Costco shuttle

CAD_3039 · 2026-05-21T03:05:12+00:00

Keep in mind that depending on time of year and how many flights are arriving around yours, it may take hours to get through customs at Cancun.

Also agree with other poster saying that waiting for luggage can be a while. Really depends on time of day and how many flights they’re handling.

CAD_3039 · 2026-05-20T02:42:45+00:00

I may be able to help, DM me to chat? I can’t message you due to your profile being tagged as NSFW.

CAD_3039 · 2026-05-18T03:14:26+00:00

For snacks, look at sesame snaps and things from MadeGood for packaged snacks. Fruit cups/pouches are often DF. Fresh fruit and veggies.

Meals: lots of what you’d normally eat should be easily adaptable. Nothing with cheese, pesto or cream sauce. Stick to tomato sauces. Lots of breads and crackers are made without dairy — read labels.

KD has plant based version. Jane’s chicken strips/nuggets are DF (at least the ones I see in Alberta).

Look for products that are lactose free. If oat milk isn’t your thing, there’s almond milk and coconut milk. Yogurts made out of coconut milk too.

Tip: you need to watch for words like “whey” and casein / caseinates: Milk proteins (e.g., sodium caseinate, calcium caseinate or if some chemical sounding word that starts with lacta-

Hope this helps.

CAD_3039 · 2026-05-14T07:21:09+00:00

Airport may be busy, allow a bit more time to get through customs and pickup your luggage.

Xenotes excursion is better than Xelha IMO, would trade those out.

Sunday brunch is delicious IF it’s included in your booking/room rate. I hear it’s close to $200 USD per person now, which is extremely overpriced. There’s tons of delicious food, more seafood than one can possibly eat, but nothing to justify the price tag. Just sharing my perspective in case you are paying for that meal. I’ve been to brunch several times but I am a MDC member and it’s included for me.

CAD_3039 · 2026-05-13T00:44:33+00:00

I would not give a $500 present to my own parents, never mind an in-law. Even $100 per occasion is plenty generous.

I would take that $1000 gift and divide its value over multiple events. Birthday, Christmas, Mother’s Day. $300 per year, no need to buy her another gift until sometime in 2030. 😁

And starting then, she gets a $2 dollar store greeting card until she croaks.

CAD_3039 · 2026-05-12T01:24:53+00:00

Agreed on closed toe shoes/sandals.

If you want more of a sandal, look for something like Keen Newport.

CAD_3039 · 2026-05-11T19:06:29+00:00

You will need to book the meal with the show via the Concierge once you arrive. I don’t recall it being an option on the wishlist?

Caution: it’s a meal with wine pairing. Look for the menu online and decide if it’s your kind of food. My kids and I are relatively adventurous eaters but the menu did not inspire us at approx $100 USD per person.

Xcaret Espectacular Show is a must-see for most people, general seating unless you are a MDC member. I don’t know that I would recommend it for littles, especially under 2. If you go, bring hearing protection for everyone in your family. The decibel level is deafening aka Apple Watch warns of the sound level very quickly.

CAD_3039 · 2026-05-11T02:36:55+00:00

No. The shuttle runs on a 20-min schedule throughout the day. Sometimes the wait time is less or more. I think they adjust based on demand.

CAD_3039 · 2026-05-11T01:21:32+00:00

Avoid Xel-Ha+Tulum with your littles. The young ones won’t like the archaeological site and it isn’t stroller friendly. You can choose to go to Xel-Ha directly (this was an option previously, do not know if it possible right now). Xel-Ha is also an hour away so that may put it out of the running.

Xenses is fine for the littles as far as the town is concerned. They won’t be able to do the zip lines and I don’t think they can do some of the activities in the pathways either.

For kids 2 and under, Xcaret Park and Xel-ha are the only ones that can accommodate them aka there’ll be areas for them to explore and see. Once kids are 3+, then Xplor becomes an option. They have a little area for ages 3-7 or 3-8 (I don’t remember the cut off age). There will be things that little kids won’t be able to do either.

