How we receive and celebrate the beginning of a new year is important to set up what is to come with the new year. I like to put a lot of positive thoughts and positive energy on what each year will bring. This new year was no different. Welcoming the New Year in Cancun, Mexico was fun!
Why Cancun?
We chose Cancun due to the limited amount of vacation days I had. From Los Angeles it only takes 3 1/2 hours to fly there. In addition, I had some credits with Iberostar Hotel and Resorts that had a hotel in Cancun. It worked out perfectly!
Probably you are asking, what? An all inclusive? Isn’t that boring or just for families? Well, I can tell you that this was the second time in my life that I have stayed at an All-Inclusive resort. 
Although it is true what you probably heard that is all about the food and drinks, there is more to it than that. In this case, to my surprise, not only the hotel was fantastic but it had everything we were looking for.
Of course there were families but also couples and people of all ages. (RELEASE OF BALLOONS- Click here to view)
Cancun is known as a “party city” and yes there is lots of that, but you can tailor your travel experience to your likes. Our stay was very relaxing but fun. Beside going to the beach, being able to enjoy that warm wonderful emerald color ocean water or laying by the pool, there is lots to do in Cancun.
If you like water sports, that is the perfect place to go. Great snorkeling and diving as the coral reef in the Mexican Caribbean is one of the most amazing natural formations being the most ancient one on the planet. There are also many tours offered such as a day trip to Isla Mujeres or the Mayan Ruins such as Chichen Itza, a UNESCO World Heritage site. For those that enjoy shopping the Avenida Kukulkan has three different malls, restaurants and is on that Avenue where most hotels/resorts are located. On one side you have the hotels and on the other the lagoon.
Out of the four days we spent three enjoying the beach, sports and the very tasteful restaurants with different types of cuisine. If you are in an All- Inclusive then you don’t have to go out and spend money on food or drinks, right? Why do so?
But we could not say we have been to Cancun without checking out a little bit of the city and culture. We took a day to explore the actual city and go where most of the locals live. The neighborhoods came across as very rustic and simple.
When I talked to the staff at the hotel they recommended to visit the Mercado 23. There you can find souvenirs, jewelry, arts and crafts and much more for a reasonable price. Very colorful market with friendly people. As far as food you will find the best local food, you can seat outside and have a good Margarita and traditional tasteful tacos.
There is also Mercado 28, that supposedly is more touristy than 23. Although you will still find that sales people will follow you wanting to show you everything they have. You need to be patient and politely declined their invite if you have had enough.
Later that day we took a walk through Downtown Cancun, not a big area with restaurants, bars and shops. We visited the famous “Coco Bongo”. I wanted to potentially attend the New Year’s Celebration in that club. The Manager was kind enough to show us the club interior. We ended up not buying tickets as the space was small and I expected for it to be packed at mid-night. Not the place I had in mind to take my mom!
On the way back we stopped a taxi and there were two people in it, the driver and a companion. To our surprise the taxi stopped on the way to pick up another person, which was kind of confusing. I asked why were we picking up another passengers and the driver in a very apologetic way explained the following. It was his last trip of the night and he wanted to make some extra money. We ended up going into a private neighborhood that otherwise we would have never known that existed. As it ended up the other passenger was a hairstylist that was going to one of his millionaire clients’ home to get her ready for a party. To make a long story short, was great to see that other side of Cancun as well. Beautiful upscale neighborhood, guarded entrance with boat docks, white holiday lights and large homes.
Our taxi driver told us that he was not from Cancun (Quintana Roo) but from another province. The reason he was working there was to make more money to support his family. Due to tourism salaries in Cancun are higher, but living expenses are higher as well so now he was considering working for a few more months and then go back with his family were the pace of daily life was not so busy.
The next day after enjoying for one last time the beach we said farewell to the “old year”. We drunk champagne, had a lovely dinner with international gourmet dishes and watched a very good musical show with people from all around the world.
The hotel staff took pride in the show they put on and wanted to make sure we attended. The staff that is in the show at night during the day are servers/bartenders at the resort. Literally they only sleep 5 hours at the most during the high season. Pretty admirable.
As we all waited for the New Year to arrive, the party really started! Fun music, lots of dancing, just what I wanted.
We have to remember that to have a good time, it does not matter where we are but who we are with sharing those special moments . This year started on a high note with my best friend, my mom. Could not have asked for anything else. I can not wait to see what this New Year brings!