Joya - Cirque Du Soleil in Playa Del Carmen

 Warning - this show is pricey and even pricier if you buy the dinner to go with it. That said, it was a good show. It kept my 5 and 7 year olds engaged throughout. We did not order the dinner and instead had an appetizer plate for each of us. It was more of an amuse bouche plate - very small portions and not very kid friendly. Unless your kids have sophisticated palates (think gazpacho), they aren't going to get a lot out of it. It also came with champagne, which also didn't work for the kids. You could purchase a soda/popcorn combo for like $25.

The seating in our row was a bit difficult as well. We had three sets of two but there were two in one row and the third in the row behind. In addition, there was a couple between our two seats and when you purchase a set of two in that area, the appetizer/champagne setup is between you and your seat partner. This made it a bit more difficult to monitor the kids.

The row in front of us had the dinner and it looked amazing. Can't tell you anything about the taste but the meals are presented in treasure chests or books (in line with the theme of the show). It looked really cool and in retrospect, I wish we had sprung for the dinner experience.

The location is close to Playa and pretty cool - it's a dedicated theater for the show. They do pictures in various areas with props and backgrounds that you can purchase. Overall, it was a good experience but one I would only recommend if you have the budget for it. This was more of an "extra" than a "must do".

Next up: Swimming with Dolphins and Yacht Rental

Travel On!

Playa Del Carmen - Grupo Xcaret Xenotes Tour (4 cenote tour)

 OH. MY. GOSH. This tour was AMAZING! This is an all-day experience, touring 4 cenotes (which they call xenotes because everything Xcaret is branded with an X), and including lunch.  Our tour guide was great and interacted with our kids (5 and 7). 

Pick up was pretty easy and the whole process was explained. Don't bother putting on sunscreen and/or bug spray - they want you to wash it off at the first cenote to avoid contaminating the water.

First cenote was like a little river. At the beginning you have the choice of going down a waterslide to get in or on a zipline (the kind that is just a bar you hold on to) or walking in from steps. It was colder than I expected but once you get used to it, no problem. After getting in, you swim/float down the river. There are inner tubes for kids if they don't want to swim. At the end of the river, you can get out and jump off a small cliff.

After the first cenote, we were served a small snack and Mexican hot chocolate. Then we headed off to cenote number 2.

Cenote number 2 was our favorite! It has two ziplines - one is a bar you hold onto and drop whenever you want. The other is a sling you can sit in, hang from, fly like superman on, etc. These ziplines go all the way down so you can hold on/stay on until you're actually in the water. My 7 year old was scared at first but our guide offered to go down "spiderman-style" (upside down) if he went down "princess style" (sitting in the sling). He sat in it and realized you feel very secure and decided to go for it. Then wanted to do it over and over until we had to leave. 

Cenote number 3 was a beautiful blue cenote. We snorkeled around and into a cave then on the other side we got to go on a short kayak trip. After that cenote we had lunch, which was sandwiches with a selection of cold cuts/cheese/toppings. In addition, there was nice, cold coke and other pops as well as wine and beer. We had time to relax and enjoy our meal before moving on to the 4th cenote.

The 4th cenote was so cool! We put on harnesses and rappelled into this deep, beautiful, blue cenote inside a cave! My kids were wimps and said it was "too cold" but they both braved the rappel line so I couldn't complain. We had some time to swim and jump off a stone diving board into the water before cleaning up and heading out.

During the tour, you have your own personal "paparazzi" with you. Ours took about 300 pictures of our group of six and they were pretty good pictures. Cost for digital copies of all of them was $140. 

I highly recommend this tour. It was well-organized, well-balanced, and tons of fun for all ages. We were there with my in-laws and my kids so three generations all loved it!

Next up: Cirque Du Soleil Joya...

Travel on!

Playa Del Carmen - Paradisus Playa Del Carmen - the kid stuff (pools and other fun)

 This hotel has tons of stuff for the kids!

First and most importantly for the kids - the pools! There are a bunch of little pools winding around the buildings - we didn't swim in any of those. There is a bigger, main pool we swam in a bit. But most of our time was spent in the "pirate pool" or at the water park.

The pirate pool is right by the sunrise grill, so parents can get a cold drink while the kids swim. It was also shallow enough that both of my kids (5 and 7) could touch the bottom, alleviating the need for an adult to be in the water with them all the time.  The kids loved the pirate ship and would play for ages.

At times, staff come out and do fun things by the pool like give airbrush tattoos or hand out balloon swords. Only drawback for this pool is that some people do the thing where they get towels first thing in the morning and put them on the sunchairs and leave them there all day to "reserve" their spots. Like 5 people will be in the pool and every chair around it has something on it. 

If you're in the reserve, there's an additional pool with a swim up bar on the other side of Olio. It's heated. Which means it feels like bathwater so no cold entry but it's not gonna cool you off in the heat.

The water park is lots of fun. There are 5 or 6 waterslides - all appropriate for young children and not scary, plus the typical play/spray area in an island in the middle of the pool. Both my kids went down all of the slides and had a lot of fun.

Note about the resort - you can flush the toilet paper. In case you were wondering...

There is a kids' club and my kids loved it! They asked to go back repeatedly. We would drop them off for a couple of hours and get some much-needed recharge time. They did fun stuff like an eco-tour (learning about the plants and animals around the resort), building sand castles, pool parties, making pirate hats and other crafts. They do nighttime care but you have to reserve it in the morning and they show the kids a movie.

