GOOD:
- beach
- food- i am a picky eater and found LOTS to eat
- a la carte's were good
- we did a snorkelling/boat excursion- it was very cheap and well worth it-you get to drive your own speed boat and then go snorkeliing-its about 3 hours long-
- the donuts!!!!!!!!
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BAD:
- the rooms are in need of updating- but who stays in their rooms anyways?
- adult entertainment is kind of bad- i liked watching the children's entertainment better because it was funnier


*NOTE* i hate reading reviews about people complaining about that how they weren't waited on the whole trip- i understand your on vacation, but you are CAPABLE of doing things for yourself and if your not, then maybe you shouldnt go away- your GREEDY and maybe you should have respect for others.

I went to Tryp with a friend (Oct 7 - 14, from Vancouver, BC), booked on a last minute travel deal. We really went with no expectations but were a bit nervous from all the bad reviews on here. Regardless we were determined to enjoy ourselves and went with an open mind. We were totally pleasantly surprised and loved every moment! This was my first time to an all inclusive but her second - her first was in Mexico and she thought Tryp was top notch compared to the other resort. Check in was painless and relatively quick for the amount of people who arrived when we did. We paid for an oceanview and did get one - sorta... it was mostly obstructed by trees but we didn't complain (we didn't plan on staying in the room much). I never noticed any musty or odd smells. The room was probably cleaned the best after the first night, each night after that it seemed like all that happened was the beds were made and things put away, news towels, etc. Again though it wasn't a big deal to us.

A few times near the end of the week the bars did run out of stuff for drinks, ie. mint for mojitos, red wine at one point, but it didn't seem to happen that much (and we drank a LOT) and was always fine for the next day.

The beach is AMAZING. White sand, clean, green/blue shallow water. Very salty! Everyone will easily float. We talked with people who had travelled all around the Caribbean and thought that the beach at Tryp was the best they've ever seen. I would agree! We had amazing weather as well. Sunscreen is a MUST. The resort is spread out length-wise along the beach so it was never a very far walk to the beach and patio chairs. We definitely were there over low season (one of the bartenders remarked that it was slow) but never had a problem getting chairs. People didn't seem to be saving them either. Somehow we always ended up in the topless area - this isn't a designated area but if you go far enough down the right of the beach there always seemed to be topless women sunning. If you are into that it didn't look like they got hassled by anyone for it so I can't see it being a problem.

The disco 'la vida loca' was kind of funny, I think the first night was the only time it really got busy. Definitely do the Tuesday night Salsa Teca at another resort - a train will come out front in the lobby to pick you up around 10pm, you can either get a wrist band (I think for free.. could be wrong though, they tell you about it in orientation) from Tryp's frontdesk for the other resort BEFORE 3pm that Tuesday, or you have to pay the train guy for the ride + cover. Definitely worth it though for the change of scenery from Tryp's disco plus the chance to meet a lot of other resorters, and a better/bigger/more happening club in general.

The best thing we did was introduce ourselves and get friendly with other people who arrived around the same time we did. We would do our own thing during the day (usually consisting of sleeping in, falling out of bed, falling into the shower, dragging our hungover butts to the beach for a few hours, finding food, nap, beach, repeat, repeat, repeat) and then meet up with a group that seemed to grow as the week went on for hanging out/drinking/partying/dancing and pool (billiards) time. The Canadians seemed to arrive on the weekends/late week, and UKers and beyond during the beginning of the week.

Unfortunately we did hear about people getting stomach sick, but we could never figure out what it was from. The only thing I could say was that we were too lazy to book our restaurants (so we only ever ate at the buffet) and we didn't get sick, but who knows. With the buffet, you need to use your common sense, and don't eat anything you don't feel comfortable with. At one point the 'fresh' food chef dropped a piece of beef on a piece of raw chicken and gave it to us to eat anyway - needless to say we didn't eat that piece. But there was definitely a lot of variety and always something to eat. I honestly don't know why some reviewers only felt confined to eating the bread. Sure, your plate will look funny with a mess of pasta/salad/french fries/olives/chicken but you're on vacation, you're not there for the food (they aren't known for their food anyway).