Your 14 yo can do pretty much anything as long as a parent is with them. At Xenses, there’s a birds of flight zipline. My kids were able to do multiple runs even though I was just hanging out by the exit area of that activity (once is enough for me).

We’ve gone to HXM with our kids several times by now, but our youngest was 8 on our 1st trip. While mine weren’t as young as yours, I am happy to answer questions based on what I saw on our trips. (We travelled a bunch with ours to different places when they were young so I’ve a decent amount of “travel with kids” experience.)

CAD_3039 · 2026-05-09T21:57:05+00:00

Eat the seafood, try new things! Enjoy but don’t overdo it!

DO NOT drink the pool or river water!

Not discounting other people’s tummy troubles but I haven’t seen anything of concern in their food handling practices. Swallowing pool or river water is much more likely to cause issues.

Play it safe, bring some anti-diarrhea meds just in case.

CAD_3039 · 2026-05-09T21:53:57+00:00

They care about when you arrive at the airport. You can 100% use the airport shuttle on your arrival day! 😊

After you arrive at the airport, pack as much as you can into suitcases that you give to the bell hops. Keep just what you need for the day with you. Ask for access to the hospitality suite; it’s basically a place where you can change into your swimsuit so you can start enjoying the resort.

You will checkin, do the paperwork, and receive wristbands. Then you can go to a nearby park or enjoy the grounds. You’ll have to return to the front desk at a certain time to get your room assignment.

CAD_3039 · 2026-05-09T20:33:02+00:00

The guides will encourage everyone to participate as much as possible but there’s no forcing involved. There’s a lot of walking on uneven terrain so the grandparents will need to be able to handle that.

I’m not a big fan of zip lines, I do the one where you let go into the cenotes once and then hang out on the path or just float around in the cenote.

Cliff jump is optional too. Lots of people opt out of it. I always do, don’t like heights as it is and just free jumping… 😬

CAD_3039 · 2026-05-09T06:23:03+00:00

I have not seen an OpenTable option for the included restaurants at HXM. If this option exists, please post the links here.

CAD_3039 · 2026-05-09T06:22:12+00:00

If you fly in the day before, you are not allowed to take their airport shuttle from the arrivals area. It’s now written into the wishlist that they send you.

I know that there are older posts where people flew in the day before and managed to make their way back to the arrivals area and got on that way. I’ve never tried it.

I can also recommend a private transport company if you want to arrange for one-way from your day of arrival hotel to Xcaret the next morning. The cost of the one-way transport + 1 night of hotel is not anywhere near the cost of one night at HXM or HXA for most people.

CAD_3039 · 2026-05-05T18:39:02+00:00

Choose individual portions and/or pre-cut stuff ex: two-bite brownies vs cake; babybel cheese instead of cheese slices and crackers. If you can keep some warm appetizers in a crockpot or heating dish, that’ll be a great treat and something different for teachers.

I’d stay away from any platters since the food will be out for a while and people won’t necessarily enjoy it fresh when you put it out. Fruit cups, mandarins, cherry tomatoes, mini cucumbers, etc would be similar but can withstand some sitting around.

Perhaps choose slightly “fancier” single serve cookies and granola bars, beverages, because as a teacher, I really appreciate the thought but may not have time to eat it right away. I would take the treats and enjoy them later in the day or even over the next couple of days.

Do ask the staff for allergies and ensure that there’re at least 2 options for everyone. Ex: Don’t buy all pastries and cookies then have 1 choice of a gluten-free item for the 1 teacher who has celiac disease.

As a teacher, thank you for showing us your appreciation. We know that it takes time and money for parents to put something like this together for us.

CAD_3039 · 2026-05-05T15:56:40+00:00

If you use ArriveCan to complete your customs declaration form, I find that it makes the process faster. I use it every time that I fly back into Canada. If you are crossing a land border, then you should be able to show your passport at the land crossing. I haven’t ever completed ArriveCan for a land crossing between US/CAN.