I didn't exactly save the best for last - the beach. There was a lot of sargassum when we were there and it doesn't smell pleasant. We didn't spend a lot of time at the beach because the kids love the pools so much but it wasn't really somewhere you'd want to swim. The staff works to clean it up so maybe it's better later in the day but we didn't check it out at that time.

They also have photographers on site that will do family photos on the beach. You don't pay to have them taken but it's $20 each for the ones you want to keep. I was glad we did it and again, it's not high pressure sales but we got some great shots and spent a bit of money on them.

Next up - Xenote (cenote) tour by Grupo Xcaret

Travel on!

Playa Del Carmen - the Hotel Rooms and Restaurants (Paradisus Playa Del Carmen) (kids = 5 & 7)

 For our trip to Playa Del Carmen, we stayed at the Paradisus Playa Del Carmen. It was AWESOME! We were in the reserve area in a master suite. FYI there are direct flights to Cancun from our home airport (Denver) which made it easier to access but there's about an hour drive from the airport to Playa.

The hotel is all-inclusive and unlike many places, does not try to squeeze more money out of you at every turn. Yes, there are add-ons (like special meals) but they are not pushed at all.

The rooms - fabulous. They were spacious and clean. There was a table to eat room service on. The housekeepers kept it immaculate and even cleaned up after us (at one point they folded our dirty clothes!). The floors are all tile so if your feet get cold-ish (like mine do), be sure to bring socks for wearing around the room. There was lots of storage space (drawers and closets) so it was totally worth it to unpack and organize on arrival. The hotel staff do take your stuff up to your room for you once you are there and call to ask for it so make sure you have anything you need for your immediate use with you.

Check in was a bit slow - they are not in a hurry but are very friendly. You get a bracelet that opens your door. The kids get a bracelet that doesn't open the door. If you are in the reserve it's a different color so the staff knows you're allowed in the "reserve-only" areas.

I know you're dying to know about the food - long story short - it far exceeded expectations. Day 1 when we arrived, we were tired, hungry, and jet-lagged. We sat down at the first food area we saw, which happened to be the sunrise grill right by the main pool. Our server saw our state and immediately put in an order for like 4 appetizers and got us cold drinks quickly. It was a good start! The food at the grill was surprisingly good. We ended up eating at the grill a few more times while there - it's burgers, hot dogs, chicken tenders, etc. 

The Buffet - it's huge!!! There are so many options. This is a spot that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is so much to choose from. In the morning there are made-to-order omelets, pancakes, french toast, avocado and other interesting types of toast, as well as local breakfast foods. Lots of fruit at every meal. 

The specialty restaurants - we visited Aguamarina, Mole, Cappella, and The Market. I really wanted to do Bana Tepenyaki (the hibachi restaurant) but those reservations are hard to come by and the one night we had them we ended up returning late from our expedition.

We weren't super impressed by Aguamarina. It was our least favorite. There weren't a lot of options and not much for anyone who is not into seafood. The other 3 were amazing! Mole was delicious - we considered going back it was so good. Cappella was a delightful surprise - we weren't expecting such great Italian but it ended up being so much better than we thought it would be. It was delicious! I think that one was the kids' favorite. The Market was our last meal there and it did not disappoint - it was a meat and potatoes sort of place that served my son's flak steak on a cutting board (which he loved). Food was well-cooked and seasoned.

One note about food in this area - most restaurants we went to do not put salt on the table. We ended up with a running joke about "purse salt" because we would save extra salt for the next meal. If you like your food kinda salty (like me), bring some salt packets along!

The room service was fine - it wasn't anything special but when the kids want a quesadilla it was nice and our breakfast we ordered one day was good. It takes awhile (they give you a time estimate when you call to order).

If you're in the Reserve, you get access to an additional restaurant (Olio) which has a buffet in the morning and for lunch plus a menu you can also order hot food from. It was a less expansive buffet (by far) than the main buffet but the food was very good and the options to order made fresh were very good. You also get access to this little snack stand that my kids adored. They have snacks (popcorn, candy, chips, drinks, fruit, and most importantly to my 7 year old, churros). 

The staff were unfailingly polite, happy, and helpful. We were very impressed with them. In the reserve, you are assigned a "butler". Fair warning, my 5 year old now asks anyone who helps us on a trip (like the bellhop) if he is our butler...

Anyways, your butler makes dinner reservations for you and can also make tour reservations. We had everything kind of planned in advance but he did plan a surprise for our kids. He made sure we were going to be out of our room and filled the balcony jacuzzi with foam and balloons. They loved it!

Next post will be about the pools and kids' activities at the resort and then we'll get into the exciting tours and expeditions we did!

We have already talked about going back and staying there again - it was so great. Once again, I am not paid or compensated in any way for writing these reviews - just trying to help out other families planning travel.

Travel on!

What is this all about?

 My family loves to travel. I love to plan! We have two young kids and sometimes it's hard to plan with so much info out there. This is a place to share with you our travels and all the tips that come from them. Our kids are now 6 and 8 and we love active vacations with lots of fun activities and great food. So if you're wondering if your kids will like a place or if an experience is worth it - welcome to my crazy type-A planning world. Also my kids are nuts so if you're wondering if staff members will adore them or give you the side-eye judgy why-do-your-kids-act-like-that-after-a-12-hour-travel-day look, check this out.

I'm starting with one of our most recent vacations - Playa Del Carmen. We went there this March (2022). After that I'll share about San Diego/Disneyland (where we are now). 

And my current planning phase trip is Chicago!

Hope this helps - I'm always looking for the inside information when I'm planning trips and thought I'd share my inside experience!

As a note - I have not received any compensation/consideration/freebies for writing these posts - these are not paid reviews.