Marilyn Colwell

When we were planning our honeymoon, David and I knew one thing. We wanted to be able to fully enjoy ourselves and we wanted it to actually feel like a honeymoon. God willing, we have our whole lives ahead of us to take other trips to see or do other things but this honeymoon, was for us. To celebrate our marriage and our future. Our original plan was to go to Hawaii but with some of the restrictions they still had along with being pretty booked up as far as rentals/hotels went, we just weren’t feeling it. We looked through countless destinations and resort options and I can honestly say Cozumel was the best decision we made and our honeymoon was beyond incredible. Definitely not knocking other options either! Just speaking from the experience we had. From start to finish, our visit to Cozumel, Mexico was a breathtaking and everything you’d probably hope for in a romantic and relaxing trip ! This post is going to break down our travel details, where we stayed, what we did, and a few tips!

Before we begin diving into some of the details, I am not affiliated with the resort or any of the companies we used for our trip! These are just my 100% honest feelings and opinions based on our trip.

The information here is based on our experience, research and own opinions! It’s important to do your research and hopefully what I share here will help! As always, being anywhere whether in the United States or in another country, can have its areas you want to avoid. Cozumel being an island, you don’t have the major issues you may hear about on the main land and this was one thing that made it sound more appealing to me. This trip was actually my first time out of the US too! The island depends on tourism and typically does not have any big issues because everyone relies on it to fuel their economy. This doesn’t mean incidents will never pop up or could never happen and I still don’t suggest walking alone at night around dark alley’s but, you know what I mean. I tend to be a “worst case scenario” type person when I’m nervous or somewhere new and I can honestly say I felt very safe and comfortable the entire trip.

Enough about that, let’s get into the details!

PICKING YOUR DATES:

Our wedding was in October and we wanted to go on our honeymoon right after. We were married on Friday and left Tuesday morning! Now, October is part of Mexicos rainy season and this is a point in the year when hurricanes can in fact happen. We live in South Carolina so hurricanes and tropical storms are something we are pretty used to. We did our research and knew our resort was reliable when it came to handling a situation where an evacuation was necessary and felt confident staying with them! I will say, we were blessed and had no issues with storms! Its key to remember, you’re in a tropical place so pop up showers are bound to happen. I think we had rain at some point almost every day we were there for 15 minutes to an hour but it would come through and then the sun would pop right back out! We would use that little period of time to grab something to eat or take a break in our room. Sometimes we would schedule our day around the predicted showers like grab breakfast and head to the gym if there was a morning shower or one day when the chances were higher, we used up our Spa credits! Because of the rainy season, October is also considered “off season” for Mexico, so prices were even lower than they would normally be making it even more appealing for an extended vacation! We went for a total of nine days and it was the perfect amount of time.

BOOKING OUR RESORT:

We did some comparing and decided to book our flights and resort stay with Travelocity! I am not affiliated with them but they are usually my first stop when I start planning a trip just because I feel like it allows you to see a lot of options in one place and then compare from there. Our flights were with American Airlines (not affiliated) and as much traveling as we’ve done recently, American is definitely my preferred way to go.

Choosing our resort was a little overwhelming because there were just so many options. We finally selected Secrets Aura as our resort and I cannot say enough good things about it. We selected the Preferred Club Superior Junior Suite Ocean View which was beautiful. There is a price difference with “preferred” versus standard. Going preferred allows you access to additional swimming pools, a special area with upgraded chairs + tiki tables on the beach, additional food menus for room service, and a few other little perks. It made it a more personal experience and more fun being able to have basically access to everything the resort had to offer.

Secrets Aura is adult only and all-inclusive (yum!). A perk to staying at Secrets Aura, it’s sister resort, Sunscapes Sabor, backs right up to it and when you stay at Secrets Aurora you actually have access to all of the other restaurants and amenities at Sunscapes as well! Everything is within walking distance of course which again, just an added bonus!

Here is the link to the resort if you’d like to check it out!

