Afsar family holiday — Mexico + Belize, Dec 13–25, 2026

All seven of us · one route, settled with Mum's notes · everything in Mexico is booked

Flights are booked: Toronto → Cancún Sun Dec 13, 9:40 am · Cancún → Toronto Fri Dec 25, 7:40 pm (both direct, Flair). Everything else is held on free cancellation where offered.
MEXICO BELIZE Caribbean Sea 1 h · 54 km Dec 13 & 25 2 h · 142 km Dec 15 45 min · 42 km 3¾ h · 264 km Dec 17 40 min · 39 km 4–5 h · 243 km border · Dec 19 & 22 4½ h · 351 km Dec 22 Cancún land Dec 13 · fly Dec 25 Playa condo Dec 22–24 · pick A, B or C Playa del Carmen Dec 13–14 · Xcaret day Dec 15–16 · cenotes Valladolid Chichén Itzá Dec 16, 8 am · before the buses Bacalar Dec 17–18 · the lagoon Chetumal car parked Dec 19–22 Cayo Dec 19–21 · 3 nights · jungle, ruins over the Guatemala border Tulum ruins · optional 1-h stop, Dec 22
our rental car Belize van (the car waits in Chetumal — rentals can't cross)

Day by day

Dec 13PlayaLand 1:55 pm, drive 1 h · 2 nights
BOOKED ✓ on Trip.com · Villas Segovia Suites · 8.8 · pool, steps from 5th Ave · 2 adjacent suites · CAD 283 charged Dec 4 + MXN 400 at the hotel · free cancellation until Dec 6
Dec 14PlayaXcaret park all day — Ilhan turns 3
Dec 15ValladolidDrive 2 h, cenote swim on the way · 2 nights
BOOKED ✓ on Booking.com · Hotel San Clemente · 8.1 · pool + kids' pool, 2 blocks from the plaza · quad + triple CAD 264, pay at the hotel · free cancellation until Dec 14 (the family's Casa del Árbol stopped taking reservations)
Dec 16ValladolidChichén Itzá at 8 am — 90 quiet minutes before the tour buses — afternoon in the old town
Dec 17BacalarDrive 3¾ h · 2 nights
BOOKED ✓ on Booking.com · Hotel Makech · 8.3 · pool · 2 quad rooms CAD 293, nothing charged until Dec 10 · free cancellation until Dec 12
Dec 18BacalarLagoon day — sail the seven colours
Dec 19CayoShort hop to Chetumal, park the car, van across the border — 4–5 h to San Ignacio (243 km) · 3 nights
FAMILY PICK: Don Santiago Guesthouse Downtown, 8.8 · triple + two doubles CAD 495 — free cancellation to Dec 17, pay at the property, kids free
Dec 20CayoXunantunich ruins — the hilltop looks across the river into Guatemala · cave tubing for everyone over 40" (Ilhan sits out with one adult)
Dec 21CayoSecond jungle day — river, iguana sanctuary, or just the pool
Dec 22PlayaBack across the border, collect the car, coast road north (Tulum ruins stop if energy allows) · 3 nights
RESERVED ✓ on Airbnb · 3-bedroom condo with pool · CAD 501 · free cancellation until Dec 21
23–24PlayaBeach days, cenotes Azul and Cristalino (shallow pools for Ilhan), Akumal turtles
Dec 25Fly homeEasy morning, drive to the airport, fly 7:40 pm

Bookings and documents

Flights · Flair, booked through eDreams, 4 adults + 3 children
Out: F8 2616, Sun Dec 13, 9:40 am Toronto → 1:55 pm Cancún · Back: F8 2613, Fri Dec 25, 7:40 pm Cancún → 11:50 pm Toronto · no checked bags yet		3,186 paid
Mexico tourist tax — already paid
Flair's payment summary for the outbound booking lists “Tourism Tax (Derecho No Inmigrante) – Mexico: $583.45” for all seven of us. Keep a screenshot of that page on a phone and show it at the Mexican border on Dec 19 and Dec 22 if an officer asks for the tax again.		583 paid
Rental car · Alamo, Cancún airport, Dec 13 2:30 pm → Dec 25 2:00 pm, 7 seats
Third-party liability is included in the price · free cancellation until 48 hours before pick-up		682
Playa · Villas Segovia Suites, Dec 13–15 · Trip.com
free cancellation until Dec 6		313
Valladolid · Hotel San Clemente, Dec 15–17 · Booking.com, pay at the hotel
free cancellation until Dec 14		264
Bacalar · Hotel Makech, Dec 17–19 · Booking.com
free cancellation until Dec 12		293
Playa condo · 3-bedroom condo with pool, Playa del Carmen, Dec 22–25 · Airbnb
free cancellation until Dec 21		501
Belize, Dec 19–22 — not booked yet
Belize exit fee at the land border: BZ$40 (about CAD 28) per adult, children under 12 free with ID		—
Flair payment summary listing Tourism Tax (Derecho No Inmigrante) - Mexico, $583.45
Flair's payment summary for our outbound booking, read Oct 27. The last line, “Tourism Tax (Derecho No Inmigrante) – Mexico $583.45”, is the tax already paid for all seven of us. Show this at the Mexican border if asked.

Booking codes and PINs are kept with Saad, not on this page, because anyone who has them can change a booking.

The whole-trip budget, all seven of us, in CAD

Booked
Flights, with the Mexico tourist tax inside3,186
Rental car, 12 days, liability included682
Hotels: Playa 313 · Valladolid 264 · Bacalar 293 · Playa condo 5011,371
Booked so far5,239
Still to pay (best estimates)
Belize stay, Don Santiago Guesthouse, 3 nights (not booked)≈495
Belize transport, private van Chetumal ↔ San Ignacio both ways (estimate from a published US$145 fare; driver quotes still to request)≈410
Belize days: Xunantunich by local bus 130 · St Herman's Cave and Blue Hole 45 · exit fee for 4 adults 112≈290
Xcaret Plus (lunch, lockers, snorkel gear), 6 tickets, Ilhan free, 15% off if bought by Nov 22≈1,240
Chichén Itzá 202 · Cenote Oxman 42 · private Bacalar lagoon boat 225≈470
Quintana Roo visitor tax (VISITAX), pay only on the official site≈150
Fuel, tolls and Chetumal parking (not yet worked out)—
Food, 12 days × 150 (our own estimate; the condo has a kitchen)≈1,800
Trip total≈10,094
Dada's target: 10,200 — under by106

Booked lines are what we paid. The ≈ lines come from the operators' and parks' own price pages; fuel, tolls and parking are still to add, so the total will land just above the target.

Still to do: book the Belize guesthouse · get the Belize van quote · buy Xcaret tickets by Nov 22 · add checked bags on Flair · keep the tourist-tax screenshot on a phone for the border.