Boujee Budget Travel

Over Labor Day weekend, I took a trip with my bff to Cancun for some quality time and fun. We left early on Thursday morning and returned Monday evening, so we were able to maximize the vacay while only taking one day of PTO. It was a ton of fun and much needed time together. So let’s get into it…

We booked a package through Expedia for flights and an all-inclusive resort in the hotel zone of Cancun. We opted to stay close to the main area of town because it felt safer as two women traveling alone and because it was going to be a short trip (didn’t want to spend too much time transferring). We booked a separate round trip airport transfer which worked well on arrival but not so much at departure, but we’ll talk about that later. We flew Delta, which was comfy as usual. Had a layover at LAX, where we were able to use my Priority Pass for game lounge access. This included an hour of video game play, one non alcoholic beverage, and a snack per person. Because the layover was so long though, we did end up going to eat a proper meal at a restaurant and also got coffee from another location so that we could make espresso martinis for the flight. 

Upon arrival, we found our shuttle rep and waited about 10 mins for our private transfer. Highly recommend doing that because it’s so much faster than sharing and it’s more comfortable. We arrived quickly at our resort, which was the Riu Las Americas. We chose this resort because it had decent prices for that weekend, good reviews on Expedia, and it’s an adults-only location. Here’s a short list of pros and cons…

Pros: excellent beach (nice sand, plenty of chairs, nice view); 3 infinity pools; one swim up bar; friendly staff; spacious room; beautiful view from the balcony; in-room bar; coffee bar in lobby; theme parties available at sister resort with free shuttle; nightly entertainment.

Cons: limited food options (not very gluten-free friendly); not enough bars; few outlets in room. 

Overall, would possibly stay there again because of the beach and relaxed party vibe, but the food was definitely something that would cause me to seek other options. 

I mentioned before that the return transfer was a miss, so here’s what happened: The driver arrived in a timely manner and was friendly during the drive. However, he dropped us at the wrong terminal! We excited the vehicle with our carry on luggage only to learn that we were in the terminal for flights within Mexico only. We were then informed by staff that we needed to go to the next terminal, which apparently was a 30 minute walk in the hot sun OR we could take a taxi for $50. I’m 99% sure the entire situation was a scam but we really had no leverage, no way to argue (neither of us are very fluent in Spanish), and we were in a time crunch. So we paid the $50 and took the 5 minute cab ride to the right spot. 

With all the confusion, we ended up missing out on lounge access since it was before security so instead we ate from one of the restaurants near the gate. It was similar to Chipotle but not too expensive and definitely one of the heartier meals I’d had all weekend. The rest of the trip was relatively uneventful with a short stop in Salt Lake City  then on to Albuquerque.  

Despite the pitfalls with the food and transfer service, it was really one of the best trips. The BFF and I are already plotting for next year’s annual trip. Any suggestions??

Trip Total for Thursday-Monday for 2

Flight and hotel combo: $2,923.98

R/T airport transfer: $85

Bonus cab ride: $50

Tips: $30

Other miscellaneous costs (airport meals, coffee, etc.): $49.09 (for 1 person)

Total: $3,138.07