Secrets Aura Resort – Cozumel Mexico

If you are considering Cozumel for your honeymoon, the resort we stayed at (like many resorts I’m sure) does offer a few honeymoon packages. They are available at an additional cost OR complimentary depending on the length of your stay! Ours was gifted due to the length of our stay (nine nights) which was so appreciated. We did have to provide proof of actually getting married, we were told it could just be a wedding invitation or copy of your marriage certificate. If you’re interested in this, be sure to check with the resort so the information is up to date! With the honeymoon package, we were gifted “The Secrets Eternity Honeymoon Package”, we received fresh fruit + a bottle of sparkling wine when we arrived. Breakfast in bed + mimosas one morning (this is different from traditional room service but breakfast and mimosas are available for room service!), couples massages, additional spa treatments, private beachfront dinner with a bottle of wine and great menu (this can be upgraded to the sunset dining on the dock which is what we did!), romantic turn down service, and more. Literally, it was AMAZING. You also have the option to stay for your first anniversary and receive a few free nights depending on how long you booked for!

Okay, enough about that! Moving on.

TRANSPORTATION:

There are shuttles that will take you from the airport to the resorts and from the second we got our bags in Mexico, we truly felt like we were on vacation and very well taken care of. Bypass all of the little stands inside the airport and walk straight out the doors to the shuttles, thats your best bet. The ride to the resort was easy! You cut through town and then get out to some more rural area. The resort has a gate guard who will verify your reservation every time you return to the resort which was a nice feature. The concierge will call for a taxi for you, should you wish to go into town or you can even do the jeep rentals! We did a jeep rental for one day to explore the whole island and it was a blast!

Another benefit of Secrets Aura is the private dock. We did a few excursions, snorkeling + parasailing and the boats come right to the dock to pick you up and drop you off. There is a small dock fee of I think $2 USD (this cost obviously might change!).

STAFF:

The Secrets staff is absolutely incredible. Every single one of them would greet us with a smile, a few days of being there and some of the staff actually would remember us and greet us in a more personable manner which always makes you feel a little more special. Everything was continuously maintained. I mean, we actually watched them repeatedly sweep off the sidewalks to free them of sand…on the beach. To some you might be like “well yeah, duh.” For us however, we were just blown away at how much work ethic and effort was put into everything the staff did. Always with a smile too! Our room was always completely stocked, the wait staff on the beach + by the pools were absolutely amazing and we truly were never really without anything. Anytime we had a question or would need help, someone was always near by. Their entertainment team was also fantastic and had us laughing countless times- even when not performing.

RESORT FOOD + DRINKS:

Fantastic. Especially their strawberry mojitos. People can say what they want about all-inclusive sometimes not having the best options but boy oh boy, did we score with Secrets and we both are pretty big foodies. They have five sit down dining restaurants that will rotate the type of menu they are offering nightly, a cafe open 24 hours, 24 hour room service, a wine cellar private dining experience, access to the Sunscapes restaurants, AND other add on’s you can do for an additional cost such as a private sunset dinner or dinner on the beach. With our honeymoon package like I mentioned above, we upgraded to the private sunset dinner. It was absolutely delicious and SO beautiful. Highly recommend if you’re able to do it! There are also countless places off the resort to go eat and we had a few in mind, but honestly our nine day stay just went by quicker than anticipated and we were unable to try everything we probably could have. We also really enjoyed the resort food and variety we were offered. You can also ask the concierge or other staff at the resort for additional recommendations and they will point you in the right direction!

THINGS TO DO:

The resort has people on site who can book excursions for you which is always great especially because they can help you decide or weigh your options. There are a TON of things to do on the island and on the resort but you can also go to the mainland. This trip, we did not leave the island but in the future, we probably will explore more! The entertainment team puts on countless shows, cookouts and other activities each day as well. Paddle boards, snorkeling (at the resort), kayaks and tennis are all available for free through the resort.

Secrets does have snorkeling gear on site, but we did choose to bring our own. This was my first time snorkeling so I wanted to try a mask + gear on before we went to make sure I was comfortable. We tried it out at the resort and then did our excursion as well! It was fun to be able to put the snorkeling gear on and swim around the resort beaches. The fish and things you see are just so pretty.

Amstar will be who you work with at the resort to book additional excursions if you haven’t already scheduled them yourself! We did our jeep rental with them so we could explore the island. They can book scuba diving, fishing trips, sailing, snorkeling, ATV rentals and so many other activities.

