ljpgt5

we are planning on taking our soon to be 16 year old on a trip with a few of her friends...we were originally thinking of atlantis on paradise island but were hoping to find some alternatives....ANY SUGGESTIONS?? we would like someplace that is lively...

vemjames

i wasn't going to reply because i've never been to the caribbean. since no one else has replied though i will tell you that my family (wife + 14 year old) were in the same quandry you are. we did end up booking a trip to atlantis in april '08. from what I've garnered from reading various forums the food is quite expensive but there are less pricy alternatives if you leave the resort (actually, i read somewhere that dominos delivers to the atlantis hotels, what a hoot we did finally decide on atlantis though due to the insistance of our 14 year old. we let him check out the website and do some google searches and he was just blown away! no, you don't decide on a pricy vacation based only on the input from your teenager BUT (big but) if your teenager is miserable you will be too.

mhc

Have you considered a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas with a day at Atlantis?

Lots of fun activities on the ship + a day to enjoy the Atlantis resort.

virginia

i'd like to suggest you look at: http://www.occidentalhotels.com/grand/Xcaret.asp
this would be a slightly lower key vacation than atlantis but the resort is attached to an eco marine park with tons to do; not rides like disney though. park website is: http://www.xcaret.com/

this is a wonderful part of mexico. tons of excursions like zip-lines, horseback riding, touring the ruins of tulum, coba or chichen itza, diving & snorkeling, cenotes & caves, atv jungle tours, shopping in playa del carman, golf, not to mention gorgeous beaches.
info on all above from www.locogringo.com click on 'trip research' & scroll to 'things to do'.

here's a link to lg's xcaret page:http://www.locogringo.com/past_spotlights/dec2006.cfm
and this is an aerial shot of the area: http://www.locogringo.com/maps/tour/137a-t.html
if you click the double arrows to the right they show the hotel (was flamenco now occidental)

my friends with teens love the ai thing as they feel comfortable when the kids are out of sight knowing they are on the property somewhere. the mex ai's usually have teen clubs for dancing at night too.

BaltoTraveler

Lucky kid (and friends)!

I agree with Virginia that a resort on Mexico's "Mayan Riviera" would be the way to go. Pick a reasonably-priced all-inclusive that welcomes teens and has facilities for them (e.g. a club), and they can experience a fair amount of independence while you two relax.

Also, as MHC notes, teens tend to love big cruise ships.

kllh

Wow. Sweet 16's these days are nice.

Not to deter you from going to The Bahamas but just an honest opinion:

I haven't done much Caribbean traveling but with family in Nassau, I've been several times and I can say that Atlantis/Paradise Island is very expensive and not so teen/kid friendly. It is more ideal for couples and adults. After the 6 hour day of the Atlantis resort, they will surely be bored (and you irritated with their unhappiness!) I'd choose elsewhere on the island, Nassau can be very reasonable in price for most activities (especially food), but there just aren't many outside of lounging and picking up men/women. And alcohol access is very easy...so watch that too.