Carribean Family Vacation Advice Please?

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Hello my dear friends. We are looking to take our first family vacation in a number of years (my wife and I, 3 older teens). This will be a combination of our 25th wedding anniversay, son’s H.S. graduation and youngest daughter’s sweet-sixteen so we are looking for someplace special around June.

First pass was the carribean and/or Mexico.

Anyone have a favorite family friendly place (I don’t mind “all-inclusive”) we can consider?

Thanks in advance.
 
TheDoctor said:
Hello my dear friends. We are looking to take our first family vacation in a number of years (my wife and I, 3 older teens). This will be a combination of our 25th wedding anniversay, son’s H.S. graduation and youngest daughter’s sweet-sixteen so we are looking for someplace special around June.

First pass was the carribean and/or Mexico.

Anyone have a favorite family friendly place (I don’t mind “all-inclusive”) we can consider?

Thanks in advance.
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How about do the Carribean AND Mexico… all in one?? 🙂

It’s called Cancun. 😃

I went there for my honey moon and it was amazing. The best thing about it was the price. Since it’s in Mexico, it was extremely cheap for us. We stayed in an all inclusive, five star resort for a ridiculously low price. The resort we stayed in was an adult’s only, honey moon type resort, but there were many others around us that were very family oriented and had all types of fun water activities already included in the price for the room.

My husband and I looked all over the Caribbean when looking for a honey moon destination. We found that Cancun was the most affordable with the most value for the price. 👍
 
I would recommend Cuba, but i dont think americans are welcomed there as far as i remember. Dominican Republic otherwise. I’m not a fan of Mexico as it’s too city-like and Cancun is kinda wild.

Turks and Caicos would ne another, but there’s less to do there than in both Cuba and the DR
 
St. Lucia was beautiful and its very Catholic. Luckily when we stayed at Sandals St. Lucia it was within easy taxi distance of the Cathedral. Went to Mass twice there because we were there during a Holy Day of Obligation. It turned out it was one in the US, but not St. Lucia but we still got to go to Mass twice there.

Also stayed in Ocho Rios Jamaica and went to Mass there, very interesting experience. Seaside church with all the windows open. Very enthusiastic parish. Just make sure your taxi is hired as a round trip, negotiate up front, and don’t pay until you arrive back at location. Jamaica isn’t as safe as St. Lucia. We had no problems walking around by ourselves in St. Lucia. Didn’t feel as comfortable doing that in Jamaica.
 
Personally, I’d stay with US areas, like st John in the virgin islands.

My neighbor’s niece lives there and owns a tourist boat touring type of business and a hair salon, I’ve researched and it looks like a nice place.
 
I lived for 3 1/2 years on the Island of Antigua. Had our first three (of 12) there. IT WAS GREAT:thumbsup:

Something in the water though:blush:
 
We rented a yatch with captain and crew (captain’s wife and college kid) and sailed St. Thomas and islands for one week. Kids LOVED it. Two friends copied our trip and their kids loved it too. Never took off our bathing suits the whole time. Meals were prepared. You are asked what you will eat and drink and kitchen stocked accordingly. No more expensive than week in a hotel.
 
1inICXC said:
I would recommend Cuba, but i dont think americans are welcomed there as far as i remember. Dominican Republic otherwise. I’m not a fan of Mexico as it’s too city-like and Cancun is kinda wild.

Turks and Caicos would ne another, but there’s less to do there than in both Cuba and the DR
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As I understand it, the problem with Americans in Cuba comes from the US side. Our government normally does not allow travel to Cuba. At present, vacationing there is probably too much trouble.

What about Puerto Rico or the USVI? Both US Territories; not too far away.

ICXC NIKA
 
Less than two cents with caveats, so this should be helpful.

What part of June? If safety concerns are coming up, Bermuda ( i realize it is not the Caribbean) is gorgeous and very safe, IIRC. However, will not necessarily be as warm as the other spots, especially in early June. Caveat, I haven’t been there with kids, so wasn’t looking for teen type activities. My bride went as a teen and had good times. Caveat two, it has been some time since we have been there, but boy, the Royal Palms was beautiful.

One of the times we were there we heard a homily at that was, at the time, the best homily we had ever heard.
 
aicirt said:
We rented a yatch with captain and crew (captain’s wife and college kid) and sailed St. Thomas and islands for one week. Kids LOVED it. Two friends copied our trip and their kids loved it too. Never took off our bathing suits the whole time. Meals were prepared. You are asked what you will eat and drink and kitchen stocked accordingly. No more expensive than week in a hotel.
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Sounds amazing! Did anyone get seasick? Was everyone used to being on a boat? That would be my only concern, that I’d get seasick and the trip would be spent puking. I have 2 sons who are gluten-free so having safe meals for them without effort would be very nice.
 
I would contact a travel agent (you don’t pay unless you book the trip) and look into Sandal Resorts or maybe an island hopping cruise. I lived in Puerto Rico for a while and the cruise ships docked there twice a week in San Juan.
 
Personally, I’d choose Yellowstone everytime. With a stop at Thermopolis to soak in the thermal pools.
 
Catholic1954 said:
I would contact a travel agent (you don’t pay unless you book the trip) and look into Sandal Resorts or maybe an island hopping cruise. I lived in Puerto Rico for a while and the cruise ships docked there twice a week in San Juan.
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I’m not sure of the age restrictions on Sandals, if it’s 16 and over or 18…
Breezes, their sister company accepts teens…

I’m leaving for San Juan in 10 days!! 🙂 We’re spending a week there, then off on a Back to Back Cruise… We really enjoy our time in SJ… this will be our 4th visit…

Someone suggested St Lucia, while it is a beautiful Island it is also VERY impoverished, if this makes you uncomfortable and would spoil the vacation not for you… Many that stay in the all inclusives are somewhat hidden away from this…
On saying that a lot of these Islands have their All Inclusive resorts… which become what I call more of a ‘compound Holiday’
Jamaica, although the ocean and sites were great, if you ventured off by yourself you were hassled a lot!!

