Cancun is a beautiful place. My wife and I saw quite a few very unhappy parents with children. Folks that stayed at the Hyatt Dreams resort didn’t seem to relax as much as those without children.
With that said, here are the things that I brought and a few things that I wish that I would have brought with me.
What I Brought
- Katadyn MicroPur MP1 water purification tablets – while fellow resort attendees said that water was “fine for them,” I chose to purify any tap water that I used for brushing my teeth or other potable purposes.
- Insulated cups for drinks – these come in quite handy to stop water build-up on the outside of that “standard issue” plastic drink cups and keep ice in your drink longer. We chose to bring 20 ounce Hydroflask cups.
- Sunscreen – bring two to three bottles of sunscreen. You will use it.
- Bug spray – the mosquitos are ravenous from 1800-2000 hours. Bring OFF or something similar or you’ll pay $20-$30 a bottle at the gift shop.
- Breathable pants and a collared shirt – there are a number of restaurants at the all-inclusive resort we stayed at. Some have a dress code that is more or less enforced.
- Floaties – these were nice to haves, but we spent most of our time without them. For the weight and space, you could likely leave these at home.
- Kindle – best choice ever
- Tip money – Even though the resort was all-inclusive, tips are greatly appreciate. The Mexican people working at the resort are very gracious and couldn’t be nicer. Tip them well and show the people working to make your stay welcome. Resist the urge to be cheap – leave tips for the housekeeping staff, food establishments, and bell boy. We ended up spending around $350 in tips over a week. It may feel weird, but go to the bank and get this all in cash in $1 and $5 increments.
- Clothes won’t dry inside the rooms. Place your breathable material out on the balcony
- Long sleeve shirt – this was good at night as a small barrier against mosquitos. More accurately, the mosquito repellant was better on my shirt than my skin.
- Large insulated bottle – I brought a 40 ounce Hydroflask for water. It was used mostly at the airports and sometimes in the room.
What I Wish I Brought
- More sunscreen
- More breathable tank tops and shirts
- phone cable (Oops) – I bought a new cable for $21 at the resort.
- medium bottle of hand sanitizer for the airport and general use – the Cancun airport is a shit show.