Bora Bora, French Polynesia with two kids, four adults

Wow. We spent five days in The French Polynesia during spring break, March 2024. My husband, two sons, my in-laws and l flew from Chicago to Los Angeles to Tahiti to Bora Bora. While this post will be dedicated to Bora Bora and Tahiti, we also:

Took a day in Joshua Tree National Park during our layover in LA

Boarding “Air Moana” to our final destination

Waiting for our boat shuttle at the Bora Bora airport

We boarded our 11 pm plane to Tahiti after hiking all day at Joshua Tree National Park. We were tired from climbing boulders and ready for an overnight flight with pillows in hand. We landed at Tahiti airport at about 6 am the next day. We traded pjs for summer clothes and gladly hung out in their outdoor waiting area until boarding “Air Moana” (“No one goes beyond the reef!”). Once landing in Bora Bora (and taking SO many photos from the airport dock), we took a water shuttle to the shuttle area for the hotels, where they loaded our luggage and we arrived by car/wagon to our hotel for the four days in Bora Bora, which was Maitai Polynesia Bora Bora. We were greeted with beautiful flowers and just in time for an early lunch and drinks.

We had two free hotel.com nights to use, so OF COURSE, we had to book a cabana over the water. They were so expensive, so this was the only way we would ever do this. I am usually the cheap one on vacation, but even I can admit, this was so worth it with kids. We spent our whole time on that private deck. We used the dock all day for fun in the sun, but also used it at night for star viewing (INCREDIBLE). My son fell asleep on a beach chair each night that week while we listened to the waves and watched for shooting stars.

Pros of cabana: private access to the beautiful warm water from sun up to sun down
Little window in the floor to view sea life (although we didn’t see too much since ours was the furthest one out, away from the man-made coral gardens)
We often hosted everyone over for after lunch drinks without dragging stuff from rooms to the hotel beach after a grocery run
Star gazing at night and falling asleep on the beach chairs
Cons of cabana: water was deep, so I might have felt unsafe if the boys were younger and less strong of swimmers
Supporting destruction of shorelines for cabana builds (we saw a ton of these in construction when we were shuttled to the hotel) and realizing we, the consumers, are responsible for the demand

After spending all of our hours on the outside deck, we finally made plans to leave our beloved cabana. We did two amazing excursions; 1) a private boat tour that required a boat reservation from a third party (swimming with reef sharks and giant sting rays and tour of the island views), and 2) kayaking to the Coral Gardens from our hotel. First are pictures and videos of the private boat tour:

Private boat tour snorkeling. Video from my father-in-law’s camera 😀

While I loved the boat tour for the kids, I have to say I personally preferred the next day’s free kayaking because of the real sense of adventure (we tend to do these types of unguided activities… see Holbox post here: https://bigfamiliescantraveltoo.com/2023/04/02/holbox-mexico-in-5-days/). Considering the price (free), the coral gardens were the most amazing snorkeling I had ever seen! My mil/fil might have preferred the boat tour with the guided swimming with sharks and sting rays. We have snorkeled in the Caribbean, Mexico, and even the Indian ocean, but the Coral Gardens were something else entirely. I finally understood the pattern of forests: we have the trees above ground and the coral forests below sea. It was as if I was swimming through an underwater forest. Imagine being up so high and looking down on a large oak tree (or broccoli crown) and then looking into the distance to see endless tops of trees. Of course I did not take my phone with me when kayaking to the Coral Gardens, but I will include the route that we took on kayaks on the map below (blue star is our cabana, blue line to the yellow smiley face “Coral Gardens”). My two sons, husband and I ventured across the darker blue water to the Coral Gardens since my in-laws did not trust their kayaking skills. Word of warning: I brought sunscreen to re-apply for the kayak ride back (over 20 minutes) however I still got severely burnt on my legs (THANK GOODNESS we all wore sun shirts). My legs were blistered and so painful after it, but I gotta say, it was worth it. I would highly recommend covering up your legs for after snorkeling, bring a towel even if it gets wet in the kayak. I know better (snorkelers are prone to severe burns because you lose track of time in the water), but didn’t consider the kayak ride back and sun damage to my legs.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND kayaking to coral gardens if you stay close by

Kayaking to Coral Gardens, which you can see off in the distance in my husband’s photo

Our four days and three nights in Bora Bora were sadly at an end. But the next morning we boarded our 45-minute flight to Tahiti, where we had about a 24-hour layover. We arrived in the afternoon (12 pm) and went to our hotel for the night, Te Moana Tahiti Resort (https://www.temoanatahitiresort.pf/). My husband arranged for a driver to/from the hotel. This last day was about relaxing, so we spent the entire afternoon and evening at the hotel, swimming in the hotel pool until sunset and finishing with dinner at the hotel restaurant, Taapuna. Our nine-year old fell asleep at the dinner table, haha. The next morning we boarded our flight back to Chicago, which had a small layover in Phoenix. Pictures of our beautiful day at Te Moana hotel below:

The perfect end to our vacation!

