Tips for Travelling to Mexico with Kids

One of the best things about living in an amazing vacation destination is that friends and family will come to visit! Recently, I had the pleasure of seeing one of my old college buddies and his family here in the Riviera Maya, Mexico.
Dan Pajo, his parents, his wife, Dawn and his precious 6 year old daughter came to Mexico for vacation. They currently live in Louisville, KY. During their vacation they stayed in an all inclusive resort in Akumal. I asked Dan if he would share some of his personal thoughts and tips for travelling with children.
-Sherry Stevens

Here is what he had to say…

“Here are some tips that worked for us.

1. Love the A/C - sprinkle in some cool down spots with A/C, cold drinks… and ice cream is always a welcome addition
2. Exploring Adventures are great, but not with kids. I used to love going down the side streets when traveling and getting a real taste of the area. No longer. It’s worth paying a little extra to remove all doubt about safety and security.
3. Instead of renting a car or taking the bus, take a taxi or a taxi van if the group is larger than 3 or 4 people.
4. The last thing that you want as a parent is to be in an unfamiliar area, unable to speak the native tongue and in an uncompromising situation (out of gas/broken down, lost, unknown neighborhood, dehydrated, overheated, etc…). Our hotel even arranged to have a taxi wait for us while we shopped and when we went to Tulum. The prices were already pre-arranged and it did not cost extra to have them wait. Just that little peace of mind was nice… Not having to worry about your ride home. And you knew that they would be there waiting because you don’t pay until you return to your hotel!
5. It seemed like the Tulum Ruins were popular with the kids. Some may not be interested, but Eliza (age 6) was enthralled, curious and hung on every word. Plus, it did not hurt that you could not spit without hitting a lizard. She was bummed that we did not get in the ocean at the end of the tour, but the water was pretty rough.
6. Always have water activities (swimming) planned at the end of the trip- whether it’s the pool or the ocean, it is very refreshing and gives the kids something to look forward to.
7. Get a good sun hat for yourself and the kids. Just getting the beating sun off of your face will help you stay outdoors longer. And it will make it more enjoyable if your kid is comfortable and not making it implicitly clear that it is time to go.
8. Take plenty of water with you when you go out, even if you’re planning on buying drinks there. Same reasons as above.
9. Put on your sunscreen in your room before you go anywhere. Many places are environmentally concerned (and rightfully so) and won’t allow you to put on sunscreen while in pristine areas. But you can’t let your kid turn into a bacon strip either, so be discreet or invest in environmentally friendly sunscreen if possible.
Our thoughts on staying in an All Inclusive Resort
We went to a brand new all inclusive resort due to having a six year old daughter. It really was great having all the meals, drinks, etc… ready and waiting at all hours. It is very nice to not have to consider where you’re going to dinner, how long it will take and whether there will be something that your child will eat or not. They can be pretty headstrong.
The negatives are that we got no real sense of the culture as the environment was anesthetized or watered down, if that makes any sense. We were wanting eat real Mexican food, but we did not get that at all in the all inclusive resort. Oh, and the shows… My God. The shows were horrific. But if you looked at it as if very bad entertainment is funny, then you might be able to stomach them. I, however, could not. But there were a lot of people who seemed to enjoy them. The people who enjoyed the resort entertainment ranged in age from maybe 40-60 (this age group is not that far off for me!).
After we returned, my wife Dawn & I discussed going the total opposite route next time and go to a very small place.

Here are the must haves, in our opinion:
Clean
Close to authentic restaurants
Close to the beach without having to cross traffic
Nice pool
It would be nice to go to a place that offers at least one meal a day so you don’t always have to go out.” - Dan Pajo

*Eliza LOVED the abundant Iguana’s and Gecko’s of Mexico. If Eliza was not satisfied with the stuffed animal lizard Grandma bought her as a souvenir, I would not be surprised if the Pajo’s have made a trip to the local pet store and had to purchase a lizard of thier own???