Tropical Family Vacation

[Steve's Sweety]

We are looking to go somewhere tropical in Feb (yes, I know we don't give ourselves much time) and I'm not sure where to go.

We've already been to the Bahamas & Hawaii, so we are looking mainly at the Caribbean or maybe Costa Rica, I just don't know where specifically in those areas to look more into.
DH won't consider Jamaica or Mexico (though we have already been there also).

We are thinking we want to go to an all-inclusive family resort (we have a 2.5 yr old we will be taking with us) but I haven't been able to find many.
Also maybe important to mention - I like to do a lot on our vacations (excursions/shopping/sightseeing) more than lounging around the pool/beach, although I do prefer to have a beach.

So, those of you who have taken tropical vacations with your little ones, where do you recommend and why?

[HeatherFL]

Have you considered Bermuda or Belize? I know Bermuda has an all-inclusive or two and I'm pretty sure Belize has a few. I haven't been to Costa Rica in awhile but it is lovely. I just don't know how child-friendly it would be.

~H.

[KrissyCat7]

How about Jamaica or Mexico?



I'd recommend Moon Palace in Mexico or the Starfish Trelawny or Beaches in Jamaica. I dont have children myself but there was a lot to do at both resorts for the little ones.

[HeatherFL]

The Moon Palace is really nice. I stayed there in the year 2000. :)

~H.

[Steve's Sweety]

Have you considered Bermuda or Belize? I know Bermuda has an all-inclusive or two and I'm pretty sure Belize has a few. I haven't been to Costa Rica in awhile but it is lovely. I just don't know how child-friendly it would be.I don't know anything at all about those places, but I will have to try to look into them.


How about Jamaica or Mexico?I am going to go back and edit my original post because I should have specified that DH won't consider either of those places. :rolleyes:


Any other ideas?

Some of the places in the Caribbean I have never even heard of, like Turks. There is a Beaches Family Resort there though that sounds nice, but the place itself sounds like there is not much outside of the resort. I'd like to go somewhere where there is a nearby cool city/town/area, kwim?

[lil_geek]

Barbados... it is a beautiful island! A mix of mountains and nice beaches. It's a british colony and Bridgetown is a great city to just walk around. Excursions (that I have done) include a sunset catamaran cruise with snorkelling (I remember a few falilies on this... can't rembmer if the kids went in the water but they loved the boat) , a jeep/off road tour, Jet Skiing.

We stayed at a resort that was very family friendly (can't remember the name)... it had about 4 pools including a kids one and a very shallow wading pool type one. ETA: Kids clubs and such too on the resort - your may be young for a day program- but I think they have a drop in playroom too)

[Chimichanga]

The Cayman Islands! :)

We went to Cayman Brac (the medium sized one) for our "last family vacation" when I was in HS. We did our own thing; biking, snorkling, etc. And there really weren't excursions on that island.

However, on Grand Cayman there is a lot more to do/see. I know a lot of cruise lines stop there, so there is definitely things to do. The major attraction when we went was Stingray City. Not sure if that's still open with the recent press about stingrays, but it was definitely cool.

[kiki61872]

my BIL and his family (kids were 3 and 10 mos) went to the Bahamas and they raved about.
it was very family friendly.
they stayed at i believe at the westin. right next door is the sheraton and you can use both facilities.

[ManteoChik]

My best friend travels extensively with her DD because of her DH's job. She's been traveling with her since she was 6 months. She enjoyed their trip to Bermuda but said everything was VERY expensive (they weren't at an all inclusive)...other than that she had a great time.

I've been to Turks and Caicos (Provodentials) and it was very nice. We were there on a private yacht but I hear the resort is beautiful. The above mentioned friend stayed there. Again, she said it was expensive but very nice. Provo has diving, snorkling, shopping (duty free jewlery stores :D ), restaurants, ect...

It might be worth it to see if your DH will reconsider Mexico. There are a lot of lovely resorts there. A lot of people hear Mexico and automatically think of Cancun and that everything is like that but its not. I'll be in Mexico in February.

[rosa727]

What about the Dominican Republic? It is quite affordable and there are many really nice all-inclusive resorts. Many are geared towards families. The Sunscape properties in Punta Cana are very nice and fun. Sunscape "The Beach" is the newest and is supposed to be great. I have been to Punta Cana twice and really liked it. The beach is gorgeous and the resorts are great. The people are nice too. There is not a lot there off of the resort grounds (except snorkelling and stuff like that), but it is very relaxing and peaceful.

[Amanda77]

Just bumping this up for more ideas.

We are looking for a tropical family vacation with a 2.5 year old as well. Looking to go more toward May or after. We also like to have other things to do, places to go etc.

I was searching the Frommer's travel messageboards and after reading some people's experiences, none of the Caribbean islands really stood out to me. We would consider Mexico, though and we will be travelling from Orlando and don't want to long of a plane ride (especially with a 2.5 year old ;) )

[rosa727]

Riviera Maya has many nice all-inclusive resorts that would be great with a 2.5 year old. There is also lots of other stuff to do there (ruins, snorkelling, cute town). I know many of the resorts are geared towards families with children. And the flight would be short for you, Amanda!