We went to our first all-inclusive resort! We had such a relaxing week on the beach in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and didn't have to worry about a thing at Iberostar Paraiso Beach All Inclusive Hotel! We got engaged and finished the first wave of wedding planning in the spring, so we decided to treat this vacation as our engagement-moon!
Originally, we had actually booked flights to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, but due to the unexplained American tourist deaths that occurred earlier this summer, we made the decision to switch destinations. Lucky for us, we booked flights via Southwest Airlines, so we were able to easily switch flights without any fees!
Remember to Pack
Sunscreen: It's true that sunscreen is pricey at the resort. We checked a bag on Southwest, so we packed a few tubes of SPF and a few tubes of aloe, but fortunately we didn't get sunburnt at all!
Pesos: Take out some cash, you'll want this tip the room service and airport drivers. You may want the option to take a bus or cab instead of booking a tour service for excursions. Remember you can negotiate prices with cabs!
Swimsuits & Cover-Ups: Well I'm sure you already were planning to pack a swim suit, but pack multiple! There were many times we went back to the room between the pool and the beach, so it was fun to change up the swimsuit! You'll also want them to dry out between swims. Cover-Ups are a must in order to eat in the buffets and restaurants. No shirt, no shoes, no service!
The Resort: Iberostar Paraiso Beach
We decided to stay at an all-inclusive resort so that we could eat and drink our hearts out without worrying about the costs. The resort we chose was the Iberostar Paraiso Beach. This resort as a whole was also nice for us because the water was safe to drink and they had golf carts to shuttle you around from your room to the beach to the restaurants. The resort also had an app that you could request room service from, look up the day's activity schedules, and make restaurant reservations with. That was super helpful and it worked on the Wi-Fi which covered the entire resort area.
Paraiso Beach is part of a large Iberostar resort complex right on the beach. Each resort in the complex is a different tier (price point, essentially). Vacationers at the highest tier can visit any part of the complex, while those at the lowest tier cannot. We chose the lowest tier (Paraiso Beach and Del Mar) which was fine for us - there was a huge pool, seven dinner restaurants, and two buffets. The higher the tier, the more pools and restaurants you can visit, plus some indoor bars with AC. We actually liked the lower tier pool because there were more people which meant more people watching and more people to chat with at the bars!
Resort Activities
The beach overlooked turquoise waters. There were several permanent beach umbrellas with built in tables that we were able to snag and relax at. The pool is one of the largest in the area, with winding corridors, swim up bars, and lounge chairs all around.
They had many pool and beach activities included, and live music in the bar areas. We played beach volleyball and bocce ball, and participated in a few pool competitions... I even got second place in a Caribbean surf competition - greatest accomplishment to date. (Glad I didn't win since the winners had to belly flop into the pool!) We grabbed free snorkeling gear to see the fish in the sea, and took a free kayak out to see the other luxury resorts near by. We spent nights at various bars with live music, and even partook in a salsa dancing lesson one night.
We loved seeing all the animals around, too! The resort had a parrot cage, but then had roaming peacocks, flamingos, and swans. There were iguanas that blended in with the jungle. But the coatis stole the show. Coatis seemed like a cross between racoons and lemurs, and they were ALL OVER THE PLACE. They were cute, but they're quick and they're hungry. Mike left his burger on the picnic table for five seconds to grab a napkin and one coati hopped up and stole it right off his plate. Good thing he could just go grab another one from the snack bar for free!
Resort Food
Once you check in to the resort, make some dinner reservations ASAP! These fill up quickly, so definitely do this on your first day there. We decided to try three restaurants: La Hacienda (Mexican), El Puerto (steakhouse), and Hashiru (Japanese Hibachi). We had to try the Mexican restaurant... because Mexico... Mike raved about the steak and I liked Hibachi since we got to meet and mingle with other guests at the table.
We ate at each of the buffets quite a bit for breakfasts and lunches, and also were able to enjoy burgers and snacks from the pool and beach bars. The pool had two swim-up bars which were fun. This is where my new-found love of palomas came from.
Day Trip: Tulum Ruins & Cenote Nicte-ha
We also spent a day exploring the local sights outside the resort. The two items on our must-do list were to visit the Tulum Ruins and Cenote Nicte-ha.
There are plenty of tour companies to use for transportation to these local sights, but they'd get a bit expensive and we'd have to do two separate tours for both activities. Mike convinced me to wing it and take public transportation which was much cheaper. This was a bit daunting at first, neither of us speak Spanish and I'm sure we stood out like a sore thumb. But the resort officials helped us find the bus stop and wave down the bus. We rode into Playa del Carmen on the bus and then switched buses to Tulum. The drivers and locals were all pretty helpful and understanding of us just trying to ride to the common local attraction. It was exciting to see the hustle and bustle of the locals.
We got to the Tulum Architectural Site Ruins after breakfast at the resort. Tulum is the site of an ancient Mayan city that faces eastward toward the Caribbean Sea where the sun rises. There were many buildings, temples, and sites of worship to see here right on the cliffs. One of my favorite buildings was the Temple of the Wind God.
We stocked up on water bottles, used the restrooms, and ate lunch at the small town at the entrance to the ruins, and then grabbed a cab to drive us to the Cenotes Dos Ojos. There were dozens of cab drivers waiting at Tulum for business, so we were able to negotiate one cab driver to drive us to the cenotes, wait for us, and then drive us back to the resort at the end of the day. This was helpful because the cenotes turned out to be not-too-busy and a bit out of the way for cabbies.
Now here comes my favorite part of the trip: Cenote Nicte-ha at Cenotes Dos Ojos. Cenotes are sinkholes that lead to flooded cave systems. There were several cenotes to choose from, many of which provided snorkeling gear or scuba diving experiences. We opted to buy tickets for the smallest cenote, Cenote Nicte-ha, which were only about $15 per person. This was one of the best decisions, because we practically got the entire cenote to ourselves - truly a hidden gem.
Cenote Nicte-ha resembled a natural pool of crystal-clear fresh water with tropical fish and lush greenery. It had diving cliff and a wooden lounging deck. It was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen and swam in. I highly recommend visiting this peaceful and luxurious cenote. We were noobs and forgot to bring a towel to dry off in, but we just lounged on the deck until we dried off and then headed back to the resort.
Hasta la vista, Mexico!
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