Vacation – Page 3 – ThePassportPrincess

Cancun – 10th June 2018

August 5, 2018August 29, 2022SarahLeave a comment

June 10th 2018

I’m currently staying at the Hyatt Ziva Cancun resort in Punta Cancun.
I’ve only been here 5 hours and I’m already ready to write a post about how fabulous this resort is!! (And no I’m not getting paid to say that)

I’m actually here for work, for what Travel agents call a ‘FAM trip’ or a ‘Famil’
Basically we head off to these wonderful cities somewhere around the world and experience the destination so we can then sell it to our clients. This might mean we experience a certain hotel chain (eg Playa Resorts), tour (eg, Top deck or Contiki) or a cruise.
If you’re picked for a FAM, it’s an awesome way to test out a product before you sell it – not to mention you only pay a a couple of hundred dollars or nothing at all to experience an awesome short vacation.

Since moving to Canada, I’ve seen how much of a market there is for travel to Central America and I really struggle to sell Cancun or anywhere in Mexico because I’ve never been before! Coming from NZ, it’s not really a popular destination as it’s so far away for us to travel to.
However, Canadians love an all-inclusive resort!

If you’re reading this from New Zealand you may ask yourself, what is an all inclusive??It’s basically a package (usually to Mexico or the Caribbean) where your flights, transfers, accommodation, all your food & drinks, nightly entertainment and activities are included in one set price.
You can buy these all-inclusive packages online or through a travel agent (such as myself)
Most resorts in Mexico are ‘all inclusive’. Depending on where you stay, you can experience the best all-you -can-eat food and drink all the while relaxing in the pool or at the beach.

I have been absolutely spoilt and have started off my FAM at the Hyatt Ziva Cancun which is a 5-star all-inclusive luxury resort situated on the beautiful white sanded beach of Cancun. The resort has beautiful spacious rooms, 17 restaurants, lounges and bars and 3 infinity pools overlooking the ocean. *heaven*

Let me take you back from the beginning of my exciting day….
This morning I woke up to the bright early time of 5am. I had a flight to catch at 8:30am so I had to be at the airport 2 hours beforehand.
After quickly repacking my stuff into a bigger suitcase (I had originally just packed a carry-on bag the night before) my lovely boyfriend Nathan got out of bed to drop me off at the airport. Thank God we only live 9 minutes away because we were basically there when I realised I forgot my passport!

After quickly driving back home and finding it in a cupboard somewhere, Nathan took me back to the airport and waved me goodbye.
I met some of the other girls from the FAM trip and we all got breakfast at the fast food chain A&W. (Just some healthy stuff like pancakes, toast and eggs haha)

After our semi-satisfying breakfast we went to the convenience store at the airport and grabbed some snacks for the flight before sitting down in the sun and watching the planes take off. Vancouver airport is very quiet on a Sunday may I add! There was literally no one around but the people waiting to go to Cancun.

Our Westjet flight was delayed due to some technical difficulties but we were soon on-board and taking off at around 9:30am.
I’d never flown Westjet before but I’m so happy I did because I thought they were great! The flight attendants were funny, the pilot stood at the front of the plane before we started flying to introduce himself and they even played some Mexican music when we landed in Cancun. Not to mention the legroom was great!

You can pay for Economy plus if you like (where you get extra leg room and neighbour free guarantee) but I was sitting in the row behind economy Plus and I thought I had so much leg room already! Not to mention I lucked out and had no one sitting next to me the whole flight.

The flight from Vancouver to Cancun took around 6 hours. They don’t provide food on-board but you can purchase it if you wish or pre-order it before your flight.
The also don’t have seat-back entertainment but you can bring your own tablet or smartphone and download the Westjet App.
Here you can connect to in-flight wi-fi and watch TV shows or movies on the app which is really easy to use.

Once I arrived into Cancun, the baggage collection was really easy. As it’s not Cancun’s peak season, the airport there was pretty quiet too. I was advised that as soon as I left the terminal there would be lots of companies holding their signs up trying to get me to stay at their resort or to catch a taxi with them so I was prepped beforehand to just ignore them and find the transfer company that had already been organised.
When I found them, everything was seamless. We used Best Day Travel for their transfer service and they were great!

I got a cold towel as soon as I met them, along with a cold bottle of water. They loaded my suitcase into the van and even attached my neck pillow to it so I wouldn’t lose it (it’s the little things I appreciate)
The ride took about 25 minutes to Hyatt Ziva Cancun from the airport. We passed many of the resorts I usually sell through work but the Hyatt was definitely one of the better ones!

