family vacation Archives - My Inner Shakti

First and foremost, we survived!

All jokes aside, I’m glad Vishnu and I decided to bite the bullet, pack up the car, and take the kids to the beach. It was memorable and a lot easier than I anticipated. Although, I still hold to my claim that a vacation with kids is just a fun location change!

I’m going to try and make this post as helpful as possible by breaking everything down. I know how overwhelming it can be to even think about going on a road trip with kids, but it is possible!

Let me know if you have any questions.

Because age matters when it comes to road trips and vacations in general, note that Kaiden is almost 5 and Mila was almost 7 months old when we went on this trip.

Where we went and why

We went to 30A area and stayed in Inlet Beach. A lot of our friends vacation there regularly, so we knew it was kid-friendly with clean beaches (honestly some of the best I’ve ever seen in the US). We also took trip duration into account. Without kids, it would’ve taken 5.5 hours from where we live (outside of Atlanta). It took us about 7 hours both ways, accounting for all stops and breaks.

Where we stayed

I would highly recommend the house (and area) we stayed in. It’s absolutely perfect for a family of four with plenty of space and a newly renovated kitchen and bathrooms.

And the BEST part is that it’s literally right on the beach.

I’m glad we decided to go this route because otherwise we probably wouldn’t have made it out to the water that often. It was so nice to take Kaiden out while Mila napped. It was also nice to wake up to such a beautiful view every day!

What we ate

We ate out/ordered in four times. We also brought some food with us and also made a trip to Publix while there. I will say that I probably overpacked a lot of food because most of it came back with us. But it was nice to have options…and lots of snacks!

Restaurants we tried:

Big Bad Breakfast – a must try place! The food was so good.

Bubba’s Pizza – surprisingly, Kaiden loved this pizza. In fact, he’s now a pizza loving convert! Vishnu also liked it a lot. I thought it was ok.

Amici – highly recommend this place! Super family friendly and the food (and service!) was good! We had enough food leftover for lunch the next day.

And of course, Publix subs were had by all! So good!

Other tidbits of info!

Something we didn’t do but should’ve is plan out our stops more. The drive from Atlanta to this part of Florida can be super deserted with no rest stops or restaurants for MILES! We needed to feed Mila on our way down and ended up stopping at a marina that just so happened to have a little store where we could heat up her milk. On our way back, we were more mindful and made more strategic stops.
Speaking of feeding Mila, we took our mini fridge and bottle warmer with us. I would say you don’t necessarily need the fridge (we’re just extra), but a bottle warmer would be a good thing to have.
Mila slept in her pack n’play and we used this cover to darken her space. And we used a sound machine to block out any noise.
Kaiden watched PJ Masks on the iPad pretty much the entire way down and up. And guess what…I had zero guilt about it!
We took our Baby Bjorn bouncer for Mila to be in around the house as well as on the beach. That was a good idea!
We purchased this travel ‘high chair’ for Mila but didn’t really use it much. I do, however, think this is a great thing for when we eat out or go to someone’s house.
We also purchased this beach tent. Didn’t get as much use out of it as I hoped, but I definitely see more beach trips in our future so will definitely use again.
A note for those traveling with small babies – check to see what the bathrooms are like in the house you’re renting. Both of the ones in this house had standing showers. I’m so glad we brought Mila’s bathtub because we were able to give her a bath (in a really awkward way but we made it work!).

Miscellaneous purchases

Hat for me
Hat for K
Hat for Mila
Burt’s Bees dusting powder – to get the sand off (magical!)
Thinkbaby sunscreen
Beach toys
Spray bottles to spray water on the kids (or us) when it got too hot

And I think that about wraps it up! Let me know if you have any questions and/or if you have any tips/tricks/must use beach products.

Over a week ago, I was in a beautiful pool overlooking the most stunning ocean views of Cabo. Take me back!

But in all seriousness, our family vacay to Mexico was unforgettable and a really good time overall. I think I can truly say that all seven of us enjoyed our time in paradise!

WHY CABO

Like I always do with these kinds of travel posts, let me provide a little context as to why we chose Cabo. First of all, my parents have wanted to go on a family trip with both my sister and I and our significant others and of course Kaiden for a while now. When the stars aligned (as in everyone’s schedules), we all sat down and seriously started brainstorming locations. We threw out ideas like the Caribbean, Florida, Mexico City, etc. But then Vishnu threw out Cabo – the weather is near perfect, no threat of hurricanes, it’s far enough to feel like a vacay, and there’s lots to do. Done deal!

WHERE WE STAYED

Then we started looking at Airbnb’s. We went down this path versus hotels/resorts because we wanted a lot of space since we were going for five nights. My mom also has some strict dietary restrictions, so having our own kitchen and the opportunity to buy our own groceries made more sense. Also, this wasn’t the deciding factor, but we wanted to try and give Kaiden his own room – to help with the whole sleep thing.