The people at the hotel were a total mix. We picked Tryp because we saw more reviews for it saying that it was more for the younger crowd than the Krystal or Guermillo. We're happy we picked Tryp. I think there was more of a 20s/30s crowd than anything, but there were definitely families with kids and older vacationers. In hindsight the Guermillo (probably spelling it wrong) was way too far away to stay at, Tryp was much more central.

Out of all the excursions we only did the "Jeep Safari," which doesn't really involve a Jeep or a safari. You do get to drive your own Suzuki and follow the tour guide through parts of mainland Cuba. The tour left our hotel at 9:30am and we didn't get back until almost 4:30pm. It was about 2 hours too long in our opinions, at the end we were tired and hot and dying to go for a swim, but we felt it was worth the $69 CUC pp we spent on it. It was also neat to see Moron and other parts of Cuba besides the resort. Driving was also a good experience, in all we drove 200km's by the end of the day. If you are thinking of renting a car to drive somewhere and have never driven in Cuba or Mexico or anywhere other than NA, I would recommend this trip first to get to know what it's like. We thought about renting a car but were glad we didn't. I would feel comfortable doing it now, though. Other people in our group did the Catamaran ride and enjoyed it, went to Trinidad and enjoyed it, and also were able to book a taxi through guest services at a discount who drove them around and acted as a tour guide for the day. It was cheaper than booking it through the excursion/travel agency guys. Something to think about! If you go into Moron (nearest town) on your own without a guide, or even if you go with a guide, be prepared to be approached by kids and random people asking for money, trying to "give" you flowers (that they expect you to pay for), and asking for random articles of clothing (like hats). Just say no, be firm, and keep going.

I found that Spanish was hardly spoken (to the tourists) at the resort. The staff definitely appreciates you trying though. Pickup a little book before you go if you don't know the basic phrases!

Was the hotel 4 star? I don't know. I didn't find it to be horrible, but I didn't think it was the most amazing of resorts either though. It could have used some work in some places but the grounds were gorgeous, the beach was gorgeous, we frequented the bars/bartenders/restaurants we liked the most and got the best service at, had amazing weather, got tanned, never turned the tv on in our room, relaxed with our ipods by the beach, and generally had nothing to complain about. It was exactly what we needed and we're sad to be back to the daily grind.

Tips:
1. We really enjoyed the pizza but the service wasn't always the best, it was hit or miss.
2. Eat the 'fresh' food at the buffet - the stuff that you select and have cooked right in front of you
3. Talk to people! You're there for a week (or two) with the same people, say hi, be friendly, smile lots, you'll have a good time and make new friends.
4. Tip the staff who deserve it - we didn't feel obligated to tip (certainly not as much as some reviewers say on here) but knowing how much they make a month, we were more than happy to tip the bartenders we liked.
5. Don't get upset that the internet is slow - the computers are old and it's like dialup shared between 3 computers, but what do you expect... it isn't hispeed but you will still be able to check your email. For some reason though, Hotmail users had a harder time getting into their email. Gmail was quick.
6. Bring lots of SPF 30 sunscreen! We burnt early in the week even though we were religious about applying it. It'll cost you $16 - $20 CUC to buy more at the resort.
7. Bring a big travel mug/glass for your drinks unless you want to be walking to the bar every few minutes for another drink.
8. The ham and cheese sandwiches at the snack bar weren't as bad as I imagined them to be from the reviews on here... good hangover food if you missed the breakfast buffet like we always did.
9. Get a coconut rum drink from the guy driving his atv on the beach just to say you did
10. Try a "banana mama" from the bar - they're better if they use fresh bananas but are so freaking good either way.
11. Drink at the lobby bar - sit at the bar. It's a great place to meet new people and everyone seems to meet up there before/after dinner for more talking/partying/whatever. The female bartenders are great - Marelyn/Marita and Bise rocked our socks off.
12. If you are drinking with a big group, feel free to ask the bar for your own bottle of wine - they'll give it to you to share.

