Crowdsourcing: Planning for Mexico (& Friday Links)

With just over a month until our school spring break, we’re turning our attention to finalizing our travel plans: we’re going to fly to the Yucatan, starting our stay on Isla Holbox—a small island off the Gulf coast—before heading south to the resort area of Mayakoba to check into the Fairmont. In between, we’ll spend one night in Tulum, primarily as a base from which to visit the Mayan ruins at Coba.

It’s been a long time since Aron and I last spent time in the Yucatan, with its gorgeous cities, cenotes, and coastline, so I’m excited to return! Plus, Hudson’s Spanish is really getting strong and I’m eager to see him try it out. We sort of began with plans to make this spring trip an easy, all-inclusive-style vacation (after the more intense planning required for our multi-stop New Mexico road trip), but the explorers in us couldn’t go without some movement. We chose the final four nights in Mayakoba as it will involve options like a kids club and on-site restaurants, so we can get a taste of it.

Otherwise, we have our accommodations booked, and now I’m looking at experiences.

Have you visited Isla Holbox? Or explored around Coba, Tulum, or Mayakoba? Any must-do tips?

And in the meantime, some links of note…

These photos are from a gorgeous hotel on Isla Holbox called Punta Caliza that we won’t be staying at (alas, not ideal for kids), but which looks pretty dreamy. A shallow triangular pool is surrounded by several thatched-roofed huts that contain the guest rooms, each with their own private plunge pool that connects to the main one so you can swim right up to your room.

I’m not sure if we will make it to Hartwood for dinner, but I’d love to still try some of the dishes one day. Has anyone cooked from the Hartwood cookbook?