We are obsessed with all inclusive family holidays at Club Med, and with good reason – Club Med vacations are entirely stress-free, fun-filled and family focused. We spent five days at Club Med Kabira in Japan, and Emmie and I fell in love with this resort as soon as we arrived. It’s nestled in nature on the gorgeous island of Ishigaki in Japan’s southern Okinawa Prefecture, and sits right on the stunning Kabira Bay, well known for its incredible clear blue water and white sand. The resort has an intimate family vibe, stunning rooms that gaze out over the ocean, and like all Cub Med properties everything is taken care of and it’s just so much fun. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun every day with Emmie as we did here. 

When you stay at Club Med everything is included so you don’t need to carry a purse or wallet with you. Staff will tie a ribbon around your wrist to show you’re a guest and should you wish to buy anything extra, say from the gift-store or a fancy bottle of wine, you just use a small card, like a room key to charge your purchases and fix your bill when you check out. But if you don’t go shopping then you’ll leave with a zero balance to pay.

So all you need to do is get out of bed, throw on your swimmers and head to breakfast – possibly the next time you’ll see your room is when you change for dinner.

Fabulous family vibe

Club Med Kabira was smaller than we expected and we loved it. Because of this is the resort has an intimate family friendly vibe, and it helps too that most of the guests are from Japan, Taiwan and South Korea – these guys are always up for fun!

The resort has a capacity for around 500 guests and has 96 Guest Officers (GOs) to look after everyone – a great ratio for guests, as you’re always being looked after. In the evenings when everyone is playing games and having a drink at the bar it feels like you are at a friends house. If you want company then it’s there – you never have to be alone if you don’t want to because the Club Med staff are there to hang out with guests and make sure you’re enjoying yourself.

The GO’s sit with guests at lunch, they have a drink with them when they’re off work, they chat and get to know their guests and it’s so so super nice. Since all the guests are having so much fun everyone hangs together as well. It’s just a really nice friendly place to be.

The staff are from all over the world so if you’re interested in learning more about the country you’re visiting and other countries then this is a great opportunity!

Stunning rooms overlooking the ocean

Check out the view from our room! The Club Med rooms are always super comfy with huge beds, big bathrooms stocked with quality toiletries and excellent balconies – all with views. The Club Med rooms here at Kabira all face the ocean so everyone has a view. Our room was a few blocks back from the action which was fine with us. Walkways are covered and we could either walk there or through the garden and past the trapeze. And I could watch Emmie on the trapeze from our room and cheer her on – that was fun!

Mini Club Med

I know this is what everyone is interested in – Club Med’s Kids Club – Mini Club Med! Mini Club Med is so well organised – the kids love it because they get to stretch their abilities and gain confidence by learning new skills like archery, trapeze and tightrope walking. They also swim, play games and do lots of creative play like tie dying t-shirts and performing at the Kids Concert.

 

Emmie loves that she can check herself in and out of Mini Club Med (with my permission of course). It gives her a little taste of independence and responsibility, and of course, confidence. Kids become friends with the Mini Club staff and each other. It’s really lovely to see.

Kids Mini Club is huge with indoor and outdoor play areas and its own swimming pool! It’s really everything you could want in a kids club.

Activities, games and fitness

I love the activities here at Club Med Kabira. There is so much to do – if you choose to, you don’t have to do anything at all if you don’t want to!

We loved the daily aqua aerobics fitness class, it is just so much fun – the teacher is always entertaining and all the guests just have a great time. We always had huge smiles on our faces every single day. Emmie would go to trapeze in the morning and then check herself out of Mini Club and meet me at the pool. We would do aqua aerobics and then the pool games – things like team races or sports for adults and kids – and then we would head down to the beach as lunch started – it would be deserted so we could hang out and take some pics and just have it all to ourselves. Then we’d go to lunch and eat so much yummy food, and after lunch we would snorkel or do water sports, and then it would be time to get ready for dinner.

There’s a whole program of daily activities including yoga, dance classes and fitness plus a fully equiped gym. I went bike riding around Kabira on the morning mountain bike tour and really could have done a whole lot more – but the relaxing is pretty awesome too.

Delicious meals

The meals at Cub Med are really first class and have a focus on fresh, healthy ingredients. There are so many choices and it’s like fine dining where you are served your meal from stations where staff plate your meal for you. Beer, wine and soft drinks are available at lunch and dinner as part of the all inclusive package and if you’re lucky staff will come and sit with you at lunch. While it may seem strange at first it’s really nice and is one of the unique ways Club Med make you feel like you’re part of a big family.

Lifeguards on duty at the beach and the pool

 

Both the beach and the swimming pool have lifeguards on duty – so important for a family holiday with kids. They’re very safety conscious at Club Med and you will need to wear life jackets when doing the complimentary activities. As we had our own snorkel and mask we didn’t have to when snorkelling but if you use Club Med’s equipment you will need to put a life jacket on.

Watersports

There is so much to do on the water at Club Med Kabira. First of all you can do complimentary activities like Stand Up Paddle Boarding, wind surfing, snorkelling and kayaking. And there’s a daily complimentary snorkelling trip too. You can also join one of the many tours that take you out snorkelling and diving, exploring other islands or touring Ishigaki and the beautiful Kabira Bay.

And I can’t forget the fab swimming pool – so much fun happens here, and when it gets super hot the staff deliver ice-blocks to guests around the pool, and from a canoe to guests in the water on the beach. Everything is just so caring.

Awesome entertainment

 

I had so many fab surprises at Club Med, and one of the big ones was the nightly entertainment. It seems like every staff member has a special talent – dancing, singing, trapeze or comedy – and every night there is a professionally produced show for guests to watch including a children’s show night where all the kids perform and have the best night of their lives up on stage. Every Thursday there’s also the Club Med signature White Party so make sure to pack a white outfit and prepare to be amazed!

And then, if that is not enough following the show there’s alway something else amazing happening – a pool party, a trivia night or a traditional games night where staff share games from their home country.

 

I promise you that I am missing Club Med Kabira as Emmie and I reminisce as I write this post. If you’re ever in Japan you must go to Ishigaki and stay here, it is really wonderful…and make sure to check if there is a  Club Med property wherever you’re headed – if you’re lucky there will be one where you’re going and you can have a super fun stay too.

How to get there:

We flew to Ishigaki from Okinawa’s main island, but there are many ways to get to Ishigaki as it has an international airport. Taipei is only 30 minutes away, and you can fly in or out from Hong Kong too. Check out Skyscanner for the best flights – Hong Kong Airlines is only $50 each way!

Protect your data:

I’m a big fan of using a VPN to protect my data while on the road. Here’s why:

Have you visited Club Med before? Please feel free to ask me any questions!!

Cheers!