our first time travelling to Cuba was somewhat disappointing.First we were surprised with the money exchange that the "tourist cuban money"as we called it has more value than our canadian dollar or american. if visiting this country you would be wise to exchange your money to pesos here not in cuba.The beach was very beautiful, thank god. the food was always the same, a huge disappointment. we lived on bread mostly because that was the only thing we would enjoy.The watersports were limited and a poor selection. Of the seven restaurants that we tried to reserve immediately upon arrival we got into only one but we were able to talk ourselves into a reservation but again, disappointing food. The service however was excellent and the people very friendly. The shops at the hotel are very over priced, the night time stage shows were very good but the entertainment fininished at about 10pm and you are on your own from there.A word of advise, buy your cigars and alcohol at the airport, you'll get a much better deal there. It's clean, it's safe, the drinks seemed to be watered down. If you're using mastercard make sure it's not associated with an american bank, as we were unable to use ours there.overall, if you want a beautiful beach, beautiful sands and peace and quiet it's a nice place to relax but for the value the resort is a 4 star and everything else is a 2 star.

I have to tell you that this was by far one of the best vacations I have ever had. I was in Cayo Coco from October 6th – 13th. My friend and I went away with the intention of just relaxing and soaking up some sun. Were we in for a surprise!

The resort on its own is beautiful (much better than the other resorts we saw) It has something for everyone. There were loads of people that included singles, couples and families, young and old. There are tons of things to do. Most of which were free (try the paddle boat and the catamaran. Don’t forget to bring a banana. The fish love ‘em) and others that were not expensive at all. We choose to do a jungle tour and the 1/2 trip into the city of Marron. Rented a speed boat (for those of you that will go on this excursion, stay away from boat 20 - stargazing cat 1164 had a little mishap :)) When you go into the city, bring something for the kids. Just stop off at a dollar store and pick up some candies and toys they'll really appreciate it!

The first night we got there, we had a young man make arrangements for us to bring our stuff to our room because it was a little far (11) When we got there, (the 3rd floor, nice view) our room did have a bit of a musty smell, but after that first night, we didn’t smell it all. The maintenance staff always made sure we had a clean room and fresh linens everyday. The landscape was gorgeous. Very well manicured and maintained and the beaches are cleaned every morning bright and early.

The food was great. Sometimes, a little cool, but it was good. Huge varieties at every meal, definitely something for everyone. A lot of the foods were made fresh right in front of you. All the restaurants we ate in were fantastic. I’d suggest trying the pizza at the beach restaurant and the Chinese food. They’re not as bad as everyone claims there are.

The entertainment was a little repetitive, but it was worth watching. The dance moves may have been a little boring after a while, but the skits and costumes always changed. They were funny; it really was a lot of fun.

The beaches - the absolute best feature of Cayo Coco. The most whitest sands and bluest water I have ever seen. Incredible. Absolutely breathtaking. Be sure to get down there early if you want a chair (at the pool too). And please… I caution you, wear the sunscreen. I’m of European decent and still roasted in the first few days I was there.

The bars were from time to time running out of some things, but hey you’re on vacation! Try something different. The only thing that was a little scarce was the mint for the mojito’s….no big deal, they’ll be more than happy to help you create a new concoction or suggest something else….drink the rum…it rocks! The service was fantastic and the Cubans are more than happy to accommodate and oblige. And just one more suggestion. Get a large cup/glass. The glasses down there are rather small a larger glass is a little more accommodating especially when you’re walking around. But even if you do forget, not to worry, there’s pretty much a bar everywhere you turn. It’s a beautiful thing

Above all I had a truly great time and am looking forward to bringing my boyfriend back next year. If you are looking to have a great time with friends, family or your significant other and you’d like to enjoy good service, good food, a great time and a stunning beach – TRYP Cayo Coco is the place to be!

Cheers and have fun!