I have a couple summer dresses from Tommy Bahama that I can wear as a coverup or dress it up for dinner. I always pack a couple of dresses for any beach vacation in addition to shorts and cropped light color jeans.
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I was typing the same suggestion when your post appeared! 
My go to beach vacation attire! I have received many compliments! These dresses pack very small and don’t wrinkle.
Like this:
https://www.nordstrom.com/s/underwater-garden-print-sleeveless-maxi/6865653
This brand typically runs giant! I am a medium sized person but have to get XS in Tommy Bahama! 
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Thanks for the input. I have the pictured logdress on the maybe pile. Hubby will say it’s too dressy (like he said last year for the Hawaii trip, but I took it and wore on our dinner cruise night). But I like it.
I also have beach coverup / dress (with pockets!) coming tomorrow. It was on sale for $12, and hubby was already making Lands End order so no extra for shipping.
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Beautiful. Perfect for a beach vacation. Pack it. 
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I like both of those dresses. I am on the short side, so I generally wear short dresses. I prefer shift (linen) dresses over shorts. All I have to do is to pull it over me and it’s cooler.
I am good with getting dressed for dinner. I stay away from buffet for dinner because I don’t like how some people are dressed.
I would look into booking some themed restaurants ahead of time or getting them booked as soon as you’ve arrived.
I have found some all inclusive resorts are short staffed and they make it more difficult to get restaurant reservations.
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Agree that it’s perfect for a beach vacation - looks like a light fabric so will probably not take much room in the suitcase!
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That dress is super-cute Colorado_mom! It looks like it could go from casual to dressy and fit in anywhere! I love that dresses take up such little packing space.
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Yay… the landsend cover-up/dress I ordered arrived and fits. It may be what I wear if I lounge around at our hotel room’s outdoor space (probably balcony, maybe terrace).
I got the violet color pictured. Great deals on these cover-ups(including Petite sizes) for others who might be looking for similar. The material is a little thin, but that will make for more compact packing and quicker drying.
screenshot
PS - It looks better on the model. Ha, no surprise there.
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Very cute! Fun color, too!
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Any Mexico novel recommendations (ideally available on Kindle)? Sometimes it’s fun to read in setting of the trip, before during.
I downloaded my book club book to Kindle. And a title that has I think been recommended on these forums (“People We Meet on Vacation”) and some others that were good deals, under $3. I won’t read them all on vacation, but it will be good to a variety of titles available for beach and after the return home.
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People We Meet On Vacation is a great beach- warm weather book! Easy but fun read
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We had a fantastic vacation. Location was north of PV at Riu Palace Pacifico, between Nuevo Vallarta (new name Riveria Nayarit). All-inclusive on the beach with large pool area too. There were great food (and drink) options, plenty of variety. Evening entertainment options. Loved the 80 degree weather!! Lots of reading time, relaxation.
Summary below… happy to answer questions.
- Tues 10am direct flight from DEN, transport to Riu Palace arranged with AAA agent when we booked.
- Wed all day bus tour with fabulous local guide, including drive up to mountains and lunch in a remote town.
- Thurs at resort, with hubby taking cab to PV for evening sunset photograph class.
- Fri at resort. Spent a lot of the afternoon in the pool bar. Evening “White Party” (lots of white clothing) at another nearby Riu resort (bus provided).
- Sat - taxi to Bucerias to see market and have lunch at Karen’s, a beachside place recommended by friend.
- Sun at resort
- Mon taxi to PV - group tour of local market, then van ride to cook/guide’s house for cooking class and grand lunch.
- Tues 3pm direct fight to DEN…. yay, snowstorm waited til after we were home safe.
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Sounds like the perfect February get-away!
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I also have returned from my Mexican vacation (Riviera Maya). I was at a resort with 2 friends (sorority sisters from way back). One owns this as a time share. The resort was very nice, lots of wooden walkways connecting all the buildings and pools. The food was very expensive, the shops were expensive (so that meant I spent nothing on things as I’m too cheap).
The beach was a disappointment as in was about 20 feet of sand (nice) but the water was very very rocky and at low tide (there wasn’t a big difference in high tide or low tide) you’d have had to walk a long way to get to swimming depth, and it was impossible to keep your balance to get out there. So it was a ‘pool’ vacation.
We went to Playa del Carmen one day and that wasn’t very exciting. Real nice breakfast at a restaurant (the Ape Bar?) but the shopping was just junk (and expensive). When adding the $30 taxi ride (each way) made it an expensive day.
We did do one tour, a trip to the ruins at Tulum, swimming at a cenote (swimming hole) and then snorkeling to find turtles. Also saw stingrays and a huge starfish.
My friend is a photographer and she was very happy with all the birds, crocodiles, coati, and iguana she found.
I don’t think I’d do it again, just because I like to get into the ocean more on my vacations.
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Thanks for the feedback on your trip. We were also considering that area.
We had a nice sandy beach (I bought aqua shoes but only used them the first day). Admittedly I did not swim in the ocean. As usual, I puttered along the shoreline. Water was warm enough… I’m just not a confident enough swimmer by myself (hubby liked hanging up in the shade).
So we spent a lot of time near the huge pool or in the lounge chairs in the shade of palm trees. Or on our balcony as shown.
Food/drink was “free” (all inclusive). Can’t be sure that is cheaper in the long run, but how nice it was to look at a dinner menu and pick whatever we liked. And not have to mess with a bill at the end of the meal. Buffet breakfast/lunch was grand too, often eaten outside.
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I love to stay right on the ocean when we go on vacation to the beach, but that doesn’t mean I want to go INTO the ocean. I just love looking at and hearing the waves. Most actual swimming is done in the pools.
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For me it would be murder to not be able to “use” the ocean for swimming, floating, wading, splashing on a vacation! I always bring water shoes on any vacation where being near water is likely. They can usually double as good beach walking/light hiking shoes.
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In Cape Cod beaches are quite rocky. I always have to wear aqua shoes there. It was a joy to be able to wear my newish Vionic flip flops on the long walk to pool/beach. They have much better support than my old worn aqua shoes. Or on the sand go barefoot. Oh… that reminds me that I am in the market for new aqua shoes - will switch to the Plantar Fascitis thread.
NOTE: In Feb, I enjoyed walking barefoot when on the sand (and just a few pebbles in shallow area). However during Mexico summers, the sand may get too hot for that.