Best Family Resorts on Riviera Maya

Riviera Maya was such a perfect family vacation spot during my maternity leave that we did it twice.  For both trips, we chose an all-inclusive vacation in Mexico with our kids (aged from two months to six) because we thought it would be the most laid-back and relaxed trip we could take with an infant.  All-inclusive hotels are not prevalent in the US, but they are common throughout Mexico and in several Caribbean islands.  Both trips definitely were low key and different from our normal vacations filled with exploring new cities and sites, but we did get to plenty of time at the beach and pool.  There were also some cultural opportunities with traditional food, speaking our limited Spanish with the staff and attending market nights and cultural events.  We enjoyed our stay at two of the best family resorts on Riviera Maya.

We traveled during peak hurricane season in August and October, so the resorts were not crowded.  We spent most of our days between the pool or beach and had plentiful food options at convenient restaurants and evening entertainment.  Because of the all-inclusive nature, we did not have to guestimate how much food, drinks and entertainment for the trip might cost.  We just added a few hundred dollars for tips, souvenirs and special activities and had a relatively certain total cost of the trip at the time of booking.

Great view for a family photo

Booking a Trip to Riviera Maya With Kids

Both vacations to Riviera Maya were Apple Vacations trips.  We had taken a trip to Punta Cana through Apple once before we had kids, and it was very relaxing.  Apple is a major package travel operator offering flight and hotel packages that also include airport transportation.  Apple rates hotels based on an apple system with the highest rating designated as six golden apples.  We have always chosen an all-inclusive beach-front hotel in the six golden apple category and read hotel reviews on Trip Advisor before making our selection.

Online resources make it easier than ever to create your own vacation package by booking your own flights, hotels and transfers in Mexico.  However, we found the Apple package cost was lower than what we could book separately.  We also booked both trips through Doylestown Travel, a travel agency with very helpful and knowledgeable agents and offers a best price guarantee for Apple Vacations and any other vacation they book.

I can never get tired of this view

Accommodations in Riviera Maya With Kids

We two Now Resorts in Riviera Maya stayed at the Now Jade in 2010 and the Now Sapphire in 2014.  Both were amazing properties located about 20-30 minutes from the airport in Puerto Morelos.

Now Jade With Kids

Upon check-in at the Now Jade, we were informed that we had been upgraded to an ocean-front suite in the preferred club for the entire week.  This was a great way to start off the week.  The centrally located ocean-front suite was beautiful and had a stunning view.   With the jacuzzi tub located on the patio and basically unusable for our infant and toddler, we figured out quickly that to shower with our four-month-old. 

View from the patio of our ocean-front, preferred club room

Our bedroom

The preferred club was a perk that we had not even considered booking due to the substantially higher per person cost, but we thoroughly enjoyed the ocean front suite and the quiet, air-conditioned club lounge with specialty snacks and a full bar.  At the time, the daily cost for WiFi was rather exorbitant, and it was great to have occasional use of the free computers to check email.  We also had access to the adults’ only preferred club pool, but my husband and I could use it only one at a time while the other stayed with the boys.  The few times we tried this were brief visits during the kids’ afternoon naps and wished a little that we could spend more time there.

Now Jade’s facilities were contemporary and clean.  We made nightly dinner reservations and tried out all of the restaurants, except for the one that was designated as adults only.  Our toddler particularly enjoyed Hibachi (and, he still does).

We spent most of our days lounging at the pool or the beach.  Our son particularly enjoyed the shallow toddler pool, which was conveniently situated right next to the resort’s main pool.  We actually chose Now Jade over Now Sapphire because the only toddler pool at Now Sapphire was located within the Kids’ Club area.  Because our kids were too young for the Kids’ Club, we wanted a resort with a usable toddler pool and became friends with a family from England who also spent their days lounging next to the toddler pool.

This is the life

Other than yoga by the pool, which my toddler and I both enjoyed, we did not really participate in any of the activities during the day.  However, we often watched the evening entertainment, which included acrobats and dancers in an indoor, air-conditioned theater.

