Family vacation to the tropics?
 

So I'm starting to put some thought into a winter vacation for the family and since I have never been anywhere tropical I am thinking about maybe Jamaica?

We need a family friendly resort as our daughter will only be just under 2 years old when we go.

Anywhere in the tropics where the wife can get her relaxing time on the beach and I can get in a little snorkling would be awesome.

Any advice or suggestions of the best place for a young family.

Winter's just about over Greg....you plan like me I see. :lol::lol:

We were in Jamaica approximately 15 years ago and I would never go back. I found it was too crowded and you could not leave your resort without being literally accosted by street vendors and drug dealers. We spent a week in Ocho Rios and a week in Negril.

Ocho Rios was completely awful, whereas Negril was somewhat better because at least you had access to the beach. I cannot see that this problem would have changed with time other than to get worse as there would be even more people there now. A woman actually grabbed me on the street and took me into an alley so that she could braid my hair for money. Thing is - I did not want my hair braided.

The best snorkelling I have done was in Playa del Carmen in Mexico. I would recommend Mexico, both for the value of the dollar and the excellent people.

what about cuba? you can do some fantastic snorkeling and the wife can chill out on the beach. I enjoyed my last trip there about 2years ago.

Cuba is nice, and some areas have reefs right off the beach. We spent a week down there this year, and our resort had a great area right of the beach with only 3-4' of water!

Akumal Beach Resort is a few miles south of Playa del Carmen and I highly recommend it. It is a very reasonably priced all inclusive and the snorkeling is spectacular! Here are some photos from a recent trip with my daughter.

Akumal Beach

Akumal Beach Snorkeling

My fiancee' and I are planning an August honeymoon to Akumal, however we will be staying at a smaller non-all inclusive hotel just down the beach from the above resort. My wife-to-be is a certified NAUI scuba instructor and is giving me the instructional part of my training at home, and will certify me with the open water dives in Akumal Bay. I am SO excited, I can hardly wait to get down there and see the stuff which is to deep too reach with a snorkel.

If you want more info, feel free to PM me.

Should have posted this link to the Akumal Beach live webcam.

The webcam is mounted on the front of the Lol Ha beach bar, which is within stumbling distance of the AKumal Beach Resort. :biggrin:

A friend recently went to Cuba, and was somewhat disappointed. I think there are some incredible spots in Mexico. That will be my next tropical destination :)

Thanks for the advice. Akumal seems like a really nice place. I will have to pick your brain a little bit. We are planning on doing this in maybe Jan/Feb 2009. We are going to Vancouver Isaland this summer with the little one and that will be her first major trip out of the city. She will almost be 2 when we plan to go down south and that will make it a bit easier.

My vote would be for Cozumel a bit more to get to but not as crowded and of course the diving/snorkeling 2nd to none.
Akumel is nice too but the diving is better in Cozumel.
Islands are usually less crowded and more pristine.:wink:

Dang your so lucky that your fiancee is an instructor. I really want to learn how to scuba dive but I can't swim :( Some people say you don't need to know how to swim..... but I think you should know how.

I really missed out on some good diving when I went to Thailand last year.

Cheers,
Vic [veng68]

Don't know if I would do Jamaica with a 2 yr old, for that matter I don't think I would do anywhere on the Caribbean. It's asking a lot for a 2 yr old to be patient on the plane and not a lot for them to do. It's really geared for adults/teenagers+retired people. Sure the snorkling is fun, but unless your child is exceptionally gifted it's probably not the place for them. Not trying to burst your bubble or offend, just an opinion from a father of 4 who has travelled many times with kids, both good and bad experiences...

Anyone ever been to Belize? It's got the 2nd largest reef in the world.

Cheers,
Vic [veng68]

We are hoping to hit Cozumel for a couple of days too, although from what I have researched it is a little more expensive.

This is my fear, but my wife has her heart set on somewhere tropical. Perhaps a good idea would be to get grandma and grandpa to care for my little peanut and the wife and I go :)

Just remember since you have such a young child travelling with you anything direct would sure save you a lot of "Are we there yet". I was just in the Mayan one month ago and it is a amazing place to take kids. Try looking up a place called Sandos Caracol, definitely recommend it! Usually if you go on redtag.ca you can find good Signature Vacation deals to this resort.

