Sep 9, 20225 min read

Cancun, Mexico 🇲🇽

Updated: May 29, 2023

This is our first Club Med experience and hopefully not our last. Let’s start with getting a car….after you land and come out of the airport, OMG….taxi drivers and sworn of people want your business, is very overwhelming and can feel a little sketchy because it doesn’t feel very “official”. Luckily we find a guy with a “Club Med” sign and immediately we feel relieved, otherwise, I would have to find a trustworthy driver and probably negotiate a price….or you can wait in a long line for a car under the heat with small kids, there is no TAXI sign on the cars….. most of them are Vans, and it looked perfect for kidnapping 🤐😂.

⚠️ There are signs inside the airport indicating you had to pay a visiting fee but no body checked. You do need a mask while going through customs flying back. 🤷‍♀️ 😷

RESORT

Luckily for us, Cancun is only about 2 hr direct flight from Charlotte, NC. The resort is about 20 min from the airport. There is a gate with security before entering which I was glad for because you do hear some horrifying stories about Mexico 😵‍💫

There is NO Uber in Cancun. The driver offered us a round trip for $60, I was amazed at how affordable it was after experiencing the Bahamas. 😂 (Please tip them!). Clubmed is all inclusive resort meaning room, food, entertainment, non motorized water sport, and kids club is all included in the price! 🥳

My first impression of the resort was rough…..the lobby wasn’t grand, it was an open space so, therefore, no air-conditioning 🫠….but the whole resort setting is beautiful! We stayed at the Aquamarina building, a newer building further away from the main area but we love the 8min walk. Our room wasn’t ready, but luckily we were able to drop off luggage and went straight to food hunting. 😋

I really like the room and the layout of it. It was spacious, kids bedroom had its own bathtub, a total of 2 🚽, very well designed and functional. Most importantly, the bed is comfortable and FIRM! There is a more luxurious option called Jade. I honestly feel like the Aquamarina area is nice enough and similar layout to Jade, so we stick to our peasant side. 😅

Beware of all the iguanas, I almost stepped on one of them. Kids love seeing them chillaxing around. The Tennis court, playground, beach area, and lounges were all very clean and well maintained.

FOOD

The food was surprisingly good considering is an all-inclusive resort. I, Ofcoz tried all the food options 😆….🫔 🌮 , I even tried cactus smoothie (tasted VERY healthy 🥴) and DELICIOUS cactus pear 😋, and how I miss those 🍉 with plenty of black seeds in it. Food tasted more organic than here in the US, 🫤 My husband like the specialty restaurant - The Estancia, I’m not a huge meat person so 🤷‍♀️.

All the restaurants have an amazing view of the water or the beach. I love the fact they make fresh juices in the morning, detox, or fruity options. Puréed foods, different types of milk, and baby yogurt is also available which is super convenient for babies 😊

The People

Did you know Club Med is a French company? Yep, so a large number of French families were visiting, even couples without kids. Many bilingual staff who can speak English, French, and Spanish fluently 👍. Pretty good French wine list & friendly service (better than Bahamian island service 🤐). Every time we leave, we came back to a clean room 😊. The “village chief” is a nice French gentleman. Our scuba dive instructor Charles was awesome, he was holding my 11 yrs old’s hand the whole time underwater. (She was a little nervous) Awesome family experience. 🤿

Entertainment

I wasn’t too blown away with the kids club which seemed a little small and outdated for my 5yr old one. My 11 yrs old spends most of her time with us, so not sure about the older kids club 🤷‍♀️. Lots of activities to keep the kids entertained day and night. The theater needs renovation, the ceilings are too low, and it did get pretty hot inside during performances 🫤….but the shows were pleasantly enjoyable for the whole family. Many of the performers were amazing and talented!

One thing I wanted to try but did not have a chance to is the trapeze, looks fun and daring. I strongly recommend scuba diving, the cost was around $380?! total for me, my husband, and our 11 yrs old 😳! The boat ride around Cancun lagoon was really fun, 4 of us fit in 1 boat and cost around $200, another great deal because we’re on it for 2 hrs! We both joked about the gasoline cost more than $200. A really good way to see Cancun, actually is the only time we went outside of the resort 😂.

Snorkeling is another must-try here at Club Med. Again, geographically blessed and has the cleanest water to dive and snorkel. We went beginning of September, the water is the perfect temperature, I wore my bikinis 👙 to scuba diving, no wetsuit needed. ☺️ Remember to request a camera man, sadly it wasn't available during our time slot. I was in awed underwater and mesmerized while snorkeling on the surface seeing all the colorful fishes. Stingy ray, rainbow fish, blue fish, purple coral, it was beautiful! But do be careful because you’re SO close to the reef and coral, it can easily scratch your skin! I was a little too dangerously close to the reef or too far out 😅….a wave could easily push me down and I can get injured. I was chasing a beautiful fish and the next thing I know it led me to a dangerous zone 😥

Don’t miss the family activities, I had so much fun with my daughters at the piñata 🪅 party 🤭. The energy from the staff was great, you can tell they’re happy to work there, you might see someone who works at the store during daytime and nighttime he’s one of the performers.

During 1 night, some stands were set up and selling local goods like homemade potteries, bracelets, paintings, and such… It did give me that “night market” feeling back in China, we bought some “Mexican Blings” 😂. Remember to bring cash and Ofcoz being Chinese I negotiated the price. I feel a little guilty so I end up giving him ex $, and he was kind enough to give me a free bracelet which I did not expect. I respect people who work hard to support their families.

Club Med often has sale promotions going on, I would recommend booking during special holidays as they have better promotions. Price can vary drastically. I was pretty shocked when we check out, the bill was very affordable. The total bill for 5 days was equivalent to 1 single day in Atlantis, Bahamas. 🫣. So yes we will come back to Cancun. 😇 Good Service, friendly people, and plenty of food options! We felt safe inside the resort, it pretty much had everything we wanted so didn’t bother leaving the resort except for the boat ride.

Daddy: what’s my fav animal Chloe?

Chloé: tuna? …..steak or salmon?

Daddy: ANIMAL! not food

Janine: 😂😂😂

I totally recommend a family vacation beginning of September that's when kids just started school, not intense learning yet...less crowed, cooler, and cheaper ✌️