We’re back from our beautiful babymoon in Cancun, and I’m already missing the sunshine, ocean breeze, and tropical views! I’m so glad we decided to take this short vacation before baby #2 arrives, and I honestly recommend it to every expecting parent.
If you’re in your second trimester of pregnancy or later, your body has been working overtime growing your little one. You deserve some real rest and relaxation to recharge your mind and body. A babymoon is the perfect way to do that.
But I know that planning a babymoon can feel overwhelming. Where should you go? When is the best time? Is Mexico (or other country you plan to visit) safe while pregnant? Should you bring your toddler if you’ve got one? These were the questions I asked myself, so I’m sharing our full experience to hopefully give you ideas for planning your own well-deserved babymoon.
Why We Chose Cancun for Our Babymoon
Before picking Cancun, I spent hours (perhaps too many!) researching. My must-haves were:
- A flight under 6 hours
- Sunny and warm weather
- A quiet, peaceful ambience
There were plenty of great options—Big Sur or San Diego in California, Hawaii, Florida—but we wanted something that felt like a true escape. Cancun checked all the boxes.
At first, I worried about food and water safety in Mexico. But after reading through a bunch of Reddit threads, I learned that higher-end resorts are very reliable when it comes to safe food. That gave me peace of mind.
We also decided to travel without our toddler. She stayed home with my mom and our nanny, which turned out very well and we FaceTimed her every day. She was cheerful and didn’t look like she missed us at all! It was truly a privilege to be able to have a few days of quality time just as a couple before our family grows.
One more note: we went when I was nearly 6 months pregnant. It was a good time to go as my energy levels were up and had no more nausea at all. I think anytime between 4 months (or whenever your first trimester woes fade away!) and 6 months is a great time to do a babymoon. You don’t feel extra heavy yet and can still eat a decent amount.
Where We Stayed: Excellence Riviera Cancun
We booked the Excellence Riviera Cancun, and it ended up being exactly what we wanted:
- Adults-only (aka peace and quiet)
- All-inclusive (so easy and stress-free)
- Not a party resort (no rowdy spring break crowds)
- Luxurious but reasonably priced
I can’t recommend an all-inclusive babymoon resort enough—it makes everything so much more relaxing. No hunting for restaurants, planning activities, or worrying about extra costs. We just stayed at the resort the entire time. There was plenty to see, do, and eat!
Since we traveled during the off-season, our nightly rate was also several hundred dollars cheaper, and the resort felt wonderfully uncrowded. Pro tip: going off-season can save you a lot.
Another bonus: Excellence lets you pick your exact room location when you book through their website. After you book, it takes you to a virtual resort map where you can see all the rooms and where everything is. We chose a top-floor room away from the busy areas and overlooking the beautiful spa. It was peaceful and perfect.
Getting to the Resort
Traveling while pregnant can be tiring, but this part was seamless. The Cancun airport (CUN) was small, organized, and easy to navigate. Our resort included free shuttle transfers, which was so convenient.
Our driver greeted us with cold water (pregnancy hydration = yes please!) and the car was spacious and comfortably air-conditioned. The drive to the resort took just 15 minutes.
Our Room & First Impressions
The lobby at Excellence is stunning—giant arched windows, bright and airy. Check-in was quick, and our bags were brought to the room for us.
The suite itself was huge, with plenty of room to stretch out. At 6 months pregnant, I really appreciated having multiple cozy spots to rest—the bed, the sofa, and a big balcony with an outdoor sofa and patio dining set.
I actually used the balcony a lot because it was a nice way to enjoy the view, soak in the tropical vibes, and listen to the birds without frying in the sun. I also loved waking up to the view of the beautiful spa building surrounded by greenery and blue pools.
For dinner the night we arrived, we used the resort’s app to browse the restaurant options. To our disappointment, not all the restaurants were open every night as we expected. It turns out there are only a few spots open for lunch and dinner each day but there was no note on their website about this. This was one of the few downsides we experienced at the resort.
Because of this, we planned out which places we’d go to for each meal during our stay (I’m a big foodie so I went all-out on planning this). Toward the end of this post you’ll find my review for each of the places we dined at, in case you’re also a foodie and curious!
What We Did During Our Babymoon
Breakfast in Bed
We kicked things off with a special in-room breakfast, gifted to us because we were celebrating our babymoon. Fresh fruit, smoked salmon benedict (eggs fully cooked for me), donuts, and heart-shaped melon slices—such a sweet touch!
Pool Days
The lazy river pool was beautiful and refreshing, though the large floaties (they kind of look like potato sacks) were hard to snag unless you arrived early. We also enjoyed sipping mocktails in the shade while lounging poolside.
There are plenty of pools and several lazy rivers within the resort. They are all super clean and clear blue. We’re not big pool people so we only went one day, but I think people who love pools would really appreciate this aspect.
The one thing that shocked me was when we went to their store to get some sunscreen (we didn’t bring any travel sized ones sadly). They were selling a small can of spray of sunscreen for $50 USD. It was some pretty crazy price gouging – at first I thought I heard them wrong or they were giving us the wrong currency, but alas. We ended up buying a SPF 15 tube for $23. It was still way overpriced, but we got the UV protection we needed. Highly recommend bringing your own sunscreen if you are able to get a couple of travel-sized tubes to fit in a carry-on and pass through TSA.
