If you have some spare time and are interested in picking up a little Spanish, the BBC offers some free online lessons. Pretty much everybody speaks English at the resort, but it might be fun to learn a bit or brush up on some rusty skills.
BBC - Languages - Spanish
As we get closer to finalizing plans for the wedding in Riviera Maya, I thought it might be a helpful to list some other items to do around the Barcelo Maya resort. As Kelly mentioned before there is tons to do to keep yourself entertained within the resort for no extra cost, such as:
- swimming pools
- beach sports (soccer, volleyball, etc)
- arts & crafts
- eating
- drinking at one of the swim up or walk up bars
- napping in one of the many hammocks
- and much more
There are also a number of activities for a fee like ATV rides in the jungle, horse back riding, etc. If you are looking to get off the resort for a day one highly recommended spot to visit is Xel-Ha about 20 minutes away. When Kelly and I were in Mexico last year, we checked this place out and loved it. Xel-Ha is an all inclusive nature fun park (think national park with a bar). It is an ecological sanctuary where visitors are allowed to snorkel, hike and relax with mother nature. The park is a jungle that surrounds a spring fed river that flows out to the Caribbean. The water way is open to the sea so many of the fish swim up in its waters. You can do many things such as snorkel amongst the shores and caves with many exotic fish, grab a tube and float down the river through mangroves, jump off a 12 foot cliff into the river, eat and drink at the all inclusive restaurant, swim with the dolphins (extra fee), hike through the paved nature trial and more. The park is all inclusive and the fee covers your meals at the restaurant and drinks at the bar (throughout the day) as well as snorkel gear (flippers, mask, snorkel and life vest). The only thing you would need money for once inside would be to swim with the dolphins or for any trinket shopping you might want to do. The park is very picturesque and relaxing and never really seems crowded. Oh and don't bother bringing sun block. The park requires that you use their sun block (free packet provided) because it is environmentally friendly and won't hurt the fish you are swimming with. If it is something you think you want to try Kelly and I would recommend it. It was one of the highlights of our trip.
Barcelo has a desk at each of the hotel lobbies where you can sign up for excursions like this when you get there or I am sure you can book something up front through the travel agent you choose to use. In the mean time check out the website for Xel-Ha (http://www.xelha.com/) or let Kelly and I know if you have any questions. I will try to have more posts like this over time to let you know what other stuff there is to do around the resort
June 16, 2009 it is!
I just heard back from the resort and they're holding the date for us! Now we can really get moving on booking our trip and getting the invites finalized! Keep an eye on the wedding details and travel information tabs for continued updates!
I just heard back from the resort and they're holding the date for us! Now we can really get moving on booking our trip and getting the invites finalized! Keep an eye on the wedding details and travel information tabs for continued updates!
I added a quiz off to the right hand side. I know we don't have a ton of readers, but I thought it might be fun to give it a try.
I'm trying to think ahead to what kind of dress I'll want. I'm torn between having a tea length one, which would be fine for a summer beach wedding..or a longer more elegant one, particularly since it's an evening event. I've got to keep things like temperature (so, no long sleeves or heavy layers :) !) and packability (not too poofy to fit in my bag, not so delicate to not get wrecked/wrinkled in transit) in mind as I begin my search.
Suggestions welcome!
Thanks!
I'm trying to think ahead to what kind of dress I'll want. I'm torn between having a tea length one, which would be fine for a summer beach wedding..or a longer more elegant one, particularly since it's an evening event. I've got to keep things like temperature (so, no long sleeves or heavy layers :) !) and packability (not too poofy to fit in my bag, not so delicate to not get wrecked/wrinkled in transit) in mind as I begin my search.
Suggestions welcome!
Thanks!
Hello all! We've updated the look of our blog and added some navigation features. The tabbed links will quickly take our visitors to pertinent ceremony and travel information. This will allow us to update that information regularly and keep it all in one centralized location (well, two, I guess, but you know what I mean).
PLEASE NOTE YOU WILL NEED A PASSPORT! Make sure you get one or update yours if needed. This takes some time, so we recommend you start early. A link to the Passport information website is at the bottom of this posting.
We'll provide some estimated costs for 4 Night and 7 Night options on the invitation, but please note that because rates are based on availability, we won't be able to guarantee them.
Estimated price breakdown:
Suggested Travel Options:
We'll provide some estimated costs for 4 Night and 7 Night options on the invitation, but please note that because rates are based on availability, we won't be able to guarantee them.
