Growing up in Canada, I was lucky to have a few family vacations in Mexico. The most memorable was a spectacular visit to the island of Cozumel shortly after I got my scuba diving license. I was entranced by the soft sand, azure sea, and the wildlife under the water (including seeing a Christmas tree worm and a close encounter with a curious Moray eel).

But as I grew older, my travels took me to places further afield. I was so glad to receive several press trip invitations to return to Mexico in late 2017. I first went to Cabo San Lucas to write about Grand Solmar Land’s End, a gorgeous hotel near famous El Arco. I learned that the desert is not nearly as mono-coloured and empty as I’d thought, and was surprised how green Cabo’s deserts are! Read more about it in Boutique Travel Desert Bliss: Grand Solmar Land’s End, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

My second trip was to Mexico’s Caribbean side, to a little fishing village called Puerto Morelos halfway between Cancun and Playa del Carmen. I stayed at the luxurious Grand Residences Riviera Cancun, a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. Check it out in this article for La Carte, Enjoy the calm of the Caribbean without the crowds of Cancun: Grand Residences Riviera Cancun. I also had one of the coolest dinners ever at a restaurant in Playa del Carmen, which I hope to have published soon. Stay tuned!

And even though the trip returned just 36 hours before my month-long trip to Southeast Asia, I couldn’t resist another trip to the Cancun area in early December. It was for the opening of a unique hotel called Hotel Xcaret Mexico. Just outside of Playa del Carmen, the hotel has not only two types of beaches — on the ocean and on a river-fed freshwater lagoon, a river to explore via standup paddleboard or kayak, a restaurant by the only Mexican chef to receive a Michelin star, but also access to six eco-archeological parks in the area. I had a great time floating through tunnels and canyons in the cenote river at Xcaret Park, and feel like I saw just the tip of the iceberg for what the area has to offer.  My first article on the trip is for Luxury and Boutique Hotels Review of Hotel Xcaret Mexico.

There’s more on Mexico, including more detail on the hotels and a few articles for USA Today, on my Mexico page.

Oh, and if your flight transits through Mexico City, here’s my advice on How to survive a long layover in Mexico City’s airport. Better yet, check out the new direct flights by value-airline Interjet.