Cancun Trip Diary

We stayed at the GR Caribe by Solarias. It had spacious rooms, great views and the resort was nice. We opted to be a ‘premium guest’ and were able to use the Royal Solarias amenities as well. They had a larger pool and a few more restaurants. It was definitely worth it because not only did we not have to repeat meals every night, you felt like you had more room to maneuver.

How to Eat at an All-Inclusive:

While a buffet sounds like a good choice for dinner because it has endless options, dining at the restaurants is the far better choice. The buffets are good for breakfast or lunch, but to feel like you’re getting your moneys worth, make reservations at the restaurants for dinner. They are normally at least 4 courses, and the entrees include fresh fish, steak, etc. and if you’re still hungry, you always have the option to order more!
If you happen to stay at the GR Caribe, Veneto was by far my favorite restaurant. It is an Italian restaurant. I know what you’re thinking: Italian in Mexico? But every course was delicious. I highly recommend eating here at least once.
Also, make sure to take advantage of room service. On our lazy mornings, we ordered breakfast or a pot of coffee while we got ready.
Lastly, stakeout the better bars in your resorts. Ours had one with premium liquor and we made sure to grab to-go drinks before we went anywhere.

Nightlife:

Downtown Cancun is only a short cab ride away! It’s an experience you don’t want to miss!
WARNING: Make sure you know the name of your hotel and what kilometer it is at because not every taxi driver knows where each one is. Our friends were supposed to have a 15 minute ride back home that turned into an hour of being lost and the language barrier created an issue.
Another WARNING: Even though the bus is only $1 per person, they make stops at almost every hotel especially when people are getting off their shifts. A 15 minute cab ride is about an hour and fifteen minute bus ride. Don’t make this mistake. It’s not worth it!

Greatest Night!

I highly, highly recommend getting tickets to the nightclub Coco Bongo. It is such a hilarious club. Every 15-30 minutes they bring out performers that are impersonators like Queen, Christina Aguilera, and even Batman and Spiderman. There are people on wires, silk, and anything you can imagine. Although the tickets are pretty pricey, your drinks are included and you get to see a great show!
Just make sure you don’t have an excursion booked for the next day because you’ll be out well into the morning.

What to Do:

Make sure to take full advantage of all the activities that your resort has to offer. There were various water sports that you could do, however because it was so windy only the kayaks were available.

BOOK AN EXCURSION: I recommend booking an excursion on one of the first days that you get there because if you book one on the last day (like we did), you’re constantly worrying about what time you’ll be back so you can soak up your last beach time. But still, they are still so much fun and most resorts have so many options to chose from!
One of the seven wonders of the world is a 2 hour bus ride away! However there are Mayan Ruins in Tulum, too. It’s a little bit closer and still very jaw dropping. Also, you can never go wrong with zip lining or cave diving!

Lastly, make sure to take a lot of photos and laugh a lot. This was one sisters trip I’ll never forget!

P.S. Last Tip! Try not to fly out when there’s an ice storm! Katie and I had one hell of a time trying to get to the Atlanta airport when the roads were closed and the public transportation was about 2 hours late. But if you have to, make sure to bring warm jackets because waiting outside in 17 degree weather is not fun when you are not prepared.
And if you are very close to missing your flight, throw away all of your liquids! We had about 30 minutes to get to our gate when we finally got to the airport, so we took our big bag through security (after throwing away all our liquids) and were able to check it at the gate. Not only did we make our flight, but our luggage also made it. – L