It’s no big secret that we love going to Mexico.  Even when we lived in Seattle it seemed we were always heading south of the border for our annual anniversary trips.  We visited Cancun in 2011, Puerto Vallarta in 2012, and spent our first weekend as newlyweds (our “mini-moon”) in Valle de Guadalupe in the Baja.  Mexico is special to us for so many reasons, but mainly because it was during our Puerto Vallarta trip that we decided to move San Diego.  We made the decision in February and moved that June… So crazy.

We booked our honeymoon for this October in Los Cabos, just north of Cabo San Lucas. I was so excited! My first trip to Cabo! Sadly, Hurricane Odile hit the area in mid-September and we needed to quickly rearrange our travel plans.   Needless to say we were disappointed, but that was nothing in comparison to what was going on in Cabo.  Reports of major destruction and looting made me feel very fortunate that we hadn’t scheduled our trip any earlier.  Thoughts and prayers to those still working to rebuild.

Luckily, our hotel allowed us to book at any one of their other locations at the same rate we’d already paid.  So we landed back in Cancun!  This time we stayed a little south of the Hotel Zone in an area called Riviera Maya.  Much quieter, but still just as beautiful.  A pretty perfect location for a relaxing honeymoon.   We ate, drank, and laid in the sun to our hearts’ content.  We rented a car one day and ventured to Playa del Carmen.  Darling town with cobblestone streets filled restaurants and little shops.  We sat on the beach with beers, chips, fresh pico de gallo, and fish tacos.  What else do you need in life?!  We’d love to come back and stay in one of the super cute boutique hotels next time.

That same day we drove a little further south to Tulum, a Mayan ruins site right along the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea.  I wish I could tell you first-hand how beautiful this place was, but…. we never actually made it to the ruins.  After finding out that these guided tours would cost us $50+ USD each and they no longer allow visitors to climb or walk on the ruins… we decided to opt out.  We really hadn’t come prepared anyway- – no water, no hats for the scorching sun and heat, bathing suits but no towels.  Just not lookin’ good all around.  We’ll see it next time.  And with our track record, there’s a good chance there will be a “next time”.  {Disclaimer:  All the stuff we didn’t come prepared with are available in the gift shops nearby.  And any NFL team logo painted on a sugar skull too, in case you’re interested.  We just didn’t have a huge desire to stay and pay.}

Some beauties from our trip~

One thing we did a little differently this time was we decided to fly out of Tijuana, Mexico.  Yup, you read that right.  San Diegans frequently fly out of the Tijuana airport to save money.  And since we had to rebook our flights so late, we thought we’d give it a shot.  We flew Volaris Airlines which was actually super easy and pleasant.  Flights all left on time, planes were clean, and flight attendants were friendly.  It helps to know a little Spanish and be prepared to pay for everything on the flight – – no complimentary drinks or snacks.  My only gripe is the “convenient” shuttle they advertise out of and back into San Diego.  The shuttles never came.  And the night we returned from Cancun, we spent over an hour in the pedestrian border crossing line to get back in the US.  What you save in money, you will probably pay in time.

But really, these are first world problems.  We spent eight nights and seven days in paradise and had an incredible time.  Still happily married!