I Traveled Abroad with my Toddler in a Pandemic

After 2 very long years of not traveling internationally, my husband and I set out on our first trip abroad with our going on two year old toddler in tow.

Destination? Cancun, Mexico.

We’ve been traveling the world together since we met, which was nearly 16 years ago (married for 15 of those) and have covered so many countries (nearly 40). How hard could it be to add a child to the mix, right? After all, I consider us professional travelers.

Typically, my husband chooses a destination for us and I do all the planning. This is basically what happened with this trip, except he was adamant that we didn’t need to pay for a seat for Tallulah on the plane. He insisted that this would be the only time she would be “free” (You have to pay for a seat for children 2+) so why not take advantage of that. Part of me wanted to tell him that this might not turn out to be as easy as he was thinking it would be, but the other part of me agreed just to prove a point.

Let’s start at the beginning.

On the way to Cancun, the flight was sold out. So much for a pandemic. Honestly, it felt no different than travel has in years- other than the mask wearing. We had heard and read that TSA was short staffed at the Charlotte airport and to make sure to arrive 3 hours before the flight to ensure enough time to get through and to the gate. We arrived 2 hours before and that ended up being plenty of time, but our flight was in the early afternoon on a Wednesday. That being said, whoever was supposed to sit in our row of 3 seats with us never boarded the plane, so Tallulah got her own seat without us having to pay for it! Whoo hoo!

She was perfect the entire 3 hour flight. We rotated between reading books, watching Peppa Pig on the ipad, and just playing with toys and things I had packed. I was relieved that it went so well.

However, upon arrival into Cancun we were promptly shuffled to customs where we were packed in there like a can of sardines. It was chaotic, and that’s a nice way of describing it. It took us an hour to get through customs. It took us another 30 minutes for our transportation to arrive (which I had paid for already through the resort for a private shuttle), and another 30 minutes to get to the resort.

It was a very long day, Tallulah skipped her nap, and we were all quite ready to eat and be relaxing by the pool or on the beach by the time we arrived. But, we made it!

First meal in Mexico: room service.

First evening, spent on the beach!

We stayed at Villa Del Palmar which was a more family oriented resorted with a kids club and kids activities; an entirely different vibe than the hotel zone.

The first two days were spent at the resort just enjoying the pool and beach and on site restaurants. We are explorers by nature and typically like to research and find the best restaurants in the area and the best excursions. Boy do things change when you have a kid! It was great having the convenience of everything right there because we now have to live life around miss Tallulah’s schedule of eating and naps.

We got a 1 bedroom at the resort which had 2 full bathrooms, a kitchen, living room, and massive balcony. It was perfect. I’m not sure how we would have managed with a small hotel room. We were able to put Tallulah to sleep in her crib at night and spend time together in the living room before going to bed, since she goes to bed at 8pm.

On day 3 we decided to take a boat over to Isla Mujeres and check out the beautiful island. The water was an amazing shade of crystal clear turquoise; north beach did not disappoint- but it is the #2 beach in Mexico. We rented a golf cart to get around the island and stopped by the sea turtle farm and dolphin discovery before eating at a restaurant recommended by the locals. Since we were there all day, Tallulah did manage to get a nap in while I held her as we drove around on the golf cart.

On our way to Isla Mujeres

Our golf cart for the day!

North Beach

Sea Turtle Farm

Quesadillas!

Whole pan fried fish

The rest of our stay was spent relaxing at the hotel; but not completely by choice, unfortunately. We are well aware of the risks of getting sick while abroad, and unfortunately we think something we all ate got us all a bit sick. It was nothing serious, but more uncomfortable and an annoyance. I’ll spare you the details, I’m sure you can use your imagination!

After a week we were ready to get back to the comforts of home, but we certainly enjoyed our trip!

We did have to get a Covid antigen test prior to our departure; which we did on a Monday afternoon and our flight was on a Wednesday afternoon. It was arranged by the resort for us and we just showed up on the date/time they provided and it was done in a room on site. Simple, easy, and results were emailed to us the following morning.

Navigating the Cancun airport was quite simple and we arrived approximately 2.5 hours before our departure which was ample time. I was able to do a bit of souvenir shopping and get us snacks for the plane ride home.

Unfortunately, we weren’t as lucky to get a row to ourselves but the gate agent was nice enough to put us in upgraded coach with the extra leg room. We were in the first row behind first class in a middle and window seat. The flight home is less than 3 hours and even with having Tallulah on our lap the entire way home, it went by quickly and she was super the entire flight.

Upon landing, she did have a bit of a hangry meltdown but it was quickly resolved with some Chick-fil-a macaroni and cheese.

All in all- yes, I would do it again. But what I can tell you is, it’s very hard to stick to bed times and nap times while on vacation even with the perfect set up like we had. Today is our second day home and I’m getting Tallulah back on her schedule, but it’s not without some tears.

If you’ve traveled extensively without kids and now you have a kid(s), be prepared for it to be quite different. You just don’t have the same freedoms to explore because your priority now is the little one. Keeping them safe, fed, hydrated, and happy. It’s just a different experience, both so rewarding for different reasons. Before, I would enjoy the great restaurants and experiences a country has to offer. Now, I enjoy seeing Tallulah experience the world even in the simplest of ways- like swimming in a pool, seeing a sea turtle for the first time, and riding in a boat and golf cart for the first time.

Next up: I’ll share with you how we managed to fly with carry on bags only!