We spent a week in Playa del Carmen in April 2016.  While we didn't stay in a resort (we had access to a private condo), it was great to wander the area and experience the destination.

First off, getting there... We had direct flights from Halifax to Cancun with Transat Holidays.  The service was great and the flight actually left early on the return flight.  One thing I can definitely say is that pre-booking/paying for seats is worth having the choice.  While most people seem to want the front of the plane to be able to get off faster and some seats have extra legroom, some of the Transat planes have a few rows of 2-seaters at the back of the plane.  These were AWESOME!  Extra legroom and space without having anyone else next to you.  Yes, you have to wait for the whole plane before you can get off, but really everyone ends up waiting in the same lineups anyway! :)

 Staying right in Playa del Carmen was a great experience.  You could wander around outside the "tourist area" and see how people live and experience the town.  We were travelling with children and never felt uncomfortable or unsafe.  Taxis were easy to come by and relatively inexpensive but always ask the price to your destination before getting in and they are sometimes negotiable.

Since we didn't stay in an all-inclusive resort we got to experience the local restaurants for a number of our meals.  The food was fabulous and really reasonable with good portions.  My recommendation to people now is even if you are at an all-inclusive, you need to go to some local restaurants.

Another tip I've been giving is this...since the Canadian dollar vs the US dollar has such a poor exchange rate at the moment, take Mexican pesos with you.  Our exchange rate is more favourable and you don't have to worry about trying to convert prices as much.

One of our favourite things we did was to visit Xplor Park http://www.xplor.travel/?_ga=1.9900278.2138359946.1472660308 .  It is an adventure park with zip-lines, underwater caves etc.  We spent a full day here and did everything!  Lots of fun and your food is included in your ticket price.

In October I enjoyed a family vacation to the Orlando area.  There were 9 of us travelling together so we rented a house through Maritime Travel's Holiday Escapes.

 We had a 4 bedroom house approximately 20mins from the Disney Theme Parks, with our own private pool.  The home had 2 bathrooms and plenty of room for everyone.  It was well located, away from the hustle and bustle of Lake Buena Vista and Kissimmee area, with a grocery store not far and access to the I-4 a short drive away.

We did the usual Disney and SeaWorld, but I'm now kicking myself for not doing Universal Studios...but that's an excuse to go back again! :)  I'm a big fan of the theme parks and become a kid again.

My new favourite thing that I experienced was Wild Florida.  It was about an hours drive from where we were staying and offers Airboat rides as this area is considered the Headwaters of the Everglades.  They also have a wildlife park that is well kept and taken care of and houses rescued or "nuisance" animals and reptiles.  For my 14 year old son, this was one of his favourite days.

 All in all, I believe Florida has something for everyone.  You are surrounded by theme parks and attractions, and just a drive away from beaches. 

People, action, entertainment and shopping...that's Las Vegas! I travelled to Las Vegas for a 4 night trip for a reunion with friends.  We stayed at The Signature at MGM Grand in a 1 bedroom suite.  We chose this hotel as we all wanted to stay in one room together so we'd have the time to catch up with one another.  There are many "suites" in Las Vegas, but the majority of them seem to be a larger version of a regular room.  The Signature at MGM Grand had a kitchen, 2 bathrooms, a separate bedroom and living room, so worked well to accommodate a few women!  The location of the resort is at one end of the strip, so not in the centre of everything, but like almost every resort in Las Vegas, you have a hike to get where you want to be. The Signature does not have a casino in the hotel, but you are attached to the MGM Grand.  Food at the hotel was quite reasonable and in the shopping plaza between the Signature and MGM there were plenty of restaurants for varying tastes and budgets.  I don't find that Vegas is as inexpensive as it once was, but you can still eat fairly reasonably. All in all, I enjoyed going to Vegas and would most likely go again, but would plan my activities better. I am not a gambler and honestly didn't put a penny in a machine, not that I'm against it, but there is so much to do, that we just didn't take the time out to sit and play.  We had a day of shopping, we hit a few good restaurants, had a night out and saw a Cirque du Soleil show. We had an idea of what we wanted to do while there, but waited until we got there to buy tickets etc.  I now think we would have been better off to make the arrangements ahead of time, even just for time management purposes.  When you have tickets pre-purchased, you base your time and itinerary on this and therefore I believe you can see more this way.