Packing for an Xcaret Vacation Part 2
The Essentials
But wait, there’s more! Picking up where I left off in Packing for Xcaret The Essentials Part 1, here are even more suggestions of stuff to bring on your (what’s going to be an) amazing Xcaret vacation!
Keep in mind, I’m came at packing from knowing my family (including me) have sensory issues, anxiety challenges, executive function struggles; I really wanted to be sure we had everything we needed on hand so we could have a really nice, relaxing time and I wasn’t kicking myself for not thinking of something (that’s the perfectionism part of my Autism).
If you don’t know (I know I didn’t know), there will be an Xcaret beach bag waiting for you in your room when you arrive. It’s hanging in the closet on a hanger clip with the plastic laundry bag/form. The bag is yours! Take it! Use it! The bags come in different colors, and it’s random which color you’ll get - I heard the brighter colors run when they get wet so make the Xcaret bag the bag you use to stay in the locker or bus while you’re running around at the parks and on tours.
To keep that pretty Xcaret beach bag dry and color-run-free, you’re going to want wet dry bags. Great for carrying sunscreen, bandages, and, most importantly, a dry, comfortable change of clothes! At the end of your fun-filled day, before your likely-long-ride back to the resort on a bus (yes, a comfortable bus but a bus, nonetheless), you can go to the lockers, take off that wet swim suit, throw those dry, comfy clothes on, and put that wet swimsuit in one of these bags. They’ll keep wet stuff stored in them, in and the dry stuff on the outside, dry. I got one bag per family member and they worked out great. Each bag has two pockets with zippers and they come in a pack of three.
You really don’t need your phone at the parks for photo purposes, because your bracelets will trigger cameras all over the parks, and on tours there will be a “paparazzi” taking photos for you. But if you do plan on bringing your phone with you to the parks, then you’re going to want to get these waterproof phone protectors. I really didn’t want to bring our phones with us, but we discovered quickly that there were going to be instances where we’d have to divide and conquer with the kids. There was so much to see and do, sometimes we had to prioritize and those priorities didn’t always align. Each adult having a phone made coordinating an end-of-day meet up much easier than the one day when we didn’t have phones on us. This Hiearcool Universal Waterproof Phone Pouch works with several cell phones including, iPhone 14, 13, 12, 11, Pro Max XS, and Samsung Galaxy S22 and did the job of keeping my husband’s Samsung and my iPhone dry. We wound up using them to keep tip money dry as well.
If you want to be extra careful, because, like me, you’ll always get extra credit in “Precautionary Measures,” I also brought this large dry bag along with us. Did I put dry cell phone pouches, in dry bags, in a dry bag, in the Xcaret beach bag? Yes, yes I did.
Speaking of wearing something comfy on the ride home, I loved this romper as something simple to pack up and easy to throw on in the park locker rooms. The dressing rooms are fine, but definitely not big, I liked that I only had to navigate getting on my bra, undies, and the one-piece, uncomplicated romper quickly.
I also always had flip-flops with me for the end-of-an-adventurous day. I don’t like the way wet feet feel inside shoes, so flip-flops were a must have after spending the day in water shoes. I go for Havaianas - I find they don’t do that uncomfy rub between the toes thing, and the bottoms have more weight to them so they last a decent amount of time. I have a pretty high arch, wide feet (my mom called them Flinstone feet and if you get that reference, high-five!), and they’re the most comfortable flip-flops for me by far. I’m typically a size 6.5, and I get size 7 - 8 in Havaianas. I brought along these pink ones because I basically got everything else in black and felt like I needed some sort of color somewhere since this trip was about getting out of comfort zones and all. Oh! They have men and kid sizes too!
Yeah, yeah those last three aren’t necessarily “essential” and I did literally call this “The Essentials”, so let’s get back on track here.
Okay, listen. You’re probably going to get blisters. If you’re traveling with your family, they’re all probably going to get blisters too. It’ll be fine, once you’re out and about and having fun you’ll forget about the blisters, but it definitely helps to have blister bandages. There’s likely a decent walk from your room to the lobby for those early morning bus pick-ups. And, you’re going to be walking around the parks and on tours, a lot. Walking in water shoes with blisters is going to be way more comfortable with the proper bandages and these Dr. Fredrick’s Original Better Blister Bandages were great. My super-sensitive-to-any-sort-of-discomfort-12-year-old was balking on going out for the day until I put these on his blisters and he turned into a new person, raring to go. I only had one pack with us and we ran out; next time (and there will be a next time - it’s already booked!) I’ll probably bring one pack per person and I know that sounds ridiculous, but we would have used them all had we had them.
In lieu of having more blister bandages, I had packed these bandages, which not only came in handy for the blisters, but also for a couple of scrapes (nothing bad or anything, just some tiny scrapes and cuts from snorkeling, swimming, etc) and mosquito bites (yes, there are mosquitos, but Xcaret does a great job of keeping them at bay). After using these bandages (which I would have typically called band-aids, but band-aids are a brand name and to call these bandages band-aids would be an insult) I wondered where they had been all my life. I didn’t know bandages could stay on this well! Scrunched up, peeling off, barely hanging-on bandages are one of those sensory things that I just can’t deal with, and my kids are the same - so while I sound overzealous about bandages, for me these Welly Bravery Badges were a great find, and how cute is the name?
