PACKING & TRAVEL TIPS

Money, Credit Cards Travel Reservations:

  • Before you leave the Country, contract your bank and/or Credit Card Companies and let them know the days you’ll be traveling and the location. This will stop them from freezing your account when charges on your vacation occur.
  • Contact Credit Card Companies and your Bank when you return as well.
  • Highly recommend traveling with a RFID wallet to protect your credit cards and or passport.
  • Do not take tons of cash. ATM’s are available if you need Pesos at the resort. Credit Cards are accepted almost everywhere. Both at the Resort and in the major towns and restaurants.
  • If you want to have Pesos for the trip. Either order a specific amount from your Bank ahead of time or stop by the currency exchange at the airport. These are usually a much better rate than is available at the Resort. However, the resort will most likely have currency exchange services available.
  • Shopping at and/or buying from the local vendors at the Resort and in Playa Del Carmen (or any other town – Akumal, Puerto Morales) will require cash. U.S. or Mexican currency is accepted.
  • Smaller U.S. bills $5’s, $10’s and $20’s are best.

Passport, Medical Cards and I.D.

  • Make a copy of Passport (info page), Medical Insurance Card (front and back) and your other I.D. (such as Drivers License). Then upload them to your cloud account, drop box where you can easily access them if you had to or email them to yourself. This way if an item is lost or stolen, these copies will help you in the recovery process.

Prescription drugs and Cold Medicines:

  • Carry any medications in original the prescription bottle or packaging. This includes medicines such as Tylenol, Excedrin, ect..
  • Bring an extra pair of glasses and/or contacts. Having a copy of your prescription with you (could be kept in your phone?) in case they lost or damaged.
  • Bring an eye-glass fixer kit (just in cast!). These are small but can be super useful.

Toiletries:

  • The Resort chain hotels all have shampoo, conditioner and soap for use in the bathroom. The rooms also normally have a blow dryer as well. (check with the Resort to be sure)
  • If you take your own shampoo, conditioner, body wash, hand sanitizer, ect… pack them in a zip lock bag to help prevent leakage if the container opens during travel.
  • Basic medical supplies, band-aids (blisters happen), Neosporin or anti-bacterial cream, tweezers, nail clippers/file, pain-reliever.
  • Package of Baby wipes.
  • Pepto-Bismol tablets. If possible start taking several days before trip. They will help coat your stomach and protect against any bad water. (Especially outside the Resort.)
  • Several packages of travel size tissue paper/Kleenex.

OTHER TIPS & INFORMATION

Click on the topic heading below for more helpful information.

  • Ladies: at least two beach cover ups or wraps. You’ll need these if you want to eat at the Indoor Buffets in the morning or afternoon. Wet swim suits, or swim suites only, are not allowed in the eating areas.
  • Guys will have to wear a shirt and shoes/flip flops at the buffets (no wet bathing suits).
  • Bring a minimum of 2 bathing suits. Due to the humid weather clothing items do not normally dry quickly. Being able to alternate swim suites is helpful.
  • Sandals or Flip Flops for the beach or pool area.
  • Water Shoes – certain areas of the beaches can be a little rocky. These can be used at the pool area as well walking around on the hot pool decks.
  • Beach/Pool hat – Sun can be very intense.
  • Hair tie or clips for the ladies could be helpful.
  • Sunglasses are a must.
  • Sunscreen is also a must. Its s a good idea to use a higher SPF then you might normally use in the States. Its recommended to buy sunscreen in the States as it is very expensive at the resort or surrounding towns.
  • A number of the excursion destinations, such as Xcaret, Xel-Ha, the Cenotes, ect… require Bio-Degradable Sunscreen or no sun screen at all. Not sure how they police that though…? You can order some from https://mexitan.com/
  • Make sure to bring plenty of specific face and lip sunscreen as well.
  • Casual wear for around the Resort or out in the town
  • shorts, t-shirts, tank tops (wearing shorts multiple times is fine, so bring a few more shorts than shorts or pants)
  • Dinner Wear: The Resorts do normally have a dress code for dinner:
  • Men usually need to wear pants (no shorts) and nice shirt. Shirt doesn’t have to have a collar (usually) but ratty t-shirts or tank tops are not acceptable. dressy sandals, or shoes should be worn. No bear feet.
  • Ladies: dress or sundress, skirt, or dressier shorts and nice top, capris, dressy sandals.
  • Evenings can occasionally be slightly cool during the fall & winter months (around 67degrees). So think about a light jacket, sweater, wrap or shirt. These items could also be useful on the plane ride.
  • Many of the resorts are quite large so comfortable walking shoes are a must.
  • Resorts often have a gym or some sort of work out facility. So bring at least two work out outfits if you plan to use those amenities.
  • Bug Spray is important. The Resorts are carved out of the tropical jungle so bugs and mosquitos are part of the landscape.
  • Back pack and Beach bag. You’ll likely have a handful of things to take with you to the pool (sun screen, cover up, shirt, hat, book to read, phone or ipad, room key, etc…) so a carry bag is invaluable.
  • Highly recommend: KYSS bags. http://www.kyssbags.com/
  • Be careful not to bring too much or too expensive jewelry. The rooms do have safes (normally) but they are not high security.

