This little getaway we took was a total impulse buy. I was scrolling Instagram, saw several people on beach vacations and I thought, “That looks nice. We need a vacation!” I hopped online, did some clicking around and somehow found Mia Reef. It’s tucked away on a little island  near Cancun called Isla Mujeres. After landing in Cancun, you take a 20-ish-minute cab ride to the ferry, then a 20-ish-minute ferry to the island. Technically, the resort is an island of its own. You have to cross a little bridge to get there.

This is possibly the best impulse buy I have ever made!! It was GORGEOUS! White sand, crystal blue water, fish swimming around you and every drink I ordered was fantastic. Yes, it’s an all-inclusive resort, but they don’t have room service. If you get an upgraded room, I believe you do get room service. But remember: impulse buy. Meals are buffet style, and the food was good. They grilled hamburgers for lunch and always had seafood and fajitas on the grill for dinner. There were a lot of choices for each meal. One night I had a guy make me a fresh sushi roll.

It was the perfect getaway with our boys. Laying on the beach, building sandcastles, splashing in the water and drinking something frozen. I took so many photos that I thought I’d let the pictures tell the story:

First off, let me say my boys were rock star travelers! Jasper slept the whole flight there and Jaxon was plugged into the tablet. We always let him download new movies but make him wait until takeoff to watch them, so he’s completely tuned in.

When you walk into the resort, it’s so bright and colorful. I loved the decor!

Our room was decorated simply, but I loved it. The room was pretty small, especially after we had the crib wheeled in, but that wasn’t important. I knew we weren’t going to spend much time in there. The view from our balcony was AMAZING!! It’s an absolute must to get a room with an ocean view here!!

Just a few of the ocean and sky views we caught. I felt obligated to catch the beauty.

The beauty wasn’t lost on a 13-month-old or a 6-year-old! I’d like to add that the last picture was taken by Jaxon. Little blog photographer in training. ?

And of course, as you all would assume, traveling with a toddler isn’t all rainbows and butterflies. We were up before the sun most mornings, but who are we to complain when the sunrise is breathtaking. #restwhenyouredead

There were so many beautiful spots around the resort. The swinging beds were one of Jaxon’s favorites. He’d beg to go hang out there every morning after breakfast. There is a long pier that leads out to a palapa in the ocean. This was another place we visited every morning after breakfast. The view is stunning. Can you see how beautiful the blue water is?!

Most of our vacation revolved around the resort’s private beach. It’s so nice to be away from the hustle and bustle of everything! There was a lot of swimming, splashing and sandcastle building. The fish swim around you in the beach area, which I thought was the coolest thing! I was like a child filled with excitement!

Delicious! Those drinks were pretty good, too!

And of course, there was a lot of beachside lounging and napping. Every drink I ordered was AMAZING!

The cutest little beach bum you ever did see!!!!

There was this spot at Mia Reef called The King’s Bath. It’s a natural rock area that is filled with fish. We had an amazing time snorkeling in there! If you look closely, you can see a lot of fish in water. This area was gorgeous.

All but one night we had dinner in the causal dining restaurant. The bottom photo is the outside area. There wasn’t a place on the whole resort that didn’t have a magnificent view! We had dinner in the nice restaurant the last night we were there. If you follow me on Instagram, then you know it didn’t go so well because of a certain little toddler screaming at the top of his lungs. I left dinner with Jasper after the second course. And to think, I was so excited to wear that dress! I’ll have to bring it out for another dinner. Probably one Jasper won’t be attending.

This was a wonderful vacation for our little family. Mia Reef was everything we needed it to be. Last year we went to a five-star resort in Puerto Vallarta, and while there were some amenities that we loved (room service and kids club), I’d say this trip was more enjoyable. Jonathan and I say we never want to visit the same place twice because there are so many places we want to explore, but this is definitely a place we plan to come back to. I have to share that I booked this whole vacation, flights and all, for a total of $2,400!!

Next time we may not bring kiddos so we can kayak, zip line and snorkel more. We will definitely upgrade our room so we get room service (no one wants to get out of bed for breakfast on vacation!) and we will definitely bring more cash. Everyone was so friendly and worked so hard. I would have liked to tip more generously.

The wanderlust is strong with this one! Look at this little ragamuffin running around the airport. He was happy to be home, but we’re already planning our next vacation.