Isla Mujeres island vacation for four days with two kids

All you can eat ceviche bar… do we even need to say more?

Snorkeling all day everyday at Mia Reef Resort

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Every year, we take a small five day trip before feasting with in-laws and traveling to visit family. It is the perfect combination of time off: sun, family, and food. This year, we stayed at the amazing Mia Reef Resort for four days Sunday, November 29 to Thursday, November 24. We were pleasantly surprised that Chicago O’Hare airport was not very crowded on our travel dates.

https://www.hotelmiareefislamujeres.com/?partner=8570utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=MyBusiness

In September, we snagged tickets to Cancun for $250. We had a layover in Miami on the way there. On the return trip, American Airlines gifted everyone with a surprise of removing the Philly layover and our return flight became a direct flight from Cancun to Chicago. First time that’s ever happened for us. It usually pays to book the flights with layovers (unless it’s a layover in NY or NJ b/c of price of ubers and hotels).

Additional expenses included:

– Miami hotel “Even” ($109 with free shuttle from/to airport)

– Cancun Airport Transportation from Cancun airport to the ferry (round trip $100). This was kind of pricey.

– UltraMar ferry rides to Isla Mujeres ($135 roundtrip for four people)

– Mera lounge passes in Cancun ($60 for four people due to benefit from American Express Platinum cc). These reservations were well worth it since it included unlimited food/drink, and Cancun airport is so expensive.

– We did not redeem any hotels.com rewards since they changed their ways of applying rewards unfortunately. We may need to find a new hotels booking website.

We also saved on transport walked from the ferry to Mia Reef Resort (15 minute walk through the cute northern downtown, an $8.50 cab ride). Mia Reef is pretty much its own island off of Playa del Norte.

Checking in with security and crossing the bridge that leads to the resort

We spent most days in the water snorkeling, swimming, and kayaking. The resort had complimentary snorkel gear, paddle boards, and kayaks, although we brought our own snorkel gear. We all loved the snorkeling at the Mia reef. We saw numerous schools of both big and little fish, sting rays, and so much beauty under the sea. We saw tourist groups come through to explore the snorkeling at Mia Reef while we were there. You could see some fish from above the water even:

One day after dinner, we ventured across the bridge and walked into the downtown area for souvenirs. It was cute.

We also explored “King’s Pool”, which was a natural cove at Mia Reef Resort on the eastern side of the island for snorkeling. The snorkeling here, and in addition to the beach snorkeling, was just amazing. We used swim shoes that we had packed.

Along with fish, urchins, and snails, the kids found a live conch shell in the King’s Pool

We also spent a good amount of time at the giant chess board:

We started in a villa room with double beds, but the front desk was more than accommodating by upgrading our room to the Ocean Villa, which included a king and a sofa bed, but most importantly– the outdoor bed. Plus, the ceviche bar brought us the lunch ceviche due to our close proximity. It was the most luxurious thing I have experienced.

My husband and I were so happy with the food choices including quality seafood cuisine for the adults and a nice variety for the kids. We don’t usually go back to the same place, but we may make an exception for Mia! It was everything we wanted in a vacation.

Winter escape to the Upper Peninsula, Michigan with a five year old

During covid in November 2021, my husband and I escaped with our five year old (me helping him do remote learning during part of the eight-hour road trip) to explore the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This was to be our first of many trips to the UP (yet we didn’t know it at the time!) We fell in love and had to come back with the rest of the family.

We rented the cutest little cottage right on Lake Superior in the small town of Paradise on the east side of the Upper Peninsula. The chilly fall days were perfect for exploring sin bugs. After morning coffee on the deck, we spent our days hiking and nights lounging by the fireplace watching Christmas movies.

Since we were on the eastern side of the UP (we could see Sault Ste. Marie in the distance), we planned for daytrips to the eastern side state parks (Tahquamenon) and central parks (Pictured Rocks, Craig’s Lake) while saving the western parks (Porcupine Mountains) for when we would head home. Unfortunately we didn’t make it to Estivant Pines old growth forest in Copper Harbor during this trip due to logistics and limited daylight.