As soon as I walked in to the resort, It was so beautiful. There’s these gorgeous steps leading down to the infinity pools and you can see out to the ocean from whatever room you’re in. We got a welcome drink on arrival and the bellboy took my bag to my room which was helpful.
I then had a quick 15 minutes to get ready before I had to meet everyone else downstairs for our A La carte dinner. I made such a mess in the bathroom with my stuff scattered everywhere but I made sure to take some pictures beforehand to show how nice everything was!

There was a special set menu for us at dinner time. I’m like the fussiest eater ever (hate seafood with a passion) so I wasn’t overly fussed with the menu. Thankfully, the staff and cook were so nice about it they made me my own chicken dish with vegetables

After dinner we were free to do as we liked. Some of the group went off to the bar to have some drinks whereas me and a few of the other girls went to Pastels, the dessert parlour.
This was my heaven! Hyatt Ziva has a parlour open until midnight every night serving everything from donuts, cakes and candy floss to ice-cream and gummy lollies!
After sampling a few treats, it was off to bed!
I know, call me crazy but I was sooo tired. It was hot and I’d been traveling all day, all I wanted to do was to go to bed and enjoy my clean comfy room.

Remember how I said I left the bathroom in such a mess before dinner?
Well when I got back to my room, I noticed that the housekeeping had tided everything up for me before laying chocolates next to my bed and turning down the duvet.
It’s honestly the little things like that, that I appreciate when it comes to staying at hotels and resorts. Sometimes you don’t remember what the room looked like, however you do remember how they may have left a little note in your room to enjoy your stay or maybe the staff went out of their way to make sure you had a wonderful time. Customer service is a massive thing for me!

By this stage, it was around 11pm when I video called my boyfriend back in Canada to brag about how much of a great time I was having already 😉
It was then that I remembered that the resort had 24 hour room service….
Now, you might know from reading my blogs that I don’t really splash out on hotels all the time. Most of my travel has been staying in hostels and maybe the odd air b’n’b to save some money so to know that I could deliver food to my room and it wouldn’t cost me a thing was an absolute treat!
This is one of the fattiest things I’ve probably done in my life, I wasn’t really that hungry but I ordered room service just because I could.
I looked on the menu and decided on some guacamole and chips, potato tacos and a strawberry cheesecake.

I felt like a queen!
I had a bite out of everything, washed it down with a beverage from the mini bar and then headed off to sleep.

My first day in Cancun wasn’t too bad at all!
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Part 2 coming soon!

Rarotonga Day 2 (Feb 2017)

February 5, 2017August 31, 2022SarahLeave a comment

We made it in time for breakfast this morning!
It was the usual fruit, cereal and toast ( 2 pieces of Vegemite toast for me please) before the three of us went to the reception to inquire about activities in Rarotonga.

We liked the look of this Village tour and Water Dancing Dinner so booked that through the resort for Tuesday night before trying on some snorkeling gear the resort provided to take with us to Muri Beach.
It had rained the night before and it was still a little bit cloudy in the morning but that soon passed before the sun was out and shining at a lovely 27°

While Kerri and Glen where getting ready, Nathan quickly taught me how to ride the scooter as I’d never done so before. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be but I defiantly wouldn’t be prepared for the streets of Thailand.
I can go in a straight line and speed up all good but I’m pretty bad when it comes to taking off smoothly. I ended up leaving the scooter duties up to Nathan on the way to Muri beach as I didn’t think I would do very well with him on the back of me.
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We had asked at reception before we left and was told the best place nearby for snorkeling was at Muri Beach across from a shop called ‘Fruits of Rarotonga’. On the way we stopped off at the supermarket for some more water and I came across the biggest piece of Kumara I’d ever seen! (It’s also called a Sweet Potato for you overseas readers) I’m the biggest Kumara lover so this was amazing for me haha.

Once I’d made Nathan take a photo of me with a vegetable, we found the snorkeling location about 15 minutes drive up the road. We parked up our scooters, grabbed our towels and all our snorkeling gear then found a nice spot under some palm tree’s to set up for the day.

I was pretty keen to get under the water so I was in there straight away. Annoyingly though, my goggles kept fogging up (even after doing the whole spit your saliva into them trick) so I wasn’t under the water for very long before having to come back up again. The water however was wonderful, Rarotonga is surrounded by a nice lagoon so it’s really easy to snorkel and swim in without being pounded by waves or murky water.

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Nathan joined me in the water soon after I’d gone in and we swum around the coral reefs for a bit and took picture and videos on the GoPro. Not without injuring ourselves though, Nathan scratched his hand and I got a graze on my knee from the reef. Thankfully I had some prescription cream I brought with me to put on them that afternoon to keep them from getting infected.

