We’re just back from a trip to Tulum, Mexico. As Denverites, we feel a to need to get ourselves to a large body of water from time to time, and all the better if it’s in a tropical locale. We somewhat spontaneously booked this trip a few months ago, and were so excited to take the whole family south for a week.
Traveling with the kids is challenging for sure, but I think it’s only by getting out of your comfort zone that you learn and grow. That goes for both the little ones and the adults. The challenges are part of what make it fun and memorable. (They’re also what can make it momentarily miserable, but you do your best to just move forward, right?!) Making memories and having experiences together as a family always outweighs the inherent difficulties of embarking on an adventure with little ones in tow. (If it sounds like I’m giving myself a pep talk here, that might be somewhat the case.)
When Willa was 20 months old, we traveled to Costa Rica. After that trip, I wrote a “things we learned” post. Looking back at it now, all those things are still true, and definitely applied to our trip to Tulum. But with this trip fresh in my mind, here are a few reflections I want to remember:
Just because you travel well with kids doesn’t mean your kids travel well. That might be a bit harsher than I really mean, because, actually, I think our kids do travel pretty well. But what I sometimes need to remind myself is that I can’t control my kids or their feelings. It is possible that they won’t like traveling. They might not like sand (Cameron). They might miss Denver way more than I do (Willa). I can’t make them have fun. I can give them the opportunity and guide and teach them to the best of my abilities, but that’s it.
Do you really want to eat out for every meal? Some people like to. I don’t. Even before kids, I don’t enjoy eating all my meals in a restaurant environment. Most days we ate the continental breakfast at the hotel and went out to dinner. We went to the grocery store and bought fresh fruit and snacks to eat throughout the day. However, our cabana didn’t have a fridge, so our options were limited. (This also resulted in some beers consumed earlier and faster than necessary after purchase since we lacked refrigeration.) We know we like having a kitchen, but there were a few reasons it didn’t work out this trip. We need to make sure it works out next time.
Strollers can be great. I’ve been known to be a bit anti-stroller. For a long time, I didn’t travel with one. But, now that we have two kids and Willa is older but not a solid long-distance walker, it’s often really helpful to have a stroller. We used it in the airport on our travel days, for exploring Mayan ruins, and for walks down the main roads in Tulum. Willa enjoyed a nap or two in it, and Cam occasionally took a turn rolling.
Baby carriers are the best. At the last minute, I packed my beloved Solly Baby Wrap. (Actually, I put it on as a scarf on our way to the airport.) It was so nice to have a lightweight wrap to wear Cam in the heat, and we were happy to have two carriers so we could walk along the beach with both kids. Perhaps we’re doing a disservice to them by not mandating marching, but we enjoyed covering some ground with the sand between our toes and the waves crashing against our legs.
Research how you’ll pay for things at your destination. Duh, right? Tulum was totally “cash only.” I knew many of the smaller restaurants would be, but we were surprised how many places, including our hotel, wouldn’t take credit cards. Even the large gas stations on the highway back to the Cancun airport were cash only (or so the attendants said!?). We failed to plan ahead for this as much as we should have, and it caused a few wrinkles in our trip. Lesson learned.
Plan some adventures. But not too many. Before we left for the trip, I booked myself a morning outing to stand up paddle board. I knew if I didn’t have it scheduled, I’d probably not end up going. It was a great decision; SUPing was fantastic and easily doable during our week-long stay. Likewise, Dan spent a morning golfing. As a family, we took a day trip to the Mayan ruins at Coba. But otherwise, we mostly stayed at the beach. I often feel compelled to do a bunch of side trips and outings when we’re in a place where there’s “so much to do” but then I remind myself that staying in a hotel right on the beach is an outing in and of itself. It’s always important to balance relaxation with activities, and that balance likely shifts on each trip for a variety of factors. But for us, it’s been important to just “be” on vacation.
peach melba toast 