Confession: I booked my vacation on Groupon. I am here to tell you that our vacation was so much fun and you should definitely *not* count out a trip from off of the website! None of my friends had booked a getaway on Groupon (let alone an international, air-inclusive deal) but I'm thankful that didn't deter me and Jon. We decided on an air-inclusive trip to an all-inclusive hotel in Cancun, Mexico. Our hotel was situated in the main "hotel zone" in Cancun nested among dozens of dozens of brightly colored resorts. Groupon isn't as "filter-friendly" (meaning it's hard to filter and sort for locations and dates) as other booking sites and it takes more time and energy to determine the best option for your (1) price range, (2) departure city and (3) travel dates. Since the trips were such great deals, I was patient and looked at all of the viable options.
Once the Groupon deal was purchased, the next step was calling the travel agency to confirm the flight and travel information. Since the Groupons are priced for a double occupancy room, I purchased two Groupon trips. If you're traveling alone, you will incur an additional fee. Our Groupon was listed by Travel by Jen, so that's who we went through for the remainder of the booking process. On the phone call, the agent took down all the traveler information, booked our flights and emailed us the itinerary. My passport was still valid and Jon started the process of obtaining his.
We booked in January/February for the trip in May. Since we were flying Frontier (and going to a beach) we only each packed a carry-on and a personal item. However, on the flight home, we were each charged about $30 for our carry-ons (yes, you read that right: our carry-ons), so we didn't end up saving as much cash in the long run. Upon arriving to the airport in Mexico, we walked out to the hotel transportation zone, walking past the personal drivers the web scared me into avoiding like the plague. Our bus was picking up guests for a few different hotels in our area, so there was a cluster of about 20-30 vacationers once we all loaded up.
It took less than an hour to get from the airport to our hotel. Since we were dropped off before our check-in time, the hotel staff secured all the guests' bags, and we were set loose to eat, drink and swim on the property. I really wish I had thought about this as my swimsuits were secured in the hotel lobby while I sat on a beach chair sweating in my yoga pants. The all-inclusive drinks and view far made up for the slight inconvenience.
After checking in, we were really excited to find out our room had two balconies, one overlooking the beach and the other the bay/city. The mini fridge was stocked with bottled water and snacks. Jon was also surprised to read that the dress code for dinner was slacks when he only packed shorts. The good news is that 90% of dinner guests were also in shorts and the dress code was obviously there to impress and was never enforced. The hotel had about four restaurants, three bars and a 24/7 snack bar. There was only a one-hour window in the lobby for wi-fi between 10-11 a.m. and if you needed more internet, you were charged by the day or by the duration of your stay. It was about $7 an hour for the wi-fi. Not terrible if you're trying to disconnect but pretty inconvenient if you planned on getting any work done.
None of the guests were swimming in the ocean during our stay, aside from wading in the water, and most hung out around the pool. Each day, the hotel staff put on activities and games like soccer, bingo, ping-pong tournaments and music. They kept things really upbeat and relatively PG. Mid-week we booked an excursion to Xcaret in Riviera Maya. I forget the exact amount, but I think it cost about $100 per person for a full-day trip which included lunch. We ate breakfast at the hotel buffet and were picked up by the excursion bus.
There was so much to do at Xcaret and I'm really glad we decided to do it. The best way to describe it is a mix between a zoo, a beach, a historical site and a waterpark. We started with the underwater cave "lazy rivers." These were really spectacular and snaked throughout the park. You can also walk alongside the rivers if swimming isn't your thing. At the beginning of the day, you put all your personal items inside of a locker, and before the river swim, you get a bag for all of your clothes and sunglasses, etc. and they provide flippers and a life vest. At the end of the river, you trade in your water gear for your dry bag. We left around 4 p.m. and headed for the first return bus which meant skipping the dinner performance because (1) we were exhausted, and (2) dinner was extra $ during the show and we agreed we'd rather eat and drink back at our all-inclusive.
Breakfast was probably one of our favorite meals of the day and the lunch and dinner options were usually pretty similar. Let me preface this with the note that Jon and I are really not foodies and knew we weren't going to get gourmet with the price we paid. There was always an array of choices and we always found something we liked. We also never got sick with the food or drinks which was a big win in my book. I had packed some medicine after reading so many stories online and was thankful I never had to open it.
We met a bunch of other guests who were around our age. One group from Chicago and two other groups from Canada. We played soccer, we drank and we played basketball together. Another perk of our hotel was that there was a mall within (safe) walking distance and I got to do a little shopping at Forever 21.
Now, you may have been wondering, how much did this trip cost in the first place? Well, we flew out from St. Luis, MO and spent 7 nights in Cancun for $750/person. With all the food, alcohol and airfare included it cost us just about $100/a day per person for our vacation. I would TOTALLY book another Groupon getaway! I'm eyeing an air-inclusive trip to Indonesia and Singapore this month. However, these can get pricey (relative to the other Groupon vacations) but the price for the hotels and tours is not much more than the round-trip flight prices. We also have our eyes peeled for a vacation to the Carribean for a belated honeymoon trip. I hope this has helped (or motivated) you to take action and book that vacation! Comment below if you have questions that I didn't cover in the blog ⬇️
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