We where in the water for around an hour before getting out and laying our towels out on the sand.
The clouds had formed a bit and it wasn’t as sunny as it was before so I didn’t put any sunscreen on. We where under a palm tree anyways so I assumed I would be protected from getting burnt. Turns out I was wrong and I went to bed that night with the worst sunburn! – but more on that later.
Being the typical tourists that we are, we took some more pictures on the beach and also being typical girls we then complained about how gross we looked while the boys rolled their eyes at us.
Now that I’m uploading them however, we brushed up quite well!
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As it was Sunday, many places where shut in Rarotonga so we went back to the resort for lunch. If you read my previous post, you’d remember we ordered about 3 massive pizza’s the night before that we couldn’t get through, so we re-heated them up for lunch instead and ate them while sitting next to the pool.
The bar at the resort wasn’t open, so Nathan collected our bottles of Vodka & Bourbon from our room and we took them downstairs so we could drink them while we swum. He was our own personal bartender for the afternoon!

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The next few hours where spent drinking, swimming, lying down with a book and more drinking.
Around 5pm, it begun to get close to dinner time so Kerri & I headed upstairs to make ourselves presentable for the BBQ dinner the resort was providing.
This was when I realized how bloody sunburnt I was! The whole back of my legs where turning bright red and it hurt to touch. It’s crazy how it takes a little while for a sunburn to actually show instead of right away 😦

Thankfully Glen had some aloe vera from when he got sunburnt the previous day, so I put that on my legs to cool them down a bit.
Just before we headed downstairs for dinner, we all took some Vodka shots and as I had been drinking for most of the afternoon, I started to feel a little giggly when we got to dinner.
We where told in the morning from the restaurant staff that the BBQ was on the resort’s beach so Nathan and I walked ahead of Kerri and Glen to the beach where we where then told that we had to go back to the restaurant to get the food.
We turned back and told Kerri and Glen that the food was inside (as they hadn’t made it to the beach yet) so we all went in and loaded up our plates with the BBQ buffet. Suddenly, Kerri and Glen take a seat inside (where no one was by the way) and so I assumed in my fuzzy little state that they wanted to sit inside instead of out on the beach with everyone else.
Finally, after we’d all eaten and had dessert, Kerri said something like “I feel bad, like we’re the only ones who turned up for the BBQ and the chefs like made all this food”
Me and Nathan looked at each other and were like “Oh what – no, everyone else is on the beach having dinner”
Kerri looked at me in shock – “WHAT! We thought you said the BBQ was inside!?”
Me – “Yeah, the food is inside but everyone else is sitting at tables on the beach while they listen to live music”
Kerri and Glen couldn’t believe it. They assumed no one had turned up for the BBQ apart from us and a couple of other people they saw who came into the restaurant – who actually just came in to fill up their plates then head back outside.
They couldn’t believe we didn’t tell them everyone was outside!
Me and Nathan honestly assumed they just wanted to sit inside and eat hahahaha.
We all got up then and headed outside to the beach but by this stage the music had finished, everyone had finished eating and there where just a couple of tables of people left. Woops!

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It’s funny because I was GoPro-ing us going to the buffet dinner and I’ve watched the video back and there’s even footage of me going to head outside with my plate of food and then seeing the others sit down at a table and saying to myself “Oh, guess we’re sitting inside then”

Oh well – just a mis-communication.
Even though we missed the sunset and the music, we still enjoyed our meals and defiantly got our $40 worth of food haha.

Bay Of Plenty – New Zealand

January 15, 2017SarahLeave a comment

If you’re holidaying in New Zealand, head to The Bay of Plenty!

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I’ve just had the pleasure of spending the last two weeks in beautiful, sunny Tauranga with my boyfriend and his family who luckily live up there.
The Bay of Plenty is on the Northern Coast of NZ’s North Island. It’s only a 2 and a half hour’s drive away from Auckland which is perfect for over-sees visitors as that’s where the main International Airport is located.

The BOP coastal region is made up of Mount Maunganui, Tauranga, Papamoa, Whakatane, Waihi Beach, KatiKati, Ohope and Te Puke.
Could you pronounce any of those?
Probably not…New Zealand loves their Maori place names 😉

Think white sandy beaches, beautiful sunshine, charming small towns, great shopping and many places to eat and explore.

In the Summer time it gets extremely busy so make sure to book accommodation ahead of time to try and get the best.

