For my grandmother's 80th birthday, my whole family went to Playa Del Carmen to celebrate! During our stay in Mexico, we learned a lot of dos and don'ts of visiting.

1. Don't Drink The Water

Whatever you do, don't drink water unless it's bottled. This includes ice, even in alcoholic beverages! If the ice is packaged (usually at a resort) then you are OK.

Warning! You may get sick if you drink the iced drinks pictured below:

2. Make Plans Beforehand!

When you go on a vacation with 10 other people who are horrible at making plans, it is hard to have any idea whats next. With no official plan, we traveled to an island named Cozumel on a Sunday. This forced us to take a boat ride and it resulted in multiple family members getting sick. Once we arrived, the area was dead and we ended up eating at a common restaurant accessible anywhere in Mexico, Senor Frogs. Other times during our stay, our nonexistent planning skills lead to us going to 5th avenue one too many times!

3. Be Careful Of What You Eat!

After this meal, I avoided meat at all costs. The steak I had tasted very different than what I was used to. While in Mexico, you have to be very careful of what you eat and where you eat it. Food is stored and prepared differently there. This is why I typically ate vegetarian meals consisting of cheese, guacamole, and tortillas.

4. Go To The Beach As Much As Possible

This includes going to Tulum! Although every beach I went to in Mexico was beautiful, Tulum was by far my favorite. The water was gorgeous and my whole family had an amazing time sunbathing and swimming in the ocean.

5. Have Entertainment Available!

This includes bringing a speaker, having games handy, and if you are staying in a house having satellite tv. The house we stayed at had a Bose Speaker which was fantastic to listen to, but they only had a projector with a faulty television provider. In our spare time, we played the new iPhone game called HQ. We also watched scary movies!

6. Bring Your Camera

Not only will you be able to take amazing pictures of the beach, you'll be able to capture lots of memories made throughout your trip. It never hurts to bring a camera or keep your phone handy!

7. Visit The Ruins!

Not only are the Mayan ruins in Tulum next to the beach, but they are an awesome part of history. During your visit, there will be many tourists and wildlife such as iguanas.

8. Have Snacks

Since I was in a large group, it was hard to make plans ahead of time. Not only was it hard to make plans, it was hard to find snacks we enjoyed. All the common chip brands we bought did not taste the same. So if you find a good snack, be prepared for it to disappear immediately! The other issue we had was many people were full from beer, therefore we did not eat for hours! This caused many people to be hangry! Not a good thing to be while on vacation. So make sure you have snacks!

And That Was My Family Trip To Mexico!