Or if you really want to suffer some punishment, take your child to Saint Lucia - Coconut Bay Resort and Spa. Has a special area for kids, and extra strong drinks for the parents!

Good Luck

Steve

Yup, Grandparents were one of the best babysitter's and vacation savers we had when kids were very young. When they were older then not too much of a problem..the usual places, Disneyland, Oregon coast, Mexico, etc. Even the mighty West Edmonton Mall....Imo you would both enjoy yourselves a lot better without the little one on this trip....

Traveling with a 2 year old I'd do Maui. Nice and close (you can fly Westjet) and they even have a Costco. Don't expect too much from a vacation with a small child.

It's worth the extra in my opinion especially if you dive.
I was told there is no crime.:wink: The last kid that stole a purse was beaten. This is from the tour guide though.:lol:
Lots of time share though.:twised:
I saw schools of bait fish Mai Mai Barracuda and lots more just off the beach.
Diving I say a huge nurse shark a grouper that his eye was the size of my fist a 4' turtle and much more.

Some great advise on places to go and see, but I wonder if the other members are seeing 2yr old travelling...I repeat 2 not 6 or 8 or 10..
How many parents have travelled with a 2 yr old and had time to relax, snorkel, dive, oh and did I say RELAX?? Nuff said I hope...Go with the grandparents......I repeat I have 4 great kids, but I have travelled with them when they were 2 and you DONT relax.......:biggrin:

Have you thought about Hawaii? If this is the first time you're going on a trip it might be a little more stress-free. Nonstop flights, no language barriers, etc. And tropical :)

When I was in Mexico the resort I went to had a decent kids place (I went before I had kids though), so some all inclusives might be worth checking into, if going to the Carribbean is still your first choice.

Snorkelling ... well .. I'm not sure what to suggest here. You won't really be snorkelling a lot if you have small kids with you and you're just going by yourself (ie., just your family). Snorkelling alone isn't responsible, my suggestion, don't do it - you need a dive buddy. Even in a crowded area like a beach, if nobody is actively actually watching out for you (and you back at them in return) then it's possible to slip into trouble without anyone noticing. Especially things like riptides, you don't know what hazards exist in an area you haven't swam before.

Although another option is booking yourself into a dive group done through a local dive shop.. sort of takes care of that issue. :)

When I went to Maui with Nathan in 2006, he was 1, but we were there as a family reunion so I had lots of family onhand to help watch over him when we wanted to do something like snorkel. Having said that, we still had to miss out on a lot of things that the famdamily could do just on account that you can't haul around a 1-year old or 2-year at a pace that you can do with older kids (or no kids). So it definitely takes some planning.

Personally, I suggest seeing if you can talk the grandparents, or an aunt or uncle, or friends who have kids too in similar age, in going with you at the same time. For one, it's funner with a small group, and for two, you can at least trade off the parenting duties so that you can do things like snorkel and whatnot. Just make sure that the parenting duties are equally shared because it's no fun for the one parent who is constantly "left behind" to tend to the wee ones.

I better not tell you where I have taken my kids then you would crap yourself.:lol:
Most resorts have a kids club and he said his wife wanted to go somewhere warm. The last place we where at on one of the tours there was a two year old in the boat with us and there was 4" rollers and we were jumping waves. It was all fine they always have kids live jackets, and take extra care for you.
There is lots of small kids on resorts and its only 5hr to get there.
Ohh and he can snorkel or dive while his wife sits on the beach and his two year old plays in the sand.
My 2 Cents

My Vote,

Huatulco, Oaxaca

Beaches everywhere, calm & peaceful. They have just started to open up major tourism. Take a private boat tour and check out India bay. Our guide took us to 9 beaches 5 of them we were the only ones there.

