|Caribbean Calling|

All-Inclusive Adventure in Riviera Maya, Mexico

March 6, 2020 /

Hola Amigos!! My excitement knows no bounds as I write out this blog – Mexico was by far my favorite get-away! Working as expats in United States, my (now) husband and I used up all our vacation leaves for a month long wedding celebration back home. That didn’t deter me from finding our perfect honeymoon destination though. We wanted to go somewhere we hadn’t been before. It had to be close enough considering we only had 4-5 days and couldn’t spend much time on the journey back and forth. Back in 2018, Southwest airlines started flying to the Caribbean and offered $200 off their vacation packages. And that was that. We zeroed-in on Riviera Maya, Mexico.

It was an opportunity for a lot of firsts – We had never been to Mexico or any of the other Caribbean regions. It was our first all-inclusive resort experience. Snorkeling in the Caribbean coral reefs was always a dream. Plus we got a very good deal on this vacation package (Flight+Hotel+Car) staying in a 5-star resort (BlueBay Grand Esmeralda in Playa del Carmen) through Southwest (a reputed airline). While it was a risk going to the Caribbean in May (due to high temperatures and chances of rain), we still went for it considering the amount of money we were saving. It was totally worth it!

  • Coati (Raccoon)
  • Resort Room
  • Yucatan spiny-tailed Iguana

First, a little enlightenment about Riviera Maya. Riviera Maya is a stretch of Caribbean coastline in Northeastern Mexico including many towns such as Playa Del Carmen and Tulum. Both of these towns are popular for all-inclusive resorts with a variety of choices such as adult-only or family resorts. An all-inclusive resort essentially means that all your meals and drinks are covered, plus the resort has plenty of events going on, a vast property to explore (local flora & fauna), generally 2+ pools, maybe a nightclub and some free water sports/activities.

Here is how we spent our 4 days in this slice of heaven!

Chichen Itza

After getting a good night’s sleep and enjoying a delicious breakfast (one of the biggest breakfast spreads I have ever seen offered) the morning after, we left for Chichen Itza to explore the Mayan Ruins. Chichen Itza, a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the seven wonders of the world, is the remaining ruins of an ancient Mayan city. While there are group excursions available from the resort, we chose to drive there and hire one of the local, government-approved tour guides available at the location. The affordable tour was much more personalized – our guide answered all our questions and customized the path based on the weather. These were the only few hours when we were not close to water, making the 90 degree Fahrenheit weather a tad unbearable.

Having said that, visiting Chichen Itza was a remarkable experience. The monuments are true marvels of design and engineering, and the ancient city has so much culture and history.  “Chichen Itza” means “At the mouth of the well of the Itza”. “Itza” means “enchanter (or enchantment) of the water”. The main pyramid ‘ El Castillo’ has a total of 365 steps – an ode to the number of days in the solar year. The ball court, the temple of warriors, wall of the skulls and the observatory are some other remarkable landmarks steeped in ancient lore and cultural significance.

It took us around 2 hours to tour the place and absorb the wealth of knowledge that our friendly, extremely well-versed guide imparted. After the tour ended, we decided to head straight for a Cenote (pronounced “si-know-thuh”, meaning sinkhole – think “natural swimming pool”) to beat the heat!

Cenote Ik Kil

Located close to the Mayan Ruins of Chichen Itza, Cenote Ik Kil is one of the most beautiful cenotes in Mexico. There is a carved stairway down to a swimming platform. The cenote is more than a 100 feet deep. There are beautiful green vines hanging from the top and covering the walls of the cenote. It is the most surreal natural wonder I have ever seen.

A cenote is a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock containing clean fresh water. There are 7000 cenotes in the Yucatan region which can either be completely underground, semi-underground, land level or open wells. One can swim, kayak, zip-line, rappel, snorkel and even scuba dive in specific cenotes.

Fun Fact: Cenote Ik Kil was considered sacred by the Mayans and used as a site to perform human sacrifice rituals (for the rain God)!

The property has a restaurant on site along with lockers, life jackets and changing rooms. There is free parking available and the entrance fee is $4 pp. We visited Cenote Ik Kil on our way back from Chichen Itza. The drive was easy and we made it just in time for dinner back in the resort.

Snorkeling in the Caribbean

As cheeky as it sounds, I have always wanted to explore the underwater world. Unfortunately I am not a good swimmer (Yes I know its a life skill, am working on it!). Hence scuba diving was out of picture. However, with my limited swimming skills and the guidance of our snorkel group leader, we were able to snorkel in the Caribbean. We hadn’t booked this excursion in advance. Our resort lobby had plenty of vendors selling a variety of excursions (Water Sports, Amusement Parks, Historical Excursions etc.). We were picked up from the resort and our small group headed to the snorkel site.

Sadly, the camera they were going to use in order to click our underwater pictures broke down and we couldn’t capture those moments. However, our group lead, knowing my lack of swimming skills decided to help me. He tied a rope to the tube and gave one end to me while he was leading the other end. I did not have to struggle with the ocean currents and could enjoy every moment of it. I was completely mesmerized (no kidding) by the aquatic life and the coral reefs under water. So much so that I count this (hands down) as one of my top experiences in life!

The Resort

Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda resort although 5 star is not too fancy but at the same time totally value for money. 

Pros:
Price: $1300 for 2 – Flights (from Boston), all-inclusive resort & car rental (Booked in March 2018).
Food: It was the best part of the entire resort experience. The breakfast and lunch buffets (3 sites) had such a wide spread, it was completely overwhelming. Everyone will find something to their liking. The à la carte restaurants serving 4 course meals for dinner were fabulous. Out of 6 different cuisine restaurants available , we chose Mexican, Oriental & French.
Drinks: 2 bars near beach/pool & one bar open 24/7. Generous servings!
Staff: Very polite and accommodating. Such was the hospitality that they always left us smiling.
Property: Beautiful lush greens.. Local flora and fauna – We spotted a Coati!
Swimming Pools: 3 large swimming pools
Room: The room was simple but charming and clean. Free upgrade to partial ocean view room as we were on our honeymoon.
Location: 2 hours drive to Chichen Itza and Ik Kil cenote. 45 minutes drive to Cancun International Airport.

Cons:
Beach: This was the biggest drawback. If you do not plan to venture out of the resort, it will be a deal breaker. The shoreline is full of sea weed. Not a good option if you want to swim in the ocean. We could sit back and enjoy but not swim in the water.
Hygiene: Ours was a short vacation. On one of the days, we found leaves in the pool from the surrounding trees. I used the women’s restroom of the Black & White bar (open 24/7) only once. It had 4 out of 5 restrooms dirty. But the restrooms of other restaurants were clean. So it was again a ONE time issue.

Overall a good and bang for the buck experience. We didn’t have enough time to participate in the activities around the resort. There were plenty of fun options including a foam party.

I hope you enjoyed reading this travel experience as much as I did writing it! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions and I would love to address your travel queries.. Adiós!!

Tip: Always prefer to book vacation packages directly with reputed airlines such as Southwest, Jetblue, Delta etc. I have had two disappointing experiences with Expedia before I stopped using it. One of them related to a canceled flight (due to staff strike) and the other one specific to a vacation package I had booked with them. Here is how the second one went.. The hotel closed down due to a hurricane on that island. While the hotel refunded the money, the airline refused a refund as the flight was still on. They offered coupons which could only be used with the same airline the following year. This situation jeopardized our trip and left us in a dilemma. Expedia being a third party vendor couldn’t do much despite spending hours on call with their customer service representatives.

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