My husband and I thrive on tropical vacations and cruises. Before our now 3-year-old arrived, we were blessed to honeymoon in Tahiti (combination of over-water bungalow in Moorea and a cruise aboard Regent Seven Seas Cruises), travel to Sandals Resort in St. Lucia, visit the Florida Keys, and take seven cruises. Of these vacations, most would have been suitable to take a child, except for St. Lucia (an adult-only resort) and Tahiti in our opinion. For us the reasons are simple…Tahiti was our most expensive vacation and we would not want to risk possible behavior issues that far away from home (if you live on the West Coast, this may not be as much of an issue); length of travel time to get there (we stayed in Los Angeles overnight to break up the nearly 14-hour flight to Papeete) and back; and distance away from U.S. medical care in case of emergency.
We recommend that you take these types of things into consideration when choosing your next dream trip. What will they respond to most, regardless if they will not remember it when they are 10? Our little one and big one love marine life and the beach, so any island-based vacations are perfect for us as a family. Atlantis Resort in Nassau, Bahamas hands down is a favorite family escape and one we will frequent multiple times. They both love boating, so cruising fits into their likes as well. Both kids love to eat and both are kind of picky at times, so the food variety on a cruise without the feelings of wasting money is perfect. And both love the on-board entertainment and exploring the local attractions.We can not say enough about considering the length of travel time. When traveling to the Southern Caribbean we make it a point to stay overnight in San Juan, Puerto Rico to allow some rest and relaxation time before boarding the cruise ship. Also, whenever possible, we recommend spending the extra money on non-stop flights.
What is your next family dream trip? What are your driving factors when choosing a destination/type of vacation?
--Bill & Jenn Thomas
1 comments:
This is great information. We have two kids - a three year old and an eight month old. We're thinking about taking a vacation to the Caribbean next year. I would love to go to Beaches Turks & Caicos. The resort looks absolutely amazing and their children's program looks perfect for our needs. Although my husband and I could lounge on the beach for hours on end and be perfectly content, we all know that with children that’s just not possible so we need a vacation spot that has other activities for children that’s going to keep them entertained and busy.
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