For our first family vacation of the year we decided to take the kids to the Riviera Maya in Mexico. The weather is amazing this time of year. I recommend vacationing in Mexico during the off season, preferably in January after the holidays. Besides beating the crowds, the temperatures are usually in the high 70's & 80's which is perfect beach weather.
Our family stayed at the Vidanta Riviera Maya. It’s an hour outside of Cancun and 20 minutes from Playa Del Carmen. Vidanta is a huge resort with tons of pools, activities, restaurants + more. We’ve stayed at the Nuevo Vallarta location a few times so decided to try the Riviera Maya location. Although the resort has tons of amenities it wasn’t set up quite as good as the Nuevo Vallarta location. It was a 15 minute walk or golf cart ride to the pool from our hotel room which makes it difficult if you forget anything in your room when heading to the pool. I loved that they had some really nice restaurants and fun activities at the pool for the kids. Although we had a blast probably wouldn’t come back to this exact resort location.
As far as airports, I highly recommend flying out of Tijuana airport. It is super easy and convenient. If you have never tried the Tijuana airport, you park your car (on the US side) in designated parking areas priced around $15-$30 a day. I recommend reserving your parking ahead of time so it's easy to check in and you get closer parking. The best parking lots book up fast. Then you follow the signs (there's people there to help as well) and you head through the CBX walkway. This is where you scan your CBX crossing ticket which you need to purchase in advance. A lot of airlines offer to purchase the pass with the tickets. You need one for the way there and the way back and it's per person. Once you go through the border crossing you can check in any bags at the airline or if you just have a carry on you continue on. Then there is the customs area where they ask you a few questions about your trip and check your passport. Once you are cleared through customs then you head to your designated gate and board the plane. That's it! Then when you land in Cabo or any other Mexico destination you get to directly pick up your bags and you're on your way. You completely skip customs because you already did it before your flight! Overall it was pretty easy and comparable to flying out of any other US airport.
We rented a car which we would definitely recommend. We went to Playa de Carmen several times to check out the shops, have dinner at a couple nice restaurants. There was lots to do. We never made it to Cancun {hour drive} but got to check out several local spots. Mi Jardin Secreto Restaurant is a local spot where we had dinner. The whole vibe of the restaurant was amazing along with the food+drinks. We also ate dessert at a place called Amorino Gelato which I definitely recommend. The gelato came shaped in a rose and tasted SO good!
One of the highlights of our trip was when went to the Excaret adventure park called Xplor. We went zip lining, drove on a jeep Safari, went on a raft trip, a swing into the water, + more. I was definitely the most scared when it came to the zip lining but I did it!! Excaret actually has 7 different adventure parks depending on what you’d like to do and is located in Playa Del Carmen. We actually got a chance to tour the Xcaret hotel and decided it's where we want to stay next time we come. It's an all inclusive resort which includes unlimited access to their 7 adventure parks. My kids are at the perfect age for that and I know would have a blast.
We made so many great memories on our family trip to the Riviera Maya. The kids had a blast and we will definitely be coming back for more adventures. If you are planning a trip to Mexico with kids I highly recommend you visit the adventure park. I hope this recap of my trip helped in planning your next vacation. If you have any questions feel free to reach out. Safe Travels! XO
Check out where we stayed here.
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