Day trip 1: Paradise cottage –> Upper Tahquamenon Falls State Park (20 minutes)
Day trip 2: Paradise cottage –> Pictured Rocks State Park turned Miners Castle/Miners Beach/Miners Fall day when I couldn’t find the trailhead (1 hour, 45 minutes)
Day trip 3: Paradise cottage –> Craig’s Lake State Park (3 hours, 30 minutes)
Day trip 4: Paradise cottage –> hotel near Porcupine Mountains State Park (five hours)
Day 5: hike Porcupine Mountains State Park (Lake of the Clouds overlook)

Summary of five day trip across the Upper Peninsula

Lessons Learned:

A spontaneous Upper Falls hiking trail almost kept us in the woods until after nightfall (wolves? bears?), and while these adventurous hikes tend to be my favorite, don’t underestimate how dark the forests get near sunset (see Upper & Lower Falls Hiking Trails picture below).
Plan out the trailheads for Pictured Rocks ahead of time! Tip: It does not start at Pictured Rocks National Headquarters… but the closely located Miners Castle, Beach, and Falls are a beautiful substitute for when you’re running out of daylight. We knew we would come back for Pictured Rocks, so we were not worried about missing it this time.
Don’t drive on Craig’s Lake State Park entrance road after a snowfall without snow tires! We had snow tires, but the ice was a little intimidating for our suv. We met one person on this trail and had no service. It was maybe a little too adventurous.
Make the hike to the Lake of the Clouds overlook even if it is 30 degrees, windy, and snowing! It is beautiful.

Our “quick” hike through the Giant Pines forest (in red) that nearly made us bear food

Quintana Roo (Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico) with the kids

Late last night, I returned from a much needed spring break with my husband (O) and four kids. My husband and I, along with my three step-children teenagers and preschooler, spent seven days (3/22/19-3/29/19) along the Caribbean sea in the towns/islands of:

• Playa del Carmen

• Cozumel

• Akumal

• Cancun

Mexico spring break quintina roo with the kids

We traveled by air, bus, sea, and car, and discovered along the way that my four-year old is prone to sea sickness. 😃

“El Rey”

Paparazzi at Fogoncito at Mexico City airport

Excited for tacos at Fogoncito

AIR TRAVEL: O set up price alerts on Google flight and Kayak to notify him of cheap flights to Mexico City (CDMX). We found $360 flights into Mexico City and then took another flight to Cancun ($100). (We usually aim to pay $270 for flights from Chicago to CDMX). All flights were through Aeromexico. My in-laws joined us later in the trip, however, they took a direct flight from Chicago’s O’Hare into the Cozumel airport on American Airlines. Aeromexico provided lunch/supper on the longer flight and snacks on the shorter flight, which we appreciated with insatiably hungry teenagers. In addition, each seat had their own individual movie screen with a wide choice of movies/TV. We arrived in Mexico City Friday night and stayed nearby in the airport’s Marriot hotel. Free breakfast was included (always a must for us). Saturday morning we woke up early for the breakfast and our morning flight to Cancun, and we were pleasantly surprised when Aeromexico offered us $1500 to take the earlier 9 am flight due to the 11 am plane being overbooked. It was fortunate that we stayed close to the airport because we quickly took the complimentary Marriot shuttle to the airport and paid for our next spring break trip in advance. 😀

GROUND TRAVEL: After we took the earlier flight and landed in Cancun, we walked briefly to the bus depot at Terminal 2 in Cancun airport to take the Ado bus for $10/person to Playa del Carmen. O bought Ado tickets on-line. Since we arrived early, he asked if we could take the earlier bus, and they had no problem with it. The buses seem to drive the 45-minutes out to Playa del Carmen every 30 minutes or every hour. Very comfortable spacious buses made for happy kids. Saving money with two flights made for happy parents.

SEA TRAVEL: The Ado bus dropped us a few blocks from the Playa del Carmen ferry stop. We had an hour before our 4 pm ferry ride so we spent time at the little park near the beach. There were two ferry choices; Ultrajet and Winjet. We bought roundtrip tickets through Winjet and rode on the top deck (however on our return trip, discovered the bottom deck to be more comfortable).

AE6E3EF2-C749-4BA2-B68D-A6F8EE33F88D — Playa del Carmen downtown

0E9BF2AE-C095-4D34-9D81-52D5256FA5A5 — The bottom deck of the Winjet ferry

TAXI / RENTAL CAR TRAVEL: We arrived in Cozumel after the 45-minute ferry ride. While it was a bumpy ride and we had a few complaints of sea sickness, no one needed the aid of dramamine. Our condo for the three nights on the island was slightly past the cruise ship port, but in the 80 degree weather and with all of our luggage, we chose to pay for an overpriced $7 five-minute taxi ride to El Cantil Condos. This helped us decide to rent a car for the day that we would be exploring since taxis were a little pricey. The next day we paid $100 for the day for an eight-passenger minivan. We had to put in $10 in gas, but drove half-way around the island (past Punta Sur to El Pescador restaurant).

