Question 1: Do the a la carte restaurants need reservations?

Geography Question: What are other names of Puerto Vallarta? Hint: There are two other names, just give me one.

Travel Trivia Rules and Terms: By participating in the travel trivia contest you are agreeing to follow all rules and terms of Applespecials.com, SVH tours and travel and any state or government regulations. Void where prohibited. Be aware that your IP Address will be recorded when submitting answers, do not use multiple e-mail addresses. Only submit one set of answers per Travel Trivia Contest Video. Read the rest of this entry »

Question 1: How many Partial Ocean or Ocean View suites does this resort have?

Question 3: View Barcelo Puerto Vallarta’s HD Slideshow. On Minute 3:37, please tell me what Team’s Jersey the man in the picture is wearing. Or give me the three colors of the Jersey.

Geography Question: Puerto Vallarta is located next to the beach. Which area of water is Puerto Vallarta’s beach called?

Travel Trivia Rules and Terms: By participating in the travel trivia contest you are agreeing to follow all rules and terms of Applespecials.com, SVH tours and travel and any state or government regulations. Void where prohibited. Be aware that your IP Address will be recorded when submitting answers, do not use multiple e-mail addresses. Only submit one set of answers per Travel Trivia Contest Video. Read the rest of this entry »

I have just recently visited one of the best properties in Riviera Maya, Mexico, BarceloMaya Palace Deluxe. This hotel was just outstanding, and an amazing destination for a teenager like me. I can only begin by telling you that Riviera Maya is a great vacation spot, with its Caribbean Sea, and nice beaches. Specifically speaking, Barcelo Maya Palace had it all, including Tennis and Basketball courts! This is not all, what was just utterly amazing was the this property included an actual Soccer Field located within its grounds! This means that you can enjoy so much when you visit Barcelo Maya Palace, from AppleSpecials!

From the sports and activities, lets go to the pools. This hotel had its own mini water park for the children! Located directly next to its main pool was a small waterpark that had water slides, fountains, and was complete with a beautiful touch. The pools also had water jets that shot out at fast speeds and were soothing to the back. Personally, I enjoyed the hammocks that were set all around the Pool area. What was unique about Barcelo Maya Palace was that usually you have the ice hockey, and billiard tables located in the sports area, whereas in this hotel they were located near the pool area.

The pool is also near a outdoor specially designed basketball court, made for playing in the Pool area. The fitness was great, it offered many different machines and workout stations. You could also rent a basketball, tennis racket/ball, football, and even a volleyball in the fitness area for use! Another amazing factor was that this hotel offered electric bikes, and golf carts, that you could rent and drive on the hotel grounds. Barcelo Maya Palace is a complex with other Barcelo hotels’, which means that this is closed, and very safe for driving and just enjoying your vacation!

You may have noticed that one of the most popular spots in Mexico for all-inclusive special vacation packages at AppleSpecials.com is Cancun.  Well, if you’ve ever been to Cancun or any of its surrounding areas, then you understand why!

It’s one of the most beautiful spots in Mexico geographically—in fact, when the city of Cancun was actually developed, it was an area hand-picked by the Mexican government in the hopes of attracting international tourism—in essence, the city itself was built to be a great vacation spot!

Geography and History

Cancun travel deals are widely sought after mainly because of the area’s geography.  Cancun basically sits on the Northeast corner of the Mexican Caribbean, shaped kind of like the letter “L” or number “7.”  It’s comprised of almost 15 miles of lush, gorgeous white sand beaches and the ocean water there is so clear and beautiful that it has a turquoise appearance.

The area is rich in ancient human history as well—though the bulk of the city is now dedicated primarily to the travel industry, there are still plenty of sites in most of Cancun’s sub-areas that host tons of archaeological attractions, predominantly from the Ancient Mayan culture.  Temples, ritual sites and other ancient ruins exist around the main resort area of Cancun and extend well beyond its borders.

Hotel Zone

The largest concentration of tourists and vacationers is the Hotel Zone.  This is where many resorts exist and usually host travelers with special Cancun vacation packages.

Downtown

Downtown Cancun becomes quite distinctly different from the Hotel Zone, and is actually more like a bustling authentic Mexican city.  The shopping districts, markets and night clubs in the downtown areas are easily accessible to travelers as well, however, and are just a short ride away from the bulk of the tourism.  The Airport is pretty much equidistant from downtown and the Hotel Zone… just a few miles further from downtown.