Amazing weather all year round

So what you are saying is they can't go diving together? He must have a very understanding wife. I know how my wife would feel if I went out diving and she had to sit on the beach with a 2 year old.:lol: My 2 cents too.:biggrin:



Ohh and he can snorkel or dive while his wife sits on the beach and his two year old plays in the sand.
My 2 Cents

Just so you don't think I am full of s**t.

http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/g...003Fall071.jpg
Cape Scott Northern tip of Vancouver Island right after the hurricane.
The ocean protein skimming.
http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/g...er/2003067.jpg
The Lions at 9 years.:biggrin:

Now Vancouver Island, I could help you with. :biggrin:

Maui was very nice (I remember it as peaceful) Hawaii was hectic (Big Cityish) Puerto Vallarta SUCKED will never go back. I would like to try Cuba (have mixd reviews from lots of people) & Belize (never heard anything bad about it)

Is that second photo Salt Spring? It looks familiar to me. :)

I dunno, maybe it's the old lifeguard in me speaking ... maybe it's the fact that I once, as a kid, nearly got lost ashore off Manly beach off Sydney after being caught in a riptide ... I wasn't in distress in the least, but I suddenly found myself 1 kilometre ashore. I sort of looked up and saw how far out I was ... sometimes the currents you get caught in are so gentle that you can't perceive that you're being carried off.

(I got back to shore with the help of a surfer who went out looking for me when my dad realized he couldn't see me anymore.)

I just think it's better to have a swim buddy out there with you (ie., not sitting at the beach), whether you are 7 or 37... Just my $0.02. :) Thus if you can go with some buddies or grandparents or other family ... it will just be better. But yeah, I realize that's not always possible. Let's face it, whatever you can do, is obviously going to be better than sitting at home staring at the snow. :)

He said family resort his wife wants to sit on the beach he wants to snorkel
I would think she would be okay with him snorkeling or maybe getting in a dive or who knows he could watch the kid while she dives.
Would you not do that for your spouse??

Don't think anybody said you were full of s**t. Looks like your kids are having fun. Big 2 yr olds though..Sure I don't mind watching kids either. Just seems to me that they might want to do stuff by themselves. There's family time and then there's together time..Just don't think you are going to get a lot of relaxing time with a 2yr old.

Yes I know big two year olds.:lol:
I could post a few more but some of you might not approve.:twised:
All kidding aside though I just don't want them to be discouraged. I for one have always taken my kids everywhere with me. Peace brother.:biggrin:

I hear you. Don't want to put them off the trip either. Just make sure they realize what a 2yr old can do, both on a vacation and don't forget the plane ride...ears a poppin....:lol:. I have first hand experience with that. I have had great experiences too, but they were a bit older....:biggrin:

http://www.clubtread.com/Routes/Route.aspx?Route=239

No its on the north shore its the two bumps just to the left the ones that look like lions.

Greg if you want great diving try Roatan in Honduras or Ambergris Caye in Belize. You need to decide exactly what kind of holiday you want and how3rd world you're willing to go. If you want great diving but a little more upscale try the Caymans. Jamaica is beautiful but the people are very pushy and I didn't care for it. You are welcome to call me for more details.:biggrin:

Enjoyed Varadero Cuba. No complains for the hotel, beach, pool etc. and could call kid friendly.

Thing is there's no snorkeling from the hotel, just great white sand beach, and where they take you for SW snorkeling was really no hell (the FW cave was neat though).

Atlantis.com

LOL all the advice is appreciated :) We have thought about asking my parents if they would like to join us on a vacation as that would help spread they childcare work load around.

My biggest concern I do think is the travel time, our daughter has problems being confined to the car seat on a trip across the city to Golds let alone a plane flight :p

The trip out to Vancouver Island will be a good test to see how things go. My folks live in Quallicum Beach so we are going out to visit them.

Haha, I did that too (a "test trip vacation" out to the coast).

One idea I was banting about if I ever get to go somewhere nice again is that instead of getting 3 seats in a row on the plane, two together and the third in front of one of them. Like maybe two window seats. That way one of the parents can sit in the seat that's going to get kicked for the duration of the flight. Well, I guess it depends on how kind you want to be to strangers. :lol:

I guess my last piece of advice is don't be put off going - just go if you can. It's not so bad travelling with one kid .. now that I have two, I'm sort of facing the grim reality that I probably can't afford 4 airfares to anywhere anymore. :(

When our son was about 2 did the test run to Hamilton (Niagara Falls) before the trip to the Philippines. Was asleep to whole way, sure made us feel better about the 16 hr trip.

Was told Graval is a good thing to carry for it's calming effect, never tried it though. Obviously check with your Pediatrician.

I think you can go wherever you want with your two year old. My cousin has a two year old that has traveled more then i have without incident. Although Hawaii is one of my favorite places to visit, if you want to go to the carribean i say BVI, not all inclusive but just incredible.