Such an easy place to head to for a beach getaway. Chris and I were invited to a resort with his family. I was so busy with work, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make it work. But it was exactly what we needed. While I can't give exact advice on where to stay since that was all planned for me, I can give pointers on excursions you can do and amazing places to eat!
As far as timing goes, we went in March. The weather was consistent, no rain and not too hot. There were some days all I wanted to do was sit in the pool or get into the ocean, but that's the whole point of a beach vacay right?! We like to make sure there is enough time for beach/pool days and time to go explore places around the area. We went for a week but if you are crunched on time, I do think you could do it in a much shorter period of time. We like to make sure there is enough time for beach/pool days and time to go explore places around the area. Living on the west coast of the US, it isn't a big long flight you need recovery time from.
The resort we stayed at is The Royal Sands. Someone in our family owns a timeshare there, so we were able to use the room for a week. It was lovely to have a fridge and kitchen. There was a grocery store close by, so we stocked up on essentials for breakfast, drinks, and snacks. I will say if we were to do it again, we would just do the all-inclusive option. Sometimes it is nice to just relax and not worry about cooking. The resort was lovely. It had two pools, a huge beach, and decent restaurants. I will say the only negative was that we were approached by a sales representative to attend a presentation about joining a timeshare. The presentation is a half-day long, don't let them fool you when they say it is short. If you are interested in the free stuff that comes with attending, do it! Free stuff is never a bad thing, but we wanted to make sure we had time to go explore and relax on a beach, not in a conference room.
Another positive of the resort, and I am sure many others they offered spa services. We had never done a full blown experience. We booked ourselves a couples massage under the stars. If you have never done a fancy spa experience like us, let me walk you through the process. We arrived and they walked us through the steam room, a hot tub, and a sauna. After you are done with that you can shower and head to a relaxation room while you wait for your masseuse. You can drink tea or infused water. Once we were both ready we were taken up to a balcony for our massages. Oh my god, hearing the ocean and the fresh air was so amazing. We loved the experience so much that the next day we tried the fish pedicure and then got actual pedicures. You should experience that kind of pampering at least once in your life! Just book it!
I was surprisingly blown away by how fun the restaurants outside the resort were. They were so beautiful and had amazing presentations with their food and cocktails. Shockingly they weren't over the top expensive. I am talking $300 for 6 people getting multiple cocktails, appetizers, whatever main dish they wanted, and dessert! Many of them also turn into clubs after dinner service. The first place I would highly recommend is Porfirio's. This is a steak and seafood focused menu. Everything we had was amazing. The decor had greenery and very modern chic with a beautiful view of the ocean.
My favorite place we went was Taboo. This is not a place to come and have a lovely conversation. They are there to entertain you! The music is loud and high energy. You can order a hookah for the table, or a single cigar. I loved the cocktails at this place. They had unique creations that tasted amazing. The food here is more seafood and pasta focused with a Mediterranean twist. The decor was glamorous and very lavish. This is a must do!
We of course also had to get some adventuring in. I wanted to swim with sea turtles and check out a cenote, luckily there was a tour that lets you do both! We went to Akumal Bay to swim with the turtles. Sea turtles are so beautiful and cute. It was such a fun experience to snorkel with them. I loved our tour guide, she does research on them and was able to tell us why their environment is being threatened and how important it is to consider the changes that are happening to our planet. Cenotes are all around Cancun and a very unique feature. A cenote is a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of limestone rocks that exposes groundwater. They ancient Maya used them for their water supply and now you can go swim in some of them and see the amazing stalactites and stalagmites that have formed! The water in the cenotes is so clear you can see everything around you including little fish, when you aren't looking down there are usually bats flying around as well. There are tons of tour groups you can book with, but we just went through our resort to keep it easy.
Packing for a beach resort vacation should be easy right? Swimsuits, a cover-up and some shorts and a tank for exploring. But seriously, bring some nicer options and go out to the restaurants. Cancun is all about living your best life and whether you're there for a long period of time or a quick refresh, it is the place to do it!
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