Loved our morning coffee on the balcony

We were near the Cruise ship port

El Cantil Condos were beautiful inside

ACTIVITIES WE ARE RECOMMENDING at COZUMEL:

• The Money Bar: great food, live music, snorkeling at their beach while you wait for your food to arrive and during sunset. Best time I have had with my step-children.

• La Pescadora restaurant and beach: isolated restaurant (we ordered fried fish to be on the safe side) with a beautiful beach for swimming and snorkeling. We chose this free activity over paying $16/adult and $8/child for entrance to Punta Sur. We brought our own swim shoes and snorkel gear. My daughter was tired, so instead of swimming, she took a nap on the beach chair outside the restaurant. Perfect place for swimming or napping.

ACTIVITIES NOT RECOMMENDED at COZUMEL:

• Chankanaab: nothing special. When we paid for our entrance fee, we were told it included dolphins for the kids, but found out it was an additional $99/person to swim with dolphins. While our teens enjoyed the snorkeling, it was similar to the free snorkeling we did at the Money Bar. I saw no reason to pay an entrance fee as nothing was exceptionally different. We made an amateur mistake by paying for an exclusive beach when there are many free beaches on the island to dive into, or better yet, get lunch at a beach-side restaurant and use their beach to snorkel. We brought our own snorkel gear and swim shoes with us.

Initially excited upon entering the park

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SEA TRAVEL to CAR RENTAL: The guy who rented us the minivan offered to give us a ride to the ferry, so we saved on another taxi and tipped him instead. We sat at the bottom of the Winjet ferry and arrived in Playa del Carmen. We took lunch at one of the many restaurants and then walked the small pedestrian streets to the car rental company, America. We rented a Surburban and were pleasantly surprised with the low cost of the car rental insurance ($80 for three days). We drove to our next reservation at Bahia Principe residences in Akumal. All of our drives were about 30 minutes apart. When we arrived at the four-bedroom house we rented in Bahia, we were given a three-bedroom by mistake due to technical problems with the air conditioning. When they offered a credit, we asked if they would consider offering the day pass at the Bahia Akumal resort instead. They gave us eight free day-passes ($60/person), which included three meals and access to the resort’s two of three locations (Bahia Coba and Bahia Tulum). They also offered 10% off our total booking price. It was fortunate that the air conditioning broke because we were able to access all of the resort perks while also enjoying the larger house we reserved and its private pool. Because we booked through hotels.com, we also received two free hotel nights from this vacation.

7B04218B-A1A3-4228-B050-F55A8647F7CE — Car rental in Playa del Carmen

Arrived to three-bedroom property at Bahia Principe in Tulum

Using the Bahia day pass at the Bahia Tulum & Coba resorts

ACTIVITIES WE ARE RECOMMENDING at AKUMAL:

• Dos Ojos Cenote: $15/person (but our four-year old was free) and worth every peso. It’s an incredible value. We brought our snorkel gear and while this was our first time cave snorkeling, we saw incredible things, especially in the second eye. Although it is intimidating, you must swim past the rock in the back of the second eye and dive to see the underwater cavern. It helped that the scuba diving tour was happening as we were in the water and their lights shed more clarity on the submerged underworld. Incredible beyond words. Highly recommended for teens and adults. Grandma and grandpa watched our four-year old as the water was too cold for him. There were many cenotes to choose from, but we recommend Dos Ojos.

Don’t miss the tiny sign on the tree pointing to the “Second Eye”. We nearly missed it. The second eye is the best eye, so it would have been a shame.

ACTIVITIES WE ARE NOT RECOMMENDING at AKUMAL:

• Playa del Akumal: O and I snorkeled at this once public beach seven years ago, and we were fortunate to see many sea turtles feeding on the sea grass. It was the best snorkeling I had ever done. We took the kids with this expectation in mind and found out the beach had been privatized. Turtle snorkeling tours were being offered at $35/person in addition to the $5/person entrance fee to the beach. I understand how it can conserve and protect the turtles, but we had not budgeted to spend an additional $175 for turtle tours, so we had to pass this one up. It took forever to park and walk to the beach. People were constantly trying to sell us life jackets and tours. In hindsight, we wished we had skipped Playa del Akumal all together.

