Mexico is one of my favorite countries to visit. On this trip, we visited Cancun which located is on the Carribbean Coast of Mexico, hence the beautiful blue waters and lovely all year round weather. There are so many things to do in Cancun with kids and we had such a great time. Other than the eye catching beaches, there are so many other things to see in Cancun such as the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza, Coba and Tulum.

Day Trip Excursions From Cancun With Kids

When To Travel To Cancun With Kids

We traveled to Cancun in March and it was extremely hot. The weather in Cancun is great and sunny all year round so you’ll have a great time anytime you visit.

Cancun Weather

The weather was beautiful and HOT. It was sunny the entire time we were there. Around the 80’s!

How To Get To Cancun With Kids

We flew to Cancun from LAX on United Airlines for $120 each, and we flew back on Southwest Airlines for $110 each, so each ticket was $230 round trip per person which is pretty normal. The flight time was 4hrs and 45minutes. I purchased the tickets on Skyscanner – make sure to download the FREE Skyscanner App for more good flight deals also.

The line to get through immigration when we arrived in Cancun was ridiculously long. As you can tell, not everyone was feeling it lol.

How To Get Around Cancun With Kids

When we got our tickets to Cancun, we planned to explore the Yucatan Peninsula. But for some strange reason that I don’t recall, we decided not to rent a car on this trip (We rented a car when we visited Puerto Vallarta a few months back).

Honestly, not renting a car was not was not the best idea as having one would have made getting around so much easier. We used Uber (Click to receive $5 off your first ride) to get around and it was pretty efficient. No issues here!

Because we didn’t rent a car, we took Aiden’s Mifold car seat. Super portable easy to use travel car seat for kids over 4 and at least 40lbs. I highly recommend it if you don’t plan on renting a car. We usually travel with one of Aiden’s travel car seats, but this time we knew it would be a hassle so the Mifold  was perfect.

Where To Stay In Cancun With Kids

We spent a total of 3 full days in Cancun. We stayed at Emporio Cancun for one night and Ambiance Suites Cancun for two nights.

Emporio Cancun

This is an all-inclusive resort and includes all buffet and a la carte meals, snacks and local beverages. They also have a nice kids club as well as a fun kids pool play area. It is also a beachfront resort. All inclusive and beachfront are great if you plan on spending a lot of the time at the resort, and especially if you don’t have a rental car. This resort averages about $200/N including taxes and service fees (wayyy too much for my cheap ass, lol). I wasn’t impressed with the food here, hence why we only stayed here for one night. I am generally not impressed with buffet food though, so that could also be why.

Ambiance Suites Cancun

This is a hotel and not a resort like the one above. They offered free continental breakfast which was okay. They have a pool and aren’t located close to beach. Picking a hotel like this is fine if you have a rental car or at least plan on a Taxi, Uber or Lyft (click Uber or Lyft links to get $5 off your first ride). This hotel averages about $65/N, totally in my budget. It was perfect as we were gone all day both days we stayed there so the location and amenities didn’t matter to us.

What To Do In Cancun With Kids

Because we only had 3 days total, we packed in as much as we could in those days. We decided to do full day tours on two of our three days in order to maximize our time and see as many things as possible.

Enjoy The Resort Pool

Emporio Cancun has a pretty nice pool, so we decided to enjoy it as much as we can. Aiden recently started enjoying the pool so hey why not. Prior to this he wouldn’t have cared to get in for a swim. He has always been all about the beach though. Aiden loved the pool area, especially the pirate ship. Don’t forget Snorkel Gear and Floaters – and Kids Sun Shades too !

Visiting The Beach In Cancun With Kids

One of the nice things about staying at a beachfront resort is walking access to the beach. The waves were strong so we were cautious about that. However A made a friend and they had fun playing at the beach. I was able to relax in the sun and listen to the waves which is like my favorite thing in the world ever.

Parque Las Palapas

I was looking for a park were Aiden could play and burn some energy, and I stumbled on Parque Las Palapas. We got here in the evening, and this place was bustling like it was daytime. Plenty of vendors selling street food (my favorite), a play area for kids, and motorized vehicles for rent. This place had plenty to keep Aiden busy. Between eating tacos, and playing, he had a blast. I highly recommend it! Cancun felt super touristy to us, but not while we were here. It was really nice.

