Caribbean w kids
 

We are looking for a good all-inclusive to take our children, for 1 week in March. Any suggestions? we are not interested in beaches. Childern are 11, 14, and 15.

Not interested in Beaches Resort or beaches as in sand and water?<BR><BR>On 99% of the islands I have been on there isn't a lot for kids to do unless you stay at one of the resorts with childrens activities. Sure there is the pool and beach in the day time, but there isn't much short of TV in the room at night for them.<BR><BR>If you were nixing the Beaches Resort, how about Atlantis in the Bahamas or Franklyn D in Jamaica. Both have a lot for families. Buccaneer in St. Croix also has some childrens activities.

The trick for your family, as with mine, is to find a place that accepts three kids and two adults in a room/suite or you end up paying for two rooms.<BR>When I read your question, first thing that came to mind was a Club Med, their kids club/teen club just can't be beat! Also, consider a cruise? I would suggest looking at the Voyageur of the Seas (I think that's the one with the ice skating rink, rock climbing wall etc).<BR>We've done Club Maeva in Manzanillo Mexico, the kids would love the waterslides there. Also, take a look at Wyndham Rose Hall in Jamaica, they have an awesome waterpark. Feel free to email me directly if you have any questions.

Thanks for your replies, I meant I was not interested in Beaches (the resort), we are definitly interested in the sandy beaches, I will look into all your suggestions, I have thought about Atlantis but heard the food was very expensive, I'm most interested in an all-inclusive, so I just don't have to worry about always shelling out money for food (my children eat like horses). Sandye, your absolutly right, the trick has been trying to find a place that will accomodate our family, many resorts say that I will have to pay full price for my 2 older children (14 and 15 yrs old) so they should give us an extra room (as long as they're adjoining) for the price we have to pay.

Last year we stayed at Paradisus in Cozumel and it was AI and they had activities for kids. They even had a kids pool. The kids could basically get whatever they wanted to eat any time from the buffet or snack bar and they had 2 sit down restaurants too.<BR><BR>There were a lot of excursions available as well as kids activities at the hotel. We were there in Jan. and they were doing stuff w/ the kids, so I imagine they would be in March too.

I know what youmean by the resorts charging the older teens full adult price and not giving them a room. I book two rooms with one adult in each room then request adjoining rooms. Works every time. I made the big mistake of staying at Beaches resort last summer. A few years back, however, we went to the Raddison Cable Beach in the Bahamas. It was perfect for my kds who were 13 and 15 at that time. Maybe we were lucky but I found lots of kids their ages were there. My kids still say that was their best vacation.

Look into the all-inclusives in the Dominican Republi

Antoinette, great idea! I give it a try. I'll also look into the Radisson Cable beach resort. We went to the DR last year w/o the kids, it was great (stayed at bavaro all suite resort), we have been to st. Lucia, Jamaica, Cancun (got sick, scared to go to Mexico again)and Hawaii. Anyone know if Antigua is worth a try?

I suggest you look into an all inclusive resort--the polynesian style Allegro Cozumel & Spa on San Francisco Beach Cozumel. Superb diving and fishing at Palancar Reef. They offer countless resort activities and are very reasonable. See website at allegroresorts.com. Phone 800-858-2258

We have stayed in Antigua twice (Sandals) and really liked the island. The beaches are incredible. You might check out the Pineapple Beach Club which we visited while we were there. Lots of catamaran sailing (like the all day cruise to Barbuda), English Harbor with their yachts, history and Shirley Heights on Sunday with live music, barbecue and incredible view from atop the mountain. Also, Royal Antiguan is reasonable. See Where2Stay.com for rates and reviews. In our opinion much nicer than Cable Beach.

The Allegro in Cozumel is too far from everything.

Have you thought about a cruise--there's activities for everyone. We took a Royal Caribbean cruise that included St. Maarten, Aruba, Curacao and St. Thomas. This was the ideal itinerary--one of the cruise lines' ships maybe Carnival--still has this itinerary, I read it not too long ago--there are so many tours available. We took the catamaran cruise to St. John, underwater park in Curacao/stay at beach ($12 each), snorkling in Pinel Island St. Maarten and DePalm Island for the day in Aruba.

I don't think I could get my hubby on a cruise, he tells me the day he wakes up and his feet are webbed then he'll go on a cruise. Thanks for all your great advice, it helps!