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Marival Armony Luxury Resort & Suites

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Marival Armony Luxury Resort in Riviera Nayarit Mexico.

As someone who is into adventure, resorts are usually the last thing on my mind. I love exploring volcanoes in Asia, scuba diving with sharks in Africa, and climbing mountains in South America, but when it comes to pure relaxation, it’s really hard to beat a luxury resort.

Resorts are something I’ve come to appreciate over the years and recently, my wife and I had the chance to spend three nights at the Marival Armony Luxury Resort & Suites, an adult-only all-inclusive resort in Punta Mita, Riviera Nayarit. When it comes to Puerto Vallarta vacations, it’s hard to beat the Riviera Nayarit area, which is located roughly 45 minutes north of the famous Puerto Vallarta.

In this travel blog post, I’m going to highlight our amazing three-night stay at Marival Armony Luxury Resort & Suites.

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Adventures in Huasteca | A Side of Mexico Almost No One Ever Sees

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I looked down at my watch. Wait, that’s not true. I looked down at my phone. The time was 7 am. We had just reached the bus terminal of Ciudad Valles after a 9-hour evening bus from Mexico City. I had slept maybe 2-hours but was excited to get back into nature and see some awesome friends we hadn’t seen since our university exchange in Malaysia back in 2012. After weeks of traffic and concrete in the world’s second-most-populous city, it was now time for beautiful waterfalls, turquoise waters, and subtropical rainforest hikes.

Ricky and Andrea, two friends of ours that happen to be bamboo architects, and our friends we had come to visit picked us up to go back to their house for breakfast. They had already booked our first adventure, which was just-so-happened river kayaking at 10 am. We ate breakfast, I grabbed an energy drink and we made way to the first of many beautiful tranquil rivers for the following week.

Tumul WaterFall

We joined up with some American kayakers who have a business in Mexico during the winter months. They gave us a rundown on how to operate the kayak and told us we’d be going down class-2 rapids. After paddling around one of the biggest waterfalls in the area, we got started. When the first rapid came, we fell off in an embarrassing fashion. Karla got massive scrapes all the way from her bum to the middle of her leg and I got lucky with just a bruise. Nothing big, though her cuts looked horrible. After that, we got the hang of it and only fell out one more time, thankfully in deeper water. We had only kayaked once before in calm waters so this was a completely new experience and a fun one at that.

It was incredibly scenic. The water was a light blue. The sky was blue. The jungle ferns draped over the edges and had an almost “Indiana Jones” feel to it. Mini waterfall after mini waterfall, we made our way down the river for a couple of hours, finally disembarking near someone’s farmland, where some other locals had been paid to drop off our vehicles for us.

Success.

tumul waterfall huasteca

After a delicious but greasy lunch of Mexican gorditas, it was time for another waterfall adventure.

This time we were going to be jumping off of nine different waterfalls, starting from a mere 3-meter drop to the biggest drop of the day at 9 meters. Some of them we could slide down like waterslides and after the last one, we had a big surprise waiting for us. We were able to swim behind the waterfall. Crouching down in a cool, dark cave while looking out from behind a powerful waterfall pour down in front of us was as magical an experience as it gets. I wanted to stay for hours and just be in the moment. This was another first for me and definitely something I’d love to do again. After a good five or ten minutes, we crawled to the left and eventually leaped through the waterfall and back into the cold waters.

Over the next week in Huasteca, we never stopped. It was adventure after adventure. We went paddle-boarding for the first time in small ponds and also upriver to see a massive waterfall towering above us. We took the kayaks again to a different river and also paddled upstream to Tamul waterfall, the biggest waterfall in the area. We then said bye to water activities and went hiking through a magical subtropical rainforest to reach a staggering 200-meter sinkhole in the middle of the mountains. This area is famous for sinkholes with the most notable one being the Cave of Swallows, which was featured in BBC’s Planet Earth and many National Geographic articles. We went to the one that almost no one ever sees, which added to the experience of it all.

Huasteca Sinkhole

After spending a night in some beautiful cabins in a small tranquil mountain village, we embarked on another new adventure – mountain climbing. The goal was to see an incredible view from the top but the rain caused too much mist for any view to be seen. Though this was disappointing, it was really cool to strap on a harness with real mountain climbers and make our way up a steep mountain. I was told that I was a natural so who knows – maybe I’ve found a new activity to fall in love with. We then continued on to a surreal castle built by Edward James near the town of Xilitla. This magical place is built into a natural waterfall and was meant to resemble “the Garden of Eden”. All Rocky and I could talk about was designing a liveable town just like this. Paradise.

