When I want to have an easy planning vacation with my kid, all-inclusive beach resort is always my best option. Then when I think about the budget, Cancun comes up as the number one on my list. The Cancun weather is perfect year round. My family can enjoy its gorgeous beaches, archaeological ruins, and the adventure parks. The flight from Houston, TX only takes us about 2 hours, the ticket is cheap and I get an all-inclusive resort that means worry free for the whole trip. Before you jet off and explore this wonderful place, there are tips that I would like to share with you for visiting Cancun with toddler/preschool kid (my daughter visited Cancun twice when she was 2.5 years and 3.5 years).
WHAT TO BRING TO CANCUN?
All-inclusive resorts already covered us room, all meals and snacks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage, shows and non-motorized water sports. Besides that, everything else is overpriced so make sure you prepare to bring:
- Sunscreen/Sun block – it is expensive inside the resort so prepare to bring enough sunscreen, sun block for the whole family. Cancun theme parks don’t allow the chemical sun block so buy the physical type.
- Hat, goggles, water toys, sand toys, water shoes. Kids will walk outdoor all day long so water shoes are the MUST. I bought the cheap pair of water shoes from Wal-Mart for less than $5 then I could throw them away after the vacation.
- Waterproofed case for phone/camera. The Cancun vacation means you are going to get wet all the time but you want to capture every moment of your family during the vacation SO bring the waterproofed case for your phone and camera.
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RESORT?
Cancun offers a wide range of family friendly hotels/resorts options. So I picked the resorts based on what is best for kid.
- The resorts have to have food services by the pool. My daughter could stay and have fun all day in the pool so I had to make sure there was food for her closed by.
- The resorts have to have variety collections of snack. Every Cancun all-inclusive resort provides sweet/snack at the buffet restaurant. However, I wanted to choose the resort which had snack/desert bar/snack store around the facility. Cancun trip also means high sugar diet vacation so I let my daughter go all the way with sweet as much as she can.
- The resorts have to have other activities than pool and beach such as water slides, in-door playground, golf, zip-line or other dried activities.
BEST THINGS TO DO WITH KID OUTSIDE THE RESORTS
- Make a day trip to Isla Mujeres
Cancun beaches are nice but hard to swim due to the strong waves and rocky sand. Therefore, we usually swam at the resort pools and made our day to Isla Mujeres to swim in the beach. Isla Mujeres is a quick 20 minute boat ride from Cancun, also known for its beautiful crushed coral beaches and turquoise blue water. There are several places to catch the ferry in Cancun. Take the ferry from Puerto Juarez, it’s cheaper than the hotel zone but it still depends on where you stay. It’s the perfect place for snorkeling with the kid and spending a day at the beach. We rent a golf cart for about $40/day to ride around the island. There is fresh coconut everywhere for about $4 each.
- Visit Xcaret Cancun
Xcaret Cancun is the theme park with over 50 attractions. We bought the tickets included meal and spent the whole day here. There are snorkeling, swimming in the super clear underground rivers, zoo, traditional Mayan performances, live shows, swim with dolphin (additional charge) and beaches. The park is huge and a lot of walking for us, make sure to bring stroller, water and snack for the kid.
- Visit Flea Markets
Flea markets have shops offering everything from luxury to handmade that is the best place for souvenir and gifts. There are several markets such as Mercado Coral Negro, Mercado 28, Mercado 23 depend on where you stay at. We usually spent 2-3 hours to go to the market to buy some stuffs to bring home. The price was much cheaper than airport even with duty free. I learned that I have to bargain the price less than 50% of the original price. Don’t be shy, or else you will end up buy the same thing with higher price.
