I enjoyed using "Frommer's Cancun & the Yucatan 2012" to make plans for our coming December trip to Cozumel. The color pictures and map gave me a good sense of what things will look like, and the recommendations for activities, restaurants, and hotels helped us start planning. Most of all, the realistic appraisals of cost/health/safety issues made the trip much easier to plan. So far, Frommer's has been a great aid in our planning.

The 392 page guide is divided into ten chapters:

The Best of the Yucatan, Tabasco & Chiapas (a quick guide to beaches, cultural and archaeological sites, active vacations, museums, shopping, nightlife, inexpensive inns and good restaurants)

The Yuctan, Tabasco & Chiapas in Depth (provides historical and cultural information as well as suggestions on when to go, where to stay and eat, and tours)

Suggested Yucatan Itineraries (suggests one and two week trips and discusses eco travel)

Cancun (explains where to stay, shop, and eat, suggests beaches and outdoor and nightlife activities)

Isla Mujeres & Cozumel (offers relevant websites, quick facts, and information on coral reefs)

The Riviera Maya & the Southern Caribbean Coast (includes the sites at Tulum and Coba, the Chinchorro Reef, and Playa del Carmen)

Merida, the Maya Interior & Chichen Itza (suggests websites, festivals, side trips, and hotels and provides information on the ruins of Chichen Itza)

Tabasco & Chiapas (explores Villahermosa, Palenque, San Cristobal de las Cases, and Tuxtla Gutierrez)

Planning Your Trip (offers suggestions for getting there and traveling once there, addresses health and safety concerns, gives tips on finding accommodations and on costs and the value of the peso/dollar)

Survival Spanish (provides helpful English-Spanish phrases and helpful dining terms).

Other than its inclusiveness, the strength of the guide lies in its detail: there are hundreds of color photographs, exact prices, directions, and hours of operation provided. Hotels, restaurants, and nightclubs are evaluated and not just listed. And detailed maps are provided.

I was fortunate to visit Costa Maya last December and everything I read in the guide rang true. However, when I tried using one of the suggested websites for my coming Cozumel trip, it was no longer active. Others turned out not to provide all that much information. But then, that's the nature of internet sites; they come and go and often change day to day.

`Frommer's Cancun & the Yucatan' is a good place to start planning a trip to Caribbean Mexico and a good book to take along.

(A review copy was provided by the publisher.)
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