September 2019 Mexico Trip: Part 2
After a few days at Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres, it was time time to go over to Cozumel for a travel agent familiarization trip!
A familiarization trip is a short trip for travel agents where we learn about whomever is hosting it! This time, we got to learn about the Explorean Cozumel property as well as their other resorts including the Fiesta Americana Cozumel. Half of us stayed at the Fiesta Americana side and the other half of us stayed at the Explorean side.
The first day was a day of arrival, touring the properties and finishing with dinner! We started with the Explorean. One restaurant, 50+ rooms, a pool, hot tub, bike rental, all surrounded by the jungle. All of the rooms either had a king bed or two doubles, a patio or balcony, and absolutely no TV. There’s no TV because the resort is meant to be more adventurous and to reconnect you with nature. There’s a couple of things that make this resort completely unique.
The first is your morning basket. Every morning, a basket is left outside of your room filled with fresh coffee, juice, and bread. You never have to order it, and they never knock on your door to wake you up. It just “magically” appears every morning. I looked forward to this the two mornings I was there. I would get my basket and take it to my patio and have breakfast there. The best way to wake up every morning.
Another unique thing was breakfast at the restaurant on site. There’s no menu, but it’s also not a buffet. You just order anything that you want for breakfast. I didn’t get to do this, mostly because I’m not a huge breakfast eater, and because our second day was extremely packed!!!
The third unique amenity was the open bar. And no I don’t just mean have as much as you want because it’s all included, I mean the fact that if you want to, you yourself can get behind the bar and make your own cocktail and pour your own drink! But of course, there are staff that you can get that will help you make a drink for you.
But, probably the number one reason why this resort is so different from the others, is because they run all of their own excursions and they’re all included!!! You also don’t have to reserve them in advance. They give you a list of what they are and when they are and you just meet at the lobby when you want to take one of them: First come, first serve. But more about this later.
After we toured the Explorean, we went to the Fiesta Americana Cozumel, which is only steps away (it literally takes two minutes from your room to get there. This one is really like any other all-inclusive. But there are connecting rooms you can book if you have a larger family going. You can actually create up to a three bedroom room! All of the rooms are ocean view and everything had been recently remodeled. They literally had the whole entire property down to its studs for a couple years! Everything in the property is now incredibly modern and new. There are more restaurants here that the Explorean also has access to. However, the Fiesta Americana does not have access to the Explorean. So, make sure you choose wisely.
After we toured, we went to the Italian restaurant on site to their private dinner setting on the roof, as they served us a four course meal. It was so delicious. The chef came out to meet us and ask if we had any dietary requirements or food allergies. I think the most memorable dish we had was the soup. It was served in a cappuccino glass and even had some foam on top as if it were actually a coffee. I was expecting it to be sweet, but it was anything but. It was actually a salty almond soup that was warm. It was so good, innovative, and surprising.
The next morning, I got my basket, had breakfast on my patio, and then got ready for snorkeling at El Cielo! El Cielo is a shallow part of the ocean near the coastline of Cozumel on the south part of the island where there’s a lot of starfish! I highly suggest going there! Even if you aren’t staying in Cozumel, take an excursion or boat ride over from Playa del Carmen! We stopped at three different places: Columbia Shallow, El Cielo, and El Cielito. The seas were a bit rough, so I didn’t stay long out there and got on the boat early. I’m not a huge swimmer so snorkeling isn’t too much of my thing. When we got to El Cielito, we all got out of the boat onto the sandbar. The water only went up to about our waist, and they brought out the beers, chips, and guac! We all just sat out in the sun and sandbar and turned up the music while watching all of the stingrays and fish swim around us!
After, we headed back to the resort to have a small lunch on the beach at the Cevicheria. They made paella (which I couldn’t have since I’m pescatarian) and had a huge buffet. I did have a lot of ceviche though. After, we had free time, so I spent it at the beach area where they had over the water nets and lounge chairs and steps that went directly into the ocean. The beach area isn’t really a beach area. This is because all of the beaches on Cozumel are man made since the island sits on a reef. The water was sparkling clear and you could see the reef right there with so many fish. Makes it completely worth not having a beach in my opinion!
Later that afternoon, we met again or some sunset kayaking. Though I can’t say much about this one because of the surprise, secret ending, it’s well worth it! You kayak about a mile down the coast line and the tour guides tell you about the history of Cozumel and the Mayans and how they used to kayak from the mainland out to the island and why.
Other excursions that they run are stand up paddleboarding, ATV, cycling around the island, and more. I’d honestly love to go back to this resort with some friends who love adventure and spend more time here! It’s such a unique experience. I’d love to try out the other Explorean Kohunlich as well. Another all-inclusive and excursions inclusive resort that’s on the mainland and further inland surrounded by more of the jungle.
Want to enjoy this resort as much as I did? Contact me to send set up a free phone consultation or schedule an appointment online here.
Thinking about visiting Explorean Cozumel, but not sure where to start? Book a free phone consultation with me to find out if working with a travel agent is right for you! Book here!
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Adventuresome Nicole 
Oh my God, that hotel and the spot itself is GORGEOUS. I absolutely love it!! This makes me feel like I need a vacation, stat!
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Thank you! Well if you need a vacation you now know who to call to set it up 😉
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