9E5379D8-CDCF-4B66-85C0-A9F18790ECE7 — Initially excited to see turtles at Playa del Akumal

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CAR RENTAL to BUS RIDE to FINAL STAY: We drove our Surburban rental back to America car rental in Playa del Carmen, but stopped for gas along the way first. The gas lines are long in Playa del Carmen. We then dropped off the grandparents at their ferry going to Cozumel. We drove to America car rental and the guy was so kind and offered us a ride back to the bus depot. Highly recommend this car rental place. We then rode the comfortable Ado bus back to the Cancun airport at $10/person (bought on-line). Our hotel in Cancun did not have a free shuttle, so O booked through a shuttle company, who was there 20 minutes after we arrived by bus. No bathrooms in the bus depot area of Cancun airport, so make sure your toddler uses the Ado bus bathroom. The shuttle took us to our Cancun hotel, The Royal Carribean, which was were we spent our last night of the trip swimming and playing at the beach.

9354B311-FECA-4E38-B54F-057BD5BA249D — Leaving 🙁

Our trip to Taiwan and the Philippines!

March 2018

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Travelers:

Orlando, Emily and a married couple.

How did we pay for this trip:

We bought tickets 6 months prior to the trip. We looked up locations on Google Flights that were less than $650 per ticket for the Month of March. We found tickets for under $650 on EVA airlines. We recommend using Google Flights when you are on a budget and have no set location.

What Airline(s) did we fly on:

We flew economy on EVA Arlines. So far, it has been one of the best airlines that we have ever flown on. We decided to give EVA Airlines the following ratings:

Comfort: 8/10 – Pretty spacious seats for basic economy. Emily is 5’7 and petite and Orlando is 5’7 and weighs about 165 lbs.

Food: 9/10 – Tasty food, plenty of snacks and drinks.

Service: 9/10 – Friendly faces everywhere.

Kid Friendly: 8/10 – Although we didn’t take any of the kids on this trip, we saw plenty of young kids with their parents.

Entertainment: 9/10 – Plenty of movies to make the time pass by. Wi-Fi is available for $20 dollars, although we didn’t try it.

We flew economy on Cebu Pacific from Manila to Boracay. Cebu Pacific is your standard low budget airline. You have to pay for a seat assignment, luggage, food, water, etc. Tickets were reasonably priced at $150 round trip.

Comfort: 5/10 – Not bad for a 1 to 2 hour flight, pretty comparable to United Airlines.

Food: N/A – We did not try the food since you have to pay for it.

Service: 9/10 – Friendly faces everywhere.

Kid Friendly: 5/10 – Not being able to choose a seat unless you pay is a pretty big problem.

Entertainment: 5/10 – No entertainment available, but the flight attendants conduct a guessing game during the flight (in English).

Where did we stay:

Monaco Resort in Boracay, 5 star hotel. Overall, one of the best hotel stays. The staff goes out of their way to make sure you are taken care of. Gym, restaurant, outdoor pool, a private beach and ocean views from your balcony.

Price: $300 per night for a 2 bedroom suite using a time share discount provided by our family friend.

Family friendly rating: 10/10

The Fullerton hotel in Taiwan, 4 star hotel. Overall, the location is great and the free breakfast is reasonable. The hotel claims that your stay includes a free minibar. Don’t be fooled by this, you get water, 2 soda cans and fruit. No alcohol.

Price: $130 per night on hotels.com.

Family friendly rating: 7/10

Recommendations:

Taipei Airport:

Don’t be afraid of long layovers at the Taipei Airport. Taipei airport has a free gym facility, free showers, souvenir shops and plenty of restaurants. The free gym is right next to the Adidas Shop in Terminal 1 and the showers are right next to the gym. You do need to buy a towel from the pharmacy nearby as the airport does not provide towels. Towels are $2 dollars though. You can walk from Terminal 2 to Terminal walk in about 30 to 40 minutes.

Taipei:

Book a flight with a 24 hour layover in Taiwan and leave the Airport. Taipei is an amazing city and although 24 hours may not be enough time, it gives you a chance to see the night markets and the city. Make sure to pack some clothes in a carry-on as your baggage will not be available to you until your last destination (unless you asked for it to be available for your layover). Rent a bike with a credit card! make sure you have a Visa or Master Card for each renter as the machine will not allow to swipe the same credit card for 2 different bikes. Visit the Memorial palace, elephant mountain and Taipei 101. If you are planning on visiting the secret Starbucks on the 35th floor, call ahead to make reservations (Google Taipei 101 Starbucks how to make reservations).

Boracay:

Stick to Filipino food, otherwise you will be disappointed. There are tons of foreign restaurants that promise to be good at (insert food type here), but really, it’s not the same. Stick to Filipino cuisine and try an Ice Mango from the Mango place (you will know what place we are talking about once you see it… and the line), or Halo-Halo from a local Coffee Shop.

Avoid the typical tourist activities, kite surfing, kayaking, parasailing, etc. you can do that anywhere else in the world, why do it in such a pretty place? Do go on the island hopping tour. Crystal Cove is amazing and a must see!

