Last year I was perusing travel websites looking for a good deal somewhere tropical, and I didn’t have a specific destination in mind. Lo and behold, I came across a great Memorial Day sale at an all-inclusive resort, Occidental at Xcaret Destination in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Since it was such a great deal, I shared my find with a large group of friends, and 11 of us booked the six-night trip for April.

I was excited to travel with this group because it was a mix of frequent travelers and some who have not traveled much. A few had to get passports, but they were happy to do so.

Working for Global Traveler, I love to encourage our idea of Globility: The quality of being open to a world of cultures and experiences. I was hoping this trip would open my friends up to discovering even more places on their own.

After I booked the hotel, I did something I normally do — I joined the Occidental Xcaret – Fans & Info group on Facebook. Now, this can be a good or bad idea. I kept in mind that people love to voice their complaints on social media. But if you can take it all with a grain of salt, you can also get a lot of good information from guests who go there frequently and have good tips.

From others’ comments on Facebook, I learned that it can be tricky to get dinner reservations. A lot of people complained about having to wake up early in the morning to stand in line and book dinner reservations at one of the à la carte restaurants. But since I knew about this ahead of time, we made plans to have one or two members of our group go to the lobby and book our dinner reservations three of the six nights. We enjoyed dinner at a steakhouse, a seafood and an Asian restaurant. The other nights we enjoyed one of the buffets, or Pacos Tacos, or pizza. There were plenty of options for our big group to choose from. I would warn others that if you have any food allergies, it might be tricky, as the food is not labeled with any ingredients.

Something else I learned was the resort grounds are full of wildlife to enjoy. I knew I was going to be on a mission to see a monkey, and I was not disappointed! We also saw coatis with their long striped tails that stick straight up; iguanas, that to our surprise will swim right across the pool while you’re in there; agouti, which looks like a guinea pig with really long legs; and deer that are tame enough to pet. But the monkeys were by far my favorite. I had never seen monkeys in the wild, and we all got very excited every time we saw them. Other people on Facebook warned not to leave the balcony door open or the monkeys might enter your room and cause all sorts of mischief!

The grounds were fun to walk around, and there were several ruins to explore. There was also a natural pool with fish, and a great snorkeling spot right next to it. Other swimming options were the lagoon at the beach and several large swimming pools, some adults-only and others kid-friendly.

While my friends were perfectly content hanging out by the pool every day, they all agreed to do an excursion to Xplor Fuego, an adventure park that’s open at night. This was way out of my comfort zone, but it’s all about trying new things, so I went for it! Now I can cross zip lining through a ring of fire off my bucket list! We also drove amphibious vehicles through flooded caverns, and some of our group swam through an underground cavern and paddled rafts down an underground river. It was definitely an adventure we won’t forget!

Everyone really enjoyed their trip, and we have great photos and great memories. I hope they will all continue to travel and embrace their Globility!

— Tracey Cullen, art director