The beach at Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos. All photography is ours.
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Mexico with Kids
If you’re planning Mexico with kids, pick a coast and a resort and let the vacation run on autopilot. We did exactly that over a Thanksgiving break at the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos, an all inclusive we booked on Hyatt points, and it delivered the easy vacation we were after. Beautiful rooms, seven restaurants, two small water parks, and a dolphin encounter across the street all helped make this one easy.
Los Cabos is unfortunately the only part of Mexico we’ve visited, so we enlisted the help of family travel experts to weigh in. Cancun and the Riviera Maya on the Caribbean side give you calmer water plus Chichén Itzá and the cenotes, and our resort guide covers both coasts.
Destination guide · Updated November 2026 · Last visited November 2015
Best months
November–April
Fly into
CUN · SJD · PVR · MEX
How long
5 to 7 days at a resort, 10 with the ruins
Getting around
Resort shuttles and tours, a car only for the Yucatán
Book ahead
Xcaret and Xplor · Chichén Itzá tours · holiday week resorts
We don’t normally stay at all-inclusives, but we wanted an easy Thanksgiving trip, and the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos was it. The rooms were spacious and the staff were cheerful about every detail. We ate our way through the restaurants. The teppanyaki grill at DoZo was a family favorite, and so were the fish tacos by the pool at Coco Loco. The kids had the water parks and the Kidz Club. One afternoon we did a dolphin encounter with Cabo Adventures across the street. Ocean swimming is discouraged all over Los Cabos because of the currents, so the beach was for strolling and getting our toes wet.
Los Cabos is just a sliver of what Mexico has to offer, so keep scrolling for more ideas.
Your Mexico guide
Enjoy exploring Mexico with kids!
Keep scrolling for the essentials, three trip itineraries, and where to stay.
Essential Mexico
Why we love Mexico
We think you’ll love it too.
Mexico is where we’d send a family that wants a week of sun with the option of a Mayan pyramid on day three. Los Cabos and the Hyatt Ziva are what we’ve done ourselves. Cancun, the Riviera Maya, and Puerto Vallarta are covered in our resort guide by families who’ve stayed there. Check out our essentials list below for more ideas.
Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos Guide
We stayed at the Hyatt Ziva on Hyatt points, with seven restaurants, several pools, two small water parks, and a Kidz Club for ages 4 to 12. The staff impressed us, and we’d visit again.
The Los Cabos beach Guide
The beach is beautiful and steps from the room, but the currents mean swimming is discouraged or prohibited almost everywhere. We strolled and got our toes wet, and the kids took over the pools.
Cabo Adventures dolphin encounter Guide
Cabo Adventures is across the street from the Hyatt, and we spent an afternoon at the dolphin encounter and had a lot of fun. Book it through the resort on a day you don’t mind being away from the pool.
And the rest we’d cross the country for
San José del Cabo AftT Visit
San José del Cabo is within walking distance of the Hyatt Ziva and the quieter of the two Cabo towns. There’s an art walk on Thursday nights and better restaurants than the resort strip.
Cabo San Lucas and the arch AftT Visit
Cabo San Lucas is a short drive from the corridor, and Medano Beach is the one swimmable beach. Boats to the arch leave from the marina, and whale watching runs December to March.
Cancun Guide
Cancun has the easiest flights and the most resorts, with Isla Mujeres by ferry and Chichén Itzá by bus. Families who collect Marriott points can stay in the hotel zone on points.
The Riviera Maya Guide
The Riviera Maya runs south of Cancun toward Tulum, with bigger all-inclusives like Grand Velas and Barceló Maya Palace. The beaches are quieter, and the cenotes and Xcaret parks are close by.
Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit Guide
Puerto Vallarta is a real town with a boardwalk, and the resort strip stretches north into Riviera Nayarit. Grand Palladium and Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit are the family picks in our guide.
Chichén Itzá and the cenotes
Chichén Itzá is the pyramid every kid recognizes, two to three hours from Cancun. Go early to beat the tour buses and the heat, and swim in a cenote on the way back.
Xcaret and Xplor
Xcaret and Xplor are eco parks near Playa del Carmen with underground rivers, ziplines, and a night show. They’re expensive but worth one day, so book online for the discount.
Mexico City and Oaxaca
Mexico City and Oaxaca have great museums, Teotihuacán, mole, and Monte Albán. It’s the Mexico we’d plan once the kids are past the beach phase, and it’s on our list.
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Routes
Three Mexico trip itineraries
It’s one country and three very different trips. Choose the Los Cabos week we did, a Caribbean resort week with the ruins, or the capital. See all the best stops on a map.
Home base
The corridor
Fly into SJD, twenty minutes from the resorts. We stayed at the Hyatt Ziva on points. Our resort guide has the details.
Then head to
Medano Beach and the arch
Spend a day at the swimmable beach in Cabo San Lucas and take a boat to the arch. Whale watching runs December through March.
Add on
San José del Cabo
It’s walking distance from the Hyatt Ziva. There’s an art walk on Thursday nights, and the restaurants are better than the strip.
Home base
A Riviera Maya resort
Fly into CUN and shuttle south. Spend five nights at one of the all inclusives in our resort guide.
Then head to
Chichén Itzá and a cenote
Plan on one long day. Leave early, see the pyramid before the heat, swim in a cenote on the way home.
