One thing you can really say about the Caribbean is that it is a very popular destination for families. That’s because a Caribbean family travel usually means more fun and features in an all-inclusive resort. Family packages may typically offer the following:
Beach and water sports
Luxurious swimming pools and water slides
Kid-friendly programs and family activities
Meal-time convenience and drinks on tap
Grown-up pampering like spas, dining, cocktail parties, etc.
Baby-sitting and other services
Great family rates
However, there are times when there’s just too many all-inclusive Caribbean family travel resorts out there that it’s difficult to choose just one. Given the dollar cost and emotional investment, the stakes are high. How do you know which one suits you and your family best?
All-Inclusive, All-Included
When you say all-inclusive, it’s natural to assume that the package includes everything. But remember that an all-inclusive Caribbean family travel includes almost but not quite everything. So you got all meals and snacks, drinks, kids’ programs, and certain water sports and other activities but not all of them.
Take note of the following:
Non-motorized water sports are generally included, such as kayaks, wind surfing, aqua-trikes, etc. If you want the motorized ones, like jet skis and water skis, it may cost you.
Gear for snorkeling is often free, but there may be a limit as to how long you can use them. And if you want to join a snorkeling boat trip on your Caribbean family travel, it may cost you extra.
Scuba is generally extra.
Spas are always extra, unless you got one of those special Caribbean family travel.
Off-property outings are extra, though a shuttle bus to a nearby town may be free.
Some non-all-inclusives offer plans that include meals and/or activities.
Kids’ Club
Every all-inclusive Caribbean family travel package offers this. Many are “friendly little clubs”, cute spots with one or two rooms with toys and TV and maybe video games for kids ages 4-12. A warm and friendly staff is always there to provide them with care.
But if you want your kids to enjoy the multi-program type, most all-inclusive resorts have this actually. Here, there are different places and programs for different ages. Some worthy names that offer this feature in their all-inclusive Caribbean family travel specials are Club Med in Punta Cana, Beaches resorts and Atlantis in the Bahamas.
Babies and Toddlers?
More and more Caribbean family travel resorts are now providing nurseries and infant care for guests traveling with their babies or toddlers. This is welcome break for you, moms, because even if you only leave your kid for a few hours in the nursery during nap time, that short amount of time can be invigorating and gives you a chance to enjoy your Caribbean family travel vacation yourself.
If you’re worried whether on-site doctors or nurses are available, try one of the bigger Caribbean family travel resorts. They’re your best bet. And lastly, as a miscellaneous tip, be sure to double check the site where you booked your Caribbean family travel to make sure that the baby-club will actually be up and running during your trip.
Caribbean Travel Forum
Need information about the Caribbean travel fast? Want firsthand knowledge about the places to visit and places to stay? What about fun things to do while in the Caribbean? Safety tips? Weather tips? Diving tips?
If you find yourself asking these questions as you plan your next Caribbean trip, then check the list of Caribbean travel forums we offer you below. When it comes to valuable information from travelers like you, nothing beats Caribbean travel forums.
Caribbean-On-Line’s Caribbean travel forum has been revamped, giving it a new look and easy to navigate. Now, you can view discussions about almost all fifty of the Caribbean islands, with topics ranging from boat rentals to phone calls, how to get to places, and festivals.
Caribbean-on-Line is a corporation, not associated with any government, island, or tourism board. The focus is on the traveler, so whatever question you may have about the Caribbean island you wish to visit, this is Caribbean travel forum to check out.
Fodor’s Travel Talk Forums
Fodor’s contains several travel talk forums of several different tourist destinations. Select Caribbean and ask your questions about the islands. Below are some recent hot topics posted up in the Caribbean travel forum:
Nice San Juan hotel under $200?
Favorite island…and why?
Snow on Ground, thoughts turn to Sun… What is the BEST beachfront bar in the Caribbean?
Villa provisioning
HELP! Urgent need to find perfect vacation!
June-July Jamaica Silver Sands and Mandeville
Caribbean trip help
Secrets Excell: Punta Cana Report
Do I really need a 4WD on St. John?
St. Martin Restaurants
Looking for a resort with the MOST amazing swimming pool
And if that doesn’t give you some idea on your Caribbean vacation, then I don’t know what will.
Caribbean Travel-Information.org
“Give and receive up to the minute travel advice regarding the Caribbean.” That is what this Caribbean travel forum and bulletin board lets you do. For the benefit of the travelers, not for sales people, this Caribbean travel forum will you plan out your Caribbean holidays and vacations.
At TravelNotes.org, you get not only a tremendous amount of information about the places you may want to visit before hand but an opportunity to share your experiences online as well with others after being there.
You can ask about flight dates, flexibility, choice of departure airports, destinations, and a whole lot more. For accommodation, you can ask about the number of people allowed, boarding, ratings, and flexibility. And lastly, for other details, you can go to their travel forum for advice. Be sure to find how to submit & share a personal video of your recent cruise trip just by clicking on the above icon here of a video camera. So visit Travel Notes before you go away if you're interested at all in any of the following:
Taking a vacation cruise is a one-of-a-kind experience. Even people who take cruises often consider each one different, with new locales and destinations, different boats, and different activities and experiences on board. It's a great idea to preserve your memories of each trip in a special way so you can get the most out of your vacation by remembering it for years to come. There are a few small things you can do along the way to make this process simpler when you get back to dry land.
