Sweege

Hi, All:

Narrowed down the end of year family trip to Grand Cayman, St. Lucia and Provo (okay, and maybe Costa Rica). Us: Family of five; kids (all girls) are 10, 9 and 7. We'd like to stay on a good, clean beach (esp. for kids), some adventure (hiking, snorkle, etc.). A hotel or condo/villa will suffice; an AI is optional. We're looking at 7 days/nights around the last week of December. Finally, we'd like the lodging to be nice; not necessarily top of the line, but not something on the other end, either. We have been around the Caribbean and are aware that these islands are certainly different, which is why the choice is tough (we'll get to them all sooner or later!)

As always, your suggestions and comments are greatly anticipated and appreciated.

Thanks to all, happy travels and Thanksgiving, too!

GC_Sandy

For a family vacation, I think Grand Cayman would be perfect. Very safe island and tons of activities for the whole family. There are many nice condos on Seven Mile Beach to choose from, and I think a condo would be your best option. Take a look at caymanvacations.com for condo info. There's great snorkeling right from the beaches on GC and especially Stingray City is a must do.

While T&C has the most gorgeous water and beach that i've ever seen, I still think GC has more to offer for a family vacation. It's also a very easy island to get around, so be sure to rent a car and explore the island. Rum Point is a nice spot for the family to spend a day.
Sandy

dominick2

All 3 islands would be nice destinations for a family but have you checked availability and prices for flights? If you are planning on travelling between December 23 and January 3, I would be shocked if you can get to any of those places for less than $1,000 per person. Actually, unless you are willing to travel on Christmas Day, you will probably have to pay considerably more than that. Two weeks ago, I booked flights from NY to St. Lucia for December 25 - January 7 and paid $850pp and there were almost no seats left on any airline.

TomCayman

Would be interested to see what air availability is like to Cayman. It must not be too bad, as we are getting a rush of late bookings for Xmas/New Year here at The Reef.

Of course you also need to make sure you can get availability at your chosen condo/hotel. Most should have some availability left, but only some, and it is filling fast (for example, we are now sold out of two of our four room types).

2970lucy

Being a little bias here as I have never visited either of the other islands, but Grand Cayman is an excellent spot over the festive period!

This year is our 3 rd year visit GC at the end of Dec and our 6th visit (in the past 3 yrs) and it is great.

It is both relaxing and busy if you would like it to be!

Don't have an awful lot of knowledge about where to stay but as for what to do, there are at least two things to do and see each day that the girls will love and there are the vast amounts of restaurants that are great!

I can't wait to watch the fireworks from the beach on 31st Dec!

christiegr

I also recommend Grand Cayman.
Our family of 5 and my mom where there this past May and had a great time.

Our boys ages 12,9 and 4 had a great time,especially at Stingray City (with Captain Marvin's).

I think GC is the perfect family vacation destination.

For more info.
www.caymanvacations.com
www.caymanactivityguide.com

Have fun!
Christie

Sweege

Thank you all for the great tips! BTW, sorry for omitting, but my wife works for American Airlines, so airfare is not a concern (lucky!). And, FYI, there were still open seats on flights to all three locations, depending on the day.

blamona

The Sands Resort in Turks and Caicos.