Our trip to Mexico and why we think any family would love it

We just came back from the most amazing trip in Cancun, Mexico and I am here to give you all the details without all the fluff. Are you ready? Let’s get to it!

For this trip, we chose to go to Cancun, Mexico. We chose this location because I googled “best all inclusive family resorts” and the top 5 popped up to be in Cancun. After researching them all, we landed on staying at the Grande Fiesta Americana Coral Beach Cancun. And fun fact- they used to not be an all-inclusive, but just switched over in 2020. On this trip, we chose to take just our older 3 boys (Jude, Hudson and Chase- ages 8, 6, 5) while the younger two (Crew and Beck- ages 3 and 1.5yrs) stayed with Papa and Nana for a week of special time. I’ve never split up the boys before especially for vacation, but I knew this would give us an opportunity to give some special attention to the older 3 and the younger 2 wouldn’t be overdone and exhausted with such a big trip and long days in the hot sun.

The Details-
Location: Cancun, Mexico
Resort: Grand Fiesta Americana Coral Beach Cancun
Amount of time: 4 night/5 days

We kept our schedule pretty low key and didn’t want to squeeze too much in so we could relax as much as we wanted. Here’s what our days looked like:

Day 1: Travel day. It was a long day starting at 3:30am PST and landing in Cancun around 5pm CST. Once we got to the resort, which was about a 20 minute car ride, we checked in, checked out our room, changed and headed to dinner. We made reservations for dinner ahead of our trip so we could get right there. After dinner we headed back to get a good night sleep for the next day. 

Day 2: Our first full day. After starting the day with room service breakfast, we spent most of it at the pool and on the beach. The beauty of this resort is that it has one of the best beachfronts in Mexico. Gorgeous white sand, easily accessible for swimming and riding waves. There isn’t really any snorkeling but with kids, we were mostly focused on swimming. There was also a plethora of seats and umbrellas and we had no problem finding a great spot to relax. Between swimming in the pool, checking out the beach and poolside food and drink service, we spent most of our day here. For dinner we headed to a second restaurant and enjoyed an authentic upscale Mexican meal. Then back to our room for bed!

Day 3: Woke up and ate another delicious breakfast. We decided to take the recommendation of locals and take a day trip to Isla Mujeres, a small island straight across from the resort. It was about a 25 minute boat ride (you do have to purchase tickets). Once there, we rented a golf cart (It’s what everyone does) and toured around the island. The island is small but there is plenty to see (the beautiful ocean the entire golf cart ride) and several things to do if you wish (swim with dolphins/turtle village/zip line adventures) plus plenty of places to eat. We kept it pretty low key. The boys did a short 20 minute zip-line over the ocean, we enjoyed roadside mangos on a stick (so fresh and delicious), found a beachfront restaurant for some tacos and hamburgers for the boys and shopped in the town markets. After that we headed back on the boat to our resort, jumped in the pool to cool off, changed and dropped the boys off at the Kidz Club so we could have a special adult only date night at the Resort’s finest adult only restaurant. This is the only restaurant at the resort with a surcharge so it was such a treat and the boys were begging to go to Kidz Club again!

Day 4: Our last full day we spent just like day 2. We hung at the pool soaking up the sun (perhaps too much), swimming lots and enjoying snacks/food/drinks poolside. I did sneak away for a bit to get a massage at the spa which was well worth it and such a treat. The spa is very beautiful and along with any booked service, you have access to their hydrotherapy pools for 2 hours (I didn’t utilize this). For dinner this evening we headed to the last restaurant we hadn’t been to which was an Italian inspired trattoria. Delicious bread, food and a fun ambience with a live violinist made it the perfect last dinner. Oh yes, since it was required to have a Negative Covid test to enter back to the USA, the hotel offered this service complimentary to all guests. We had it done first thing in the morning and had the results in our email by the same evening. Very helpful.

Day 5: After another delicious breakfast (Vina Del Mar is incredible with an abundance of offerings including build your own omelettes and smoothies), we headed for one last quick swim before we checked out. While packing our bags, we ordered room service lunch so we all had full tummies. Then packed up our belongings and said adios to a wonderful vacation.

In my opinion, this was an incredible vacation option for families of any size. It would also be great for couples, girls getaway, guys trip, and multi-family vacations. The rooms are generous size and well appointed with connecting rooms available (which is what we had). With the all-inclusive resort, you have everything you need and never have to leave if you don’t want to and also don’t have to worry about paying extra for anything. 

Things I’m so glad I brought: Snacks for the plane ride. These were SO helpful and each boy had their own snack bag. Sunglasses (my fave costas), Sunscreen (you need lots), a cheap pool bag or tote to carry everything to and from the pool, hats for the boys (they wore them everywhere), a hat for me, snorkel gear so the boys could practice in the pool and the ocean if they wanted, gopro for filming all the fun, plenty of cash to convert to pesos and tip all the resort workers with (not required as gratuity is included, but always appreciated and generous to do), headphones and our kids tablet for the boys on the plane and plenty of swimsuits.

Things I wish I would’ve brought: water floaties. We ended up buying waterwings and a ring float for an expensive price at the hotel. But they were worth every penny. Next time, I would have bought new before I went for just a few dollars and kept in the box till we got there. Also, aloe vera gel with lidocaine for those days we spent too much time in the sun- we ended up having to buy this also. 

Things we brought and didn’t need: One too many pairs of swimsuits (two per person was plenty). Tim’s snorkeling gear wasn’t needed since no major snorkeling at the hotel. 

And that’s all folks. Overall we were just thrilled with our entire vacation. I think the pictures speak for themselves. If you are looking to get away to the sun + warmth, and have everything you need right where you stay- we highly recommend it. If you have any questions- leave them in the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer. Also, I put some links below to my favorite products mentioned in this post to make it easy shopping for you. Hope that helps. Until next time…Adios Amigos!

xo, Sarah

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