Add on
Tulum or Xcaret
See the ruins over the sea in the morning, or spend a full day at the park. Pick one, because both is too much with kids.
Home base
The corridor
Fly into SJD, twenty minutes from the resorts. We stayed at the Hyatt Ziva on points. Our resort guide has the details.
Then head to
Medano Beach and the arch
Spend a day at the swimmable beach in Cabo San Lucas and take a boat to the arch. Whale watching runs December through March.
Add on
San José del Cabo
It’s walking distance from the Hyatt Ziva. There’s an art walk on Thursday nights, and the restaurants are better than the strip.
Start
Mexico City
Spend four nights for Chapultepec Park, the anthropology museum, and Coyoacán. We haven’t done this one yet.
Then head to
Teotihuacán
It’s an hour northeast. Climb the Pyramid of the Sun early, before the crowds and the heat.
Finish
Oaxaca
It’s an hour’s flight or a six hour bus ride. Come for Monte Albán, the markets, and the food that put the city on every list.
When to go
Time your visits with the weather and the region
We went to Los Cabos over Thanksgiving, and the weather was perfect. Mexico’s beach coasts are warm all year. The dry season from November through April is the sweet spot, with Christmas and spring break as the peak weeks. Summer is hot and humid on the Caribbean side, and hurricane season runs June through November.
Swipe the chart sideways to see the full year.
November – December
Dry, warm, and the hurricane season is over. Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks book out a year ahead at the big resorts.
January – April
This is the classic winter escape. You’ll find whales off Los Cabos, dry days in the Yucatán, and spring break crowds in March. It’s our pick for a first trip.
May – June
It’s hot, but the resort deals are the best of the year. Sargassum can hit the Caribbean beaches from May onward, so check recent reports.
July – October
It’s hurricane season and peak humidity on the Caribbean side. It’s cheap, but pack a flexible attitude and travel insurance. The Pacific is calmer.
Where to stay
Pick a good base to start your Mexico adventure
The resort is the trip in Mexico, so pick it carefully. Here’s where we’d stay for each coast.
Caribbean trips
Cancun and the Riviera Maya
Cancun’s hotel zone is dense with points hotels like the Marriott Cancun Resort. South in the Riviera Maya, all inclusives like Grand Velas and Barceló Maya Palace handle everything.
- Our Mexico family resort guide
- Cancun for points, the Riviera Maya for all inclusive
- Club Med Cancun for kids’ programs and the trapeze
Pacific trips
Los Cabos
We stayed at the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos and would go back. It’s a Hyatt property managed by Playa, so points work, and it’s twenty minutes from the airport. Most beaches on the corridor aren’t swimmable, so the pools do the heavy lifting.
- Our Mexico family resort guide
- Hyatt Ziva for all inclusive on Hyatt or Chase points
- Esperanza for the splurge
Bay trips
Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit
Stay at Grand Palladium Vallarta for the all inclusive, or Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit for the luxury version. The bay water is calmer than the open Pacific, and there’s a real town to walk in the evening.
- Nuevo Vallarta for the resorts
- Old town for dinner and the malecón
- Book holiday weeks a year out
Good to know
Questions families ask us about Mexico
Mexico at a glance
The practical stuff families ask us before they book.
Language: Spanish, English at resorts
Population: About 132 million
Capital: Mexico City
Currency: Mexican peso (MXN), dollars taken at resorts
Power outlet: Types A and B, 127 V, same as home
Time difference: Cancun matches Eastern, Cabo matches Mountain, no daylight saving
Entry for US passports: Passport only, visa-free
Driving: On the right, buy Mexican insurance
Emergency number: 911
Tipping: 10 to 15 percent, and tip in pesos at resorts
The Caribbean side has calmer, clearer water, plus ruins and cenotes nearby. If the kids want to swim in the ocean, it wins. Los Cabos, where we went, has whales, a desert backdrop, and fewer crowds. The currents make most beaches off limits for swimming, but the pools made up for it for our kids. Our resort guide sorts the options by coast.
We don’t usually do all inclusives, but for an easy Thanksgiving week the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos delivered, and we booked it on points. With young kids, all inclusive removes every decision. With older kids who’ll eat off resort, a points hotel like the Marriott Cancun plus dinners in town can cost less. Our resort guide has both kinds.
You don’t need one at a resort. Airport shuttles and tour vans cover the ruins and the parks. Rent a car only if you’re based in the Riviera Maya and want to see cenotes and Tulum on your own schedule. If you do, buy the Mexican insurance.
The resort areas in Cancun, the Riviera Maya, Los Cabos, and Puerto Vallarta host millions of families a year. Use the same sense you’d use anywhere. Book transfers through the resort, stick to bottled water, and check the State Department page for the state you’re visiting before you go.
Everyone needs a passport, including kids. Most airports no longer use the paper FMM form, but some still stamp you in with a visitor permit, so keep any paper they hand you. If one parent is traveling alone with the kids, carry a notarized consent letter.
They’re cheapest in May, June, and September through early November. You trade the low prices for heat, humidity, and hurricane risk. If you go in fall, buy travel insurance that covers weather.
Map
Essential Mexico, mapped
Keep exploring
Where to go next
