Review: Dreams of Cancun
Dreams Cancun Review. With so much to do now for families and kids, Cancun is more than the bar and party scene of my college days. Adventure travel and Mayan culture await kids of all ages, and parents are in for some awesome fun too!
Where We Stayed in Cancun:
Discussing the end of the world with local Mayans at Ek Balam Cancun Mexico
Our Cancun Mexico family vacation begins with Dreams Resort and Spa, set in the top location of Cancun’s hotel zone. This resort, not too big, is set at the north tip or bend of the natural barrier island/beach that makes up the Hotel Zone. Within walking distance to the hub of shops and restaurants, and a quick bus or taxi ride away to other Hotel Zone attractions, Dreams Resort Cancun is surrounded by three beaches and natural rock formations, with lush green foliage, plus a lagoon.
Dreams Resort Cancun has several rooms facing the Dolphin Encounter pool. You are can hang out and watch the dolphins anytime, even if your room is not facing the enclosure. One of the beaches is huge and stretches out towards the rest of the hotels. There is a smaller beach which faces water trampolines and shallow calm Caribbean waters, perfect for little ones. Plus the pool and lagoon area for easy snorkeling and just hanging out. The property is lined with palm trees, hammocks and beach chairs with palm palapas for that real Caribbean Mexico feel. Rooms are classic Mexico style with white walls and tile floors, just like the hotels we stayed at in Mexico growing up (but nicer)
A great thing about this location is it serves as a departure point for many of the activities in the area like Scuba Diving, snorkeling, glass bottom boat trips and the dolphin encounter. Even the ferry to fantastic Isla Mujeres is close. Other hotels have to bring their guests to Dreams Cancun for many activities, but we are right there! Very convenient. They also have an activities desk featuring Amstar, one of the main resort activity companies in Mexico.
All Inclusive Vacation at Dreams Cancun is perfect, since the kids can get what ever snacks they want whenever they want. There are several restaurants on site, plus a fantastic beach bar and open air dining spot tucked away near the end of one of the smaller beaches. Reminded me of the tiny beach palapa bars near the uncrowded Tulum areas further south.
What We Did in Cancun:
There is so much to do in Cancun now, its hard to see it all and reserve time for just beach bummin, which is every important when on vacation. You don’t want to be on the go all the time. We decided to head inland to experience Mayan culture first hand. The grand attraction of the area is, of course, Chichen-Itza pyramid complex. We had visited in 2005 and wanted to do something different. AllTourNative tours offers small tours (we don’t do big bus tours) to Ek-Balam pyramids. Much closer, and much less crowded than Chichen. AllTourNative picked us up at the hotel and took us out for a full day, but got us home before sunset. Ek Balam is fantastic!
Amazing Cenote Maya outing with AllTourNative Cancun
With many parts just being discovered, we climbed pyramids, saw Mayan carvings just being uncovered and wandered the grounds in Indiana Jones style. The guides were great and fun with the kids. We could wander off and do our own thing too, which we really like. Next stop was the Cenote Maya which was perfect on a hot day. Read about that here. We highly recomment AllTourNative’s trips.
During our stay at Dreams Resort Cancun, we took the local ferry (very cheap) to amazing Isla Mujeres. Isla is a tiny island about 30 minutes by boat and feels like Cancun decades ago. A few pedestrian-only streets full of great open air restaurants, funky shops, a cool art scene and the most amazing beaches in the
Local birthday party – streets of Isla Mujeres
Caribbean at North Beach; where you want to be for sunset! The locals are wonderful. We missed our ferry and the kids ended up playing ball with local kids at night for an hour while we waited for the next boat. We had a great dinner and the kids bargained for trinkets.
Under the sea, we took a snorkel trip, and went Scuba Diving at the “underwater museum” which is a very cool experience. The kids also got to participate in the Dolphin Encounter and learned training tricks. Again, the convenience off all of this taking place just steps from our room is worth much more than staying at a six star super-fancy resort.We also ventured out to find the massive Whale Sharks that feed in the area during this time of year.. but we’ll save that story for a different time : )
Dreams Cancun is casual, enjoyable, easy going and a wonderful place for kids and families to experience the authentic Mexican and Mayan culture of the area. Highly Recommended.
Check out our Travel With Kids Cancun episode:
Time of visit: Late June
Weather: Warm, tropical, heavier rains than normal, nice evenings
Kids Ages: 9 and 11
Check out the Cancun vacation deals, including all inclusive family vacations, at Apple Vacations.
For more information viisit:
on Twitter
on Facebook
on Google+
