This summer, Mitchell and I went to Playa del Carmen, Mexico for our honeymoon. We had the absolute best time and are so glad we went. Read about how we met in this blog post. Being the budget travelers that we are, we had zero concept of “all inclusive” honeymoon resorts.

This resulted in a few awkward panic moments like “Are you SURE we can eat the M&Ms in the mini fridge?” And “Will they REALLY deliver guacamole and wine for us to eat in the bathtub?” (true story).

With our panic moments in mind, here are some of the things we learned on how to navigate an all-inclusive.

1. Research Your Resort Ahead of Time

Visit your resort’s website and take a look around at least a few weeks before you go. For example, this was ours. Honestly, the website didn’t help me much with the specifics, so I also used the Trip Advisor page too.

There, I was able to read a lot more about the amenities, restaurants and see photos and reviews from people who had been there recently. That helped us figure out that we could wait until we arrived to book an excursion and our meal times for the week.

2. Take Full Advantage of Room Service

Never underestimate the glory of eating guacamole out of a martini glass while in the whirlpool tub.

It will probably be several years before we get to have free room service 24/7, so we ordered it every night as our bedtime snacks and tried just about everything on the menu just because we could.

Don’t forget to tip the room service waiter! We chose to give ours about $5 every night and $15 on the last because we saw him so frequently.

3. Use the On-Site Excursion Services

Don’t stress yourself out before you leave by booking an excursion too early. Most all inclusive honeymoon resorts have people on staff that will help book any activities you want to do.

This way, you don’t have to vet tourism companies on their own, you know they are legitimate because the resort has already done that for you. The staff member at our resort asked about our interests and our budget and gave us 3 snorkeling options to choose from.

He made the phone calls, booked the trip and paid him directly for the trip with no extra booking fees . We just showed up in the lobby to be picked up the next morning.

4. Make Relationships with the Staff

In your first few days, pay attention to who goes out of their way to help you or serve you and tip them well! They will continue to take care of you the rest of your time there!

For Mitchell and I, it was Javier. We made it a point to remember his name, ask about his family, and genuinely enjoyed talking to him outside of the stream of margaritas he would bring us on the beach. It made us feel comfortable and cared for.

5. Go Outside the Resort at Least Once

As wonderful as an all-inclusive is, if you want to get a real feel for the culture of the country you’re in, you’ll need to go outside.

We decided to a quick taxi ride to the center of Playa Del Carmen where there were local shops tucked into an outdoor shopping mall area. We bought our souvenirs here and explored a little more of the local flavor.

Hopefully these tips have helped you de-stress a bit and will set you up for tons of fun on your first resort trip!

Do you need a budget for your trip? Check out this tool!