Mexico (Cancun)
Trip Summary
Cancun had long been a place my husband and I wanted to visit, but we knew so much was in the area, so when we visited over the summer, we decided to see it all! We started off in Cozumel then hopped over to Playa del Carmen, then spent the last part of our vacation in Cancun–and I highly recommend this itinerary as it remains one of our favorite vacations!
After such an intense itinerary, we wanted to relax in Cancun, so we decided to have our very first all-inclusive experience there…at the Hyatt Ziva! We looked around quite a lot before deciding on the Hyatt Ziva. There are a lot of places to choose from, and I was back and forth between picking the Hyatt Ziva or the Hyatt Zilara (the sister hotel of the Ziva, except it is adults-only). However, the reviews were extremely good for the Ziva, it was newer, and its location on the beach looked perfect.
When we arrived, the view was unforgettable. Pristine blue pools, white sands, palm trees, the waves in the distance–we just stood there admiring the view for a few minutes before we actually checked in. It was truly breathtaking!
As we checked in, we eagerly looked toward the beach while the check-in person typed away on his computer and pulled up our reservation. Then, he looked at us and said, “Now, let me tell you about this room.” It is not very good, he said, and my eyes jolted back to him. It is small, the view is not good, people don’t like it very much. “What do you mean?” I asked. This was clearly not what I expected. The pictures of the website looked beautiful. This was going to be the fanciest hotel we had ever set foot in.
Not very good, he kept saying, and now, my blood pressure started rising. We had come a long way to enjoy this hotel and had paid a lot of money for this room. I was about to tell him to just be quiet and check us into the room we already reserved and paid for when he paused and said, “But…I can upgrade you to the Turquoize Sky Swim-Up Suite for free.”
Then I remembered seeing those on the website, but those were extremely expensive–so expensive I had scrolled right on by them. The check-in person explained the adults-only pool and spa we would have access to, the upgraded amenities, bigger room, and better view–and my mind started racing. Was this for real?
“So we pay nothing extra for it? No money?” I couldn’t have heard right. But I must have, because soon, he was checking us in and arranging to have our bag taken to the Turquoize Tower.
He wasn’t lying when he said it was the best room in the hotel. The room was enormous, was fully stocked with all the luxuries you could think of, and had the most beautiful view of the ocean. On the back patio was a jacuzzi tub, a day bed and loungers, and steps to get into a pool that was truly a “sky swim-up.”
When we later met our neighbors, they explained how popular the rooms were and that it was very hard to book them because they were always full. “We moved our vacation by three months to get this room,” they said. I could hardly believe our luck!
It was a view we truly took advantage of–enjoying the water every night and morning when we weren’t in the main pools.
The number of pools on the property is extensive, so it never felt crowded. The adults-only pool was one of our favorites, though, because, like the sky swim-ups, it is also perched up high, so you have a great view of the ocean while you swim and relax.
The service in the entire resort is top-notch, and we enjoyed the on-site restaurants such as Habeneros, The Moongate, and El Mercado. Our favorites were Tradewinds and La Bastille. One thing to note is that they are very strict with their dress code, and I got flagged once for having wet hair (but wearing a dress) in El Mercado, and my husband was turned away from La Bastille for wearing dress sandals (instead of the required closed-toe shoes). I was sad about La Bastille because we had heard that it was an excellent restaurant, so I started thinking about the shoes we had in our room, and it hit me. His water shoes! Technically, they were closed-toe. They weren’t fancy and would honestly look a bit ridiculous, but they would “technically” follow the rules!
So that’s what we did! I fought not to laugh or give us away as the hosts (or the “fashion police”) eyed us over and indicated for us to follow them to a table. That meant we passed! And a good thing we did because it was a delicious dinner. My husband still talks about the salmon he ate that night. It was that good!
The next morning, we explored more of the restaurants, and one of my husband’s favorites was Pasteles–a dessert parlor that had everything from cake to candy to cookies. It was a fun place to photograph if anything because of all the colors and always smelled sweet when you walked by!
As we were exploring the restaurants, Tropical Storm Franklin decided to start making its approach! We originally planned to go swimming with whale sharks (August in Cancun is the best time/place to swim with whale sharks–and was the reason we booked the trip–but unfortunately this is also in the middle of hurricane season), and the tour was cancelled. I had gotten the cancellation email from the tour director right when we arrived at the hotel, but even amid this sadness, we still had plenty to do.