Mount Maunganui

This is where I spent most of my time. It’s basically where everyone goes to in the Bay of Plenty for swimming, surfing or eating out.
It’s located just across the harbor from Tauranga and is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean.
“The Mount” which the locals refer to, is actually an extinct Volcano 232m above sea level. You’ll see it as you’re swimming at The Mount Maunganui Beach.

What To Do Here

Walk up the Mount, or even around it if you don’t have the stamina.
It took me 14 minutes to get to the top and my partner 9 minutes so it’s not extremely hard. There’s two different ways you can go, one way takes you up all the stairs (but is shorter time wise) whereas the other is up a steep track (but is a little longer)
Families do this walk all the time, it’ll defiantly get you hot and sweaty so make sure to take a bottle of water and lather on the Sunscreen!
When you see the view, you’ll be glad you did it.

Swim at the beach.
According to Tripadvisor, Mount Maunganui Beach is “The best beach in New Zealand” so while you’re there, pack your togs (Kiwi word for swimmers), a towel and a bottle of sunscreen before heading down to the white sandy shore.
In the Summer time the beach is the place to be as there’s usually ocean and beach events on. If you’re in the area, click here to see what’s on.

Learn to surf
At the Hibiscus Surf School, Guy and Rebecca will teach you how to surf! Guy has 16 years experience and they’re both fully certified. All equipment is provided and all ages are welcome. Head to http://www.surfschool.co.nz to find out more.

Do a Dolphin Seafari
Dolphin Seafaris have been operating for many years and are the leading professional eco tour operator and provider of watching and swimming with dolphins in the Bay of Plenty area. They have a Certificate of Excellence on Tripadvisor and take you to watch and swim with Dolphins in their natural habitat. Their vessel, the ‘Guardian’ has a huge rear swim platform and has walk through access to the water with 2 large dive ladders for easy access in and out of the water.

Tauranga

Tauranga is one of New Zealand’s main cities for business, international trade, culture, fashion and horticultural science.
In the Summer time the weather is nearly always nice and sunny which makes for a lot of families heading there on their Summer Christmas Vacation.

Neighbouring town Mount Maunganui and Papamoa Beach are the most visited areas around Tauranga so if you can’t quite get accommodation right on the beach, staying in Tauranga is the next best thing.

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Waihi Beach (Pronounced ” Why He”)

A 50 Minutes drive away from central Tauranga, Waihi Beach is a small beach-side town with plenty of accommodation ranging from holiday resorts to camp grounds.
” a great location if you want the flexibility to travel to the Coromandel, ‘Hobbiton’, Rotorua, Tauranga and the Waitomo Caves all from one base.”

What To Do Here

Waihi Beach
Pretty much the main thing to do here is go to the beach!
With 9km of Ocean and sand, pack yourself a picnic and spend the day at Waihi Beach.

Go For a Walk
At the northern end of the beach near the carpark, you’ll find the start of a popular 3.3km walkway which leads you through pohutukawa forest and beautiful beach scenery to Orokawa Bay. The walk takes nearly an hour so bring some good footwear and a camera.

Anzac Bay
If you’re wanting to swim in really calm waters or have children with you, Anzac Bay is the place to go. The area has beautiful pohutukawa trees which bloom into life every December. It’s a lovely place to escape the crowds of Tauranga and The Mount.

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Ohope Beach

Voted ‘NZ’s Most Loved Beach’, Ohope is full of Sunshine, white sand and fabulous cafes. The western end of the beach is a popular surfing area during the summer and Christmas period whereas the rest of the beach is filled with holiday-goers sun-bathing, swimming and jet skiing.
There’s also a large choice of accommodation available in the holidays with the ‘Ohope Beach Top 10 Holiday Park’ being one of the top choices.

If you’re looking for Sunshine, Ohope has one of the warmest climates and highest sunshine hours in the country!

What To Do Here

Surf
The west end of the beach is great for surfing. It’s sheltered from the northwest wind, plus the water’s often really warm.

Walk
Take a walk to Otarawairere Bay which only takes around 20 minutes. If you’re fit or you’ve never run a day in your life, you’ll enjoy this walk as it’s pretty easy.
Carry on walking and you’ll go over Kohi Point and down into the CBD of Whakatane (about 2 hours)

Golf
I’m personally not a golf player, but if you want to head away from the beach, Ōhope International Golf Club offers super golfing with views of the Pacific Ocean on one side and Ohiwa Harbour on the other. Play a round of golf and have a main evening meal for the low price of $30 per person on Mondays.

22015989260_b1078929fa_b — Credit – Oxfam New Zealand