Don't be shy about taking pictures! Some people avoid doing this because they feel it makes them look too 'touristy.' But all of your fellow passengers are tourists, and it's the staff is certainly used to tourists. So if the kids get involved in a dance contest, or the chandelier in the dining room is fabulous, feel free to snap a picture. If you catch them at the right times, the crew in uniform is usually very open and willing to get into a picture with you. Ask nicely when they're not busy, and get a great shot of the captain or a crewmember in full regalia. Get cheesy if you want to; ask a fellow passenger to take a photo of you and your spouse waving by the side of the boat. My parents took a cruise when they were first married, and their favorite snapshot from the trip is one of my father pretending to throw my mother overboard. Well, whatever floats your boat, as they say. Make it campy, make it silly, make it romantic... just make it memorable.
Keep in mind that if you're planning on making a scrapbook or a memory box of your trip later, the secret is to save, save, save! Maybe your ticket stub doesn't look like much while you're on the boat, but years later you will love to see it. Your room reservation holds valuable details that might just remind you someday that you had a western window or a terrible cot that folded out of the wall. Ask the waiter for copies of menus or carbons of your check so you can remember what you had at that memorable first dinner on the water. Save your slips from the casino if you decide to give your luck a try- it might make you cringe to remember you lost $50 in bingo, but at least you'll remember it! So enjoy your cruise. Make good memories, and preserve them. Steal the soap if you must; but there are better souvenirs to be had. You just have to look for them!
Make It A Romantic Cruise
Taking a cruise can be one of the most authentically romantic experiences that you can share with your loved one. The water, the stars, the clear sky...these are all things that scream LOVE and ROMANCE and make a cruise an excellent choice for an engagement trip, a honeymoon, or just a run of the mill romantic getaway.
Honeymooners and newlyweds are among the most popular groups of people that come on board cruise ships these days. To accommodate this, many cruise lines will offer perks to couples just starting out, such as wedding cake, breakfast in bed, or special fluffy robes in their state rooms. In some cases, perks like this are freebies, but in cases where there are no freebies available to you cruise lines do tend to offer some pretty neat deals. For example, some cruise lines will give the new husband (or wife, for that matter) the option of pre ordering roses that the crew will place in your cabin or state room prior to your boarding. Still others will offer special tables for two with a view for honeymooning couples on their ship, which is pretty hard to come by on a cruise ship without a reservation.
Carnival Cruises are one of the most popular lines for honeymooners, or even couples who are looking to put the spice back into their relationship and may appear to be honey mooning. Carnival is among those cruise lines that offer free wedding cake to their honey mooning couples at dinner on their first night out at sea. For a fee of course, the Carnival Cruise crew will also decorate your door and cabin with balloons, banners, and flags congratulating the happy couple on their nuptials. Carnival also has a honeymoon package available for purchase that includes champagne and two champagne glasses, tee shirts, visors, cameras and other vacation paraphernalia, as well as drink specials, a framed picture, and a bottle of champagne.
An Unusual Luxury RESORT - Tiamo
Are you up for a little eco-luxury? Tiamo, an earth-friendly resort made up of a row of wooden cottages that are chic and simple at the same time, provides the ultimate in luxury travel. Scattered along a quite strand of white powder on Andros island in the Bahamas, this luxury travel resort is surrounded by orchids and giant lizards and offers nothing but relaxed comfort and ecological correctness. This Caribbean luxury travel resort offers the perfect antidote to the Caribbean’s more familiarly hedonistic piña colada and party resorts. At Tiamo, the Caribbean is reduced to barefoot luxury – polished and refined yet set in an environment that can only be described as natural.
Out of all the Bahamian islands in the Caribbean, Andros is one of the less well-known. And yet, its subdued allure is what makes it even more appealing as a Caribbean luxury travel destination. With an area of 2,300 square miles and home to only 8,000 people, it is one of the least explored places in the western hemisphere.
However, don’t even for a second think that Andros is just one of those dime-a-dozen island destinations which the Caribbean is full of. Andros is the largest island in the country so you have plenty of grounds to have fun and enjoy the warm Caribbean sun. And because the island is yet undeveloped, there are few phones, few bus lines, and other facilities that could distract you from your relaxing vacation.
In truth, the island is not just one island but a group of islands tightly meshed into one archipelago. With its rocky shores and a web of creeks, this Caribbean luxury travel destination has never offered the kind of obvious harbor found on other Bahamian islands so, apart from the odd fishing lodge and Caribbean luxury travel retreats, development has largely bypassed it. However, what has made the island unsuitable for urban evolution makes it perfect for eco-tourism.
The luxury travel resort of Tiamo is remote, even by Andros’ standards. Set three, road-less miles from the nearest village and surrounded by palm trees, banana plants, orchids, herons, tiny tree frogs, and some vicious mosquitoes, Tiamo is only accessible to guests by boat. Relying on its solar power system and solar-heated rainwater showers, the resort stays true to its ecological philosophy but at the same time offers you with an idyllic retreat is incomparable anywhere else.
Tiamo’s wooden cottages come with massive beds, hand-painted “do not disturb” signs, brightly tiled mirrors and showers lean towards safari-chic, especially when taken in with their painted, corrugated-iron walls. And in a clever twist on recycling, even the wood left over from building the cottages were used to build this Caribbean luxury travel resort’s funky outdoor furniture.
VIRTUAL TOURS Cabos Adventures - America's Cup Racing Yacht