I love trips like this.

While it wasn’t a new country (I’ve spent about six months in Mexico during the last five years), it was a new area and a place that almost no tourists ever see. The only tourists that make it to this area of Mexico are hardcore adventurers like the kayakers we met from the States. Most opt for major cities or beach resorts.

They are missing out and this could be great for visitors from couples to a great family holiday in Mexico.

This place was like walking into a National Geographic documentary. All the locals are super friendly and not-yet-damaged from mass tourism like those from Cancun and Riviera Maya. It actually reminded me of my time in Asia, driving through tiny villages and farmland and witnessing little villages with happy families. There are so many beautiful cities in Mexico, some of which are vastly unexplored.

Edward James Castle xilitla

After about five months of work and city life, this adventure was just what I needed. Adventure, thrills, good people and the odd bottle of Victoria beer. I tried some new adventure sports and grew as a person, which is just what travel is about, no?

When was the last time you tried something new or had your heart rate increase from excitement? Let me know in the comments – I’d love to hear about it.

My friend Ricky is building incredible bamboo buildings in the Huasteca region and we’re thinking of organizing an adventurous and unique tour in the next year or two. Would you be interested? Leave a comment if you are and you’ll be first in line when they happen.

PS: Don’t forget. I’m going to be releasing a book in 2015 called Limitless Travel. It’s going to be the ultimo travel resource book teaching you how to find the cheapest flights, how to become a travel hacker, all the different modes of transportation, different types of accommodation, best travel gear, and much more. It’ll be free for the first 5 days once released so make sure you sign up here and be the first to know about its release.

Diving into the Underworld | An unforgettable Experience in Mexico’s Cenotes

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Back in 2012 when Karla and I were diving from a liveaboard boat in Komodo National Park, our dive-master mentioned his experience with diving the famous cenotes on the Caribbean side of Mexico. Fascinated by his stories of crystal clear water and the thought of the “underworld”, we knew we had to do this as soon as we had the opportunity.

Fast forward to 2014 and that opportunity presented itself. Karla and I had just been married on the beaches of Ixtapa and were sitting in her home in Mexico City when I thought, “Let’s fly to Cancun for some cenote diving”. It certainly wasn’t the smartest decision, financially speaking, with a 4-month backpacking trip coming up but I booked the tickets anyway. There are so many things to do in Cancun and cenote diving is definitely one of them to add to your bucket list.

Dos Ojos Cenote Mexico

And just like that, we were diving into the underworld of Mexico. There are plenty of cenotes including Cenote Zaci and the Pit. We booked our trip with Scuba Libre, a small outfit known for their safety, which is important when you’re diving underground caverns. I was already hooked on diving the Bat Cave but then they recommended a place called the Pit. The Pit is a very deep cenote, which also has a layer of sulphur gas around 38M in depth.

Needless to say, I was in.

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Every UNESCO World Heritage Site in the World!

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View from Xochicalco, Mexico
View from Xochicalco, Mexico

A few months back, I was livin’ the life with my fiancée in Mexico City. Blessed with some of the world’s best food, drinks, colonial towns, and a large number of UNESCO sites, Mexico was a great place to be.

After visiting UNESCO sites such as Teotihuacan, as well as many other sites throughout Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and the United States, I began to remember how inspiring, interesting, and just plain awesome these sites were.

Then, I bought a book about all the UNESCO sites in the world and dived right into it. Places like the Canadian Rocky Mountains, Chichen Itza, the Great Barrier Reef, and Angkor Wat gleemed the pages. There were so many that it blew me away. Some were in places I have always wanted to visit while others were completely new to me.

Each sight is different. Some are absolutely stunning to look at while other’s are more interesting for their history and cultural impact.

But one thing is for sure; Each had to earn their spot on the UNESCO list, a prestigious award for those fortunate enough to be considered.

I have so many travel plans over the next few years that I began to consider how cool it would be to have some kind of an awesome, mind-blowing “roadmap” to follow.

Then it dawned on me…

I am going to visit every UNESCO site in the world!