  • Beach Bag or Back Pack. This will also be helpful on any excursions you might take outside the resort.
  • Sun Glasses are an absolute must.
  • Large insulted “Bubba Mug”. Some people like to bring their own mugs to help keep their drinks colder longer while relaxing at the pool or beach.
  • Sun Hat
  • Sun Screen
  • Swim Suite Cover Up for ladies and cover up shirt for guys. The buffet restaurants around the pool and beach area will require you to be covered up (and dry) to get seated for eating.
  • Personnel towel from home (some people like to bring their own large beach towel to help identify their chair). The resorts will provide towels so this is not required if you want to save the space or lower the weight in your suitcase.
  • Three or four large close pins to help secure your towel to your lounge chair.
  • Small zip lock bag to keep room key and cash from getting wet. (You will want some cash with you at the pool or beach to tip the bar tenders as well purchase any wares/trinkets from the beach vendors).

  • Bring a three plug electrical adaptor and/or a cheap power strip. There are not many plugs provided in the rooms so the additional outlets help with charging your phone, ipad, camera, ect….
  • Small battery operated alarm clock (if you even care to be woken up that way). The resort clocks can be tricky to figure out and power does occasionally go out.
  • Small Night-light for the bathroom.
  • Small umbrella (some resorts supply umbrellas in the rooms but some don’t). This can come in handy during the tropical storms that blow through.
  • DampRid hanging moister absorber. This can be hung in the closet during your stay to help keep clothes from becoming too damp due to the high tropical humidity. (Sold at Costco, Target, Online & Sam’s Club)
  • Several regular clothespins are often helpful to pin the drapes closed ensuring more blackout sleeping conditions in  your room at night. Many times the baloney light is on a timer and can’t be turned off if you want to go to bed before it shuts off.
  • A few days before your trip begin taking pepto-bismol tablets several times a day and keep taking them for several days into your vacation. This will help coat your stomach and potentially protect from getting sick. Another idea is to go to a health food store and pick up a bottle of grapefruit seed extract pills. Taking a tablet before meals will help protect you from problems with diarrhea.

Travel Accessory Websites:

  • The Custom Tour by Rod Ratner: Rod and his team are a selected group of experienced tour guides capable of conducting tours in a variety of languages with a passion for nature, photography, history and culture. Rod’s team will work with each guest to tailor the experience to meet their specific goals and desires.
  • Kay Tours: Kay moved to Playa del Carmen in 2012 and has worked for some of the biggest tour operators in the area. He noticed that their concept is not normally based on satisfying the guest/ So he started Kay Tours, an independent Personal Tour Company, where he and his team each tour experience to the desires and needs of his guests.