When people ask me, “how was your spring break?” I can only answer that I lived a dream, my Pinterest dream. All those days of looking at underground rivers, endless blue waters, and yummy Mexican food were finally here.
The day before we left, I realized that this would be my last spring break (ever*)! Our family has been planning this trip since August, and we did our fair share of research before booking our resort, finding places to eat, and searching for ‘the’ things to do. My mom is the main trip planner of the family, but Dad and I have major input. Within the lists, I’ll share what my family enjoyed and what we recommend along with relative pricing, pictures, and tips.
Things that will make your trip easier:
- Practice your Spanish. I took 5 years of Spanish (8th-12th grade), and it’s finally come to use! I remember struggling a lot in Barcelona a few summers ago because of the differences in dialect, but I feel right at home with the Spanish I learned in high school. It felt really, really, really nice to ask questions, order food, and understand signage. It’s also nice to understand when people are talking about you and your family (side note) and you can just give them the stink eye. By the end of the week, I began to think in Spanish…dream in Spanish…Sra. Frunza would be so proud of me :3
- Order a private car to pick you up + drop you off to your hotel (USD $55) — no need to share with other families, passengers, whatnot. This is pre-booked and helps you avoid all the other companies trying to get your attention, and you’ll meet your driver out at the arrival area after baggage claim. Extremely easy, nothing shady, and the average time from the airport to Zona Hotelera is ~30 minutes depending on traffic and which part of the strip you’re staying on.
- Plan carefully for currency exchange. Call your credit card company ahead of time to let them know you’ll be in Mexico and you’ll be making charges from abroad. The exchange rate varies from store to store, but it’s really not worth separating all your money and potentially having lots of leftovers. Then again, it’s nice having pesos so you’re not ripped off by exchange rates. We exchanged each time, small amounts, and used mainly for outside restaurants. It was so precisely done that at the end, we were left with 50 cent peso = WIN!
- Be prepared to be asked, about 100 times, “Where are you from?” I found it very offensive at first, then I realized…it’s just their way of saying “how are you?” to tourists. Just answer nicely, walk by, and be asked the same question again a few minutes later by the next tour guide.
- Restaurants are not usually open before noon. My family is used to eating early lunches and early dinners, 11am and 5pm, respectively, but we had to change our habits since most restaurants don’t serve lunch until noon/1pm and dinner until 6/7pm.
Where we stayed: Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach
- NOT all-inclusive (meaning food, drinks, services are not within base cost)
- private beach (right next to the famous Playa Caracol) + 3 swimming pools
- every room is ocean view, but not every room is sunrise/sunset viewable.
- *the service here is absolutely incredible — private bellboy to greet you at the door upon arrival, registration is very informational, travel desk has tons of tours to book at great prices, and everyone you come across here exudes happiness.
- their bakery cafe is delightful – I think I had a total of 5 chocolate croissants and 3 double chocolate muffins my time here.
Where to eat: In the order which we recommend
- La Destileria ($20-30 per dish)
- Originally recommended by a good, travel-bugged friend, Gavin.
- Happiest waiters I’ve met in Cancun! Definitely also some of the first people to help me pick back up my Spanish.
- Molcajete de Arrachera y Pollo (Recommended by server)
- Pescado Empapelado
- Talla Filet (Signature dish)
- Mango Margarita (so smooth and delicious)
- Tequilibrio
- Ask for the ocean view seating.
- *This ended up being my Dad’s favorite restaurant.
- Panoramic Ocean View Seating
2. Mango Cafe (~$10 per dish)
- *I did not research prior to coming to Isla Mujeres on where to eat, but we luckily ended up at the #2 restaurant on the island!
- Located in Isla Mujer (mid-island)
- Cute exterior, colorful interior, well-lit and well-decorated
- Offers unique, Caribbean dishes from pulled-pork to chicken to grilled beef
- Chipotle Chicken Quesadillas
- BBQ Pork Empanadas
- Steak Burrito
- Hibiscus Water & Pineapple Water
Bottom: Chipotle Chicken Quesadillas / Left: BBQ Pork Empanada / Right: Steak Burrito
3. La Joya ($30-35 per dish)
- Located in Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach
- *We originally had reservations at the Ritz Carlton that night, but since it was raining + Mom came down with a 12 hour stomach virus…we decided to save the Ritz for our next time in Cancun.