Yup, all 936 of em’. It’s one hell of a challenge but I’m quite convinced I can make it work. I’ve already visited 33 (which is barely a dent in that list) of them and loved everyone of them in different ways. Some were just really rich in history while others were totally mesmerizing to look at. Others were exciting while some were simply educational.

angkor wat
reflecting back on Angkor Wat

Some of my favorite UNESCO sites I have been to include the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru National Park, Fraser Island, Angkor, Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks, Gros Morne National Park, Hiroshima Peace Park, Itsukushima Shinto Shrine, Historic Centre of Mexico City and Xochimilco, Historic Centre of Puebla, Pre-Hispanic City of Teotihuacan, Historic town of Guanajuato, Xochicalco, Tongariro National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Redwood National and State Parks, and Yosemite National Park.

I don’t intend on limiting myself to just countries with UNESCO sites or focusing solely on that when in each country. I intend to just use the UNESCO sites as a roadmap and then dive into any other adventures I come by. My biggest passion while travelling is finding amazing sites like those of UNESCO, and adventure activities like hiking, scuba diving, sky diving, or anything else that get’s the heart pumping and the sweat glands working.

I’m going to start creating a page now with all the UNESCO sites I need to visit as well as those I have been to. This is going to be a long, fun, and amazing journey. I think all of us have been to atleast one UNESCO World Heritage site before and most likely, were inspired in some shape or form.

What’s your favorite UNESCO site you’ve been to?

If you want to see the whopping 936 site list, go here.

 

 

Travel Hacking with Mom & Dad

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taxco, mexico
Looking down on Taxco, Mexico with Mom, Dad, and Karla

It’s been a dream of mine for sometime to be able to pay for a trip for my mom and dad. I always thought it would be a really cool gift to send them somewhere unique and different from anywhere else they have been. Unfortunately, as a student/shoe-string online entrepreneur, buying plane tickets for other people is a difficult task.

Thankfully, I began to get really involved in the ancient art of travel hacking last year. I had always been the kind of guy to look for special deals on travel, but had always looked the other way with airline reward programs. Luckily, that all changed when I began to take it more seriously.

The world of reward mileage is not the same everyone. The U.S. has the best programs of all and is insanely easy to get enough points to never pay for a flight again. In Canada, it’s a little harder but I quickly found out that it’s still possible to get 100,000 points or so each year. Of course, this number can even be higher with the amount of time you put in.

For me, my deepest interest was credit card deals since they seem to offer the best bang for the buck. I did some research and ended up finding 3 cards in particular that allowed me to earn thousands of points quickly, with almost no fees what so ever. 2 of the cards allowed me to earn a total of 45,000 Aeroplan points with no added fees. That’s already enough for a round-trip to Mexico. Another card allowed me to earn 25,000 points for just $75. Not bad for a round-trip anywhere in the U.S.

After earning all these points plus dabbling in other deals, I began to realize how awesome it really was. Before I knew it, I had gathered more than 80,000 points in about 6 months. I now had enough points to bring my girlfriend and I to Mexico.

But I still wanted to get my parents to Mexico as well and show them such a unique and different place than what they were used to.

So I began to tell them about all the deals they could participate in to earn the points I had earned. At first, they scoffed at the idea and told me it must be some sort of scam. I kept on telling them it wasn’t a scam. Sure, it seemed to good to be true, but in this case, it was real.

Finally, I managed to talk them into one credit card. Once they reached their bonus points, I talked them into another, and then another. Before they knew it, they also had over 80,000 points each.

Voila, we were all going to Mexico. I offered to pick up the taxes, and just like that, I had achieved a dream of bring my parents on a trip for nothing. All of us were booked and heading to Mexico City to visit my girlfriend’s family and to see the amazing history that the city and surrounding area offers.

They were pretty amazed that these trips were paid for in points that took almost no effort to earn. The only thing we needed to pay was taxes of about $125 per person. I took care of that for them and also coached them into a free stopover in Vegas on their way home to see a beautiful cirque du soleil show.

After booking the flights, other friends and family began asking me about the deals I had found and how to go about earning points more actively. So, I thought I should create an EBook for Canadians. Chris already has one for Americans (affiliate link) but I wanted to create one specifically for Canadians since our deals here are so different. It’s still in production mode, but if your interested in buying a copy, sign up here and I’ll notify you upon it’s release. If your signed up and choose to buy, you’ll also get $5 knocked off and some other goodies.

If you’d rather get started now or simply do it on your own, here are some great travel hacking sites to check out:

That’s a good start. These sites are great and are packed with lot’s of information. A lot of it is geared towards Americans but it can definitely still help you out.

Happy travels,