Lessons learned:

We were a little bit afraid about taking a 3 year old on a 16 hour plane ride with multiple connections. However, we think he would have been OK. Next time, we won’t hesitate to take the 4 kids on such a cool adventure!

P.S. take lots of sunscreen and water shoes, you will thank us later.

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Great Pyrs at home

Pictures of our babies. When we travel, we are so fortunate to have the help of our in-laws to care for our babies while we are abroad. Both of our Pyrs are afraid of other dogs, no matter how many trips we take to the dog parks. We’re always a little jealous of hikers who bring their dogs on the trails. I’m curious if anyone travels with their big dogs?

Cruise to the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas for 8

In March of 2022, Carnival was having an amazing sale, so we booked eight tickets for our teenagers, six-year old, and in-laws. We specifically chose this cruise because of the sale and the destinations. We had yet to see Turks and Caicos or the Dominican Republic. Sadly, there was a health emergency for one of the cruise passengers, and Carnival had to make an emergency stop in the Bahamas. We didn’t realize a cruise’s destination could change, and we were a bit sad we didn’t go to Turks and Caicos. We had done one cruise before to the Bahamas when the kids were all much younger. While we enjoyed this time at the Bahamas and Dominican Republic, and especially how our teenagers could roam about independently (where were they going to go?), we have decided against booking another cruise in the future. We definitely prefer being in control of our vacation and not being stuck on a boat. Maybe there are better cruises out there, but we have found we are not cruisers 😆

How did we get there?

Given that we booked this trip last minute and plane tickets were extremely high, we decided to make a road trip out of this. We drove from Chicago to Florida, with a stop in Georgia.

Where did we stay?

On our way to Florida, we stopped in Macon, GA, and stayed at the *most awful full priced hotel we have ever booked, the SureStay Plus. The hotel was torn down and had signs of insects, including cockroaches. It was too late to find another hotel, so we stayed the night on top of the blankets, but please avoid it at all costs even though the pictures look nice: https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US/book/hotels-in-macon/surestay-plus-by-best-western-macon-west/propertyCode.55085.html

Once in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and before boarding the cruise, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Club Vacations. The resort made up for the horrible experience we had in Macon. The Holiday Inn resort had plenty of things for the kiddos to do, and they offered multiple-bedroom condos: https://holidayinnclub.com/explore-resorts/cape-canaveral-resort?utm_source=local&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=cape-canaveral-gmb-listing

Once aboard the cruise, we stayed in the inner cruise rooms, which had no windows to the outside. We regretted this since it made some of us prone to sea sickness. The cruise rooms can accommodate up to 4 people, and although they look small, they have plenty of space.

Lessons learned

Look at the details of the cruise (e.g. is there an additional fee for a cabin with a balcony?). We were surprised by how many of us are prone to seasickness 🙃
The pool gets really crowded, and it becomes almost impossible to use/enjoy
Food and drinks are unlimited, which teenagers loved (especially breakfast buffets and made-to-order late night pizza)
The destinations are not guaranteed, and the off-boat times were kind of weird. We had to leave the boat at 6 am to see the Dominican Republic before it left again at 2 pm. No one wants to day drink before breakfast
We guess a cruise is partly for the entertainment and the value, not really for the destinations

Conclusion

This cruise was not for us. Our teenagers enjoyed the independence and our youngest loved the Ocean Club and couldn’t get enough mini golf. O and I, not being extroverts, found ourselves outside on the patio most nights checking out the stars rather than enjoying the shows.

If you like to be outdoors and prefer hiking rather than spending the day sunning on a lounge chair, then a cruise is also not for you. We definitely preferred the time off of the boat, and especially my youngest’s aspirations to become an island boy:

Leaving Dominican Republic at like 2 pm to keep to the new schedule

Dubai and The Maldives (WITH KIDS!)

In November 2021, we took our first vacation via airplane since COVID. We were eager to travel big, and O found $600 tickets to the Maldives (an unheard of price). My in-laws, four children, husband and I packed our luggage and prepared for the journey across the world and 14-hour layover in Abu Dhabi.

O arranged transportation through an agency that recovered us from Abu Dahbi and drove us the two hours to Dubai for the layover. While in Dubai, we ate near the the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, which was fun for our three children.

Walking around for a bit in Dubai Creek Harbour:

After walking around a bit, the driver met us in the busy area and drove us back to the airport, where it was freezing cold inside, and we slept for a few hours before boarding our plane to Malé, Maldives.

We fell in love immediately upon arrival to our hotel for the week, Adaaran Select Hudhuron Fushi- All Inclusive.

