Packing for an Xcaret Vacation Part 3
The Extras
I saw a post in one of the Xcaret Facebook groups I mentioned here, that went something like this:
Guy-In-Xcaret-FB-Group: “I’ve been watching this group for two months and you’re all so worried, asking so many questions, stressing out about vacation - just go and have fun and stop worrying.”
My man.
I would love nothing more than to not be someone who has to incessantly plan, research, read, worry, speculate, question, research and read some more. I daydream what it would be like to simply decide on a vacation, get excited about it, pack up, and go. What would be like to not overthink, not over-plan, not over-analyze…? Imagine what I could do with all that extra brain-space!
Alas, this is me. I’ve been here on Earth for a while now, and I don’t see signs of me changing much. I definitely cope better now, and understand, and have tools, and have learned to be kind to myself (still kind of working on that part). But, Guy-In-Xcaret-FB-Group, I’m never not going to need to prepare, extensively prepare, for vacation.
I outlined suggested essentials to bring along on an Xcaret vacation here and here, and sure a couple of those things might have not been essential-essential but, for the most part you’d need most of that stuff in some form or another. Now, I have The Extras. The things that are nice-to-haves, not the NEED-to-haves. The little extra supplies that might make the trip a little smoother, manageable, and funner (is that a word?).
Playa del Carmen is Humid (purposeful capital H), and it’s going to take a while for your wet swim stuff to dry. You’ll definitely want to hang your stuff up so it’s not in a heap somewhere never drying and maybe getting moldy (ew). Having a travel clothesline on hand was great, especially since there were four of us. We hung it in the bathroom when we were out for the day. We stayed in a Xcaret Hotel Mexico swim-up room and those rooms have nice, large, ground-floor balcony, and we’d lay some of our stuff out there too, but found the things we hung inside, on the line, dried faster. And for what it’s worth, I’ve heard the resort has called people and asked them to take their clothes hanging on balconies, inside. We had this one that was suggested a few times in one of the Xcaret FB Groups.
We didn’t bring a GoPro camera (or the like) but I wished we had! I think my teens would have had a great time documenting their thrilling rides on ziplines, adventures snorkeling, exploring Tulum and cenotes, and everything in-between. Santa is bringing our kids one for Christmas for our Xcaret trip planned for next year (booked immediately when we got home). We got a GoPro alternative which was a much more reasonable price point than a real GoPro considering the camera is for the kids, it’s their first camera, and it’s probably going to see some action. I read a ton of reviews and this Akaso Underwater Waterproof camera rose to the top:
If you wind up getting the camera, then grab some accessories for mounting and wearing the camera in different ways. I did a bunch of investigating and this accessory set from SmilePowo had the best reviews and works with the camera we wound up getting. There are tons of accessories at all different price point out there, just make sure whatever you get is compatible with whatever camera you purchase.
The Xcaret resort and parks will have snorkel gear for you to use, but I recommend bringing your own (there is a still a global pandemic going on even though we’re pretending like there isn’t, after all.) For the first-time-noob-snorklers, I loved having a full face snorkel mask. I will say - it was brought to my attention after our trip that these masks could possibly be dangerous (due to potential CO2 buildup), but we had no idea and used them for a full week with no issues. I think the trick is moderation, and calm/chill water (reminder: this is the thinking of someone who had never snorkeled before our Xcaret vacation, who can only doggy paddle, and who is definitely not a doctor.) Our kids used them in the pools, the rivers at Xcaret and Xelha, and the resort beach. I tried it out at the resort beach for the first time ever and it was so fun! We have this one, which has an attachment for a GoPro (or GoPro-ish) camera. Like I said, the resort and parks will have snorkeling equipment to use, so this isn’t a must have but we liked having our own and because we’re not experienced snorkelers, this full-faced snorkel mask was a nice entry-level way to experience and learn snorkeling.
If you’ve read Parts 1 & 2 of my suggested Xcaret packing list, you’ve probably gotten the picture that I like to be prepared. I had this whole scenario played out in my head where my family was separated and missed the last bus back to the resort and our phones were dead after sitting in the locker all day because we forget to turn them off (anxiety + active imagination are an interesting mix.) Honestly, I always have a portable charger on me (I forget to charge my phone all the time). Plus, we let the kids use their phones on the buses to parks/tours and back to the resort - they would have been miserable if they ran out of juice on those sometimes hour-plus rides. I got this one, since we’re a Samsung/Apple family and it charges both.
