Ultimate Cancún Mexico travel guide

This post is very much long overdue but in my defense I’m a nursing mom so mom duties has had me under! First, I just want to thank the Lord for making this trip possible lol! There were so many things working against it – it was an impromptu trip which we hardly ever do, my husband’s passport was stuck at the embassy a week before our travel date, he had to figure out his working situation and the dynamics around taking leave, whew chile, the biggest was the fact that I was in my third trimester and already getting pretty heavy but y’all, I really needed this trip – I was like my life is about to change and in some ways wont be mine anymore, I need this babymoon as one last hurrah for a good while lol.

Now on to the juicy stuff! Going to be sharing all the deets about our trip below! Feel free to leave any questions in the comments section, I will be more than happy to answer. Cancun was such a lovely time, the people were warm and welcoming, and my travel crew was THE best bunch period, what more could a girl ask for!

Flight details

We booked our flight with Air Canada airline. It initially cost us 571 CAD each for economy class tickets from Toronto Pearson to Cancun International airport. We ended up upgrading our return flight to business class for an additional 350 CAD each (we had also tried to upgrade the first leg, but business class was full). It was a 4-hour journey and pretty smooth. Except for some slight dietary restrictions due to my pregnancy, the food was also decent on the flight.

Transportation

Asides the taxi to the resort which we chartered just outside the airport, we actually walked most of the time – we didn’t go past a 20 minute walk from the resort. We probably used Ubers just once or twice.  

Currency

Changing money was very straightforward. We were advised not change money at the airport, no surprise there. We got good rates at the resort and changed most of our money there.

Accommodation

We stayed at Hilton Playa del Carmen all-inclusive adults only resort which we reserved using booking.com. We booked the junior suite ocean view king sized bedroom and it cost 2,460 CAD for 4 nights. The resort is absolutely beautiful and primely located in the famous Riviera Maya region, with access to the beach front and literally 2 minutes from the prominent Fifth Avenue of Playa Del Carmen. Playa Del Carmen itself is a resort town along the Riviera Maya known for its gorgeous beaches, great local cuisine, and entertainment on Fifth avenue. Back to the Hilton – the resort has 7 restaurants, 5 of which were included in the all-inclusive package. There were multiple pool areas with Cabanas; drinks and food were basically unlimited. Someone was steady trying to offer us cocktails (haha in my case mocktails 😊) what felt like every 5 minutes and we were very much not mad at that!

 Dining

We mostly ate at the resort seeing as we had 5 restaurants to chose from. My favorite was one called Spice Global buffet – they had continental and also local Mexican cuisine. I would say we probably enjoyed 3 out of the 5 restaurants. It was great to not have to think about where to eat, making reservations and that whole hassle. We did find some super authentic Jamaican restaurant in town called Rockas Jamaican kitchen, thanks to my friend on the trip – we had the best jerk chicken I have ever tasted! So good, we went there two days in a row! And the chef was lovely.

Things to do

Interestingly both couples were pretty aligned that the trip was a trip for premium relaxation versus gallivanting the streets and doing the most. I would say we spent at least 75% of our time in the resort. FYI, this was a 4-day trip. I have highlighted both things we did and things we did not do but you should check out if you are in Cancun.

1.)   Resort pool parties

The resort had this super fun pool parties every Saturday – we booked a Cabana for the pool party which cost 100 USD and came with bottle service; this was a decent price as we were a party of 4. The pool party featured a live band as well as a DJ, a pole dancing performance, games for resort guests (the highlight were some kind of Trivia game and a pool diving competition, so chaotic but fun to watch lool), salsa dance lessons etc.. PLUS unlimited burgers and tacos by the pool – they were ridiculously YUM and of course unlimited cocktails and mocktails.

Me and my baby bump killing it with Salsa lessons :)

2.) The Beach of course :)

We had resort access to the beach which was perfect. A great perk here was also that the beach Cabanas were free with the all-inclusive package. It was so relaxing walking on the wet sand and taking in the waves and fresh ocean breeze!

3.) Evening shows

There were performances every night at the resort including artistic roller skating, live musical performances, karaoke etc. They also provided props like glow in the dark sticks and snacks like popcorn and sweets for the shows. It was a vibe, albeit rather Americanized but we didn’t mind too much lol.

Artistic roller skating performance at the resort

4.) Fifth avenue

Fifth avenue is known as the backbone of Downtown Playa Del Carmen. It has a lot of local shops selling touristy things from jewelry to fridge magnets to Sombreros and so on. Some parts of it reminded me of a much saner, less chaotic Lagos market in Lagos Nigeria. Fifth Avenue is also known for the Frida Kahlo Museum, its aquarium beach, and the Thompson rooftop pool.

5.) Night life

Night life features clubs like Coco Bongo and Palazzo on 12th Street. We initially planned to have a night out in the town, but we were having way too much fun relaxing by the pool, 30+ behavior, welp!

6.) Others

Other things you can consider doing – snorkeling, catamaran cruise, Chichen Itza (one of the main archaeological sites on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico), Cenotes and ATV tour.

Conclusion

My experience in Cancun was a 10/10, especially with the number one goal of the trip being rest and relaxation - we did just that and had the absolute best time. If I were to go back I’d probably get up to a bit more (refer to activities listed in “Others’ above) and also visit one or two other cities, Tulum for sure!

This is me encouraging you to book that trip! Cheers to making memories through travel! xoxo