This Trip Was a Dream!
This was our first trip since Italy and the first real vacation since Covid. Mexico is one of the few places we could travel that was opened up at this point.
A few things that made it amazing
- We hired an incredible babysitter to watch our daughter, Leah.
- We stayed at an all-inclusive resort – Xcaret in Playa Del Carmen.
- There are plenty of Kosher food options.
- We went with good friends.
I dont know about you, but usually when I go on vacation – I do tons of research in advance and plan a very full trip. After a year + of Covid, all I wanted to was relax. That was my entire goal. We planned nothing. Maybe Ill go back again and try to see the sights and history of the area. But that’s not what we needed on this trip.
And you know what – it was amazing!
Preparation
I need to start doing trips like that more often (or learn to relax better in my own space but that’s for another day).
The babysitter came the night before we left. This way Leah saw her before bed and woke up with some level of familiarity.
We went Monday thru Friday – so on Sunday, I planned dinner and a schedule each day for them. I made Chicken and rice in a dish and had tons of cucumbers and tomatoes in the fridge.
I also stocked my freezer with frozen pizza, chicken nuggets, and fries. When Mom’s not home it’s not the time to start quibbling about healthy eating or put that on someone
else to do. I also stocked the house with yummy school snacks.
The babysitter was awesome about entertaining Leah after school. Monday they went to the park, Tuesday they did an art project, Wednesday they went to Dave and Busters and Thursday was Pony Club.
Leah missed us but also had a great time. So score.
Meanwhile back to Mexico
It was the beginning of May here and freezing, so I packed flip-flops and a change of outfit for when we landed. Since we were staying at an all-inclusive – they provided transportation to the hotel. They also had a lounge where we got iced coffees while we waited for the bus.
The hotel itself was amazing. The design was open and airy. Felt very authentically Mexican. My first thought was wow and that stayed for the whole trip!
Xcaret Hotel in Playa is an all-inclusive Resort. Generally speaking, it’s not worth going to an all-inclusive because we are Kosher and we can’t eat the food. However, we decided it would definitely be worth giving it a shot. And it was so worth it. Plus – Jewishplaya.com delivered all our meals to the hotel – breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They were fresh and delicious.
How We Spent Our Time
Monday we just chilled after landing. Walked around the resort a bit, rested. That night we had a white party with the friends we came with. Tuesday was the only day we sort of left the property. Xcaret is like Disney because they have these parks that are on their campus (just way smaller than Disney). We went to check out one of the waterparks.
Think hammocks gliding down into the water – cool and a little scary at the same time. We actually forgot our park pass in our rooms and had to go back to the hotel and then circle back around… but I made myself not get flummoxed by it because I wanted to just have a good time.
Wednesday we again chilled at the Resort and Thursday we went boating on a very small lake at the resort and our
friend’s kayak drowned. Definitely had a great time taking pics of that happening – lol. We also had an opportunity to meet Asaf’s (my husband) cousin and wife, who he hadn’t seen in 20 years. We met them at an amazing Israeli Restaurant in Playa called Moshe Cube.
Friday morning we headed home – which is a story and a half (you can read it here)
Definitely a 5 star trip – and would go back again
