If you follow us regularly, you know we love to visit Caribbean family friendly all-inclusive resorts. It is our way to relax and explore new areas without having to worry about planning every aspect of a trip.
The Riviera Maya is located on the Mexico Yucatán Peninsula. It is a tourist area that starts just south of Cancun that stretches down past Tulum. This area is definitely not a secret to families traveling into Mexico. Most families choose a Riviera Maya family all-inclusive resort if they are looking to enjoy the sun, sand, and surf without the hustle and bustle of a big city like Cancun.
To assist you on your next family adventure, we have put together this list of the best family resorts in Riviera Maya to help you decide where to stay during your visit to Mexico.
Hotel Xcaret Playa Del Carmen
Recommended By: Corritta from It’s a Family Thing
Hotel Xcaret has to be one of the best all inclusive resorts in Playa Del Carmen for families.
They have the concept of fun-inclusive, which means all of their parks, activities, and tours are included with your stay. You can go to their eco parks, fiesta, water park, tour Chichen Itza, Coba, Tulum, head to an adventure park, and so much more. All of this is part of the all-inclusive package for your stay with Hotel Xcaret.
The hotel itself is a masterpiece, with surprises around every corner. You could spend several days exploring the hotel, and still not see everything. A few of the onsite activities are snorkeling, kayaking, swimming, and stand-up paddle boarding.
There is a kids club for kids four years old and up, as well as a teen club for anyone between 12 and 17 years old. This is one of the few places that families with kids of all ages will enjoy.
Honestly, this is the best family vacation you can have. Not only are the activities fun, but the food is phenomenal. There are so many options to choose from, with all of them being superb. If you are looking to have an amazing vacation that everyone can enjoy, Hotel Xcaret is definitely the place for your family.
Panama Jacks (or Gran Porto Resort) in Playa Del Carmen
Recommended By: Mayuri from 2 day Itinerary
Gran Porto Resort, recently rebranded as Panama Jacks, is an all inclusive resort in the area of Playa Del Carmen. The popular Fifth Avenue is a 5 minute walk away from this kid friendly Riviera Maya resort.
Panama Jacks is a 3 star property, with everything that is required for a perfect family beach getaway, including 2 sandy beaches. Suites are very spacious with a contemporary design. Several rooms have been upgraded and offer ocean and pool views (with options for separate kids and parents rooms).
The property has a large outdoor pool, and is known to hold family friendly pool parties. There is also a small playground at the property for younger kids to enjoy.
The kid’s club provides supervised activities for kids ages 4 to 12 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. The resort also has a teen club which offers activities for teenagers up to 17 years from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Royal Haciendas Playa Del Carmen
Recommended By: Natalie from Blissmersion
Visiting the Royal Haciendas in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, ended up being one of our best Riviera Maya all inclusive family vacations.
The Royal Haciendas is located on a section of beach that has a rocky outcropping far enough out to create calm waters that won’t knock down little ones. My kids were newer swimmers and really enjoyed the calm sea.
Royal Haciendas has an incredible kids club. The kids club crew comes around and encourage kids to join the activities. On our second day there, our kids joined and they never wanted to leave. The kids club operates for ages 4-12 during the hours of 9 am to 6 pm.
Even though there is no water park, there are many awesome activities for kids to enjoy. The pools are large and a lot of fun. One thing we love is that you can get food and drink service at the pool and beach. It is amazing being able to order lunch and just call the kids up to our lounge chairs to eat without all the drama of leaving a beloved activity.
Iberostar Selection Paraiso Lindo
Recommended By: Cassandra from Have Kids Still Traveling
Iberostar Selection Paraiso Lindo sits amid a group of five Iberostar Riviera Maya Family Resorts, all of which share a central Shopping Mall. The shared shopping mall includes a small casino (which kids are not allowed to enter), many tourist shops, a few small cafes (which are all inclusive), a merry go round and a small playground.
On the Iberostar complex, your will enjoy many pools, a lazy river, water slides, a wave pool, toddler pool, and a water park. The hotel staff host many activities around the pool including games with prizes, dance lessons, and even a foam party (which was a real hit with the kids).
The on site ‘Star Camp’ for kids is great fun for kids aged 4 all the way up to 17. The kids are split into three groups depending on age. Ages 4-7, 8-12, and 13-17. Kids can enjoy programs such as arts and crafts, science experiments and even cooking lessons.
Each night the staff host a show. The theme varies each day of the week including musicals and comedies. Audience participation is often asked for. The kids even have the option of performing in one of the weekly entertainment shows.
The restaurants available to book a la carte had excellent meal choices for adults and kids. The buffet is convenient for families whose children are hungry at all hours of the day. Each restaurant had high chairs available to younger kids and large tables for bigger groups or families.
All in all, the Iberostar Selection Paraiso Lindo makes for a perfect family getaway with children of all ages.
Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Puerto Aventuras
Recommended By: Marcie Cheung of Marcie in Mommyland
One of the best Riviera Maya all inclusive family resorts for kids is the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya in Puerto Aventuras. The rooms are awesome! Each one comes with a hammock outside and you can even borrow a guitar for your stay.
One of the best Riviera Maya all inclusive family resorts for kids is the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya in Puerto Aventuras. The rooms are awesome! Each one comes with a hammock outside and you can even borrow a guitar for your stay.
