Family beach vacation
 

i'd welcome any suggestions as to where my husband and i could take our two young children (4 years & 6 mos) for a long weekend in either feb or march. we'd like to find a place that is family friendly, not too long a flight from nyc, has good food, and will allow us to swim and be on the beach. thanks in advance!

Both places about 3 1/2 hours direct flight from NYC -- Hyatt Hacienda Del Mar in Puerto Rico and Ritz Carlton in Jamaica. The Hyatt is condo accomodations with a great kids club, wonderful river pool, water slide, lots of activities. My kids love it. The Ritz is less kid oriented activity wise but still very family friendly, has a great all-inclusive plan and the executive suites are wonderful for families. There were tons of kids 5 and under at the Ritz when we went last March.

Ritz PR aint bad,but the beach is quite shitty at best.Best bet would be Bahamas OTHER THAN EASTER WEEK AT ATLANTIS.

What about Beaches resort on Turks & caicos? Probably 3.5 hour flight from NY. Most people at resort have kids, they have a kids club, plus a great toddler pool attached to the one pool, and an area called Pirates Island which has a swim up bar for kids, a diner with kids food, water slides, game room, etc. It's all inclusive, so you can stay right at the resort for everything. Read my trip report I posted yesterday. Any more questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

My vote is for Grand Cayman, my kids loved it and I think if they were younger than would of loved it even more. Lots of American food type places for kids and we never felt sick from drinking the water. We just returned from there and plan to go back. I would not take little ones to Jamaica, just my opinion. Heck, I won't take my teens there either. My husband and I didn't like or feel safe there and we stayed at an all-inclusive which was nice. It's just not my kind of place. Grand Cayman, St. John and Turks would be nice choices, IMO.

I think that Grand Cayman would be a perfect destination in your case, espcially with young children. There are numerous condos on the beach to pick from which are really nice. Seven Mile beach is fabulous ... sand like baby powder with crystal clear water. If you want a resort instead of condo, go with the Westin. However, in GC I would highly recommend condos as the way to go, especially with kids ... and I'm not a "condo" person when it comes to vacations. You can't beat walking right out onto the beach with all the amenities you want (and things you need for the kids), just footsteps away in your room.

If you do a search on this site under Grand Cayman there are dozens of recommendations. I'd recommend the north end of Seven Mile Beach because the beach is much nicer there.

St. John is a great place, but your options for on the beach accomodations are limited to Caneel Bay ... access to several beaches right at the resort, but very expensive and not necessarily child-friendly. The Westin is on a small man-made beach that functions like more of a harbor, and is more known for its pool area ... you have to rent a car/jeep and drive to the beaches that St. John is famous for.

I think Long Bay Hotel on Antigua (direct flight from NYC) is a perfect family setting and a good value during high season. It's a family friendly place but it doesn't have a children's program. You have accommodation choices of a self-catering cottage or a regular hotel-style room with a private balcony overlooking a beautiful bay. Rates include breakfast and dinner, as the hotel is rather isolated. They offer a handful of activities, like snorkeling, windsurfing, suncats, and tennis, but most people spend their time on the lovely beach. It's protected by a reef just offshore, so the water is very calm. My extended family was down there last June for a big wedding, and the dozen or so kids, ages 4 months to 13 years, all had a great time. check them out at www.longbayhotel.com

I'd also (naturally) recommend Grand Cayman, but consider the North Coast area too... check out The Reef, Cayman Villas, Cayman Kai et al, all have good to great websites.

Also, I am a big fan of WhereToStay.com for reviews...