Outskirts

For those wishing to stay away from resort-goers or the spring break crowd during the end-of-school season, you may wish to take advantage of certain areas a bit more off the resort-trodden path in Cancun—though remember having a good understanding of the Mexican culture and Spanish language will help you immensely if you choose to visit these areas instead.

Puerto Morelos is a great less-traveled city less than a half hour away from the resort district. Tulum is another popular area just about an hour outside of the Cancun Hotel Zone.  Playa Del Carmen, just over 45 minutes outside of Cancun’s confines is an immensely popular spot for its beauty and relaxed vibe compared to the Hotel Zone, but it is getting more commercialized and certainly caters to the all-inclusive vacationers now—a good blended spot for those wishing a vacation a bit more secluded, but still in a comfortable tourist-friendly area.

Check out some more of our blogs for more detailed info regarding Cancun travel deals, or check out our current special vacation packages and Top Ten MonthlyTravel Deals if you’re ready to start planning your vacation!

Apple Specials is pleased to announce that coming soon, we will be e-mailing a MONTHLY list of our top travel deals to our best clients, giving them first access to these incredibly low fares and exclusive deals.

This e-mail newsletter will be exclusively for our Apple Specials & SVH Tours & Travel visitors, subscribers and clients and consist of a variety of travel destinations; it may include a simple flight or hotel offer for a weekend in New York, it may include a special all-inclusive vacation package to the Riu Palace in Cancun. You can sign up for the free monthly newsletter to receive the deals by email.

Apple Specials has teamed up with all of our travel industry partners to find the top monthly deals within all realms of travel, giving you quick, easy access to all of the lowest fares throughout the country.

In 2009, Apple Specials was the top producing Riu travel agency in the entire United States, so you can bet Riu has some very special deals exclusively for Apple customers!

As a No. 1 West Coast Crystal Apple Travel Agency, we’ve got access to tons of special deals on flights, hotels and vacation packages from all of the leading airlines and destinations in the travel industry.

We’ll pick the best of the best, offering printable offers within the newsletter and a few very special deals that are too low to advertise.  In those cases, you’ll actually have to call our offices to find out the blowout rates.

Add your e-mail to our newsletter list and look for incredible monthly travel deals, coming this June!

Apple Specials loves partnering with Riu Hotels because of their dedication to pampering all of our travelers with the finest service at some of the best beaches in the world, at resorts that are unsurpassed in beauty, quality, comfort and value.

Riu has over 100 hotels in 17 countries worldwide, including some of the finest resorts on the most beautiful beaches in Mexico.  Apple Specials has been able to offer our travelling customers some of the best all-inclusive packages in these fine hotels, and this month, along with the help of Riu, we’ll be able to offer them at an even better value than ever before. 

Join us and Riu for an evening of fine art and cocktails at Silvana Gallery, one of the most talked-about art galleries in Los Angeles. Located at 1731 West Glenoaks Blvd. suite 200 in Glendale, CA, Silvana showcases both traditional and contemporary oil paintings and sculptures by specialty artists of international fame.  Come take part in an evening of drinks while viewing some of the finest art exhibited in California. 

Apple Specials will be presenting our guests with information on some of Riu’s newest and most gorgeous hotels, and as a special for attendees, we’ve worked with Riu to offer four of our most incredible all-inclusives to resorts in various parts of Cancun, starting at just $949 per person for an 8-day vacation with non-stop flight service and all expenses included.

Apple Specials and Riu have developed packages at Cancun’s Riu Caribe, Riu Cancun, Riu Palace Riviera Maya and Riu Palace Las Americas for various dates this June, July and August to accommodate anyone’s vacation schedule this summer.

Take advantage of these amazing resort vacation all-inclusives and treat you and your loved one to an unforgettable summer getaway at a fraction of this year’s vacation budget, or simply join us for an elegant cultural evening and learn a little bit about what Riu has to offer.

The cocktail party takes place Tuesday, May 18^th from 6:30 to 9:00pm at Silvana’s Gallery.  Click here for directions to Silvana’s or here for more specific information regarding these limited-time, unbeatable all-inclusive getaways from Riu and Apple Specials.