Hi,

My wife and I want to vacation in the Caribbean around Labor Day with our then to be 9 month old. We only want to consider places that are Baby Friendly and if possible have programs for children under 2 years of age. I see Club Med and Beaches are resorts that have such programs.

Any suggestions for a 3-4 night stay? We would be flying out of Newark in NJ or LaGuardia or JFK in NYC.

Thanks

Hi,

Beaches are wonderful resorts - they are good for family time and private couple time. I would recommend Beaches Negril in Jamaica or Beaches Turks & Caicos. They are all-inclusive resorts so you will not have to pull out your credit card during your stay. With a baby, I suggest doing non-stop flights to these resorts if possible, it is easier on parents and baby not to have to make a connection.

Best Regards,
Julia
Blog: spasandadventures.wordpress.com

To the best of my knowledge, no one has programs for children under the age of 4 or 5 although they may have sitters available. Personally, my kids have been to the Caribbean several times (now 2 & 5) but we tend to steer clear of resorts. One would think w/a child that age, that they probably should spend most of their time w/their parents...

Yes, baby-friendly is tough. I'm currently looking for a place to go early December with a 4-5 month old baby and a very active son who will just have turned 3 (but who may not be potty trained yet). It would be nice to find a place where my husband and I could spend a couple of hours of quality time without worrying about the kids.

Besides Club Med and Beaches, here are other places that offer baby clubs:
- FDR resorts in Jamaica
- Starfish Trewlany Jamaica
- Holiday Inn Montego Bay Jamaica
- Almond resorts in Barbados and St Lucia
- Windjammer Landing St Lucia (extensive babysitting program)
- Casa de Campo - Dominican Republic (extensive babysitting program)
- Melia Caribe - Dominican Republic
- Paradisus Riviera - Riviera Maya
- Melia Puerto Vallarta
- Breezes Curacao

I've had a hard time finding specific information regarding the quality of the baby/toddler programs that I mentioned. And frankly, most of these properties don't look very nice. They would not be my choice of a place to stay otherwise.

There are many nice properties in the Caribbean that offer babysitting services, but I'm nervous about leaving the baby with a babysitter in a room. Somehow I would feel better if there are multiple caregivers and kids in a public area.

If I can't find something in the Caribbean, we'll just go skiing (which is what hubby wants to do anyways).

I would love to hear more about what you find when researching this and where you choose to go. Good luck!

We have been taking our daughter to St. John since she was six months old. Unfortunately, when they're that young, you definitely end up taking them with you everywhere. Most of the large, family friendly resorts will have some kind of baby-sitting available but we didn't try it out. We've stayed at the Westin in St. John and I recall they could set you up with a baby-sitting service. I don't think any resorts offer a "program" for kids under 3. The level of attention needed would just be too labor intensive. You'll have to hire a babysitter. IMO, on an island that small (and subject to U.S. law), anyone they would hire or recommend would be reliable. They also have a kids program but that's for older toddler/children. St. John is not the easiest place to get to with an infant as there is no airport there. You have to fly into St. Thomas and take a ferry over. St. Thomas, by the way, has several good to great resorts. I would look into the Wyndham or the Marriott. I also recall there are direct flights to St. Thomas from JFK and Newark. P.S. Bring 50+ suncreen and child-friendly bug repellent for baby, also, one of those playpen/crib/stroller bug mesh covers. It came in very handy for us.

just a thought: have you ever thought of a cruise? NCL, your child could travel free at that age (only pay port charges) they also have babysitting.

jasmine (mom of 3)