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Two for the road

Spending time together having fun, enjoying new experiences and making memories is important for family bonding, but sometimes it is more easily achieved when you get away from the hectic pace of daily life to a place where you can focus on your family without interferences.
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There are many walking paths near the hotel Occidental Grand Xcaret in the Mayan Riviera. Inset: Glenda and Teagan Brown of Blackfalds travelled to the Mayan Riviera last November.

Spending time together having fun, enjoying new experiences and making memories is important for family bonding, but sometimes it is more easily achieved when you get away from the hectic pace of daily life to a place where you can focus on your family without interferences. This can be particularly true for single-parent families where adults have extra demands on their time.

Last November, Glenda and Teagan Brown of Blackfalds enjoyed a week together at the Occidental Grand Xcaret Resort in the Mayan Riviera. It was a much-needed break and the mother-daughter pair appreciated the relaxation their all-inclusive vacation provided. They also enjoyed exploring Mayan culture at the Xcaret Eco Park located next to their resort.

Finding a resort that was well equipped for families was important to the success of this trip. “Our resort wasn’t fancy, but it provided plenty of activities for kids and families,” said Glenda. “There was a protected cove that was ideal for kids to swim and snorkel in, there were lots of onsite activities, there were plenty of food options available, and a beach bar that had a good selection of non-alcoholic drinks. There were also some animal enclosures with monkeys, birds and other wildlife that was very fascinating for kids to observe.”

An added bonus of this particular resort was the fact that it was next door to the Xcaret Eco Park and the Browns spent two days exploring the park. The Xcaret Eco Park is a Mayan archeological site that has been turned into an eco park focused on Mayan culture.

Inside the enormous park, you can see many different kinds of animals, enjoy viewing fish in a large aquarium, snorkel in an underground river made accessible by sinkholes known as cenotes, visit a butterfly garden or enjoy a Mayan stage show with music and dancing.

“One of my favourite parts of the Xcaret visit was the stage show,” explained Teagan. “We watched the first part of the show both days we visited the park, we liked it so much. There was dancing and drumming and one guy even danced with fire using what looked like a hockey stick and a flaming fireball about the size of a tennis ball.”

Snorkelling inside a cenote was also a good experience for the pair.

“One of the cenotes actually had stained glass windows in the ceiling,” described Teagan. “There were fish in the underground river too. It was pretty cool.”

Other highlights of the park include a manatee area, a bird hatchery where you can hold a baby duck, shark feedings, Mayan historic sites — both natural and manmade — and street performers. “I learned some Mayan games and some important facts about Mayan culture at Xcaret Eco Park,” explained Teagan. “I learned about what happened to the Mayan people when the Spanish conquistadors arrived and a little bit about how they felt about Spanish colonization. There’s a lot to see there and we didn’t see it all in two days.”

For the Browns, the best part of the trip was simply the opportunity to spend time together. “Sometimes you just need to get away from all distractions,” said Glenda. “We had a lot of good laughs and it was easier to have fun and really focus on each other without having to worry about housework and other issues that seem to always get in the way.”

If you go:

l Basic admission to Xcaret Eco Park will cost us$69 per adult and US$34 per child, but people staying at the adjacent Occidental Grand Xcaret Resort receive a discount or free admission depending upon their room category. For more information on Xcaret Eco Park, visit www.xcaret.com. For more information on the Occidental Grand Xcaret Resort, visit en.occidentalhotels.com/grand/Xcaret.asp.

l A one-week all-inclusive stay at the Occidental Grand Xcaret Resort in the Mayan Riviera will vary in cost depending upon the dates of travel. In November, a one-week stay cost about $1,100 per person including taxes for flights, transfers, room, meals and drinks.

Travel Tips for Single Parents

Travelling with children is always an adventure, but single parent travel has unique challenges. Here are a few travel tips if you are a single adult travelling with children to an all-inclusive resort:

l Remember to bring snacks and drinks on the plane with you. This can prevent kids from getting cranky because they are hungry during the flight or even before or after the flight. It’s also a good idea to bring along some quiet games, books and cards for use on the plane or at the resort if the weather turns bad.

l Make sure your kids are aware of the hazards at your vacation destination. Young children who have never been around the ocean may be unaware of how powerful currents can be.

l Single parent discounts: Most all-inclusive resorts price their vacations based on two paying adults, so a single parent travelling with one child may end up paying an adult rate for their child’s travel. You can avoid this added cost by taking advantage of single parent deals offered during certain months at some beachfront all-inclusive resorts. For example, consider travelling to Breezes and Beaches Resorts during their single parent promotion months, which typically occur during the spring and fall.

Single parent deals are also becoming more popular with other resorts and are typically noted in the brochures of most North American tour operators.

l Sales and last-minute deals: Sometimes sale prices can actually be lower than the regular child rate at a resort. Signing up for discount newsletters from tour operators or travel agents can help you to always be aware of what sales are out there.

l Convenience: Choose a resort or destination that has plenty of activities to keep your kids happily occupied. And while it’s fun to do things together, remember that sometimes you may need a break, too. Resorts that offer kids’ clubs, activity programs and babysitting services can provide parents on vacation with a little break when they need it.

l Have realistic expectations when you are travelling with kids. You can’t do everything, but make sure you take the time to share new experiences and have bonding moments.

Debbie Olsen is a Lacombe-based freelance writer. If you have a travel story you would like to share or know someone with an interesting travel story who we might interview, please email: DOGO@telusplanet.net or write to: Debbie Olsen, c/o Red Deer Advocate, 2950 Bremner Ave., Red Deer, Alta., T4R 1M9.