We are looking for vacation ideas for next spring break(April) for a group - there are 17 of us, 10 adults and 7 kids ages 11-14. We may add 3 more people, depending on the destination.

We have done 2 cruises together which were very fun but we are looking for something different. An all inclusive type plan would be ideal. Since the vacation will be limited to a week, we don't want to go too far (like Australia is out!). We prefer a sunny, active vacation. Some members of our party are pretty adventurous and like scuba and diving, others prefer more sedentary activities or spa type stuff. We have thought about river rafting in AZ but think it's a little too adventurous for some of us and probably too cold in April anyway. A dude ranch might be a possibility if it's a cushy one. We would prefer not to be at a hotel where we have to think about dinner arrangements for 17-20 every night. Any thoughts?

What about someplace like Cancun. There is the scuba for the ones that enjoy it, plus all the other water activities (parasailing, jet-ski, banana boat rides for the kids). The adults (kids too) would like a trip to the ruins. The kids would like the water park, I think it is called Xtapa (not sure, someone will be able to help more with the name.) Seems like a good place for a lot of people to try to accomdate. Or someplace like Puerto Vallarta, same water activities, but can walk through the jungles (zip lines) and old towns.
I guess my vote would be for somewhere in Mexico because you can find great deals on all-inclusive places.

thanks vegasnative! What all inclusive resorts would you recommend? I know there is a Club Med there,that is being renovated, I think, but I don't know of any other all inclusive resorts that are not adults only types.

Oh, I should also say that Hawaii and Disney resorts are out for us - we/ve all been to Hawaii recently and Disney isn't the type of vacation that we're looking for. Thanks!

Close to Cancun is Playa Del Carmen. It's about an hour away from the main Cancun strip. The only problem with staying in Cancun during spring break is that you are going to be over run and overwhelmed by thousands of your closest friends (at least your kid's closest friends).

Playa doesn't get as crowded and the town is a great area for shopping, eating, people watching, listening to music, etc. You can also catch the ferry (about 20 minutes or so) to the island of Cozumel. There are two ecological type parks, one is called Xel-ha (pronounced shell ha) and Xpu-Ha (shpu ha). I like Xel-ha better because it is a more natural environment. You can snorkel, do a dolpin encounter, go tubing, or lounge around in a hammock. Xpu-ha is great too, because of the cultural Mayan type shows.

Also a few of the AI's offer free tours in the cost of your package. You will be offered trips to the Mayan Ruins and possibly to the island of Isla Mujeres, where there is great snorkeling and I believe there is a zip line.

The downside though, like I said, the airport and the major area of Cancun is going to be PACKED with springbreakers.

Hawaii?

We've done an Iberostar in Playa Del Carmen with a large group and had a blast!!! A friend of mine just went to an all inclusive resort in Aruba with her entire family and everyone, including Grandma, loved it! Post on the Carribean and Latin America sites for more feedback!!!

Palm Springs comes to mind...shopping for those who want, golf for those pepole, spas for everyone. I was out on buisness and took a Jeep Earthquake tour. Geology Tour by Jeep in tot eh dessert and they showed us date trees, fault lines and all sorts of stuff, hike to a hidden waterfall. Good food I might add.
Accomodations are varied, some cabin resorts, big hotels..sunny location for Spring Break tho makes it popular so reservations in advance are a very good idea...

Anotehr place kinda fun is the Alisal Guest Ranch and Resort Solvang CA.
Resort is a working cattle ranch, has cabins, horseback riding, boating, tennis golf and a year round kids program
Solvang is a fun Danish town...with some fun shopping or drive the 40 miles south to Santa BArbara and shop or tour the wineries as in "Sideways:

Thanks for the great suggestions. I am intrigued by the AI resorts in Mexico. How is the food at these AI resorts? How would it compare to cruise food? Is it bland buffet or is it better. We loved the food on Celebrity Cruises, didn't care as much for Royal Caribbean although it was ok. If it's all buffet, I think that could get old.

It has been my experience that the food quality varies. Most places where we have stayed have had buffet style and specialty restaurants, although only buffet style was available for breakfast/lunch. These did have people around to make omletes (for example) and individual made to order items at breakfast and lunch time.

It depends on the AI, the last couple of times we went down we didn't stay in an AI. We have had some that were fairly decent (the Aventura Spa used to be okay, don't know about now) and we have had some truly horrible ones.

There's no one answer for all the all-inclusives in all of Mexico. The budget ones have some pretty terrible reports. I have never stayed at one but read lots of reviews of everything in the Puerto Vallarta area. Food quality seems pretty much to be along with price of the package. Higher is better.

We stayed at the Barcelo Maya Tropical resort back in June and loved it. It is located on the Riviera Maya about 20 minutes south of Playa del Carmen. Lots of AI's of different levels of luxury here. Barcelo was perfect for us and is good value for the money. check out www.playa.info and www.locogringo.com for tons of information on the area. They both have really good forum areas that answer questions specific to the area.

Gmoney - I forgot about the locogringo site. That is a great place to get info on the area of PDC and Tulum.

ellenbw~sorry I can't help with any names of places that are all inclusive. When we went to Cancun (9 years ago) we opted out of the all inclusive package from our hotel...big mistake, we really should have paid the extra, but at the time we were newlyweds and watching our expences. Now, we are planning on going to PV with our 3 kids and I have checked on expedia and found many great deals in all inclusive places. If you switch over to the Mexico board, you will get plenty of adivce if you post over there. Just ask them what places are the best for what you are looking for. I posted a question about PV and got lots of info to start searching different resorts. Good luck!!