If you want one the Caribbean Islands … St Maartin is prob my Fav, St Thomas, St Kitts and Antigua also have nice beaches…
I love Bonaire, Barbados, Tortolla, and Virgin Gorda…

If you are looking for a Fun ‘All inclusive’ time then you really can’t go wrong as another poster has suggested with Caribbean side of Mexico … My preference is The Mayan Riviera… around Playa Del Carmen. We’ve had great vacations here, but you have to be careful on which resort for the better beaches… Dominican Republic also offers some great all inclusives…

I had friends who took the family on a cruise, the kids (late teens) initially didn’t want to go but they loved it… Consider that, as there is always plenty going on to suit all tastes…

If you have any Questions feel free to IM me…

I’ve been to Most of the main Islands and a lot of the less touristy ones such as Dominica and Tobago…

Have Fun
 
Did you mean it has to be the Caribbean?

We celebrated our 20th with our kids in Italy. Loved it!! The kids were 18, 16 and 13 at the time.
 
This fall we did a 6 week driving tour of Spain and Portugal and fell in love with Spain…

Barcelona was incredible and there are beaches close by…

Consider if you want purely a Beach vacation or a combination of Cultral and Beach…
 
I wouldn’t recommend Mexico at all as I wouldn’t feel safe there, even at a resort. The whole situation there is just too volatile lately, and it will likely remain that way for awhile into the future. A vacation should be relaxing and fun, and you shouldn’t have to worry about violence anywhere even remotely close by.

The US Virgin Islands are lovely. Key West is also- and spending vacation dollars there would help keep the US economy enlivened - likely even a better deal! 😉 Have fun planning a great time as a family whatever you choose.
 
choose_to_love said:
Less than two cents with caveats, so this should be helpful.

What part of June? If safety concerns are coming up, Bermuda ( i realize it is not the Caribbean) is gorgeous and very safe, IIRC. However, will not necessarily be as warm as the other spots, especially in early June. Caveat, I haven’t been there with kids, so wasn’t looking for teen type activities. My bride went as a teen and had good times. Caveat two, it has been some time since we have been there, but boy, the Royal Palms was beautiful.

One of the times we were there we heard a homily at that was, at the time, the best homily we had ever heard.
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I second this. We went in June last year, and had wonderfully warm - but comfortable - weather.

The Bermudian people are friendly, it is an easy island to navigate (we just got a bus pass and rode all over the island; I was NOT going to get on one of those scooters!) The beaches are simply gorgeous (we went to Horseshoe Beach, the first time in about 15 years I had actually gone to a beach to swim, and loved it) and there are many wonderful hotels. Though we rented a cottage for the week ( a GREAT idea with a family) you might want to consider something like the Fairmont hotels. We spent some time at the Fairmont Southampton and it is GORGEOUS.

We were in Bermuda as the yachts participating in the Newport-Bermuda yacht race were arriving in Hamilton; it was great fun to sit down by the harbor and watch. We also met some nice folks on the beach who had sailed in the race.

There is plenty to do, from the lovely, historic town of St. George, to the Royal Navy Dockyard, to downtown Hamilton.

We have been to a number of places in the Caribbean and Mexico, and while many are lovely, we preferred non-Caribbean Bermuda. We always felt safe, had some wonderful food, and enjoyed the British flavor of the island.
 
TheRealJuliane said:
Sounds amazing! Did anyone get seasick? Was everyone used to being on a boat? That would be my only concern, that I’d get seasick and the trip would be spent puking. I have 2 sons who are gluten-free so having safe meals for them without effort would be very nice.
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No one got seasick. First time on boat for the kids. This is not a cruise ship. It was a 55 ft. gaft rigged motor sailer. Hubby and I had the stern cabin, the two boys slept in a little hallway off the galley. I requested at the booking that the captain like kids,and it was a family vacation.(Didn’t want a CAPTAIN RON…love that movie :rotfl:) We were told to write down what we liked to eat. You can opt to take some meals at a restaurant when you dock but, the captain’s wife was such and excellent cook, we ate on board. She was written up in Bon Apetite. We were advised to do the inward islands because the kids could see them from one island to the next.
All the kids from the other families who were teenagers loved the trip too. The captain made an effort to take the kids to “secret pirate caves” and would dive down, grab a lobster, and his wife would cook it. FUN!! Don’t do the bareboat trip. That’s where you and hubby are captain and crew. :bigyikes: You want moments to remember, not regret.
 
There’s a line of all-inclusive resorts that are on Playa del Carmen (outside of Cancun proper). The one we stayed at (it’s been MANY years) was the Riu Palace, but there were three other properties, as I remember, that you had equal access to. When I say all-inclusive, they’re all-inclusive – including the alcohol. I was there for a friend’s wedding, and we never left the property. It’s right on the beach, has lots of activities (plus a swim-up bar:D) and we had a great time. The only negative that I can say is the food was a little different than what I’m used to. They cater to the Europeans so it’s more geared towards that continent, but there was always lots of good stuff to eat.

Hope that helps!
 
I took my teens on a cruise. It was fabulous. Otherwise, I loved Barbados. San Juan is ok, but we thought it was very dirty in the city. The Bahamas are great fun. I would avoid Mexico.
 
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