2012, Jost Van Dyke, BVI ... across from Foxy's. We had a nice visit with the legend!
If you've been following along with us for a while, you know that we have our daughter's wedding coming up soon ... and then her college graduation. We've also had our house on the market for just over a year and a half now ...we're ready for a break!
Last week, I mentioned on our Facebook page that we booked a vacation that we'll be taking this summer, after the wedding and graduation ... and not just any vacation. It's a free all-inclusive vacation on the beach! Several of you wondered where we're going and how we got a free vacation. There's gotta be a catch, right? Well, there's not really a catch, but you do have to do a little something to get a free vacation. The good news is that most of you reading this can do the same thing.
If you've been following us for a while you know that we're very frugal. You also know how we got our all-inclusive vacation to the Virgin Islands in 2012 for free ... credit card miles! Yep, we've worn out our cards again and have saved enough miles for a 7-night all inclusive vacation. We charge all of our business expenses, and we get double miles. Of course, racking up the miles isn't worth it if a balance on the card is also building up. We pay off our credit cards every month, so we don't pay any interest.
We saved $2200 dollars in miles, and I found an all-inclusive resort for 7 nights for two people at $2183 with air fare ... bingo! Ken and I both wanted an all-inclusive in a tropical setting, and we also wanted a resort that also included either some sort of sailing or windsurfing in the free activities. We don't want this trip to start costing us much, so having free sailing or windsurfing included in our trip would be a great perk. Of course, this criteria eliminated a lot of places, but I found one!
So, where are we going? We're going to Mexico! I can hear James Taylor singing now ... "Woh Mexico"! Love that song ...
Way down here, you need a reason to move. Feel a fool running your stateside games.
Lose your load, leave your mind behind, Baby James.
Woh, Mexico, it sounds so simple, I just got to go.
The sun's so hot I forgot to go home, guess I'll have to go now.
We're going to the Riviera Maya, in the Puerto Aventuras area. It's just South of Playa del Carmen and just North of Tulum and Coba. Since we plan on visiting all three areas we think this is a great location. It's right on the beach, and it's right next to a marina! We'll definitely be walking through that area as well.
Our all inclusive plan includes free hobie cat sailing, which we've never done before. These little sailboats look like so much fun! The boat fits three people and a "captain" has to be on board, so Ken and I won't be able to sail by ourselves, but it still sounds great to us. Heck, we'll get to meet someone that lives and sails in Mexico! Like most all inclusives, we also get all the free food and alcohol that we want. We can't wait!
Years ago we went to Cancun, Cozumel and Isla Mujeres and loved it. If any of you have been to the Riviera Maya area, let us know your thoughts and suggestions. Staying frugal, we'll be taking the local bus to get around town. I've learned that the ruins of Tulum and Coba are really cheap (like less than $10) if doing it on your own. The cenotes are nearby too, so forget a guide!
Hasta luego ... until then. Mid-Life Cruising!
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3 comments:
Excellent! I am very excited that you are going there. If you google "bebelize tulum", you should be able to find our posts on our trip to Tulum in 2012. It was a lovely city we look forward to visiting again. You will so enjoy it. Rent bikes in town and cruise out to the beach on the fun bike path -- you will have a blast. The ruins are cheap and gorgeous. Some excellent restaurants too...especially don't miss El Canello for bargain seafood and huge servings!
Sounds like fun! We're racking up miles on our card too, and yes, we pay ours off each month also.
After a graduation and a wedding I'm sure you'll love relaxing.
Wow. We were near there last summer but we didn't do it frugal. I bet you have just as much fun though. We stayed at the Grand Mayan in Playa. We did the touristy and expensive Xplor park. It was a ton of fun. The cenote swim and paddle, ziplines and atvs were so much fun.
We also went to Chichen Itza. There was an unbelievable cenote swim along the way. It was a huge circular hole 100 feet down. Our oldest son also went to Coba. The neat thing about Coba is you can climb the ruins. I climbed the ruins at Tulume years ago but now I don't think you can. We also went for a two tank dive on some beautiful reefs. We brought our snorkel gear down so we enjoyed daily beach snorkels.
It is a fun place and impossible not to have fun.
Enjoy.
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