- Reservations are recommended, but not required.
- Snappy casual for attire.
- *Their menu also seems to change from time to time…since many of the dishes mentioned in TripAdvisor were not on the menu tonight.
- Gulf Mexico Mariscos.
- Mexican Sampler (appetizer)
- Beef Wrapped thing… (signature dish)
- Dad ordered beer + I had a mojito (not the best I’ve had, but decent enough)
- Mariachi band plays Weds-Saturday from 7:30-8:30pm (mexican time)
4. Casa Tequila ($10-20 per dish)
- Located across from Plaza La Fiesta
- EXCELLENT DRINKS.
- Margarita Casa Tequila (Signature – Guava/Mango/Strawberry)
- Poc Chuc (Mayan Dish)
- Chicken Pibil (Mayan Dish)
- Mixed Fajita
5. Calypso (~$10 per dish)
- Located right behind Casa Tequila in its own plaza.
- One of those restaurants that are not open until noon.
- AWESOME owners/servers – helped me practice my Spanish too!
- Beef Fajita
- Burrito Grande
- Huge portions for those of you wanting to eat before a tequila tasting 🙂
What to do:
- We lived my Pinterest dream by coming here.
- Booked through our resort tour group — included transportation (~1 hour), admission fee, inclusive buffet lunch at one of their 5 restaurants, snorkel equipment, and lockers.
- Be prepared to bring your swimsuit bods + a positive attitude ready for adventure!
- Thoroughly enjoyed the Underground Rivers — we did 2 out of the 3 routes: Rio Maya & Rio Manati. The river is split into three routes – two being well lit and sunny and the other being dark and mainly cave-like. So sad that we didn’t have a waterproof phone case or camera 😦 but here is an identical picture from other websites/bloggers.
- Paradise River Raft (~15 min) — most peaceful thing all day. Everyone is quiet, enjoying the view, natural mist, and limestone caves.
- Enjoy the Caribbean ocean view while you’re at it too – either in the back of the park or on the 360 rotating tower that’s 260 m from the ground.
- Evening 2-hour show (Espectacular Mexico) is definitely worth watching.
2. Visit Isla Mujeres
- Take the ferry from 3 different points in Cancun (~30-40 minute ride)
- *Rent a golf cart for the day! Gets you around the island and super easy to drive. (~$45 USD per day or $16 per hour)
- Island itself is 5 miles long, 3 miles wide, but it has one main road that goes around it + different stops for activities.
- 1) Turtle Farm (30 pesos / $3 USD) – federally protected turtles that are kept in pens until they’re big enough to be released in the wild. Super awesome place, and we even got to play with baby sea turtles + hold a white sea turtle 😀
- 2) Punta Sur – the southernmost point of the island has an amazing view, minus the iguanas that camouflagely lay on the rocks. Very picturesque!
- 3) Downtown/Centro – so many shops along the side, plus cute little cocktail bars and seafood restaurants. Worth walking alongside for 30-40 minutes for souvenir shopping! Dad got a beer for $3 USD and Mom and I shared a coconut ice cream on waffle cone for 45 pesos.
- 4) Playa Norte – everybody talks about this beach, even Pinterest posts! This IS a must-see, as the water is very clear, quite shallow, and big enough for everybody to enjoy. You can rent a casita or bring your own beach towels, either way, plenty of room and cocktails for everyone to enjoy.
3. Go Tequila Tasting. There is more than one place to do so, but feel free to research around before picking one that’s right for you!
Finally, 4. Spend a day at your resort.
- ESPECIALLY if it has a private beach, fantastic view, and weather permitting.
- It’s extremely relaxing to just..sit…enjoy the view…and get dark.
Panoramic View
This is definitely NOT my last time in Cancun, and I’ll be back again soon! There are so many things still left to do, such as…finish our reservation at the Ritz, spend more days at the Xcaret, visit some cenotes, visit Xelha, visit Garrafon, eat more food, drink more tequila… anyone up for a trip to Cancun soon? 🙂
moments of impact 
