My Kids’ First Club Med Vacation

Truth be told, I’m afraid that my kids are now spoiled. They have been to a Club Med village before… but never like this.

Both kids have been to Club Med resorts — in utero… Club Med is perfect for a babymoon and we enjoyed relaxing vacations both pregnancies. My son visited the Cancun village when he was just two years old, but this was their first experience with Mini Club Med. And what an experience it was, for the entire family.

I can honestly say that it was the first vacation that my husband and I have taken with the kids where we came home relaxed. Usually when we vacation with the kids we feel like we need another vacation when we get back. Not this time.

I’m not used to being with my kids 24/7. I work, they go to school, they go to bed around eight. So a full day (or two) with the kids is nice, but seven days with the kids all day and all night can be super exhausting and at this age not much of a vacation for us tired parents.

My kids are now five and seven. This means that travelling with them is much easier than it used to be. No diapers. They carry their own stuff. No crying — well, that still happens sometimes, but I think it’s been replaced with a cross between crying and whining — “cryning” if you will.

The weather in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic was PERFECT. We had beautiful weather consistently for the entire week. The food at every Club Med village is mouth-wateringly delicious. The beach was glorious, the sand was soft and the sea was refreshing. The resort was perfect and the service was fantastic.

We arrived at the resort on a Sunday afternoon. It was beautiful, our room was ready so we were able to unpack right away — this was easy and I loved that our room had a walk-in closet with more than enough hangers and shelves. We quickly put on our swimsuits and sat by the pool for the rest of the afternoon (the pool is beautifully located right by the beach). We enjoyed the sunshine and tropical surroundings while the kids jumped in and out of the pool… it was a nice change to be in the Caribbean rather than back at home fighting about wearing hats and mittens.

Oh to be there again!

Mini Club… Oh Mini Club, I will never vacation the same way again.

I told the kids that there was a really cool kids club here called the Mini Club where they could hang out with other kids and try out new activities. They immediately said that they didn’t want to go. Of course that’s what they said. To them the alternative was them jumping in and out of the pool all day and eating French fries with Mom and Dad. (There is a grill on the beach that’s open all day and well into the night that serves yummy fries and so many other options including fresh fruit if you choose to continue to eat healthy while on vacation… I mostly ate the fries.)

Anyway, they were not too keen on the idea of hanging out at a kids club when they could be splashing around with us… so I made a deal:

“You have to go to Mini Club one day. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to go back again.” We shook on it and Monday morning off they went.

What you need:

– Some sort of backpack or bag for your child’s belongings. I was lucky enough to have gotten one on our flight from the lovely flight attendants on our Sun Wing flight.

– Sunscreen (one for each of them as they are split up by age group.)

– Sun Hat

– Swim suit

– Change of clothing

– Running shoes & socks

– Flip flops or sandals

They went back every day after that. And my son is still telling me that he misses Mini Club.

Here’s why I loved it:

They had a different activity every hour. They never got bored!

I could drop them off or pick them up at any time.

My five year old went on a trapeze, did arts and crafts, played in the playground, in the kids’ pool and had fun on the beach.

A very brave Alexandra!

My seven year old fell in love with archery, kayaking and enjoyed playing basketball, soccer and tennis.

Andreas’ bullseye!!!

They both got to be a part of a special show at the end of the week that the GOs (Gracious Organizers — what the resort staff are called) put on with all of the kids in the different age groups at the Mini Club. They wore cute costumes and had their makeup done. They loved it and we — the proud parents — loved it too!

They had a blast on a slip and slide on the beach and they both met new friends that they haven’t stopped talking about since we’ve been home.

The GOs were patient, enthusiastic, accommodating, friendly, multilingual and fun. With the kids and us! The fresh fruit that they served on the beach and by the pool every afternoon was perfect. The coffee was just right and the chocolate bread was divine.

What I loved most about Mini Club: I read three books on my vacation. I was truly relaxed. I knew that my kids were being taken care of and well. (They didn’t get sunburned!) I could see that they were really enjoying themselves. It wasn’t just about dumping the kids off at the club… they were loving it! Meeting new kids, being exposed to different languages and people from all over the world, it was wonderful.

My husband and I enjoyed lunches together and even a couple of dinners alone. The Mini Club also has a dinner and a show experience for your kids. If you keep them in all day, you must pick them up at 5:30pm and then drop them off again at 7pm for dinner. They then have a show that the GOs put on — specifically for the kids and then you pick them up at 9pm. On the nights that we did have dinner with the kids, we dropped them off — at their request — to watch the show at 8:15pm and had until 9pm to enjoy a child-free, after-dinner drink. Bliss.

Two very relaxed parents.

It really was the best vacation I’ve had with my kids. We were well rested, we met some fantastic people and we had a whole lot of fun. All of us did.

Club Med, Punta Cana 2013

If you’re thinking of booking an all-inclusive holiday for your entire family visit www.clubmed.ca you won’t regret it.