Whenever we travel we bring two to three charging stations for plugging-in everyone’s devices at the end of the day. We find there are never enough outlets in hotels. Xcaret was actually pretty good and had outlets in convenient places near beds (for charging while using the phone in bed at night and morning) and tables, but it was still useful to have the extra charging space for everyone’s phones, headphones, e-readers, and so on and so on, etc.
After a day at Xenotes, Xel-ha, Xplor, Xavage, you might want to properly rinse off/clean the clothes you wore. The river and cenote swims are invigorating, comfort-zone-pushing, and core-memory-making, but also a bit stinky. You won’t notice it until you get back to the room, and if you decide let your clothes dry and throw them in your dirty clothes pile to wash when you get home - you’re REALLY going to notice it when you open your suitcase. If you want to get ahead of it, we brought these eco-friendly (really tried to respect Xcaret’s commitment to the local ecosystem) laundry strips and rinsed our swim clothes in the bathtub (which was a lovely bathtub that we didn’t wind up using for bathing, just washing clothes.)
Being neurodivergent usually means also having an anxiety disorder - this is true for my kids and me. We all sleep with weighted blankets, but given weight constraints and bag limitations, I wasn’t going to pack up three 20lb weighted blankets to bring with us. I did find these weighted stuffed animals which comes in all kinds of animal and weight options - we settled for the 4lbs sloth and elephant, one for each kid. They both were happy to have them in the evenings when winding down.
Staying on the wind-down going to sleep theme, something we didn’t have that I will bring next time are travel blackout curtains. The light coming in in the morning isn’t TOO bad, but it did wake me up a few times. I also woke up a couple of times due to lifeguards wading through the pools with flashlights, pre-dawn - the light shining into our room freaked me out the first time because I was convinced someone was breaking in via the balcony. Alas, it was not someone trying to break in, but the flashlight shined into our room on a few very early mornings. I bought these for our next Xcaret vacation - yes it’s already planned.
I got one of these portable toothbrush sanitizers for everyone in the family. With swimming in rivers, and cenotes, and pools, and water slides, and new foods, etc., I felt like we should do our best to keep germs at bay wherever possible, and toothbrushes were an easy solve. We actually have this toothbrush sanitizer at home, it’s nice to have the same toothbrush germ fighting on the road.
After a long day in the sun at Xcaret’s resort pool, beach, parks, or one of the fabulous tours, my skin needed a little extra love. Each night, I double-cleansed (this + this are my go-to’s), used a gentle toner, applied serum, and then my teen daughter and I both used moisturizing face-sheet masks. I love Farmacy’s skincare line, and knowing they’re eco-friendly; we went with their moisturizing sheet masks.
I didn’t opt for my normal before-bed face routine while at Xcaret. I wasn’t going to exfoliate at all knowing I’d be in the sun every day and I skipped retinol moisturizer for the same reason. Instead, I opted for a heavier-than-my-regular face moisturizer to look in moisture and recover from daily sunscreen, new shower water, plus the river/pool/ocean water, dehydration, and new climate. My go-to for a ticker moisturizer is First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Firming Cream. It’s pretty much odorless and a little goes a long way. I don’t ever use this under make-up, but it’s great for nighttime and days when you’re just staying at home and need a little extra moisture-love. This pretty much stays in my travel toiletry bag.
I am pretty simple when it comes to accessories. I always wear the same studs, same necklaces, and same rings - all of which I left at home during our Xcaret vacation (not for any other reason than I have ADHD and am sort of klutzy and I imagined about 1,000 scenarios in which I could lose those pieces of jewelry.) However, my teen daughter is a big fan of accessorizing and always brings a bunch on vacations. To keep everything orderly and to have a designated “spot” they could all go back to after she was done wearing them, I got her this travel jewelry organizer, which she loved having with us and has actually encouraged her keeping them organized in here at home too! (That’s a win in my book!)
And, finally! I always have a hard time falling asleep, no matter where I am, but especially when sleeping somewhere new. The way I get my brain to chill out and fall asleep is listening to audiobooks and podcasts. So if like me you like listening to people talk to you - definitely don’t forget your favorite headphones (these are mine - have to be over-the-ear) and I suggest subscription to Audible Plus (which I have and will never run out of things to listen to. It’s got a 30 day trial period, so activate for your trip and cancel if you don’t find it useful when you get home!) And if you’re not a book/podcast-listener and are more of a book-reader, consider this a reminder to bring your e-reader or that book you’ve been saving for vacation.
That’s officially all the things I suggest you bring with you for a family vacation at Xcaret! I’d love to hear from you if you have any suggestions of things I missed (what—might-have-missed haunts me). Have fun!