Chichen Itza Tour

Chichen Itza was declared one of the Seven Wonders of the World in 2009. It is the largest archeological site and is made up of several ruins built by the Mayans hundreds of years ago. You can visit Chichen Itza by yourself by driving there and paying the entry fee to get in, or you can go there with a tour group. We booked our tour in Cancun, but you can also book in on Chichen Itza Tour on Viator before your trip. As we didn’t have a rental car, we decided to go with a tour group. Our tour was a full day guided tour which included round trip hotel transportation, a guided tour of Chichen Itza, lunch, a visit to the colonial town of Valladolid and then finally a stop at a Cenote Ik-kil (A cenote is a natural swimming hole formed by the collapse of limestone). The tour total time was about 12 hours, so a really long day. We made sure to get enough rest the night before as well as on the bus.

Valladolid : Valladolid is a small quaint town with lots of great architecture. If you plan to visit several of the ruins, I suggest staying a night or two here. It’ll help eliminate the drive from Cancun.

Lunch (we stopped for lunch and enjoyed watching the dances while we ate)

Chichen Itza: We loved the guided tour here. We learned so much about the Mayans and the ruins, however it was burning HOT.

Cenote Ik Kil: This Cenote wasn’t kid friendly. It was actually really scary, lol. My husband went in there with Aiden but I opted not to. The stairs going down were also very slippery. Perfect without kids though.

Tulum Tour

Tulum is also home to Mayan ruins, as it was one of the last cities built and inhabited by the Mayans. You can visit it on your own or with a tour group. We visited with a tour group and enjoyed it. There are plenty of different tour options offered. Our tour included visiting the Tulum Ruins, Coba Ruins, a buffet lunch, visit to a Cenote Zacil-Ha and finally a stop in Playa Del Carmen. This tour was also a long day, about 12 hours total, but it was so much fun. We saw quite a lot of things in one day which was perfect.

Tulum Ruins: This ruins are right by the beach. So even though it was hot, the beach breeze was amazing. Aiden loves spotting all the iguanas at the ruins.

Coba Ruins: Sly (my husband) rented a bike, and Aiden and I got someone to give us a ride for a small fee. Aiden really wanted to ride his own bike, but none of them had training wheels so he couldn’t. When we got the Coba ruins, I knew that Aiden and I wouldn’t be able to climb to the top, so Sly went up there by himself. All the way up to the top and back down.

Cenote Zacil-Ha: We all loved this Cenote as it was super family friendly. A pool for kids or those who don’t want to swim in the Cenote. The also have a zip line that allows to zip line into the Cenote and that was so much fun.

Playa Del Carmen: At this stop, we explored 5th Avenue which is where all the action at Playa Del Carmen happens. Aiden got some ice cream, played at the beachfront playground at Fundadores Park and enjoyed watching the dancers perform.

8 Best Caribbean Islands For Kids That Are Affordable

Where To Eat In Cancun With Kids

One of the nice things about Cancun is the amount of food options available. From Mexican, to Brazilian to Italian etc. You can never lack where to find food. I prefer the taco stands and my husband prefers teaks, Aiden is in the middle, so we had a mixture of both street food and sit down meals.

Emporio Cancun

Bovino’s

La Parilla

Los Tarascos

La Habichuela

Parque Las Palapas

Cambalache

Tips For Visiting Cancun With Kids:

• When in Mexico make sure to drink bottled water ONLY.
• We felt very safe throughout our trip and had no issues whatsoever.
• Make sure to check the weather on the dates that you plan to visit the Mayan ruins, or even Mexico in general. It was extremely hot on both days and we were so exhausted from it all.

• Comfortable shoes are a must as there was a lot of walking involved on this trip.
• Younger kids may get tired from all the walking and the sun, so I suggest that you take a stroller as you may need it. We didn’t take one and my husband carried Aiden on his neck quite a bit. Super Dad to the rescue!! as I would not have been able to carry him. He’s gotten so big, lol. So take a carrier or stroller if you have to.

• I highly suggest packing water shoes. When visiting the Cenote’s, that is the best way to walk around to ensure that you don’t slip. Also you don’t have to worry about changing shoes.
• Take a backpack with you, it’s the easiest way to pack everything you need for the day including snacks and a change of clothes or whatever else you need. We used Aiden’s Osprey backpack for this trip

• The Cenote’s have lockers which is great so that you can store your stuff without worrying about it getting stolen.
• It’s okay if you crave something familiar. Sly loves Starbucks and was glad to be able to find one in Tulum.

• If you want to be in any of your vacation photos, a tripod is a must, or else your photos will end up looking like this haha. We used two beach chairs to prop the camera.

• While on this trip we also spent some time in Isla Mujeres and Playa Del Carmen (I’ll update as soon as I’m done with both posts)
• Check out 10 Reasons To Visit Cancun With Kids, Best Cancun Activities For Families With Kids and Things To Do In Cancun With Kids for other fun stuff to do in Cancun with your family.