Family Holiday: Club Med Japan

This is a Review Post

I’m an advocate for planned family holidays of all kinds. Holidays added so much value to my own childhood, thanks to my parents, and now I want to gift those memories to my own children. Our family has invested in many different holidays over the years, from camping to resorts; hotels to cabins. I plan to showcase a variety of destination holiday options on the blog, and you can find my previous travel posts at the end of this post. This time, I’m adding Japan to the list which has turned out to be one of my favourite places. I was invited to Club Med on Kabira Beach, Ishigaki, and so my friend and our twelve year old daughters saved our pennies and went on an adventure. 

About Club Med

I first heard about Club Med from a friend who raves about the all-inclusive holiday options at over 80 resort locations around the world. Club Med has been around since the 1950s, and their focus is creating an environment that fosters happiness effortlessly. All you have to do is go, and happiness and memory-making will follow. That means accommodation, all day gourmet dining (including drinks), kids clubs, activities, lessons, evening entertainment and transfers are all included so there’s nothing left to do but enjoy. 

Flying into Ishigaki, Japan 

Club Med, Kabira, Ishigaki, Japan

Pristine waters are perfect for swimming, snorkelling, diving and other water activities.

The Rooms

Club Med Kabira has 181 rooms located throughout three-storey bungalows built in a curve facing the sea. This means each room has glorious views. Rooms range from Club to Deluxe and Suite with balconies. We stayed in a Deluxe adjoining room. The rooms we stayed in each had two beds, a sofa, mini bar, desk, bathroom (with bath) and balcony overlooking the ocean. 

View from the balcony.

The Beach

One of the highlights for me was spending time on Kabira beach with my friend and our daughters. The beach has a lifeguard on duty and beach chairs where you can relax. There are also many free water activities like snorkelling, kayaking, paddle boarding and windsurfing. We loved wandering up the quiet shores, stopping while the girls made sand castles, exploring nature at leisure, paddling in the tropical water, and talking for hours all the while. 

The Activities

Club Med Kabira has a wide range of different sports and activities including windsurfing, snorkeling, aqua fitness, mountain biking, kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, beach volleyball, flying trapeze, ping pong, squash, tennis and more. Our stay was for five days, and we never ran out of things to do. In fact, it would take weeks to get through everything! All these activities are included in the stay, so there’s a wonderful freedom to just pick whatever you feel like doing on a particular day.

The only activities which aren’t included are the exercusions out to explore more of the island and surrounds. For example, there’s scuba diving trips, or the option to visit traditional villages on the island and learn more about the longest living people on earth: the Okinawans. 

Bike riding

Another highlight for all of us was the mountain bike ride. We simply put our names down the night before and met in the lobby the next day. The ride is easy with stunning views. We took a detour off the road, got off the bikes and walked up to a look out. Stunning!

The Pool

There’s one large pool at Club Med Kabira. It’s right next to the cafe that serves drinks (perfect). There’s plenty of chairs to lounge, plus a shallow section for younger children. Along with free swimming, there’s aqua aerobics classes, poolside dances and games.  One day, our girls were dong aqua aerobics while we reclined and chatted. Towards the end of the session, everyone got out an did poolside dancing, and my friend and I joined in. It was really fun! I think that’s of the of the wonderful things about the Club Med experience, the fun times just roll and you find yourself doing things you didn’t have to plan, and have such a blast!

Snorkelling

You can walk right into the water and snorkel away. We didn’t have to plan, organise or travel anywhere, we just went down to the beach, grabbed the gear and swan out right from the beach.

Kayaking

One lazy afternoon, we strolled down to the beach (which is about 10 metres from our room), and kayaked around the bay area. 

The Trapeze

Never would I have thought I would do a trapeze! Below is my daughter flying through the air, and I’m proud to say that I did it too. I have to admit I was nervous, but it was AWESOME, and in the end, I did it three times over! These are the types of adventures I want to have with my kids. Doing new things, having adventures and making memories that last a lifetime.

The Food

There are two main places to eat at Club Med Kabira.

Le Restaurant

This is the main restaurant where you can eat main means in buffet style. There’s always kid-friendly options available, and also other speciality sections each day offering Japanese and international foods. I looked forward to seeing what was on offer each day. For example, I was able to try different traditional Japanese soups and sushi, along with chef made meals like foie gras.

Tingara

This is the resort’s alfresco bar, which serves snacks through the day and is home to live music and cocktails in the evening. The bar is situated right next to the pool, and we often would just head in there for a coffee or cocktail; the kids would order hot chocolate or a cold drink. So relaxing. Our girls loved the freedom or ordering a special drink whenever they felt like it. 

Below are some of the examples of the food we ate.

Kids Club 

At Club Med Kabira there are kid’s clubs for children of all ages. This means parents can relax while the kids have fun, or there’s heaps of things to do as a family too. The programs for children aged 4-17 are included (so no extra cost). Below is a snap shot of the different age group sections.

• Petit Club Med (2 – 3 years)*
• Mini Club Med (4 – 10 years)
• Pyjama Club (2 – 10 years)*
• Junior Club Med (11 – 17)
• Club Med Baby Welcome (0 – 23 months, upon reservation)*

*At an extra cost

The Fun

I put together a snap shot of our trip. It was so much fun and we are still talking about it and planning our next adventure.

Club Med certainly do create an environment that makes relaxation and fun effortless. It’s the sort of holiday you invest in with confidence, knowing it will be a special one for you family. You can fill your days with a range of activities or take it slow; day by day, or even in the moments, you can tap into the happiness and foster special times with your ones. To find more information, check out Club Med Kabira or other Club Med destinations.

Note: We also went to Tokyo city on our way back to Australia, and I’ll share more about that in another post.

More Travel Posts

Check out my other travel posts including Australian spots Hervey Bay, Maryborough, Hamilton Island, Lady Elliot Island, Bundaberg, Brisbane, Aussie Snow Destination Guide; and international destinations including Lesotho in Africa, Dubai, and Hobbiton in New Zealand.