Vacation: Cancun, Mexico

I don't know about you, but I love traveling!!! Sometimes visiting somewhere new just allows you to expand your mind, take a step back, and appreciate life. My trip to Mexico did exactly that for me. I didn't quite realize how much I needed it until I was there. It was my first time out of the country, so I had to go through the passport process! It was much easier than I expected.

I decided to go on this trip rather quickly, it ended up being with family friends. I had to have my passport expedited, but truthfully I think it was only an extra $60.00? I was surprised because it was about a month before we were leaving. They ended up sending it to me in just a week! I attempted to get my photo at Sam's Club, but the post office didn't accept it. I just got mine at the post office because the sizing wasn't correct, so I'd recommend that to save you the hassle. It was around like $180.00 or $200.00 total.

HOTEL:

We went through applevacations.com for our booking. Our destination was Cancun, Mexico for the middle of July. It sounds crazy to go in July, but the weather couldn't have been more perfect! Our Resort was Now Jade Riviera Cancun Mexico, we stayed for 6 nights and 7 days. We really lucked out because we went from Saturday-Saturday. However, our plane left around 6:00, so when we arrived around 11:30 at the resort, we had the entire day! The flight was rather quick, it was only about 2 1/2 hours and I slept most of it. The airport was rather crowded in Mexico, but it so amazing stepping into a new country and culture for the first time. Mexico was so proud of their culture, it was inspiring.

The highways were kind of a free for all, and the views of towns and people's homes were rather limited. It was mostly highway driving. Sadly, a lot of what I did see was abandoned buildings. Due to the tourism, they try to keep you away from that. Upon entering the resort, there was a caution sign with alligators, monkeys, and birds. I found this slightly comical. The resort was gated by several security guards and posts. The road getting back to it was very off the beaten path, but beautiful! Wildlife and jungles were everywhere, our shuttles to and from the airport were included in our package which was nice.

Upon arriving, they greeted us with eucalyptus scented towels for our faces, which for me was such a wow! I've worked in hospitality at two top tier resorts and I was so impressed by the service all week. The lobby was absolutely breathtaking with giant open windows and beautiful sculptures. Check in and out was a breeze! The staff was wonderful.

FOOD:

Of course, I will be discussing the food. I was highly impressed with the meals we had. We did overlap for our favorites, but the meals were quite delicious. There was a buffet each morning, afternoon, and dinner for meals in the dining area. We ate the breakfast buffet, and then ate at specialty restaurants for the other meals. The lunch cafe had outstanding fish tacos. The french restaurant had wonderful french onion soup, filet mignon, and really everything else there was exceptional. They had a Mediterranean place where I had a fabulous salmon. The Asian cuisine featured delicious sushi and fried ice cream! Lastly, the authentic Mexican restaurant was out of this world. The food had high reviews all around. Also, their coffee is much much stronger there! Delicious, but strong. The cafe was okay, but slightly disappointing. It appeared nice, but when you went they were often out of items and the food seemed to be sitting a while. My overall favorite was the French. It was just an outstanding experience both times we went! There was a business casual dress code for the specialized restaurants.

Activites: My favorite part of our trip was our excursion to XEL HA! It was incredible. We booked it directly on site for around $120.00. This included our bus transfer to and from the park as well as our ticket to get in and lunch! It took about an hour and a half to get there. Xel Ha is a natural water park in Cancun/Rivera Maya. It featured dolphins, snorkeling, caves, zip-lining, cliff jumping, jungles, a giant water slide, several bars, parrots, a hammock park, and giant iguanas! they also had an awesome section about the history. It was just plain awesome and beautiful! The snorkeling was my favorite, we seen string rays! It was a lot of walking though, so be prepared! The pictures featured are from my iPhone except for the resort property ones, I still love them to this day!

Overall Review: 4.0 Out of 5.0 Stars

In conclusion, Mexico was a wonderful adventure. It was just what I needed at that time in my life. I have never seen such beautiful scenery or colors so vibrant. I am so glad I went, but I will probably not go back. I'd like to explore other all-inclusive resorts at other destinations. Overall, it probably was $1900.00 for a week.

PROS: weather, food, rooms, excursions, staff, people, family resort, felt safe, generous alcoholic drinks, excursions, water sports, short flight, transfers included, lot of room space, beautiful views, activities, easy to navigate, beautiful souvenirs, evening entertainment.

CONS: rocky ocean, limited pool seating, one pool area, family resort (if you're wanting a more calm experience), funny smell from jungle areas, small resort area, outside resort is sketchy, limited adult specific activities.