Gym & Relaxation
On day 3, we worked out at the surprisingly well-equipped and large gym. It has everything from leg curls and press to row, lat, and smith machines. There were also plenty of treadmills (those always seem to be popular) and a nice free weights area. It wasn’t crowded at all when we went, and we stayed for about an hour. After working up a sweat, we FaceTimed our daughter and were so happy to see she was having fun back home. The Wi-Fi at the resort was super fast and reliable, which made staying in touch easy.
Evening Entertainment
Excellence has a fun and diverse range of night entertainment, great for enjoying after dinner! Our favorite was a high-energy, live music show. Several singers impersonated famous pop stars like Michael Jackson and sang their greatest hits. They were actually very good at singing and performing, with a live band behind them. This was so much fun, we all loved it!
They had other activities, like trivia games (which involved an emcee and DJ and everything) and live acoustic performances. On our second night, we enjoyed live outdoor guitar music after dinner and then the Elegance circus show. Both were enjoyable! On our last night, we listened to an acoustic performance where the singer did covers of popular songs requested by the audience. It was a really relaxing and romantic way to end the evening.
Overall we were very impressed, even surprised by how good the entertainment was. It didn’t feel at all like the resort was just trying to provide it all for the sake of having it, as is common at a lot of other places.
The Food
As promised, here are some foodie highlights from our babymoon:
- Kitchen Table breakfast: We went for the breakfast buffet around 10am. The chicken thigh and breaded fried fish were the highlights for us — gotta start the day with some high-quality protein! We also enjoyed the omelette station where there’s plenty of toppings to choose from. On the carb side, they offer a great selection of yogurts, sweet pastries, and breads. While walking past that section, I gave in to temptation and left with a fluffy donut in hand.
- Kitchen Table lunch: I loved having lunch here because they have both the buffet and ordered entrees. The salad and fruits bar at the buffet was so refreshing. Everything is super fresh so I wasn’t worried about eating raw veggies or fruits there.
Other highlights include: the crab cake appetizer and shrimp ceviche (both ordered from the menu), bbq ribs with sweet potato mash (also ordered from the menu), and all the ceviche from the buffet. They were all so flavorful and had plenty of seafood. - Lobster House lunch: Food was pretty good but not amazing. It’s all al fresco dining with views of the ocean and a pool underneath, so we enjoyed the relaxing vibes. Lots of seafood options, and the servings are very small and light which I actually preferred. It works well for pregnant women who need to eat smaller portions at a time!
The ceviche and seafood soup were our favorites! The ceviche had really fresh, flavorful fish. The seafood soup was beyond our expectations. It was flavorful yet light and filled with a variety of seafood. ****We enjoyed it so much we actually ordered another one.
For dessert, we got the 12 layer chocolate cake and the passionfruit dessert. The chocolate cake was delicious and decadent, while the passionfruit dessert was below average. - Spice dinner: Spice is an Asian fusion spot with a sleek, clean Japanese-style interior. The chicken croquette entree was my favorite — unique, juicy inside, and flavorful. They’re basically crunchy croquette balls filled with minced chicken and set on a thin layer of tangy sweet sauce.
My husband wasn’t a fan of the sashimi. It came at room temp and wasn’t sliced like actual sashimi, so he felt a little uneasy after eating it.
Their banana tempura with matcha ice cream was a pleasant end to our meal. Their other dessert option, Japanese cheesecake, was also decent. - Chez Isabelle dinner: For our last dinner we went to Chez Isabelle, the resort’s fine dining restaurant. They definitely had the best food by far, and the restaurant interior was dressed up just like a fine dining restaurant.
For appetizers, we ordered the foie gras and lobster salad. The salad was just okay, but the foie gras was so good. For entrees, we had the lamb rack, fish special, and filet mignon seared in foie gras sauce. We loved all of them!
We ended our meal with their creme brulee tart, which was delicious and actually resembled a Portuguese tart. The service was impeccable throughout dinner, attentive but not overbearing. - The Grill: This is the spot for steak. They are popular and had a long wait when we went.
We had the grilled peach salad, bone marrow taco appetizer, rib eye steak, and braised beef ribs. All of them were great! The beef ribs were really tender but could have used more flavor. The rib eye was cooked well, and we would probably have ordered it if we went again.
Their mojito mocktail was also much better than I expected. Not too much sugar, and a strong dose of lime balanced by the mint. Super refreshing, definitely woke me up from being sleep deprived that day (we had an early morning flight to Cancun)! - Lobster House dinner: Surprisingly, this was probably the most underwhelming meal we had. I was actually very excited for all the seafood, but the lobster wasn’t very good. Jon got his sautéed and mine was grilled, but neither had the sweet flavor and bouncy texture expected of good lobster. The crab cake appetizer was also just okay, not as good as the one for lunch at Kitchen Table.
- Room Service: The food came fresh, hot, and yummy. However, if you order during peak time at night (around 10-11pm) you might be waiting for an hour or more as I did.
Final Thoughts
Our stay at Excellence Riviera Cancun was everything we wanted for a romantic babymoon in Mexico: peaceful, luxurious, safe, and relaxing. Excellence is a luxury resort and you definitely feel and see that as you walk around the grounds. From the beautiful architecture of the arched hallways, buildings, and spa to the well-kept landscaping and pools, it all makes you want to stay and relax. No touristy crowds, no rowdy guests, no babies crying. The service was wonderful too. We really felt like we were taken care of no matter where we were — at a restaurant, in our room, or by the poolside.
If you’re pregnant and looking for a more tropical babymoon destination, I highly recommend Cancun and specifically this resort. Regardless of where you decide to go for your trip though, remember that once baby arrives, trips like this will be rare—and you’ll be so glad you made these memories together.
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