Back to the mosquitos for a moment. Like I said, the resort and parks do a great job - but you’re going to get some bites here and there. We brought a couple of things along that helped.
As I mentioned in my “Packing Essentials Part 1”, Xcaret claims to take sustainable tourism and caring for the land they’re built on, seriously. In keeping with the eco-friendly sunscreen track, we brought along this eco-friendly bug spray. We spritzed ourselves before leaving for tours like Tulum and Xenotes, and any time we ventured out at night like when going to Xcaret’s México Espectacular Show, Xplor Fuego, and Xoximilco (you should do all of those things, I promise). I swear you can smell citronella in the air at the Xcaret parks and the resort, so I don’t think you have to spray before park and resort days, but any time you venture out in the evening, you’ll prob want to have a bit on. Mosquitos like sunset and evening best and the citronella only helps so much.
Here’s my extra credit in “Precautionary Measures” again; when out in the evenings we also wore these bug repellent Buggy Bands on an ankle - mosquitos love ankles.
And for when you get the inevitable bite or two, this Benadryl bundle, was great. It comes with a cooling spray and an “itch relief” pen that easily packs up to come along with you on adventures. These definitely helped when in bed at the end of an exciting, albeit long, day when itchiness was getting in the way of well-deserved sleep.
The mention of “Benadryl” reminds me of the pharmacy I brought with us. Alright, not really a pharmacy, but I didn’t want to not have basic OTC medicine for basic ailments. The Xcaret resort does have doctors onsite, 24 hours per day, but, I didn’t want to have to go to the resort doctor with a headache because tequila. Here’s what we packed to have on-hand.
Tylenol Rapid Release I think all caregivers have Tylenol on them, right?
Advil Minis The minis are easier for my kids to swallow.
Extra Strength Excedrin I get migraines, but also, tequila.
Imodium Multi-Symptom Relief Caplets We all needed this as some point in the trip. I think it was just a massive change in our diet and I’d bet some dehydration. I was glad to have had it in the room right when we needed it.
Pepto Bismol Liquicaps I got the capsules because I wasn’t sure my kids would chew the chewable Pepto, and I didn’t want to argue about chewing Pepto in the midst of dealing with a stomach situation.
Antihistamine Off-brand Benadryl - I figured (hoped) we’d all be trying new food and wanted to be prepared for any allergic reactions. Also, at home, we live in a very dry climate and being in such a humid environment was going to be new for everyone, so thought sinuses might act up. And, whenever I have insomnia, antihistamine tends to knock me out, I knew with the jet leg I’d need help in that department for a night or two, and I definitely did.
Maximum Strength Delsym Cough Medicine I brought this with us just in case one/all of us caught Covid either on the journey to Playa del Carmen or while we were there. A cough suppressant along with everything else I was bringing would put us in pretty good shape as far as alleviating symptoms. Is that Covid-PTSD, smart planning, or plain ol’ anxiety? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
We didn’t wind up needing it (YAY! Thanks, Universe) and it lasts a long time, so we have it in the reserves.
Meclizine - for motion sickness. My 12 year old has been known to get motion sickness on long drives, especially if there’s a lot of stop-and-go-traffic (which is so very perfect for someone living in super trafficy SoCal) and I wasn’t sure if being on a boat or exploring Xenses would affect him - brought this stuff along just in case.
Activated Charcoal - Charcoal is supposed to adsorb unwanted toxins and flush them out your system. I had the kids take one of these with my husband and I taking two, every night before bed. Like, I said, and without getting too detailed, we did wind up needing the Imodium, but not to the point where we were tied to the room for hours and had to miss a day of fun. Not sure the charcoal helped, but I don’t think it hurt. It’s probably important to state here that I am not a doctor.
Antimicrobial Wound Therapy - Just in case! And actually wound up coming in handy for those blisters.
Next-to-Flavorless Hydrating Electrolyte Drops - Every day, I dropped these electrolyte drops into everyone’s waters first thing in the morning, and before going to bed each night (there will be lovely bottled water in your room which will be replenished daily). We were very active during the day and it was easy to forget about staying on top of everyone’s water in-take. I wouldn’t say the drops were totally flavorless, it gave the water a mild mineral taste that wasn’t overwhelming - honestly the water already tasted different than water in the US, I don’t think the drops made the water taste more different.
Maybe not “essential,” and this is more pre-trip, but every day for two weeks leading up to leaving for our Xcaret vacay we all took Align Gut Health & Immunity Probiotic. They’re supposed to boost your immune system and promote a healthy gut. I don’t know if they did anything, but we didn’t get sick-sick, not even colds from plane germs, and our stomach situation where the Imodium was required, was brief and very manageable. But, this is probably another time I should make sure everyone knows I’m not a doctor, by a long shot.
And that’s it, as far as essentials go and here is a list of extras which aren’t need-to-haves, but are definitely nice-to-haves.
What did I forget? Is there something you brought along that came in handy? We've already booked a trip back next year, so I’d love to hear from you.
And - once I scratch this Xcaret itch, I’ll write about more than just Xcaret. I just need to get this hyper-fixation about our Xcaret vacation out of my system first.
