Hello All, My wif and I will be heading to GVO in early April for the first time. We have never been to an All Inclusive. We wanted to try something different and found this on Groupon. This site has been wonderful in information but I still have some questions. 1. Will there be a directory telling us about the "happenings" at the resort for the day like you get while on a cruise. 2. How safe is it to venture off the resort for some shopping and is there anywhere we should stay away from. 3. Are we allowed to bring our own drink cups and is it ok to wash them with the water there. I have heard is is not safe to drink. These are just a few we have, but ANY AND ALL advice you can give us would be great. We look forward to having a great time, making some new friends and soaking up some sun and alcohol. We wil be there April 6-11, so if you gonna be there during that time feel free to intrduce yourself and maybe we can tip a few together!!. Thanks, Henry and Joni
We have Bubba Mugs. Wouldnt go without them. We love going to AI resorts, but they really dont go the full mile when cleaning glasses at the bars, especially when they get busy. We have drank the water, but we usually stick to the bottled water you have in your room fridge. We usually only take shorts, swimsuits, sunscreen, mugs, any meds we need plus maybe some Immodium (you never know when in another country), and a couple of nice clothes. The area in the hotel zone has always seemed as safe as most places. Lots of tourist. Just be aware of your surroundings and be smart and it'll be fine. I wouldnt venture too far outside of the hotel areas though unless I was on a tour.
Last year I brought DampRid to help with the humidity in the closet. It absorbs the moisture in the air and the pouch was about half full of water when I left. I left it there when I checked out.
Mexico is a great place to go for your first all inclusive experience! I wouldn't be so worried about the horror stories you hear about cartels and stuff, no where near Cancun. My boyfriend and I have been to the area twice and both times we rented a car which we read a lot online before the first time that they pull you over and demand money. Maybe there are some dirty cops but we never got pulled over (the cops seem to drive with their lights on all the time), and once they had some traffic stop and waved us right through. We speak no Spanish. I know you're probably not renting a car but it's my way of saying don't worry too much, just use common sense. Like someone else above me said SUNSCREEN! The past two resorts were charging around fifty dollars for a simple bottle I buy for eight or less at home. A great way to make money from people too scared to leave the resort. The airport is crazy with people trying to sell you stuff just ignore them, book your transfer in advance. If you go to coco bongo don't buy the cheapest tickets. We bought the cheapest tickets at the one in playa del Carmen since it seemed the only advantage was better drinks and we didn't care about the drinks. It was a big mosh pit, just standing there fighting to keep my spot to watch the show. They sell seats and if I were to go again I would pay more to actually enjoy the show. If you like excursions I would check out trip advisor to figure out what you'd like to do, lots of advice on there.
GOV is not far from shopping and Coco Bongos, we took the bus from TTR the malls we walked from the Coco bongo area to GOV one day and we all felt safe mine you it was all during the day. We always bring our Bubba cups with us saves on going up to the bar so many times. Not sure about the postings of activities at GOV but one would think they would post them daily somewhere. We found that no matter where you go sunscreen is very expensive there so bring all that you are gonna need from home
Most of the events are posted in the main lobby. There is also a lot of info near the towel return area. We always ride the bus to go anywhere in the hotel zone. (LA ISLA mall). However, The Blvd at GOV forms an "island" in front of the resort. To get a bus headed south, you will have to walk a bit farther. We just walked up and down the street in front of the resort and had a great time. Bring a floatie for the ocean. Make sure you transfer driver know exactly where Grand Oasis Viva is located. One of ours didn't!!! A really strange experience is that a LOT of folks go overboard with the "all Included" drinks/beer the first day and get really wasted. LOL !!!
Thanks for all the tips we really appreciate them. Where can we get transfers? We booked through Groupon and they were not available. We had planned on getting a taxi from the airport.