Now Sapphire With Kids

When we decided to make a return maternity leave trip to Riviera Maya four years later shortly after our daughter was born, we decided to stay at Now Jade’s sister property, Now Sapphire.  We loved our time at the Now Jade and definitely wanted to stay at a resort of the same standard but also wanted to try something slightly different.  Because our boys were now four and six, they could enjoy the main pool with floaties.  So, it was no issue that Now Sapphire’s only toddler pool was located inside the Kids’ Club.

We again booked through Doylestown Travel and inquired about extending our stay to 10 nights rather than the standard seven-night vacation.  Because the flights are a substantial portion of the vacation cost, we discovered that adding an additional three nights only cost an extra $400 (total, not per person!).  Because we really enjoyed the preferred club status at Now Jade, we decided to upgrade from a regular junior suite to a preferred club tropical junior suite.  The cost of the upgrade without the ocean view was not substantial, and we decided that we really wanted the perks more than a room with a view.  The upgrade turned out to be better than expected when we learned only preferred club guests could reserve the poolside cabanas and also received free WiFi throughout the resort.

Reserving pool cabanas was one of the highlights of our trip.  Especially with an infant, it was so wonderful to essentially spend much of the day relaxing on a large shaded bed at the side of the pool.  As preferred club guests during low season, we were able to reserve a pool cabana every other day of our stay.  We spent cabana days mostly by the pool.  Because our daughter could nap in the cabana, going in for an afternoon nap was not necessary.  So, between breakfast and dinner, we just ventured out for lunch.

Cabana paradise

Now Sapphire found creative ways to deliver guests an afternoon snack, like fruit skewers on a kayak.

The preferred club lounge was a nice, air-conditioned and quiet place to go before or after dinner.  It was set up like a large living room with couches and several chess sets, which were a particular hit with our oldest.  While our preferred club guest room was a “tropical” view rather than “ocean-front”, it was clean and nice, and honestly, we really spent very little time in it during daylight hours.

Our boys were old enough to spend time at the Kids’ Club, but they only had a few brief stays at their own request.  It was a great place to play video games on a rainy afternoon, and my oldest joined the group for beach soccer another morning.  The kids in the club always seemed well-supervised and happy, but we really wanted to spend as much time with them as possible during our trip.

The nighttime entertainment was also particularly memorable.  We stopped in at the air-conditioned theater most nights after dinner and usually ended up staying longer than we planned.  Our favorite was the fire show on the beach, but the acrobats, musicians and magicians were also fun for all ages.

We had a few unusual challenges with our middle child falling sick with a mild flu just after we arrived, but 24-hour room service was certainly useful there.  We thoroughly enjoyed the Now Sapphire.  I would go back in a heartbeat if my husband, but my husband prefers more doing and seeing vacations.

Packing for a Trip to Riviera Maya With Kids

Packing for our Riviera Maya vacations was complicated by the fact that you cannot pick up forgotten items at Target or Boots.  The resort store does carry a number of the essentials, but your options are both limited and extremely expensive.  And, you cannot guarantee that what you need will be available. One resort store carried diapers only in size three and no swimming diapers.  If you’ve ever had a baby, you know that “close enough” doesn’t really work with diaper sizing, and a baby needs a swimming diaper to go into the pool.  These are not items for forget at home.

We met a guy on his honeymoon who forgot flip flops and a suit and spent about $75 purchasing the only suitable options at the resort.  It’s definitely important to bring at least two complete swim outfits (suits/shirt/cover-up) per person because you will be wearing those most of the time.  Also, it is important to bring with you goggles, floaties (arm bands and rings), snorkels, fins, beach balls, sand toys and children’s ibuprofen when traveling with kids.

During our first trip, I had two boys in diapers and had to keep track of how many diapers each went through on a daily basis in advance to guestimate what we would need.  We did have some regular diapers, swimming diapers and wipes left at the end of the week, but not too many, which I counted as a win.  I had underestimated the amount of sunscreen we would need, and we would have had to buy one of the $25 bottles in the resort store if we had stayed one more day.  I made sure to bring significantly more sunscreen than I thought we would need the next time.

Neither resort we stayed at had washer or drier available for guests.  The resort offered dry cleaning service on a per piece basis only.  We did bring some liquid detergent to do hand washing of suits and essentials, but we generally packed more clothes than we typically do on vacation, particularly for our infants.  Because we were in suits most of the day and only changed for dinner, we were also able to wear clothes more than one time without an issue.