With all of our preferences being taken into account with what was actually available and in our budget, we settled on a 4 bedroom, 4.5 bath home in the Cabo Del Sol neighborhood. You guys. This house was big, beautiful, AND it had a private pool overlooking a golf course and the ocean. A real winner in so many ways!

The one downside to this particular area was all the construction. It’s very much under development, and even though we couldn’t see or hear a thing while in our house, we came across it every time we left the neighborhood.

The only other thing, that probably has nothing to do with our house and is more just Cabo itself, was all the bugs. We saw quite a few creepy crawlies in our five days. By the last day, I was ready to be in my Chicago condo!

HOW WE GOT AROUND

Our car rental experience in Cabo was strange…in the best way possible! We rented a huge Suburban from Cactus Car Rental, and everything from booking online to transferring to the airport to actually picking up the car was seamless. They were so nice, there were no gimmicks…it just felt so easy.

WHERE WE ATE

So in terms of food, I think we struck a nice balance between eating at home and trying a few restaurants. In terms of Cabo restaurants, I asked my trustworthy IG followers for their recs, and they definitely came through…

Macca – This is a create your own pasta/pizza bar that’s located in a quiet little strip mall type place. My sister and I shared a pasta and really ended up liking it. Everything tasted quite fresh. We really enjoyed our outdoor table and the fact that this place wasn’t crowded. This was a fun dinner!

Café de Ciudad – We came across this small family-owned joint after a hike. We were hungry, so I just Yelped the neighborhood and came across this 5 star rated restaurant. I warned everyone that it looked and sounded like a hole-in-the-wall, but because we were close and hungry, we went with it. And thank goodness we did. The service, the food, the authenticity…it was perfection! I’m so glad we ate here because we wouldn’t have gotten to try such authentic dishes otherwise. Everything was so simply made, yet it was so so flavorful and delicious. I wish we could have eaten here more than once. Even if you’re staying at an all-inclusive resort, I highly recommend making the trek to this place. You won’t regret it!

Flora Farms – This was the #1 recommended place on IG, and I totally see why. The remote location and ambiance made it very IG worthy. Personally, I loved the farm-to-table concept, and it didn’t fail in that regard. The food was carefully curated, including all of the flavors. I also loved that they accommodated to my mom’s diet. If you decide to dine here, be sure to do two things – 1. Go early and book a tour of the farm, their culinary kitchen, etc. and 2. Save room for ice cream – the chocolate was heavenly!

WHAT WE DID

One of the things that my sister, BIL, Vishnu, and I all wanted to do was go on a hike somewhere in Cabo. After much internet research, I came across a hike led by a gentleman named Ernesto. Essentially, you meet him at his dog kennel, and he guides you up Mt. Solmar (with like 10 dogs) to a stunning 360 degree view of Cabo. This one stood out to me because everyone said it was a must do (some people even did it twice in one trip). Through a stroke of luck, I found Ernesto’s number online and texted him about the hike. He confirmed the timing (he leaves exactly at 8:30 am) and told us not to be late! The hike itself wasn’t too hard. You definitely have to be in decent shape to climb up and down certain parts but I feel like most people could do this. Other than that, wear some bug spray, dress lightly, and definitely wear sneakers. This was probably one of my favorite experiences of the trip, so put it on your list for sure!

We also had a beach day one of the days because while a pool is nice…there’s nothing like the ocean. Unfortunately, the ocean conditions in Cabo are not safe for swimming or even wading. The current was super duper strong and pulling inwards on the day we went. So we opted to build sand towers and let the water come to us. Still fun!

My sister and I went on a run one morning in our neighborhood. So fun and tiring given that I haven’t run outside in ages! If you’re in a runnable area, I highly recommend bringing your gear. The views are not to be missed!

My BIL went golfing one day and said it was a really cool experience (near/at the Secrets resort). If you have any golfers in your group, this could be something fun.

And finally, we had family photos taken on our last day. After a friend recommended Flytographer to me, I decided to book our session through them. This is essentially a service that gives you a few options for the city you’re visiting (photographer, location, etc.). You pick who you want based on their profile and where you want to take your pictures. Your photographer meets you, takes your pics, and sends them to you within five days. I LOVED this service and would do it again when we travel abroad. It’s a cool way to capture your family’s vacation memories. As reference, we had to pick the 60 minute session because we had more than six people in our group. Totally worth it! And if you decide Flytographer your photo shoot in Cabo, I HIGHLY recommend Fernanda. She was so fun to work with and took incredible pictures!

MISC

Since we went the Airbnb route, we went to both Costco and Walmart to stock up on kitchen essentials. Both were fairly close to where we stayed, and it was cool to go to a Costco in another country. So similar to the states but everything is in Spanish (as expected!).

OVERALL THOUGHTS

To be honest, I had no expectations for this vacation. All I wanted was to relax as much as possible and spend time with my family. But in the end, Cabo really exceed my expectations. If you’re looking for a fun family vacay destination, this should definitely be on your list. There’s really something for everyone!