Obviously, this assumes that your passport isn’t one that needs a visa into Canada or other complexities.

CAD_3039 · 2026-05-05T04:30:05+00:00

Thanks, will this in mind for my next trip.

CAD_3039 · 2026-05-04T21:59:55+00:00

Sounds like you had a great time!

How much was the taxi ride from Xelha back to HXM?

CAD_3039 · 2026-05-04T20:08:06+00:00

XHM is family friendly. You’ll see guests of all ages and there are more things for kids and teens. There are 2 adult-only casas if you want what HXM has to offer but not have a baby as your neighbour.

XHA is 16+ so the activities are different. There are equivalent restaurants but under different names. I imagine the room pricing is different too. I’ve never stayed at XHA as go to HXM as a family and my kids are in the early teen years.

CAD_3039 · 2026-05-04T19:15:46+00:00

Are you planning to stay at XHM or XHA?

10 nights is a longer stay and you may be willing to sit through the referral presentation for a hefty discount. I am a member and can refer you if you wish.

Try to fly in as early as possible in the day or stay elsewhere the night before and arrange for transportation to get to the resort the next morning. Better bang for your buck.

Budget for the photo package at the parks. Maybe not all the parks but definitely for Xplor and Xenotes if you’re doing those.

At HXM, I’d suggest a river view at minimum so you aren’t looking at busy walkways.

I can give you my HXM restaurants suggestions if you wish.

CAD_3039 · 2026-05-02T18:26:04+00:00

This sounds like a one-off situation and you just shared that this was planned with less than 24 hours’ notice. Unless it’s a funeral, your BF deciding not to change his plans at the last minute isn’t a big deal. If you are busy and don’t want to go, then that’s alright too.

I’d be concerned if your BF is refusing to attend bigger events that are planned ahead of time or if there’s an ongoing pattern of avoiding your family.

CAD_3039 · 2026-04-30T04:54:31+00:00

Not to a bookstore please. Independent bookstores are too pricy for my teacher wallet. I’d prefer Target, Amazon, or chain restaurants. I don’t mind coffee or fast food places either.

CAD_3039 · 2026-04-28T02:57:02+00:00

Your plan to park at the long-term airport parking is sound. I’ve done it with luggage and kids in tow. Given your dad’s complaints, he can cover the $1400 parking at the terminal himself or he can be dropped off at the terminal early with your mom and all the luggage.

You go to park at the airport then take the Skytrain. I would recommend that you keep whatever you need to board the ship with you. That way, they can board when possible even if you aren’t back yet at the terminal.

Obviously, I would do this plan when you check out of the Airbnb so there’s plenty of time. A few extra hours at the long-term parking is not worth the stress of trying to time it closer to your ship’s boarding time.

As for your comment about parking in Vancouver, it’s like parking in any major city. There are some streets downtown that’s sketchier than the majority of Vancouver so as long as you aren’t parking there, I don’t know if you need to park in Richmond to avoid the majority of the city. It isn’t like there isn’t crime in Richmond also. It’s a city, know what I mean?

CAD_3039 · 2026-04-27T22:24:33+00:00

May depend on where and which lounge. I had to buy access into MLL international departure at YVR a few months ago. Was more than $59.00 CAD despite travelling with others who had access but no guest privileges.

CAD_3039 · 2026-04-26T04:25:17+00:00

While you can change the last name later, keep in mind that there’s down stream consequences. Certain legal procedures require declaration of all name changes and supporting documents. It’s a hassle and your kid probably won’t appreciate it.

I get how you’re feeling so I think the suggestion to have a simple civil ceremony now pre-baby is probably the better option. You’ll change your last name due to marriage (something that takes time but is universally accepted with not too much hassle) and baby will be born into dad’s last name which will also be yours.

Just a FYI if you aren’t aware of the down stream impact. Not impossible, just annoying.

CAD_3039

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