Most of this knowledge is thanks to my dad who loves researching and has been doing this for years.
Booking
My parents tend to go to Riviera Maya every year in January (I feel like since I was in High School) but they usually book by October. They go through a travel agent, but my dad also checks apple’s website like crazy. One thing he does is he gets the travel insurance for $75. This ensure a few things – 1.) if you can’t go you will get to redo your trip at another time or later date and 2.) if you see the price drop before your final payment you get ONE chance to get it for a lower price.
We originally booked our trip for $1600/person and I’ll be honest, that was MORE than I wanted to spend but before we paid our final payment, the price dropped and it ended up being closer to $1300/person (plus like $100 for bags)
Flight
We always fly frontier because on Mondays, Thursday and I think Saturdays there are direct flights from Cleveland to Cancun. DON’T DO IT ANY OTHER WAY. I promised Ricky we’d be on the beach by noon – promise kept!.
Travel
We also get the private transfer for like $100 extra (round trip too and from airport) for a vehicle and there were 5 of us in the car. I know that sounds like a silly extra cost, but if you take the free shuttle (depending on where you hotel is) you have to stop at every resort along the way. WHO WANTS TO DO THAT. Worth the money.
Apple
With Apple, we look at reviews and look for 5 red or golden apple and only all inclusive resorts. I think some of the lower ones are totally fine too but that’s just what we’ve always done. I like apple because that is the price. No extra hidden costs! But I did like going through a Travel Agent because I just like to know all the t’s are crossed and i’s are dotted.