vacation with teenagers
 

We are looking for a great place in the Caribbean to go with our two kids, ages 14 and 16, next February school vacation. We are looking into Jamaica, US Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic, or Turks and Caicos. Any suggestions?

Of those choices, Jamaica or DR would give everyone the most cultural enrichment, and be the more exotic destinations - depending on where you stayed.

TCI are beautiful, but teens of that age might get a bit bored unless they are VERY water-oriented.

USVI are nice, and a lot of people love to travel there (I've been several times). They are not my favorite islands, but sometimes a good choice for those who want a lovely destination with many of the same things (language, money, ambiance) as the States. No offense to anyone who loves USVI's, they are simply not "old-Caribbean" enough for me.

I'd also suggest Playa del Carmen south of Cancun in Mexico for travel with kids that age. Lots to do and see - opportunities for a wide variety of activities for everyone's interests - beautiful beaches (some very busy, some completely deserted), etc.

I've been to many Caribbean islands (40+), and few offer the variety (Jamaica) that the Mayan Riviera region of Mexico does along with the stunning beaches.

The trade-off is that the landscape is not very pretty (flat and scrubby), and you miss out on the West Indian-based culture, but the Mexican people are amazing and the Aztec, Maya, Toltec, etc. culture of the region is extremely interesting. Premiere ruins, etc.

Thanks for the input. Are there specific resorts you would recommend? We don't have an unlimited budget-something on par with the Westin St John. Do you know anything about Paradisus Palma Real resort in DR? My travel agent is recommending it highly but I've read some not great reviews.

I'm not a big fan of AI's but there are some very nice ones in the area south of Cancun.

If $$$ is no object, the Royal Hideaway is amazing.

As far as DR goes, the Punta Cana area is very tourist-oriented and the beach is lined with highrises. It is not a good destination for anyone who is at all a foodie as it is very "quantity over quality" as most AI's are.

I've found in 15+ years of extensive Caribbean travel that AI's are usually only a good value/choice if you are not too picky about food or drink and want to stay close to the resort. Nothing wrong with that, it's just not my cup of tea.

Also, travel agents occasionally get kick-backs of various types for sending guests to them. I've found that the reviews are normally pretty accurate - with a few nutcases that can't be pleased no matter what thrown into the mix. I rely heavily on tripadvisor.com reviews and they have not yet steered me wrong.

The people on here are well-equipped to give you FREE advice that comes from years of travel and we aren't trying to sell anything. Let us know what types of activities are important, and what you want to do on vacation, and we'll give you some ideas.

Thanks again. I will take into account your comments about the travel agent. I usually don't use one, but the one I called came highly recommended. Food is important to us and we are pretty discriminating. My kids like pool and beach, snorkling, something to do at night. We want a clean beach, no major hassles getting chairs (like at Atlantis), decent gym, and good food. Golf would be nice but not essential but we all play tennis.
It seems that the Westin St John would be a good choice based on reviews at Tripadvisor (I do read those)so anything similar would work. My only concern about Mexico is getting ill.

My family loved St. John and the Westin. My sons are ages 9 and 13. You might get a better deal if you rent a condo/villa directly from a timeshare owner. These are two sites I know of to help you do this and others have mentioned bidding on EBay. We used stjohncondos.com and found them to be trustworthy.

http://www.vacationtimesharerentals....ands/St.-John/

http://www.stjohncondos.com/

Good luck!

I would skip Punta Cana if you want good food and to avoid the pool chair hassles.

I have been to the Westin at St John and did not care for it, but I just felt it was over-priced for what you get and the beach there is not one of the better ones on the island. With teens, the Westin would be a good choice because of the pool and all of the activities.

Caneel is nice, but pricy. We stayed at Gallows Point and liked it very much. (Probably not enough going on for teens there, but it is within walking distance of town.)

We've been going to Mexico every year for 14 years and have never been sick. (Well, I was sick for one day out of 500 meals.) We just got back last month after taking some friends and relatives along. They were worried about getting sick too, but no one did. My theory on people getting sick in Mexico is two-fold.

1. People who stay at all of the AI's and eat that buffet food that has been sitting out in the heat for hours.

2. People who overindulge in tequila y cerveza, are dehydrated and out in the sun too long.

You can get sick anywhere.

Based on what you've mentioned, I'd say Playa del Carmen - Gran Puerto Real's non-AI option. (GREAT restaurants in PDC.)

or Westin St John, (St John can be pretty quiet at night)

or Isla Mujeres - Hotel Secreto or Villa Rolandi.

Good luck and have a great time!

Thanks for all the suggestions! Now it's a matter of getting in someplace because of when we are going.