Hard Rock Hotel Riviera has an incredible waterpark with awesome water slides in addition to the kid friendly pool areas. There are sections for little kids as well as older kids and teens.
Hard Rock Riviera Maya has a fantastic kids club for babies, toddlers, and young kids. There’s even the KIDZ BOP Experience where kids can transform into rock stars! For more adventurous families, there’s Woodward. This is an indoor space with foam pits, trampolines, a pump track, and even a concrete skatepark.
If you’re looking for the best family resort Riviera Maya all inclusive, definitely check out the Hard Rock Hotel in Puerto Aventuras!
Dreams Puerto Aventuras Resort & Spa Puerto Aventuras
Recommended By: Rachel from Mum With Wanderlust
Dreams Puerto Aventuras Resort & Spa is on a beautiful, white sand bay within a marina village in Puerto Aventuras. With no wristbands in sight and your all inclusive package including access to 5 à la carte restaurants, a cafe, a buffet and a grill you’ll feel like a VIP throughout your entire stay. You don’t need to pre-book restaurants which leaves you free to choose when you want to eat rather than being tied to a schedule.
The regular Family Suites offer plenty of living space with two double beds and can accommodate a family of five. For larger families the Preferred Club Family Suite can accommodate 2 adults and 4 children.
The Explorers kids club is open from 9am – 10pm (for ages 3 – 12) so whether you’re looking for something to entertain your little ones while getting them out of the heat of the midday sun or you want to have dinner with your partner, child-free one night; excellent childcare is available.
Teens have access to the Core Zone (2pm – 10pm) where they’ll find video games, pool and foosball tables and a place just to hang out.
This resort has its own Dolphinarium with dolphins and manatees; for an extra charge you can swim with the dolphins. There are a range of different dolphin encounters that you can book, there’s something for every age.
The resort has a dive school on site running wreck, shark, local reef dives and night dives. There’s so much available for you to do on site that you don’t need to leave the resort – but if you do want to explore the Riviera Maya the concierge can help you arrange tours and excursions to Xenotes, the Mayan jungle, the Mayan ruins of Tulum and more!
>>>Click Here To Start Planning Your Dreams Puerto Aventuras Vacation
Generations Riviera Maya All Inclusive
Recommended By: Harmony from Momma To Go
Generations – it’s in the name! But seriously, Generations Resort in Rivera Maya, Mexico is a great property for your next multi-generational trip. Generations is only a 25-minute ride from the airport.
Kids will LOVE all the activities, the kids’ club, and fun pint-sized amenities like smoothies at the swim up bar and mini-loungers.
Generations has one, two and three bedroom offerings, and is “toddler inclusive” meaning the resort can supply strollers, cribs, bottle sanitizers, bottle warmers, in room changing tables, pack and plays, a baby bath, baby robes and slippers, an in-room high chair, and Gerber food. Happy kids, happy grown-ups = a great multi-generational getaway!
Wrap Up Of Best Family Resorts In Riviera Maya That Are All Inclusive And Very Kid Friendly
I hope this article has helped you find one of the best family resorts in Riviera Maya that will be the home of your next family vacation. Do you have other suggestions that we should all know about? Share them in the comments below.
If you’re looking for more inspiration on Caribbean family vacation ideas, why not read my review of Beaches Resort Turks And Caicos, or you can find my guide to everything you need for your beach vacation with a toddler here.
Book Your Family Trip With These Tips And Tricks
Booking Your Flight
Find your perfect flight and save money using Skyscanner, CheapAir.com, and Kayak. These are my favorite search engines to use since they search multiple airlines around the world to find the best routes and cheapest tickets available.
Booking Your Accommodations
There are many ways to book your perfect hostel, hotel, or vacation home for your next family adventure. Our favorite for booking hostels is Hostelworld. When booking hotel rooms I use Hotels.com and Booking.com. When looking for an entire vacation home, my go to is VRBO. I love these platforms in particular because the constantly provide the best accommodations for the cheapest price.
Booking Your Rental Cars
Don't forget to book your rental car when you are booking your family vacation. I like to do this early as I find that the best deals are not last minute ones. For your European travels check out AutoEurope as they search multiple rental car companies and get you the best rate available without you having to do the leg work. When booking in the USA we like to check out Enterprise, Hertz, Thrifty, and SixT.
Book Travel Insurance
I have started using travel insurance once I started traveling with a family. Today more than ever, travel insurance is extremely important as you never know when something unexpected is going to happen. Our go to companies to get quotes are World Nomads and Travelex.
Have questions you want answered in real time? Don’t miss all of our family trip planning tips and tricks. Join our facebook group page Little World Adventure Travelers – Create Family Memories With Your Kids.
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I was just thinking of taking my son to Mexico in the next few years, after a long travel drought! Saving these ideas for later 🙂
I’m so glad you shared this! Literally received my son’s passport in the mail TODAY and were wondering where to take him first. This looks like a great spot!
I’ve actually recently been looking at this area for a vacation later in the year and although I don’t have kids, some of these hotels you mentioned had come up in my research so it’s good to see a little more about them. Thanks for the tips
The Iberostar Selection Praiso Lindo is gorgeous! We don’t have kids but would;d love to go!