Estimated price breakdown:
- 7 night stay (Saturday, June 13 - Saturday, June 20) estimated at $1489 per guest at Beach and Caribe hotels
- 7 night stay (Saturday, June 13 - Saturday, June 20) estimated at $1599 per guest at Tropical and Colonial hotels
- 4 night stay (Sunday, June 14 - Thursday, June 18) estimated at $1119 per guest at Beach and Caribe hotels
- 4 night stay (Sunday, June 14 - Thursday, June 18) estimated at $1189 per guest at Tropical and Colonial hotels
NOTE: The above prices would include your all-inclusive (food, drinks, non-motorized activities) stay at the hotels listed at the resort, direct round trip flight from O'Hare airport, and transfers between the Cancun airport and the resort during arrival and departure days. The prices are not guaranteed and may change over time or if changes are made (e.g. flying from a different airport). Keep in mind that the wedding will be on Tuesday, June 16. Kelly and I have already booked our stay for Thursday, June 11 - Saturday, June 20 and have the wedding locked in for Tuesday, June 16. As you would imagine, we recommend booking early if you are going to be joining us. That will increase the likelihood that you'll get the best deal. If the packages we provide are not quite what you need (e.g., different departure airport, different dates to stay), please feel free to contact our travel agent. She has committed to working with our guests to make arrangements that best fit their needs.
Keep in mind that upon booking, a $125 deposit will be due for each passenger. The balance will be due 50 days prior to travel. Thus, you can book early with a small deposit to lock in the lower price.
Hotel/Resort Information (to consider as you make your plans):
- We'll be staying at the Barcelo Maya Resort. This resort includes 5 separate hotels: Beach, Caribe, Colonial, Tropical, and Palace. The first four are by and large the same, with access to each other's pools, beach area, snack bars, and theatres.
- The resort is all-inclusive which means that all your meals, drinks, tips, and taxes, as well as many resort activities are included in the rate. You can check out any of the hotel websites (links in the section below) for more information. The rates that we will provide will also include airfare (and all associated taxes and fees) as well as transfers to and from the airport in Cancun.
- Beach and Caribe tend to be a little less expensive than Colonial and Tropical. The key difference between the pairs (Beach/Caribe vs Colonial/Tropical) is that guests of Beach/Caribe will not have access to the air conditioned buffets of Colonial/Tropical nor the a la carte restaurants. Guests of Colonial/Tropical will, however, have acces to the buffets and a la carte restauarants at Beach/Caribe.
- When Heath and I stayed at this resort in October 2007, we stayed at Beach and thought it was very nice. So, if you decide to stay there to save some money, you certainly won't be disappointed. For the wedding week, Heath and I are planning on staying at either Colonial or Tropical for a couple of reasons. First, it's our wedding/honeymoon!! So, we want to upgrade a bit. Second, we'll be there for 9 nights, and the additional variety of a la carte restaurants and buffets will be nice to have over that longer amount of time.
- The Palace is the fanciest of the five, but is quite separated from the other four hotels (i.e., guests of the other 4 cannot use the Palace's pools etc without purchasing a separate day pass), so we would not recommend that option for our guests.
- Everybody is more than welcome to stay wherever they'd like. Our travel agent can help you figure out what is the best solution for your needs, or feel free to call Heath or me to discuss our thoughts on the various options.
Suggested Travel Options:
- 7 Nights: Depart Saturday June 13, 2009, Return Saturday June 20, 2009.
- 4 Nights: Depart Sunday June 14, 2009, Return Thursday June 18, 2009.
- If neither of these is a good option for you, our travel agent can help you to customize a package to meet your individual needs.
- Suzanne Grimes @ Best Travel & Tours.
- Phone: 773.380.0150
- Email: sgrimes@besttravel.com
- YOU WILL NEED A PASSPORT!
- http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html
16 June 2009 @ 6:00 p.m.
We'll be tying the knot at Barcelo Maya Resort, in Riviera Maya, Mexico (just a bit south of Cancun).
The ceremony will be at 6:00 pm on June 16, 2009 on the Beach at the Resort, with a catered dinner on the beach following the ceremony. We just got the menu options, and while we have to talk it over, the choices look pretty delicious! If the weather doesn't cooperate, alternative arrangements will be made.
Invitations will go out in the next couple weeks.
We understand that with a destination wedding, not all of our friends and family will be able to attend. We look forward to celebrating with everybody in our hometowns (Grand Rapids, MI and Lyndon, IL) and most likely our current home (Evanston, IL or Chicago) later in the summer when we return. We'll be finalizing dates for these get-togethers and sending out save the date notifications soon!
Attire is beach dressy (a term I made up). We want people to be cool and comfortable, but not totally beach bummy. Ladies, a cute sundress or something like that is fine with sandals or flipflops (the bride and groom may both be barefoot). Guys, we'd like some form of sleeves (short is fine), so a polo or button down with khakis would probably be your best bet.
Information on Travel Arrangements is available by following one of the Travel Information links in this site.
If you can't get enough, you can visit Our Knot page for more information.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