Here are some of the things we personally experienced:

KAYAKS/PADDLE BOARDS/PARASAILING: All of these rentals are available on the resort at a cabana along the beach. My husband did the paddle boarding one morning and we both did the parasailing! I had never gone before and was definitely nervous but I am so glad I went and in such a beautiful location. I definitely recommend it to anyone who visits Cozumel.

SNORKELING: We had already booked our snorkeling excursion with Chac-Choc Tours & Rentals. They came to our resort and picked us up and y’all, they were FANTASTIC.

GYM + SPA: We went to Spa by Pevonia several times which is at the sister resort, Sunscapes. Both were beautiful and we enjoyed every bit of it. The gym was clean and had everything we needed and the spa service was AMAZING. The fitness center is connected to the spa which was convenient as well! We used our free honeymoon massages and also received facials one day then booked a separate couples massage on a different day. Honestly, I could have gone each day we were there and been okay with it!

JEEP RENTAL: Now, getting a little off topic here as to how we did this excursion. Secrets has multiple resorts worldwide so people can join to be apart of the vacation club to earn different perks and trips. Similar to the timeshare concept but these guys really aren’t pushy. We were invited to sit down for breakfast and they’d give us “resort money” which is what paid for our Jeep rental + insurance. They also added in the tequila room tastings for us as well as wrist bands for the lighthouse. We had to eat breakfast anyways and they knew from the beginning we weren’t interested in actually joining (although, it was tempting). They didn’t push us in the slightest and it was actually a fun little breakfast. We learned a lot about the resort, the island, and other Secrets locations! Again, the staff is just great so it was doable for us.

–> Now, you do not HAVE to do the sit down with anyone, simply tell them you’re not interested from the beginning and they’ll leave you be about it! But just saying, you can use the resort cash for whatever you’d like! So for us, we rented a four door jeep and went out to explore! Here is what we did with our day rental…

• Punta Sur Eco Beach Park – This marks the southern point of Cozumel and is a nature reserve. Its covered with white sandy beaches, a beautiful light house, a viewing area where you can try to see some crocodiles, a pathway to the tree house, tequila tasting and I’ll also say, one of the best margaritas I’ve ever had. This was a must do for us and the drive from the gate to the lighthouse alone was gorgeous. While you’re there, be sure to get a margarita in these adorable handmade mugs. I was also able to hold a parrot!

• Playa De San Martin – This side of the island is very choppy and not swimmable, at least not very often. However, we stopped quick and were able to see a ton of turtle nests and broken shells from hatching sea turtles. I had so badly wanted to see a sea turtle in Cozumel but maybe next time! We were told by locals this is a good spot. Of course, we did not touch or disturb anything that was there but you can bet I was pretty excited just to see the little shell pieces everywhere!

• Casa Jalisco Tequila Museum – We were greeted with fresh margaritas and friendly faces. This was the second tequila tour we did and I will say, I do not view tequila the same at all after visiting Cozumel. Learning the true process behind it and how different true tequila is versus what we are used to in the states, blew my mind. If you like tequila as is, you’ll want to make sure you grab a few bottles from the island. It’s nothing compared to the over processed stuff we are used to!

•Anemona de Mar – We stopped here for a few tacos and hung out in the water for a little bit! They were delicious and like most of our trip, I loved being able to eat in my swimsuit with my feet in the sand. This is inside the Punta Sur Eco park too so if you’re heading to the lighthouse, swing by! They also offer a variety of packages you can get to spend the day there or do other activities they offer.

There are a ton of other things to check out in Cozumel, these were just top on our list! We used Pinterest, Travelocity and Trip advisor to figure out what we really wanted to do. Then after talking to the resort staff, we narrowed it down.

That about sums it up! *she says after several days of typing a blog post she put off for five months*. I truly do hope you found this information helpful or at least it gave some insight to visiting Cozumel or planning your own honeymoon!

I can’t stress enough how wonderful this trip was. I wouldn’t change a single thing given the chance and would highly recommend Secrets Aura for your stay or even just Cozumel as a whole to anyone looking for a good vacation!

Thank you SO much for reading! Please be sure to give this post a like or a comment if you have any questions!

With love,

MC