One of the places we visited when it was storming was the spa, and it was nice and relaxing and had several pools as well as a cold plunge pool you could enjoy. We had never explored the spa in a hotel before, so it was a new and fun experience. It was also a place of peace and tranquility while the storm raged on outside.
We also had fun just walking the grounds and taking pictures of all the sights and decorations. It is a beautiful hotel, and a lovely place to stay if you have the chance.
Its spacious rooms, beautiful views, lovely restaurants, vast selection of pools, and excellent service earn this hotel a wonderful rating!
Hyatt Ziva Hotel: A+
But wait, there’s more! Since the tropical storm foiled our plans to swim with the whale sharks, I decided to surprise my husband a few years later with a return trip to try to swim with them again…and it worked out this time! However, I wanted to book a new hotel–an adults-only one this time–and all my efforts in finding the perfect place pointed me to the Excellence Playa Mujeres!
We had stayed at an Excellence resort before in the Dominican Republic and liked a lot of things about it–including the fact that they made the best drinks of any all-inclusive we had stayed at. We were also fresh off of a terrible stay at an all-inclusive in Cabo San Lucas (a different chain), so we were eager to for a chance to redeem the value of a luxurious all-inclusive before we gave up on them for a while…and the Excellence Playa Mujeres did not disappoint!
The hotel was actually so popular that even far in advance, the place was sold out on all the typical third-party sites I use, so I booked our stay directly with the hotel. A direct booking comes with a free private airport transfer to and from the hotel, so that was a nice bonus.
Since it was a surprise trip, I booked the most basic room they had available, and even so, it was one of the best places we’ve stayed! Our airport transfer was on time (the hotel books their transfers through Seasons, and they worked well and got you to and from the resort quickly). The hotel is also located on the north end of Cancun away from the hustle and bustle of everything–their property is even sequestered further away in a gated community, so you definitely feel that extra sense of quiet and tranquility.
Check-in was easy, and soon, our bags were whisked away to our room, and we could start exploring our new home for the next few days!
The property is gorgeous, immaculately clean, and there are plenty of pools including an awesome lazy river that spans the entire property! One of the things I loved was how much shade was offered, too, as even though the sun was out in full force, you could still find areas of respite underneath the restaurants as there were expansive overhangs where you could enjoy the pool without worry of getting sunburnt.
Our room was lovely, too, and was nice and cool, and had an amazing feature that allowed for room service delivery without any contact with people (all rooms had this feature…and it is an introvert’s dream!). Basically, it is a big box built into the side of the wall next to the front door with a lockable door, and if you ask for room service, the staff can deliver the food/drinks to the box, and when you are ready, you just open the box from inside the room, and viola! It was awesome, and I wish more fancy hotels had this feature!
The food and drinks were also excellent. Our favorite restaurants were Agave and Basmati (my husband’s first time trying Indian food!). Agave had extremely fast service and delicious food, fresh margaritas, and a fun ambiance. Basmati was also a fun place, because they offered samplers which worked out perfectly for us, because not being a regular partaker of Indian food, we wanted to try a bunch of different things…and we loved them all! The samosas, lamb, and chicken, all in their respective sauces were delicious and truly made us want to try more of it when we returned to the States!
We also liked Spice, but their service was extremely slow, and they forgot one of our dishes, but the dishes that did come were delicious. The other restaurants and the buffet were also good, and we never had to wait to be seated anywhere.
Now the drinks deserve their own paragraph! The Excellence chain has been our favorite for drinks, and this place lived up to expectations! I had scoured Facebook groups and travel forums to write down all the drinks we should try, so let me hook you up! My personal favorite was the Bushwacker, a creamy rum drink, and so many people saw it and asked what it was, then a few minutes later, I would see them walk by with one, nodding at me with a big thumbs-up! The margaritas and coladas were also very good, and you can get them in an assortment of flavors–including guava which is something I hadn’t seen at other resorts! The consistency of drinks between bars was also remarkable as that had been an issue at our previous resort (again, different chain). If you ordered a Painkiller (another great drink!) at one bar, a Painkiller at the next bar would taste just as good! Also, an important note that I learned this time around–if you want your drink to be strong, just ask for a “double” and if you want a less sweet drink (a big theme among the guests we spoke to was the heartburn a lot of people experienced due to all the sweet drinks), just ask for it “light.”
