PhillyGuy

My wife and I are planning a beach trip in April. We have three children, 13, 10 and 7. We are trying to decide among Mexico, St. Maarten and Grand Cayman. We have not been to any of these destinations. I'm leaning towards Grand Cayman. My wife thinks the all inclusive option Mexico (Riviera Maya) is a better option. She thinks that Grand Cayman and St. Maarten will not offer enough activities for the kids. Any suggestions/recommendations?

Mexico - Riviera Maya
Grand Cayman - Grand Cayman Beach Suite
St. Maarten - Princess Heights Condos

RoamsAround

There are lots of thing to do/see for all children and adults of all ages in each of those destinations. You are looking at 3 very different places and thus the type of experiences you will have.

In a nut shell:

St. Martin - European feel, hundreds of restaurants (a food lovers paradise), plenty of duty free shopping, all types of water sports, golf, and land adventures, as well as the usual beach activities.

Grand Cayman - flat arid island with spectacular 7 miles long white sand beach, fantastic diving & snorkeling, somewhat expensive destination, many upscale properties.

Mexico's Riviera Maya - lots of AI's, plenty of night life, Mayan ruins, dense jungles, water sports galore, lot's of local culture, some shopping, somewhat of a party atmosphere.

TurtleTagger

Here are some earlier posts and an article regarding activity options for Grand Cayman and mention of SXM to help give you an idea of what is available:

http://www.fodors.com/community/cari...omment-6578002

http://www.fodors.com/community/cari...omment-6398070

http://www.caribbeantravelmag.com/ar...cayman-islands

virginia

an excellent site for maya riviera info is locogringo.com besides the things roams mentioned are horseback, jungle atv tours, fishing & more, plus 2 wonderful marine fun parks: www.xelha.com and xcaret.com - your kids will love the parks! you will get the most for your money on maya riv coast. you'd probably want a resort near playa del carman for the duty free shopping and fun restaurants. check the riu and iberostar chains.

grand cayman has a highly rated skate park if any of your kids like skateboarding. very water oriented destination.

it really depends a lot on your kids - high maintenance or happy to play in the ocean all day.

suze

I think the Mayan Riviera in Mexico would be perfect for a family trip, with many choices of AI resorts and plenty of activities both at the resort and to do on your own or with tours in the surrounding area. But I don't know the other two placess to be able to make a comparison.

lvstogo6

Having 4 kids ages 9-17 and having visited all three of your choices, I thought I would comment.

We visited St martin with the kids over Spring Break. It has a lot of good qualities but , overall, I think it may be the least fun for young teens. They did get a lot of "cultural sights" that they will always remember, which I think it good to a degree. Any length of time there , however, and I think they could get restless.

The MR is great . Our children have not ever visited there with us, but I would take them probably. Someday. Not now. We aren't big AI people but husband I love the smaller boutique- like ones Royal Hideaway in Playa del Carmen.

Out of the three choices , I would choose Cayman. I have always had fantastic experiences there and we are, in fact, working on taking our kids there over the Christmas/New Year holiday. There is lots for them to do and the island is good for kids that age. Being comfortable and having peace of mind goes a long way when you are traveling with young teeenagers...

Kristen1206

I vote for Cayman. Has everything you are looking for.