Family Vacation in November
 

I'd welcome any suggestions as to where my husband and I could take our two children (ages 6 & 3) in November. We'd like to find a place that is family friendly, a direct flight from Newark/NYC, has good food, and will allow us to swim and be on the beach. Thanks in advance!

While I don't think you can get there non-stop from any of the 3 NYC airports you'll have to change planes in Miami) you might want to look at Beaches Resort on Provo (Turks & Caicos). There are also a number of "condo" resorts on the island that right on the beach and are ideal for families.

Atlantis Resort (Nassau, Bahamas) is a mecca for familes with young children and you can get there non-stop from the NYC area.

Aruba has great food and is family friendly. The Marriott has a time share property attached to their hotel if you want to rent one of those. Weather is great and would be nonstop from NY.

Turks and Caicos. Check out the Sands on Grace Bay. Condo style units, small kiddie pool and a good casual outdoor restaurant on an awesome beach.

For november?

Direct from Newark or JFK...
Get yourselves to Westin St. John.. via St. Thomas US Virgin islands.

Great "kids club" there and everything else you need for families.

See:
http://www.westinresortstjohn.com/

On St. Thomas, check out Marriot FRenchman's Reef:

http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/STTFR

Lifestyle and culture of Virgin Islands here:
www.virginvoices.com

You might want to consider Silver Sands in Jamaica (www.silver-sands.com). It is a gated community of individually owned villas around a lovely beach - about 45 minutes from the MB airport.

Many of the villas have their own pools. We chose a villa that was about 3 min. walk from the beach because it was one with a fenced-in pool. Because we were with 2 toddlers, we could not have relaxed otherwise. The rental rates are very reasonable (the actual amount depending on the villa) and include roundtrip transportation from the airport.

As with most villa rentals in Jamaica, each villa is fully staffed with cook and housekeeper. You will have to pay for the groceries, but all of the cooking/housework/laundry will be done for you.

We were there with a 3 yr. old and a 1 yr. old, and they loved it. The water was calm and beautiful.