Cancun, Mexico - New Years 2022
Live aqua cancun - all-inclusive adults only resort for a relaxing start to 2022
Ringing in the new year with a relaxing sisters’ trip to Mexico. We chose to vacation at Live Aqua again this year (our 3rd trip) due to the relaxing atmosphere, friendly staff and familiarity of the resort.
Live Aqua is a small-ish adults-only all-inclusive resort about 20 minutes by car (without traffic) from the airport. The beach has soft sand and turquoise waters. January is a great time to visit if you like moderately hot days (80’s with sunshine) with some rain (mostly passing showers). Please continue reading for tips and highlights from our 7 night trip.
Reservations
Costco Travels had the best pricing for flight and hotels for the New Years timeframe. Unfortunately there were no direct flights from Boston, MA and the shortest route was through a layover in Miami. I would highly recommend direct flights to avoid flight delays and lost baggage.
Pro-tip: book the lowest tier room (Garden View) and then email the resort directly to ask for upgrade pricing. You’ll typically get a better deal than booking the higher tier room via the travel service. This strategy for higher tier rooms has consistently resulted in lower prices than booking reservations through the hotel directly or the travel websites.
Travel
As mentioned, we had a layover in Miami on both the outbound and return flights. I highly recommend flying directly to avoid flight delays due to weather, etc.
The Costco Travel package came with roundtrip private car service between the Cancun airport and resort for additional costs. We tried this service but the pickup from the resort was dictated by the car company and was way too early IMO. We prefer booking the car service ourselves and had pleasant experiences with Canada Travel. Roundtrip private car service between the airport and Live Aqua ranges between $60-$80 USD.
Resort
Live Aqua is a compact resort with all rooms housed in one building. There’s cabanas and Bali beds (beds without the canopy) sprinkled around the 4 pools and beach area. Daily rental cost for the cabanas are approximately $45 USD (at time of this writing) and some of the Bali beds are free (except the ones along the lap pool). All suite rooms come with daily cabana rentals as part of the room package.
Pro-tip: go to the towel hut at 8am to reserve a cabana/Bali bed for the next day. Most of the pool-side cabanas/Bali beds are fully booked by 9:30/10am but the ones on on the beach are usually available. FYI - there’s no food service on the beach area.
Most of the bars, restaurants, amenities are located on the “P” level. Aqua Club (exclusive lounge accessible to Aqua Club rooms and suites) is located on the 5th floor. We love the bartenders there and the premium liquor.
Food
There are abundant food options at Live Aqua from the 6 main restaurants, sushi bar, room service, pool-side food service, numerous food carts and snacks at the Aqua Club (room upgrade required). My favorites are ceviche and tuna tostados at Sea Corner, habanero soup and garlic shrimp at MB, flank steak and the chicken mole at Siete, grilled chicken and burgers at the food carts near the pool area and the guacamole and grouper ceviche from room service.
Room service food menu is available 24 hours with breakfast serviced from 6am-12pm and regular menu from 12pm-6am.
Pool-side food service and food carts start from 12pm-5pm.
Breakfast at Siete buffet restaurant starts at 7am.
Restaurants open at 12pm or 1pm for lunch.
Final Tips
Tipping is appreciated but optional. The staff prefers USD. Please consider tipping for food service, bar service, cabana/Bali bed set-up, food cart persons, massage services, room service and also your driver from the transportation company.
Pool/beach chairs are free and on a first-come first serve basis, see the towel hut staff by 9am to ensure access to chairs by the pool area. You may request chairs next to your cabana/Bali bed for sunbathing and drying up after the pool.
Bring pool floaties and Yeti cups for an enhanced experience. Also remember to bring plenty of sunscreen and reapply every 1-2 hours, the sun is intense even during the wintertime! To avoid checking liquids, consider getting solid stick sunscreen. FYI, sun care products are expensive in Cancun.
Enjoy your stay!!
