hard to decide!!
 

Hi Going to Turks and Caicos or Aruba in June with an 18 yr old son and 14 yr old daughter-- I am having a hard time trying to decide where to stay! The many reviews are conflicting and I do want my husband and children to be happy. The teens want to snorkel, and snuba/scuba. My husband would love a casino though it isnt first priority. We would LOVE to stay in an all inclusive but the quality just doesnt seem to be there- I think the Beaches type thing is just out of the question. We wouldnt love huge cruise ship type crowds. We are looking at Turks and Caicos Club, Coral Gardens or something like that. Is Villa Renaissance good? Does anyone have any suggestions? This is a special trip so price is a smaller consideration.But, we arent thinking movie star visit ! :)

Aruba has many very nice casinos, and alot more action for the kids on Palm Beach, and great shopping, but it is very busy. The snorkeling isn't very good.

Grace Bay, Provo is more laid back and much quieter. Not much shopping. Sailing, banana boats, parasail, no jet skis, and better snorkeling.

Just returned from "Ocean Club West" and loved it, but it is quiet and your teens may get bored. It has the far better beach, and we will return with our grandkids next spring but they are much younger. I guess it depends on how quiet(Provo) or busy and active(Aruba, Palm Beach) you want it.

There are 2 casinos on Provo, but we didn't go there. Again, the casinos on Aruba are great.

We've been to both and with teens, I would suggest Aruba over T & C. Aruba has many things to see and do. There are tons of restaurants in all price ranges that are easy to get to. The bus system there is convenient and inexpensive. I've read lots of people's comments that the snorkeling is not that great in Aruba. I have to disagree. We found the snorkeling to be good. The water is not anywhere as clear as T & C, but there were lots of fish and coral. In T & C we hardly saw any fish only coral.

As far as food and drink prices, you'll will get lots more for your money in Aruba since there are way more restaurants and bars than in T & C.

The activities in T & C are mainly water related. There is a lack of evening entertainment or shopping. We we're bored. You will need a car in T & C.

If you want AI, Aruba is the better choice. However, since there are so many restaurants I wouldn't suggest it. We did AI in Aruba and would not do it again. We didn't go AI in T & C and wished we would have since food/drinks prices were pretty high. However, there were only 3 options for AI on T & C and none were what we were looking for.

Look at the Occidental and RIU on Palm Beach in Aruba. Goood options with teens. Also, look at www.DePalm.com for tours, snorkeling, scuba and snuba.

You are the first to say snorkeling wasnt good in TCI- Does anyone else in here feel that way- I really want to make sure I know what Im getting into foro the money we will be spending....

Just returned from T&C and I thought the snorkelling was good. As many will tell you, what you will see snorkelling will vary greatly depending on the day/week/month and conditions. We saw plenty of beautiful fish. Maybe it was one of those not so good days/week when KVR went, which must have been disappointing, but our experience was different.

We've been to T&C 3 times and have always had good snorkeling, and from shore! We did not make it down there last year but my hubby is pining to go back this year because of the snorkeling. We snorkel practically everyday.

I think Ive pretty much decided on T & C Club== Now, for tipping --- How much , to who, and when? As I said before , I really wanted all inclusive to not have to worry about all these things...... But, my research just indicates this would be a disappointment to us in most all inclusive resorts.That the crowds and quality wouldnt be what we wanted.

Turks and Caicos hotels include 10% service charge. When we go, we usually tip (of course on food if service is not included or a little bit more if it's only 10% and it's included- not all restaurants charge for service). We also give the bellman a few dollars for our bags. Taxis will also look for a tip.