Hi Moms,
I am planning a family vacation with my husband and will-be 20 month toddler. I'm looking for recommendations for a beach-resort-type vacation that will have fun actitivties that I can share and experience with my son (such as kids pool, crafts, kids activities, etc). I live in NJ, so ideally I'd like to limit the plan trip to about 2-3 hours....so Florida, Bahamas and even Mexico may be options....in addition to any other recommendations. The trip will be at the end of March, so local recommendations won't satisfy my need for warmth.
Do any of you have recommendations that you can share. My internet exploration hasn't served me well.
Thank you in advance...I really appreciate it!
Hello. Try Turks & Caicos 'beaches' resort. great pools and sesame street events every day. My son (who's name is J. by the way :) loved it and now wants to 'live on vacation'. He's 4 but the children we literally all ages. You can find them on the internet. have fun.
We went as a family last year to a place in Antigua called Coyoba. It was quite pricey but the rooms have a small room for your child that you can have a crib and then you and your husband can have some privacy. They had a kids club during the day (a little seperate area on the resort) that has a kiddie pool and babysitters. We never ended up leaving my son only because he was two and difficult to drop off (as we are used to since he goes to daycare) but the opportunity was there. There are also babysitters at night. Get a room on the ground floor facing beach and when the baby is napping you and your husband can sit on the beach outside your room with a monitor and enjoy the downtime. There is also a gratis kid meal early in the evening so he can eat early and then you and your husband can enjoy the evening together with room service. Overall I can't say that the service and resort live up to the cost, but the down time and catering towards families is priceless for you and your husband.
Definitely, Puerto Rico! There's tons of cheap flights from the New York area and the flight is only 3 hours away. There is a lot to do there and it is very safe and clean. You don't have to deal with passports and costums to go there since you don't even need a passport. We went there in December but since we are on a budget, we stayed in a vacation apartment. We had a HUGE two bedroom, two bathroom right on the beach that had an amazing pool and a kiddy pool although my daughter only wanted to go to the big pool! We rented a car (the apartment included parking) and drove around the island. We even visited one of the resorts for the day but were very glad we stayed in the apartment instead. It was so confortable and it was nice to have a full kitchen. Also, the owners were SO HELPFUL! Our daughter got sick and the owner even gave us the name of a pediatrician to call. There is a hospital a block away and the doctor saw us there within minutes. I can't say enough good things about this place and plan to go again next year. We found it at:
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p153659
Go to Beaches.com. We've been there with the girls and have stayed at their sister resort geared towards couples "Sandals" and they are both top notch.
Beaches has resorts in Jamaica, Turks and Caicos and one other place (I can't remember where). Jamaica is like 3 hours from Newark, but if you're in the AC area, you may want to leave from AC airport, or better yet Philadelphia Intl. Its only 2-1/2 hours from Philly. And, there is a 7:20 flight on Air Jamaica which is a very quiet flight and never ever packed and its reasonable.
Book well in advance for great prices, as they can be a little steep on short notice.
Also, book the air separately, Air Jamaica always has specialsl. Beaches will allow you to make payments on their website.
Lastly, they are all inclusive, so once you're at the airport, you won't have to spend a dime, unless you want to do outside excursions. And the beach is private, no hawkers, vendors.
My girls are still raving about Jamaica and we went in in April 2007. This resort caters to kids, they even have a popcorn and ice cream machine that works all night light. Yes, we let them eat whatever they wanted, when they wanted and they soon found out that the tummy is in control.;)
Good luck.
PS -- Beaches Boscobel is pretty far from the Montego Bay airport, try Negril its closer. We did the ride to Boscobel at night and it was scary. LOL!
Me: Married Mom of 4 and 11 year old
We enjoyed the Disney Cruise over new year's with our 3-year old (we also went when he had just turned 2). It stops at Nassau and Disney's own private island (very nice). I think that they also do cruises that stop at other islands. I also read in the New York Times recently about some very kid-friendly resorts in the Florida Keys. Good luck with vacation planning.
The Domincan Republic has the best family resorts. They are all inclusive and have tons of activities for children of all ages.
