I am a mother of two young boys: Asher is 3 and Pierce is 1.  Family Vacations for mothers with young children know that a vacation can be quite exhausting traveling with little ones. The joke is often “I need a vacation after this family vacation.”  We decided to take our first family vacation to Club Med Ixtapa.  Club Med Ixtapa is located on the Pacific side of Mexico and is 100 miles North of Acapulco. It was a 3 ½ hour non-stop flight from LAX, and my one-year old’s first flight.  We decided to bring our portable DVD player so that occupied the 3-year-old for the whole flight.  The flight was not relaxing to say the least since Pierce is at the age where he wants to explore and shake the seat in front of him the whole time.  It was a 25-minute drive to the village from the airport.  The baby was restless and had yet to nap, when we pulled up to Club Med we were greeted by about twelve GO’s that were singing and welcoming us.  A kind young woman asked to assist me with my baby.  She gently took him from my arms, rocked him, and sung to him until we finished the whole check-in process.  I will never forget it.  Pierce was in heaven immediately and I could tell right away that this was truly going to be a vacation.

The grounds at Club Med Ixtapa are lush and beautiful. We were in the Sol building and we had a family suite.  The kids had their own room with two twin beds and a crib for the baby. We had a large bathroom with a separate shower and big bathtub.  My husband and I had our own room with a sofa and a king-sized bed as well as a balcony that faced the ocean.  This room was perfect for our family of four.  The suites come with concierge service so we were able to make our spa appointments there and they offered light snacks, cocktails, and juices for the kids throughout the day and night.  

The first morning at Club Med Ixtapa we enrolled the kids at camp.  Asher was going to go to Petit Club (ages 2-3) and Pierce was going to Baby Club (ages 4 months-2 years).  When we arrived for drop off there were girls dressed up like Disney characters and music was playing.  They gave us a scheduled itinerary for the day for our 3-year-old that included 1 hour at the beach, 1-hour at the pool, 1-hour cooking class, etc.  They advised me that nap is from 2pm-4pm – and our 3-year-old doesn’t nap. So they said they would have two GO’s play puzzles and read to him.  Asher did shed a few tears saying goodbye – but the baby went running inside and was happy as a clam.  They did reassure me that once we left – he stopped crying and enjoyed his day with his new friends.

My husband and I were off to enjoy our morning adult-only breakfast at El Encanto.  After that we enjoyed massages at the Spa and then spent the afternoon by the pool with cervezas in hand.  We picked up the kids around 4pm.  Upon pick up, they said that the baby was out for a walk – about five minutes later, he came back on a little cart driven by a GO that had about 6 babies strapped in – all of the babies had big smiles on their faces.  It was evident that both kids had a memorable day! Club Med Ixtapa has an endless array of sports and activities.  We enjoyed the trapeze and aqua fitness daily.  On the beach, there was a gentleman that had his own jet ski – if you paid him $50 he would let you take it out for an hour.  My husband and I took advantage of that and enjoyed cruising around Ixtapa Island (this is not part of Club Med – but an excursion not to be missed).