RE: June: Rivera Maya Mexico or Amalfi Coast Italy

You don't indicate where you live; but, assuming it's somewhere inthe U.S., it almost certainly will be faster and cheaper to get to Mexico than Italy. The AC is gorgeous, and has some great sights. However, you might be disappointed in the beaches, which tend to be small and, often, rocky. It will likely be very crowded by June, as well.

You could check on one of the weather sites for average temps, but I believe Mexico will be hotter and more humid. The AC won't be cool, though.

Both will be hot, humid, and crowded. Mexico has much nicer beaches with soft sand and warm waters (and beautiful colors) - I would highly recommend the Tulum beaches with small boutique type accommodations (I'm biased against the resort type joints you see all over Cancun). The Amalfi Coast, on the other hand, is much more charming with more shops, great Italian food, and variety of colorful villages and larger towns like Sorrento. They are very hard to compare because they're very different, but I think the quality of swimming and snorkeling (and soft beach sand) puts Mexico way ahead.

If you want to see historical and cultural sites, go to Italy, but just beaching it, go to the cheaper location.

If you're interested in cultural sites, there are several interesting Mayan temples in Quintana Roo: Tulum (absolutely beautiful overlooking the Caribbean Sea), Chitchen Itza, Coba and many others. That's quite a unique experience that you could not get elsewhere (outside of Guatemala, etc.). There are also water parks and swimming holes/caves named "cenotes" throughout the area, so in that sense it's quite family-friendly (lots of opportunities for water sports).

In June the water in Mexico will be warm for enjoyable swimming. The Mediterranean, on the other hand, will be like a cold mountain stream. I could only stay in for a very short time. I like the warm waters of Mexico. I also like the soft sand in Mexico versus the pebble beach of the AC. The Mediterranean is beautiful as is the Amalfi Coast, but the beach/water conditions are VERY different.

We just returned last month after two weeks in Playa del Carmen. We walked to the beach daily and along Fifth Avenue multiple times. It was crowded around Christmas/New Years Day but wonder if it clears out when the weather in the U.S. is warmer. The beach there was wonderful, it's an easy and cheap trip from the Cancun Airport on the ADO bus, and we rented a condo from the AIRBNB site. It's a short trip to Akumal to snorkel with turtles, you can visit one of the many cenotes in the region and see some history by renting a car and driving to Tulum, Coba or Chichen Itza.

I hope this helps.

If you just want to relax and enjoy the beach, I would go with the closer, cheaper option of Mexico. We live on an island off the coast of Georgia and have beaches for use all the time. It never snows here and we are retired and never travel to get warm, go to the beach and relax.

However, I remember when I did work and had a somewhat stressful job and my Wife and I took a trip to Cancun, Mexico, had a nice beachfront hotel room. We enjoyed the beach with crystal clear waters, but also enjoyed some of the historical Mayan sites nearby. It was a good mix.

If you go to Italy, and spend the bucks to fly to Europe, you must got to see the history, culture, art and sights.

Been to both. The Amalfi Coast is a totally different world from the Mexican Rivera and that would be my choice, but then I'm not into beaches and such. If you want beaches, snorkeling, some Mayan ruin sightseeing (and that appears to be the case), Mexico is the place. Heat and humidity will be about the same either place.

Although I have not been to Mexico, I have been to the Amalfi coast. To me the Amalfi coast is one of the greatest places anyone could go. It's breathtakingly beautiful and something that you will never forget or be sorry that you visited.

I wouldn't go to the AC to go to the beach or snorkeling. I like to stay in smaller places in Playa del Carmen, Akumal or Tulum area. I never do an all inclusive as the local restaurants have wonderful meals!. The corridor from the airport south to Tulum has many cenotes to visit. I would try and visit the ruins at Tulum and Coba. Chi chen Itza is farther away but doable for a day excursion inland.
I like to visit the restaurants from Playa to Tulum. Akumal has a lot of VBRO condos and the area is nice with a few good restaurants.
I've been going to this area yearly for 22 years and know it well!

Just returned from a week in Tulum with some time in Play del Carmen. Obviously for what you want, that would be cheaper, better swimming, and snorkeling.

We spent about $1200 for a condo in Tulum, had a rental car, and had wonderful meals in local restaurants ($80-$100 fed six easily with a couple cocktails each as well) Tulum has developed some really top notch restaurants.

We spent each day at the beach, used the Hotel Poc Na beach club, you pay for the chairs and palapa and have to spend 100 pesos per person on food/drink, but that was not an issue. There are other beach clubs, but some do not allow you to bring a bag and water. You can also just use the beach, but shade is scarce. There are also boats to take you out for snorkeling, you can also drive up to Akumal for more snorkeling.

Probably the only thing we would do different is pay a bit more for a condo in the Aldea Zama development, location is better. Some condos are in mixed neighborhoods with some pretty grim shacks or garbage areas nearby, or the location may be on the far side of town.