shoegal1032

My husband and I need a vacation! We have a 1 yr old and a 2 1/2 yr old, and yes, they have to come. (I know that some Fodorite out there will probably tell me what a horrible mother I am for thinking of bringing them, and that they should stay home with Grandma, but that's not an option. Believe me, I've tried.) Anyway, the kids are coming. I'm looking for a place where DH and I can relax a little- either by putting the kids in a program or hiring a sitter. I'm looking at the obvious choices- FDR and Beaches- T&C- but neither excites me. FDR seems not to be very nice and Beaches seems overpriced for what it is.

The most important requirement is some kind of childcare. Next would be duration of travel from New Orleans. I know we'll probably have to take two flights, so would prefer not to have to drive more than an hour once we arrive. We'd like to stay at or under $5000 for 5 nights.

I'm open to Mexico, the Caribbean or even Florida. Please help!

pepper131

The hard part with this is that most kids club start with age 3. I know there is one place in Cancun that starts their kids club very young - at around 2 yrs, maybe 18 months. I think it's the Grand Aqua - not totally sure. And...It may not even be open yet; after hurricane damage.

Is there a regular babysitter that you could bring along? We are considering doing that on our next trip for our 2 yr old.
So...that would be 2 rooms. Try the Copacabana south of Playa del Carmen. They have somewhat reasonable rates.

http://www.locogringo.com/xpuha/copa...abana%20Resort

Kennedy3

Shoegal: You're going to have a very difficult time finding a nice place that has group childcare for a one year old child. Many places will arrange a private sitter for you, but if you're like me, that's something I wouldn't even consider. I figure, although not 100% safe, a group Kids Club offers more protection due to more people being around.

When my kids were that young I searched for a place that could accomodate our children. I didn't have much luck.

The Gala Resort in Playacar accepts two year olds in their program. The Crown Paradise in Cancun accepts 18 month old children... or at least it used to.

Club med (Ixtapa and Punta Cana) accepts kids as young as four months, I believe, but their accomodations don't always receive stellar reviews.

Kids have to age two for the Kids Clubs on certain cruise ships such as Carnival and Royal Carribean. Disney is age three and potty-trained, I believe.

Since we weren't a big fan of private babysitting from a stranger, we more or less resigned ourselves to waiting it out until the children were older. My old saying is: "Age Four Opens the Door."

Best of luck to you.

suze

Can you take a babysitter with you from home, like Pepper suggested?

Another option would be hotels that have local contacts with babysitting services, I'm picturing a Mexican grandma who will come in every day.

As above, your kids are a little young for organized hotel activities!

shoegal1032

Thanks for the advice. We may be able to bring a sitter with us. Just trying to figure the costs of adding another flight, room, etc. Still might be better than our other options. And I know many more things will be available to us when they're older.

lrjones

Shoegal,

When are you going? I, like you, never had child care options. Please steer clear of Beaches Turks and Caicos. We have been to the T&C many times and it is a wonderful island. The resort is not, however. Way too expensive and on a bad part of the beach. Very narrow. Taking a sitter along is a wonderful option. There are some reasonable resorts on T&C where you could actually have a large suite with another lockout room for the sitter. The airfare is the biggest drawback for T&C. When our children were younger and we had no childcare options, I found a wonderful place in California that keeps all ages. It would be summertime only, though.

faithie

This is just another side of the coin to show simply "that" , a different view .... We have always travelled with our children , by choice . We found we were always able to find quiet , romantic moments ... And some of our best memories of our trips was our through our childrens eyes . We were never in an all inclusive resort with sitting services , just small hotels , we would sometimes feed the kids early , have a umbrella stroller , take a walk , and voila , a quiet dinner . But sometimes not . We simply didn't stress over it . And truly we have had remarkable trips with our children . It's probably a case of different strokes for different folks , but it is possible to have a wonderful , relaxing , vacation with the children .

faithie

The "taking the sitter option" was never an option for us , for financial reasons , and I would have never relaxed with that scenario .... Too awkward for me . But it has worked for others .

ewesthoff

You make it sound like a horrible thing to bring your children on vacation. I have done alot of traveling and the best trips have been over the past four years with my two little ones. My four year old son can't wait to go back to Costa Rica this summer to see the howler monkeys, which he talks about everyday. Enjoy your time and maybe you will get lucky to find a sitter while there.

afa001

Have you considered Club Med - try the one in Guadeloupe or Caicos; also one in Punta Cana.
www.clubmed.com