We had one “family beach house” and one “romantic cabin on the water”. We spent the week swimming in the pool, exploring the beach, snorkeling in the Indian Ocean, and enjoying the all-you-can-eat-and-drink. This was by far the best snorkeling we had experienced, and all available by walking into the beach with the snorkeling gear we had packed.

Exploring an island- easily the best vacation for all!

Orlando and I discussed how Maldives was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We will cherish our time there, but most likely not return because of the time it takes to travel half-way across the world! Mexico is a four-hour trip for us, so next on our list is to find a similar island in Mexico (e.g. Holbox…??). See future posts to find out!

Holbox, Mexico in 5 days with one little

The best food at Villas HM Palapas del Mar

Fall break 2022 (November/Thanksgiving) marked the start of our annual relaxing beach vacation. We spent five days exploring the sand bars of Holbox, Mexico. We redeemed free nights through hotels.com for an all inclusive, chic hotel off of the beach called Villas HM Palapas del Mar.

O booked transport from Cancun to Holbox ferry ahead of time. We bought ferry tickets upon arrival.

After making it to the hotel in Holbox (and room with a private hot tub!) we spent each day about the same: breakfast, pool, explore sand bars/beaches/island and nightly private hot tub.

One afternoon we ventured out at low tide and walked the sand bars towards the bird sanctuary, however by the time we started heading home before supper, high tide started coming in. We definitely had an adventure! The three of us, with the backpack over Orlando’s head, and me helping our seven-year old in the deeper parts for him, made it back to the coast, where we considered how likely we would find salt-water crocodiles living in the mangrove forests. Thankfully, a few other groups were ahead of us, and we all made it back to the main part of the island. Orlando swore he stepped on something that tried to bite his swim shoe. He later told me that story once we were safely back at the resort…

We left Holbox via ferry and private car, where we stayed one night in Cancun before our flight. We had so much fun jumping waves. A different type of beach entirely from the quiet shallow shore of Holbox, but it was fun! Pictures below:

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our little island adventure together!

Escape to Colorado

During the summer of 2020, we carefully planned an escape to the mountains with our kids, parents, in-laws, and sister-in-law. We drove from Chicago to Colorado in two vehicles. My mother hadn’t been back to Colorado since her early 20’s, so we planned a week of sightseeing at Pike’s Peak, Royal Gorge, Sand Dunes National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Telluride, and Aspen.

Our first adventure: driving down Pike’s Peak in a hail storm!

After Pike’s Peak in Colorado Springs, we skipped Garden of the Gods and went to eat at Manitou Springs. We had been to Garden of the Gods before, and some of the kids were light headed from the elevation at Pike’s Peak.

Pulpit Rock Park was a quick morning hike for my husband and I before we set out on the day drive to Royal Gorge Bridge

From Colorado Springs, we drove 1 1/2 hours to Royal Gorge Bridge & Park. It was $20/adult, and while I prefer National Parks, it did make for a fun activity for all ages, exploring the bridge, zip lining for the teenagers (extra cost), and a bird of prey predator show for the youngest.

After that, we left Canyon City and drove through 2 1/2 hours to reach The Great Sand Dunes National Park before dark. The drive had no places to stop (gas/food), but thankfully we had snacks in the car. We arrived to the dunes before dark, but stayed well past dark, as it was amazing in the moonlight. My husband and kids climbed the dunes while I walked at the base with my mom. This was my husband’s favorite national park experience! There was no extra room in our car, but we noticed other travelers brought their own winter sleds for the dunes, which seemed like a fun idea for kids. Our kids are pleasantly surprised when there’s an activity other than hiking 😉

We stayed the night in Alamosa, and in the morning drove about four hours to Mesa Verde National Park, which was my personal favorite. I took many pictures with the kids, but here are a few:

We drove to the ski resort town of Telluride, where we booked a cabin for two nights in Mountain Lodge Telluride. This by far was everyone’s favorite part of the trip. Mountain Lodge was a very family friendly resort. We took the complimentary gondolas to Telluride, and some of us hiked a 15-mile trail (Bear Creek Trail) to a beautiful waterfall. The cabin we stayed at really made these two nights beautiful; walking out on the deck in the morning and smelling the evergreens with our coffee. We all fell in love with this area.

Next we had plans to check off another national park, The Black Canyon of the Gunnison. We didn’t have much time to hike, so we mostly drove through and took a few beautiful pictures of the plummeting canyons. Highly recommend.

We made our way to Aspen, where we stayed in Snowmass Mountain, which was in the heart of the commercial area of Aspen. Our teenagers liked this more, but my husband and I escaped on a hiking trail through a gorgeous grove of aspen forest. We had considered biking to see Maroon Bells, but we had to make rental reservations in advance due to covid, and it was alright that it didn’t work out. We took the gondola up to the roller coaster and rock climbing wall, where the kids had fun.