They also had some excellent shots. Granted, I am not a shots person by any stretch as I like to be very careful about my liquor consumption in order to have a good time and still feel good the next day, but the ones here were very good! The “baby beer” one was highly recommended, and it is a half-and-half shot with liquor and a foamy/creamy top. The peanut butter and jelly shot was also raved about in the travel forums (though, we learned you can only get this at the martini bar). I also loved the 1921 shot–it is a creamy liquor that is just delicious and doesn’t taste like liquor at all. Oh, and one more thing! We met some friends at the sports bar late one night, and one of the guys ordered a “Mexican Candy” shot for everyone. It tasted like juice, and I was skeptical that it was even liquor until I looked it up. Tequila, watermelon juice, and hot sauce! What in the world? I would never order something with those ingredients in a million years, but here it was tasting delicious! So definitely broaden your horizons! There is a world of goodness out there, and we discovered a lot of new favorites!
The staff was also lovely and took great care to make sure that you had an enjoyable stay. The only small drawback was the room design as it was awkwardly laid out. There were no walls between the bathroom and the bedroom and the door to the toilet was clear and had a large gap on all sides, so there was very little privacy (it was weird and awkward being a couple in the room–I can’t imagine the awkwardness if you were sharing the room with family/friends!). The mirrors were also very small, so if you wanted to do your hair/makeup, it was easier to go to the larger mirror in the bedroom, but the lighting wasn’t as good there. Minor issues really, but just something to note, because all in all, it was a wonderful place to stay! Highly recommend!
Excellence Playa Mujeres: A
Of course, you want to hear about the whale sharks, right? Especially because we finally got to see them! The first company that we had originally booked with had gone out of business, so I searched for a new company that would do a private excursion (you can book a group excursion for much cheaper, but you risk only being able to jump into the water 1-2 times total as swimmers can only go in pairs per Mexican regulations). The excursion gets pretty chaotic, too, as other boats are also in the area and when the whale sharks become too overwhelmed, they dive down, and then you can’t see them at all (when this happens, some pairs may have been able to swim with the shark while others are left without having swam with them at all). With the years of waiting, we knew that we wanted the best experience possible, so we found Ocean Tours Mexico and booked a private whale shark excursion for the day.
And they were amazing from start to finish! We were paired up with Nora who would be our guide, and she and our driver came to pick us up from our hotel early in the morning, and we set off for the docks just a short distance away. After a quick breakfast, we got into our wetsuits (you have a choice of wearing lifejackets or wetsuits, and we chose wetsuits to be better able to swim with the whale sharks–and the wetsuits are good for protecting against jellyfish stings, too!). Then, we met our captain and secondary guide, and we were off!
It is an hour boat ride to where the whale sharks are, and like many travel forums warned, it is a bumpy ride. A storm would come in the next day, so already, the waters were choppy with the increased wind, so the waves were quite significant and you had to hold onto the boat with both hands to avoid flying out. Luckily, neither of us get seasick, but if you do, it would be a good idea to take something beforehand, because the waves don’t mess around.
Soon enough, we were at the area where the whale sharks typically swim, and it is a wide expanse of ocean, so you have to spot them first. We were one of the first boats out, so none had been spotted yet, and we looked for the telltale signs of a dorsal fin out in the distance. Soon, other boats started arriving, and the radio would squawk every few minutes as all the captains communicated with one another and let everyone know as soon as they spotted something. After looking for a while, some excited yelling came over the radio, and our captain gunned up the engine, and the boat took off–two had been spotted!
And here is when everything became absolute pandemonium, because timing is everything to see these huge beings of the sea–you have to position the boat, then jump in at the exact right time, then swim your heart out to keep up with them! Our guide put us on the side of the boat, zipped up my wetsuit, then said, go, go, go! And we were in the water….and silence….and awe as that gorgeous creature swam straight toward me, coming closer and closer, then gliding past. Nora, our guide, said that the first dive is something you will never forget, and she was absolutely right.
Knowing that it was going to be incredible, I decided not to film on the first dive and just watch the whale shark without any distractions, and that was definitely the way to go. Just swimming next to it while watching it breathe and seeing the smaller fish feed from the bottom of its massive body was mesmerizing, and the moment was just one incredible breath after another. While you couldn’t touch it, it got close enough that you could feel its power and the current of the water as it effortlessly powered through the ocean.
