Couples Vacation to Mexico

her white sneakers | his white sneakers | jean jacket | white luggage | pink backpack | ponytail ball-cap | jogger pant | bracelet | anklet | mask/sunglasses chain | his grey shirt | his jean sort | his sunglasses

sunglasses | sunglass chain | hoop earrings | bracelet | white dress (different) | white dress | white dress | tanning mousse | lip mask | necklace (different) | sandals

Couldn’t have picked a better place to celebrate our birthdays!!! I turned 33 and he turned 35. Cancun was only a short 2+ hour flight from our home in Dallas, TX. We had never been to an all-inclusive resort with just the two of us and the idea of eating what we wanted whenever we wanted sounded like perfection! Our favorite kind of vacation is spent half with adventure and half being lazy as can be. I’d heard incredible things about HOTEL XCARET–everything from the food to the activities. It was all-inclusive, so we didn’t pay for anything other than our accommodations, tips, and souvenirs for the kids. I think we paid close to $3k for the accommodations. I’ll share a short recap of our experience and what we would or wouldn’t do again when we return with the kids! Definitely equally fantastic as an adults-only or family vacation.

When we booked the trip last month, we booked the Suite Garden Spa room. We checked in and realized the room was directly over the massive kids splash-pad. If this were a family trip, the Garden Room would’ve been a great location. But the noise from the waterfall and kids laughter was awful not ideal, haha. We went back to guest services and upgraded our room to the Suite Ocean Front Adults. The view from our room seriously took our breath away. The River Suites would also be a great and quiet option. You can check out all my Instagram videos saved to the “Mexico” story highlights HERE. You can also see my 1st Instagram post HERE and my 2nd Instagram post HERE.

Since I have a zillion photos and videos sharing our adventures, I’ll quickly run through a lot of the repeating questions I saw on my latest IG posts and a few tips I wish I would’ve known!

Yes! The kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, room service, all food and drinks are included in your stay. Also, you’ll have access to 4 parks and 4 tours off-site that are included! All tours require reservation, so book those as soon as you arrive. Also, a few of the restaurants require reservations and I highly recommend booking those BEFORE you arrive. By the time we arrived, reservations were booked up for the Japanese restaurants. Lucky for us, we showed up early for dinner and they were able to slip us in. The food was incredible, so we went 2 nights later. Since reservations were still booked for the week, we showed up early and they slipped us in! The Mercado restaurant was another favorite (no reservations required) and the breakfast/lunch/dinner were delish! The carnitas tacos with pico and guacamole, grilled shrimp, fresh pasta bar, Nutella/strawberries/cream cheese crepes, fruit with tajin and miguelito and chamoy suace were incredible! Don’t forget to try the strawberries & cream ice cream in a waffle cone. I had all the above all day, every day haha. You’ll need to wear a mask walking around the restaurants. We also had a free nasal swab virus test at the resort the day before our return flight. The results were emailed to us a few hours later and we showed our phones to the airline staff (easy peasy). Be prepared to bring a ton of $1 to $5 bills for tips. We tipped our maid service, waiters, and bus drivers. We stayed for 5 nights and spent 2 full days at off-site parks. We went to both EXPLOR PARK and XEL-HA PARK! They were amazing and full of adventure!!! They had mini-excursions that you could purchase but we skipped the packages since the parks were jam-packed with included fun things to do! We spent a full day at each park and were able to drop into the restaurants for snacks and lunch. All food & beverage were also included! At Explor Park, we did hours and hours of the craziest and fastest zip-lining we’ve ever done! I even felt brave enough to flip upside down while sliding 30mph. Aaron snapped a quick video of it because he didn’t see it coming! Then we jumped into jeeps and drove over 5 miles of the most fun jungle and underground jeeping! I even drove through a water tunnel! We would pull over and switch riders for us to both get a chance at it! We laughed SO much and couldn’t imagine a more fun and adventurous day! The next day we went to Xel-Ha and we we went cliff jumping, swam through caves, water ziplines, found bats in underground caves, went snorkeling, played on a water ropes course, went hiking, and so much more on floating bridges, slid down the tallest water slide. We saw tons of wildlife running through the jungle surrounding us. It was an incredible day!

You can also have free access and transport to Xcaret Park and I’ve heard the dinner show “Spectacular” is an absolute must-see! Next time, we’d also visit the Xenses Park!

bikini top | bikini bottom | white kimono | sandals | sunglasses | hat

blue dress (different) | purse | sandals | beaded bracelets | gold coin necklace | hoop earrings | fav pink lip gloss | his sneakers | his shorts | his shirt | his sneakers |

black swimsuit | gold water sandals | grey swim trunks | tanning mousse | gold ear studs | hair ties

my knotted swimsuit | my sunglasses | straw hat | necklace | tinted sunscreen | black swim trunks | his sunglasses | black cap

black side-tie swimsuit | straw hat | sandals | white shirt | black swim trunks | black sandals

black sunglasses | bikini top | bikini bottom | sun visor | pink lip balm | bracelet