The US dollar is the typical currency at Mexican resorts.  Everyone tips in dollars, and purchases like excursions and souvenirs are all quoted in dollars.  ATM machines not only charge a fee but also convert your withdrawal from US dollars to Mexican pesos and then back to US dollars.  We learned this the hard way.  It is definitely helpful to bring with you more cash than you expect to need.  If you can’t bring a stack of dollar bills for tipping, bartenders are very willing to help you get change.

Items that are not needed include towels, snacks (except for the plane ride there) and toys/books from home.

Excursions from Riviera Maya With Kids

Apple Vacations offers a number of daily excursions from Riviera Maya hotels with transportation included.  Trips include a Chichen Itza tour, swimming with dolphins, ziplining and visits to Tulum and Playa del Carmen.  In 2010, we did an afternoon shopping trip to Playa del Carmen but chose to stay on the resort when we returned with three kids in 2014.  However, my husband hired a guide with a boat to take him and our six-year-old son snorkeling after he spent many days practicing in the resort pool, and that experience was the highlight of my son’s trip.  He came back with a love of ocean life and chose a hand painted ocean scene as his souvenir to bring home.

Watching an artist create ocean scenes at market night

Tips in Riviera Maya

While all tips are “included” in your all-inclusive stay, tipping servers, bartenders, housekeepers and concierges is relatively common and definitely appreciated.  The service staff work hard and clearly rely on tips in addition to their salaries.  The common 15-20% gratuity is not required, and people who do not tip do not get bad service.  However, people who tip receive extra special attention.  For example, we regularly tipped about $3-$5 daily during our buffet lunch, and after the first day, servers would call to us to sit in the best table in their section as soon as we walked through the door and make sure we all had what we needed.

Riviera Maya – Kid Caution

The main safety concerns in Mexico are sunburn and unsafe food or water.  Because both of our infants were exclusively nursed at the time of our trips, there was no concerns about unsafe food or water or safely cleaning bottles.  Note that an infant must be at least six months old to get a Hepatitis A vaccination, and there is definitely added risk to taking a child who is not exclusively nursed and has not received that immunization.

At Now Sapphire, there was clearly high attention paid to dietary restrictions.  Our daughter had a milk protein allergy that developed after we booked the trip.  She could be affected by any dairy that I consumed, and I was concerned about unknowingly eating food cooked with butter.  However, the servers were amazing at informing me which dishes were prepared with butter and also finding the resort’s stashes of Kirkland soy milk so that I could get some calcium during my stay.  Due to their diligence, I did not mistakenly consume any dairy during the entire trip.  I came home feeling confident that it wasn’t so challenging eating out with dietary restrictions – until a few weeks later when a restaurant near our home clearly made an error when preparing my dish.

We specifically chose resorts where there were no reports of food or water problems and took extra precautions avoiding any raw or cut fruit and vegetables that may have been washed in tap water.  Despite all our carefulness, our oldest child contracted a bacteria infection from ingesting pool water in 2010.  We did not realize until his diagnosis just how dangerous pool water could be.  Because toddlers and young children regularly swallow pool water, we decided after that trip that we would not return to Mexico until after the toddler years.  We had no issues with bacteria infections on our return trip, and our infant daughter did not even dip her toes into the pool or the Caribbean.

Now Jade pool

The resorts offered plenty of shade options near the beach.  For our infants, the canopies from both the stroller and infant seat and sun hats provided extra sun protection. But, our favorite days were the cabana days when we had built in shade and open air. Because we traveled with infants under six months old, we used California Baby sunscreen, a non-chemical sunscreen.

Is Riviera Maya Kid Friendly?

Both Riviera Maya family resorts that we stayed at were extremely kid friendly.  While there are some safety concerns with infants and toddlers, this was probably the easiest to take with young kids.  I’m not sure vacationing with kids can ever be completely relaxing, but both trips were glorious, nonetheless.

Note:  These trips were taken in 2010 and 2014, and safety of travel in Mexico has changed since those trips.  Please check all travel advisories before booking a trip to Mexico with kids.

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