And then we dove in again, then again, then again, then again. There were several whale sharks, and it was amazing to see them all in their assorted sizes–some shorter and massively built, others long and lean and like mystical beings that just glided through the sea. On our last dive, our guide said to swim as long as we could with it, because we would have to turn back afterwards, so we geared up our strength (it is work swimming fast enough to stay with the whale sharks–our guide warning us that we would be “destroyed” after the day was done) and jumped in for one last dive. And that one was our favorite, because it was the longest, us both swimming hard to stay with the creature, watching it move, taking pictures, swimming with it, and saying our goodbyes to this magnificent being.
But the fun wasn’t over yet! Our our way back, we passed a pod of dolphins and the captain let us swim with them as well (but they are incredibly fast, and our experience was more like watching the pod slowly disappear into the distance, but even that view was extraordinary, because they were in the wild and totally in their element). Then we snorkeled off the coast of Isla Mujeres, enjoyed a quick lunch, and began the journey back to the dock.
After changing out of our wetsuits, we purchased the pictures and video from the day (also a good reason to book a private excursion as you will probably get one or two pictures of yourself with the whale sharks if you book a group tour, but in a private tour, all the pictures and video are of you and the whale sharks, so you have far more to look back on and remember the amazing day)! Then, we were dropped back off at our hotel, and what a day! It met all of our wildest hopes and then some! The tour was excellent, Nora was an amazing guide, and the boat crew was fantastic. Highly, highly recommend this tour!
Ocean Tours Mexico Private Whale Shark Excursion: A+
While Cancun has always held a special place in our hearts, this last trip cemented itself as one of our favorite vacations! It was perfect in so many ways, and we have the wonderful hotels, tours, and people of Mexico to thank for it! Such an amazing vacation destination!
Favorite Experiences
Finally swimming with the whale sharks was a core memory that will stay with us forever. The season is only during the summer, so if you are there during those months, don’t miss the chance to see them!
We also loved both hotels we stayed at and have always been so impressed with the quality of the hotels and service in Cancun–truly better than we have ever experienced anywhere else, and we have loved both stays there.
The experiences were priceless from getting that amazing upgrade to the Turquoise Sky Swim-Up Suite to sneaking into the French restaurant with water shoes (ha!) to participating in the pool games to meeting some amazing friends! So many happy memories!
What I Wish I Knew
One thing I always do now when booking a place is join Facebook groups run by people who frequent the resort. Hyatt Ziva has a very helpful one called “Hyatt Ziva Cancun Fans,” and the Excellence Playa Mujeres has two called We Love Excellence Playa Mujeres and We Love Excellence Playa Mujeres Uncensored. They answer all sorts of questions about rooms, amenities, restaurants, menus, and transportation to/from the hotel. I also like groups like these because I feel that I will get more of an honest answer (and more answers) to my questions. So definitely join, ask questions, and write down a list of all the food/drinks you want to try! These hotels also have apps that you can download, and they have schedules listed as well as menus and answers to questions, so download those before you go, too!
Also, if you book a whale shark excursion, get the wetsuits! They honestly made it easier to swim and maneuver around the whale sharks and acted as great protection against all the little jellyfish that were swimming in the water. Sun lotion is also not allowed due to the chemicals affecting the sea life, so the wetsuits also acted as good sun protection (because the sun in Mexico is very harsh–you don’t want to get burnt while there!). The ride out and back is also super choppy, so if you have back issues, you may want to think about how much all that jostling will hurt it (my back is fine, but there were two times that the boat went up and down so hard that I thought I might have hurt myself, so just be careful!). Dramamine is also a good bet if you think you may get sick. But definitely schedule the trip! Take your GoPro, tip your guides, and see what an amazing world there is out in the open ocean!
Finally, if you think you might visit Cancun, TripAdvisor has a great forum! They discuss these hotels as well as others you can visit along with things to do in the area. Check it out if you think you might visit!
I also post reels and TikToks regularly of all the places I’ve reviewed on here, so if you want to see some videos of what to expect, check out my social media here:
TikTok: @touristyteacher
Instagram: @touristyteacher
Facebook: @touristyteacher
Happy travels!
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