How I Turned My Family Vacation Into A Diy Health Spa Retreat (for A Fraction Of The Cost)

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While my family sleeps peacefully, I slip into my gym clothes and tiptoe out into the warm morning, strolling along the Caribbean seaside path to the fitness palapa for morning yoga. After class, I meet up with my kids and husband at the beachside open-air restaurant. I head to the fresh-juice bar and watch as the chef presses me a pineapple, ginger, lemon, and celery juice (better than it sounds, I swear). After breakfast, it's off for a float in the ocean, a lunch of grilled fish and veggie tacos, and a blissful massage. And suddenly, it’s late afternoon, time for another swim and then sunset pilates. 

Although I have big aspirations, I’ve never actually visited a wellness spa. As much as I (really, actually) want to wake up with the dawn for an aerobic hike followed by stretching, eat quinoa porridge and warm lemon water for breakfast, get body scrubs and mineral wraps, and sweat it out in the sauna, every time I look at the cost of a wellness spa ($1,000 and up per day per person), I’m sidelined by the sticker shock. 

But three days into a spring break at Club Med Cancun with my family, I have a realization: I have accidentally stumbled into a wellness spa loophole. At a fraction of the cost, the resort has all the elements—fitness classes, healthy food (along with less healthy food), plenty of ways to relax, and a spa—I want out of a health spa experience, all packaged as a family-friendly beach resort. 

Once I realize I’m living a DIY health spa dream, I make extra efforts to preserve the delusion. I eat a little healthier, make a little more room to relax, and notice that I feel a little stronger at the end of every fitness class. I fall into deep sleep at the end of each day, worn out by fresh air and exercise, and rise easily each morning. 

More beach vacation ideas:

A true health spa would be a hilariously bad place to vacation with my family — my teen just wants endless burritos and pool time, and my tween would be into the facials but balk at the early wake-ups and the no French fries. 

But in this version of my spa vacation, everyone gets what they want. The kids roam the resort with the teen club, zooming down waterslides, playing big games of hide and seek, and going with new friends to archery and trapeze. My husband lingers over his oceanfront coffee, heads to the gym for a solo workout (he is not into the idea of exercising with others), and reads by the pool.

FIRST-TIMER TIPS: How to prepare for a Club Med vacation

The French quirkiness of Club Med keeps our time together interesting. Every evening at 9, there’s a dance party, sometimes with people dressed up as giant robots. My daughter and I are on the dance floor every night, learning the steps and laughing together. One evening, we kick back on the beach at sunset, sipping drinks and dancing to a DJ set; and every night, catch a new performance featuring folklore dancers, contortionists, acrobats, aerialists, and more.

At the end of the week, I feel more relaxed than I’ve ever been on any other family vacation. And when I return home, it feels easier to transfer the (mostly) healthy habits I’ve been practicing all week. Rather than falling into my usual slow-back-to-the-gym, let’s-get-takeout-because-jetlag post-travel routine, I manage to weave a bit more exercise, relaxation, and healthy eating into my chaotic life, and notice that these moments feel just a little more like vacation than they used to. 

How I turned my family vacation into a DIY health spa retreat (for a fraction of the cost) originally appeared on FamilyVacationist.com.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of USA TODAY. FamilyVacationist.com and TourScoop.com are owned and operated by Vacationist Media LLC. Using the FamilyVacationist travel recommendation methodology, we review and select family vacation ideas, family vacation spots, all-inclusive family resorts, and classic family vacations for all ages. TourScoop covers guided group tours and tour operators, tour operator reviews, tour itinerary reviews and travel gear recommendations. If you buy an item through a link in our content, we may earn a commission.