kim wanders: Travel Throwback Thursday: Akumal, México

In anticipation for my week-long beach vacay in Turks & Caicos (leaving Saturday!), I thought it would be fun to do a little Travel Throwback Thursday (maybe a repeating trend while I get my travel page fattened up!) on one of my favorite beachy vacays: Akumal, Mexico.

We (my three girlfriends and I) went in October 2011 - over Columbus Day weekend. We got a living social deal and it worked out to $90 for each of us for THREE NIGHTS stay in a BEAUTIFUL condo, right on the water, in México! Those deals are no joke!!

We flew into Cancun, rented a car and drove about an hour to get to Akumal. It was pretty painless. One caveat though, and I'm sure if you've ever rented a car you know this, but ESPECIALLY if you are traveling just females, make sure you make note of any problems with the car beforehand. They basically tried to tell us we had to pay for four new tires when we turned the car in because one tire was flat. I was like, NO. Put air in it! But the rental place is not attached to the airport, it's down a dirt road and you have to take a shuttle there, so you could be screwed getting back to the airport if they really decide to be jerks.

It was pretty easy to check in, and we also got a day-trip to some "eco-adventures" thing. I've gone ziplining in Costa Rica and Panama, I've done the rapelling thing and all sorts of stuff, so I think in retrospect I didn't need to do this tour. I should've just stayed on the beach all day. The other day we did go snorkeling (I got seasick), then hung out on the beach all day.

The town was ABANDONED because it was October, and October is low-season for Mexico (everyone from up north wants to escape the cold winters!). We went to "our" restaurant - La Buena Vida (The Good Life) and ordered guac every day. YUMMMMM.

It was just a really nice, relaxing long weekend getaway with girlfriends and I'd love to go back! Now, some pics!