed to be on the trip. I’ve actually met one of them before, Nomadic Matt.
Here are the others:
Carol Cain of NYCityMama.com, Vera Sweeney from Lady and the Blog, Ryan Van Duzer of duzertv.com and Beth from beersandbeans.com
I figured I’d check up on my soon-to-be trip companions:
NYCityMama is a family-friendly travel site “out proving to families that it is possible to enjoy all travel has to offer, either close to home or on the road, with kids or not, all without breaking the bank.” Carol’s been featured on NBC New York’s “The 20″, individuals noted for shaping local conversation.
Ryan Van Duzer works for the Travel Channel, doing segments all over the country. He also has a plethora of travel videos online which you can find via his Bio page.
Beth is the beans of Beers & Beans (Randy is the beer). They’re a 30-something couple. Beth is a professional photographer; Randy is a professional journalist. Their site has been syndicated on USA Today’s website, picked as one of HuffPost’s ” Top Travel Blogs to Discover” and listed on GotSaga’s Top Blogs of 2010.
Nomadic Matt has been on the road regularly since 2005. His site is a combination of posts of his travel experiences and general travel advice.
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Need I say that I’m a bit intimidated by the caliber of my companions?
If you’ve been to Riviera Maya, the Yucatan, Cancun, Cuba or Belize, I’d love your advice, as I have no clue what I’m doing after the trip.
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