On 2nd October 2015 Me and Lee flew out to Cancun, Mexico for our first holiday together. This was literally one of the best holidays I've had (I know I've probably said this about a few holidays but I only write about good holidays) . After having a bite to eat and a load of alcohol in the Gatwick lounge, we flew on the Thomson Dreamliner at 9.55am and landed in a lovely hot Cancun at 2.15pm. The only thing I would say about this flight is if you want to sit together make sure you pay to pre-book the seats. We checked in on the first day available and there were no seats next to each other left so had to sit apart for both flights there and back which started the holiday on a bit of a downer but once on the plane it wasn't too bad as there's plenty to keep you entertained in the way of films, games etc..
My God what a beautiful place Mexico is! We stayed in the Riu Caribe which was modern with its decor and so spacious. the view from the balcony was overlooking the beach and the Caribbean sea which was the most beautiful thing to wake up to every morning. (We even had an optics full of alcohol and a full minibar to help ourselves to in the room - the joys of all inclusive) .
Whilst we were away for two weeks we tried to make the most of the country and booked a few excursions to go out and see the country, the culture and most of all have fun! (I mean what's to point in going on holiday all that way and not seeing the country, you may as well fly an hour to Spain if you wanted to do that right?)
After a couple of days chilling around the pool, drinking cocktails in the sun and catching a tan we decided to go on a guided bar crawl with our Thomson rep. We started the bar crawl at Mandala with glow in the dark drinks and UV lights before heading down to La Vaquita bar (for the largest drink ever in a cow pattern foam cup) and then onto Coco Bongos. This was such a good night. We had made a few holiday friends around the pool in the previous days and all grouped up and went out together which was a laugh. Coco bongos is basically a themed evening with a live show of tributes to watch and they even have a waiter slide down a balcony with a tower full of drinks. On the night we went he managed to slide down the whole flight of stairs without spilling one and the whole club cheered!
Really hungover the next morning we decided to have a lay in and head down to hooters for lunch. They do some of the best burgers in there and it really sorted us out!
If you go to Mexico I would really recommend the xplor and xcaret trips - they may take a little while to get to from Cancun but are well worth it. Xplore is full of zip lines, underwater caves to swim through and ATVS to drive around a course in. We had so much fun and its such a full on day out with a lot of walking (and climbing up stairs/slopes to get to the top of the zip lines) and swimming - but beware the water is FREEZING! You don't get too much sun on these trips as you are in the jungle (make sure you take lots of insect repellent) and all of the caves are underground so obviously there is no sun on these parts of the excursions either. Xcaret has all of the underwater caves to swim through too - they are bigger routes and prettier than xplor and there is also all of the wildlife to see and live shows going on. This is a fun day out for the whole family and there is a lot of water to cool off in if the humidity is a bit too much for you.
Whilst we were on holiday it was my 20th birthday, and as they are my favourite animals, Lee organised for us to go and be 'dolphin trainer's for the day'. We booked this before we went and saved a hell of a lot of money through Dolphinaris' website. When I clicked onto the website a help chat came up and they were offering a massive discount (like 70% off) to people booking from the UK. We paid $155.40 for the two of us and that included, Dolphin orientation session, Introduction to dolphin behaviors & physiology (like a little classroom learning session, but it was quite interesting), Dolphin kiss & fin shake, Foot push or dorsal ride, A 20 minute dolphin scuba dive experience, Behavioral Training session, Personal time with dolphins, Training basics, Behind the scenes tour, Program certificate & T-shirt, 2 complementary program photos, Complementary lunch & beverages (in a restaurant overlooking the dolphin pool, with a private swimming pool), Wet n wild pass for the day you are here (Water slides, River and pools). When we arrived we were the only 2 booked in for the trainer for a day programme so we actually got a 1 to 1 experience and a few extra swims to fill up time which was amazing! (just make sure you wear tight bottoms as the water pressure from the swim can pull them down).
When we got back to the hotel, Lee had arranged with the cleaner for our room to be decorated with balloons and banners which he had picked up from the shop with a balloon and flowers to be left for me. This was the most amazing surprise and the cleaner had even made me little towel animals and decorated the bed.
In the evening we went for a nice meal out of the hotel to Bubba Gump as it is one of my favourite restaurants (even though we were disappointed to find out the Cancun one no longer served lobster).
Whilst we were out here we also celebrated 6 months together so booked to go out on the pirate ship for dinner and drinks. This was such a fun night although we were recommended to go on the Jolly Roger but this was more of a family experience whereas the other ship was more of a party boat which was a little disappointing (but still good nevertheless). The ships cruise around the Caribbean sea before coming together at the end for a pirate show 'battle' between ships which was very entertaining. I would definitely recommend this trip. The food was nice the drinks were flowing and it really was a laugh.
We also decided to go on the jungle tour adventure, driving speedboats through the Cancun Lagoon until you come out into the sea at the end for a spot of snorkelling. Unfortunately we didn't pick a very good day to do this as it started raining which isn't very good for your vision when trying to drive a speed boat and the water was quite rough. When we got out to snorkel it started thundering but they still allowed us to carry on. Our guide was really nice and showed through the coral reefs pointing out sea life along the way. He even stopped our boats on the way back to get a photo with the rainbow (apparently this in quite uncommon in Cancun). Lee didn't really enjoy this trip and now I have done it I wouldn't do it again.
We got the bus down to the Walmart one evening to have a look round for bits to take home (unusual American sweets, souvenirs etc) and managed to grab the best Halloween mask ever to take home with us! Whilst we were there we found an Applebees (if you ever go to America and happen to find one of these you have to eat there - the food is out of hand). We even came back here for another meal as it was so nice! We had spinach artichoke dip with nachos for starters and it was the nicest thing we ate all holiday!
Whilst we were chilling around the pool we were speaking to a couple who went to Chichen Itza and really recommended it, so we decided to book a last minute excursion as we didn't want to miss out. It took about 2 hours to get there but it was well worth it! It was the one day we really felt like tourists, seeing one of the 7 wonders of the world and what a sight it was. We stopped off in a little Mexican village along the way to have a look in the cathedral before heading over to one of Mexico's famous sinkholes which is an incredible natural beauty. You can walk down into the sinkhole where you can swim in extremely deep water (we didn't get any further than the shin deep platform as it was literally so cold we couldn't bring ourselves to jump in). Around the cenote is also a tequila factory where you can go and taste tequila (it is naturally made tequila but if you want to buy it, you will need to remortgage the house). From here we made our way over to Chichen Itza. It was very hot so make sure you take plenty of water with you. There are a few demonstrations and talks from your guide, giving you the history of the site and what took place there which is very interesting and the guides are very knowledgeable. Overall I would definitely say to do this trip even if it is a little bit far to get to!
On our last night we got dressed up and headed down to the Outback for a nice steak meal. I had been looking forwards to this all holiday! When we got there I was a little disappointed as they over cooked my steak and it wasn't as nice as I had expected but we still had a nice evening and the cocktails were nice. Lee has been to Mexico previously with his friends and ate at this restaurant so we done a remake of the original 'lads' photo before leaving to show them when we got home.
Overall our holiday was the perfect mix of relaxation and adventure and I wouldn't hesitate in coming back here if I had the opportunity. The food in the Riu Caribe was exceptional with a nice selection on the daily buffet as well as the option of the steakhouse (we ate here a few time) a Mexican restaurant and a Chinese restaurant. The staff were friendly and helpful and once we tipped the pool waiter on the first day he kept bringing us cocktails once we were round the pool (we didn't even have to ask which was a bonus). The room was nice and updated, the bed comfortable and the cleaners done a brilliant job.