Lastly, we had time after check out from Snowmass Mountain to explore White River National Forest, which was nearby. It was beautiful! The kids enjoyed stretching their legs before the long drive home. It was too long of a walk for my mom to the ice caves (in the summer, “grottos”), but there was plenty of benches in the shade to sit next to the river. We saw others swimming and jumping in from the boulders in the water. Of course our teenagers lamented the opportunity.

After we returned home, I recognized a few places advertised in the Colorado magazine that we receive!! It made me want to go back. We loved visiting in the summer. Onward to the next adventure!

Park City, Utah weekend skiing trip with four kids and one exchange student

December 2019

In the fall we welcomed a Norwegian exchange student to our home, and it was a wonderful experience. We truly enjoyed hosting him, and thankfully this was prior to covid. We had hosted a short-term summer student from Spain before, and our rotary club asked about a long-term student. We got so lucky because it was a great semester. We traveled more than ever too, since we wanted to show him around the states. We drove to Niagara Falls and New York City over winter break, and on a free weekend in November, we ventured out to Park City.

How did we get there?

We ended up using Delta miles for some of the kids and the companion certificates we get yearly through Delta. We ended up paying for two tickets only. Salt Lake City is a Delta hub, so there are plenty of affordable direct flights from Chicago. We also rented a full-size SUV through Advantage RAC, and it was a pretty good experience (and affordable).

Where did we stay?

We stayed at the Lodge at the Mountain Village. The cost of a two-bedroom unit was only $200/night, which was a steal, given how spacious the condo was. The property was also right at the park, so we didn’t have to worry about transportation there.

Lessons learned

The lift tickets were pricey when not bought in advance, and our kids gave up shortly after their first try. We have found that more affordable skiing trips are a better fit for us since we don’t ski/snowboard often. (E.g. A few years later we drove to a closer place in MI and brought some used snowboard items to save on the cost of renting). On this trip, however, we spent the next day exploring Antelope Island. It was so cool! Like a giant playground for climbing. It also serves as a conservation area for rebuilding the buffalo population, so we were on the lookout for the herd.

The main road that leads to/from Antelope Island

Conclusion

Park City is a beautiful mountain town and if we were *billionaires*, we would buy a house here! We have been to other ski resorts such as Breckenridge, Aspen, Telluride, Whitefish, and others in WI and MI, and we highly recommend Park City!

Seville, Spain in four days

It was 9 pm when our driver pulled into a small alleyway in the historic center of Seville. The kids were exhausted from the day of travel but peering out their windows- unusual for teenagers. A pleasant woman from Seville Luxury Rentals welcomed us and gave us a brief tour of the condo, a map of the old town and new town, and some recommendations for supper. Seville was like another world. We quickly descended the iron staircase with map in hand to enter the beautiful historic old town, and walked down a lively street to find a late night supper. Our kids were falling in love as they questioned why so many families and teens were out late at night. We ate at a small tapas place that welcomed us like we were family they were expecting. That night, we all fell in love with the culture, flavors, glass window panes, and historic city of Seville.

The kids eventually found sleep, which began a new sleep-wake cycle for our family (late nights, late mornings). We started our day at a simple breakfast place across from the Seville Cathedral. We planned to spend the day at the Cathedral and the following day, at the Plaza de Espana and Parque de Maria Luisa.

We did some shopping and found amazing deals on Spanish clothing brands. If you’re familiar with any Spanish brands, they were even more affordable from the Spanish stores. My favorite clothes are still my five-year old’s Spanish sweaters. Such good quality and so detailed. After much shopping, we steered towards Bartolomea restaurant for tapas. They were everything we had hoped for. Also- the Sangria in Spain is like no other.

The next day, we began with a simple breakfast, but discovered our youngest’s little cough had developed into a dysfunctional cough and subsequent wheeze. As he spewed his microbes to poor unsuspecting breakfast diners, we altered our plans for the day to include a stop at the hospital for a quick check-in. Many hours later, we shuffled grumpy teenagers to the pharmacy to collect the doctor’s prescribed medicine to treat our youngest’s wheezing and constant cough. Looking back, we do wonder if Henry had contracted the Coronavirus, as he had fever, wheezing, and flu-like symptoms. We ended the long day the best way we knew how; renting scooters that our teenagers could whiz around Plaza Espana and Parque de Maria Luisa.

We were able to turn the day around and headed back to the Seville Cathedral neighborhood. We had made reservations a month ahead at Milagritos. It was for tapas and a Flamenco performance. It. Was. Amazing.

It was easily the coolest experience for me. We walked back to our hotel and prepared ourselves to say farewell to the amazing experience that is Seville.

Happiness is Seville.