Hawaii is great (prefer Kauai and Maui), but can you do Hawaii for $20k with 6 people? Air alone is $8,500-$12,000+ depending on when you go.
OT: Caribbean Vacation
- Thread starter Scarlet Bri
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Ya -- it's just "another level" isn't it?
And if you're gonna spend $20K, then might as well do it on the other level!
if you've only got $5K to spend, then ya, do the carribean...
I was going to say the same thing. Air alone is almost half the budget. And then food- it would be less expensive if the kids were all under 14 but the ages mentioned, the daily food/drink bill is going to be nearly $1k
Hotels aren’t cheap and of course you can do a home rental but does that give the activity you want?
It’s funny- after getting divorced from my first wife- I went to take my 2 boys on vacation and wanted to do something all out. They were 10 and 12.
The first big Vaca- I gave them 2 choices- rafting and camping tge Grand Canyon or Disney…and they picked Disney. Of course.
Next year Rafting Grand Canyon or Caribbean Island All inclusive- figured they would get the hint of what I would love as a memory with them(and both were lovers of the outdoors and camping/fishing) and they picked the damn Island.
And then I met tge currently and final wife and knew I would never get that rafting trip lol
The first big Vaca- I gave them 2 choices- rafting and camping tge Grand Canyon or Disney…and they picked Disney. Of course.
Next year Rafting Grand Canyon or Caribbean Island All inclusive- figured they would get the hint of what I would love as a memory with them(and both were lovers of the outdoors and camping/fishing) and they picked the damn Island.
And then I met tge currently and final wife and knew I would never get that rafting trip lol
We did Hawaii last summer. With 6 people your are talking about 2 rooms everywhere you go. We did 2 weeks, Mom paid for flights and the family reunion week. I think I spent $15k on the 2nd week just room, food, rental car, inter island flights and activities, but we knew we could splurge with the subsidy from Mom, and we don’t just sit on the beach all day.
$5k in the Caribbean will buy us maybe 2-3 nights. Too many damn kids lol.
All the advice is fantastic, much appreciated, thank you all!!
I think the Caribbean beaches are way nicer than Hawaii in a lot of places.
The only water I've seen bluer and warmer than DR is in Thailand and Egypt.
I would also say PR has nicer beaches than many in Hawaii...and you can drink on the beach, it's cheaper, closer and I like the vibe more personally.
The only water I've seen bluer and warmer than DR is in Thailand and Egypt.
I would also say PR has nicer beaches than many in Hawaii...and you can drink on the beach, it's cheaper, closer and I like the vibe more personally.
Skoolie. Love GC, been there multiple times. But I read 7 mile beach is so eroded, only one hotel , the Ritz, has a beach. And it’s mobbed. True?
1. Stop with the kids! That 4x multiplier is a killer (for vacations and life!). LOL.
2. You would have no problem making that budget work in the Carribean and could book a private villa if you wanted.
3. Hawaii on that budget for 6 is doable, but you may have to compromise a few things.
Definitely not. I just walked it in November. I always go to their public beach. One of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Rum Point has some nice beaches also but the North side of the island gets more of the wind and waves. Rum Point is calm though. Crazy calm water.
You’re not kidding! At least the first 2 chose RU and are on track to have a substantial job upon graduation. Hoping I can get them off the payroll in a few years
God bless! You are a better man/dad than me. One little one was enough, so we are a happy family of 3. LOL!
We never had the chance to bring all 4 kids from our mixed marriage on a single vacation together. We did bring the 3 youngest on a number of them including bowl games.
By far, the most expensive with 5 of us was Atlantis. But I had booked an ocean front suite and a joining single room. Also did the a meal plan that was about $70 a day per person.
They f-d up the rooms on us and ended up upgrading us to two adjoining suites in the club/conceirge. These were rooms up near the arch and you get breakfast, lunch and tea and happy hour drinks…
Made for a great time except for trying to find anywhere to sit near the pool or beach.
But 7 days must have run me $15k and that was back in 04.
And that didn’t count the Rolex’s , Cartier ring that my wife almost lost etc…
By far, the most expensive with 5 of us was Atlantis. But I had booked an ocean front suite and a joining single room. Also did the a meal plan that was about $70 a day per person.
They f-d up the rooms on us and ended up upgrading us to two adjoining suites in the club/conceirge. These were rooms up near the arch and you get breakfast, lunch and tea and happy hour drinks…
Made for a great time except for trying to find anywhere to sit near the pool or beach.
But 7 days must have run me $15k and that was back in 04.
And that didn’t count the Rolex’s , Cartier ring that my wife almost lost etc…
Bahamas - it sounds like some here didn’t love Atlantis, but we really liked it. Big complex; just pick the right building for you. Not all-inclusive, and yes food can get pricey (Nobu, Jose Andres’ Fish, Michael White’s Paranza, Carmines, etc). The Royal Tower is the one w/ the casino and the building you see in all the ads and the Bond movie; and yes it can get crowded. But I’d suggest where we stayed: the Cove is MUCH nicer, great private beach area and all five buildings have free shuttles that run to each other. And there is SO much for your kids to do, so many water sports and rides and dolphins, shows, etc etc. Highly recommend.
Jamaica - you cannot go wrong with the music & food. I’d avoid the Marriott properties (most are trash), but absolutely loved the RIU hotels there. All-inclusive, if that’s a plus. And again, the food (jerk, curry, festival, etc etc). Negril is odd, usually either boring or nude & kinda wild. Mo Bay and Ocho Rios are more of a happy medium, and closer to the airport. Kids might like Dunn’s River falls & ziplining, too. Tons of direct flights from both Newark and JFK
Aruba - the beaches (at both the Ritz and Stellaris/Ocean Club) are solid. Arid & pack on the sunscreen. Food was pricey since pretty much EVERYTHING is imported. Didn’t love downtown Oranjestad unless you’re looking for diamonds/jewelry. But water sports were everywhere and liked the mini-sub. Little longer flight.
Sorry if this is kinda long.
If you go to Bahamas stay at the baha mar. I love it there and so did my kids. Their waterpark which is newer was a lot of fun.
I just think the Atlantis has a pretty cool restaurant area that is outside which includes carmines so it has some advantage to it
If you decide on Jamaica…do Ocho Rios. Negril can be nice but hit or miss. As for the All Inclusives, Riu is always nice, but I loved Moon Palace. Try to find one of the on site restaurants that may do true sit down Jamaican breakfast instead of the buffet. You usually have to ask the staff. But worth it.
But even on a day where you don’t leave the resort- grabbing some jerk chicken from the jerk shack on the beach is always a great middle of the day.
+1. I didn’t stay at either but did dinner at Atlantis and a day of gambling/drinks at Baha Mar and was way more impressed there.
My wife was one of 4 girls. We started with twin boys. When the 3rd was also a boy, I knew there would at least be one more try. Thank god #4 was a girl or who knows how many we may have had!!
I went to the Cayman's once_ quite awhile back, around 2004
At that time the beach by our hotel was nice, but extremely narrow
I don't think you could put three lounge chairs up from the water it seemed so narrow
Despite that, the wife and I were ready to go back the following year, everything was good
Unfortunately They had a hurricane hit a few weeks before we were to go again, so we had to cancel
From what I have heard, the hurricane added sand to the beaches on that side of the island making the beach more your typical width
We had to cancel a Cayman trip due to that hurricane as well. Kind of a common thing for us. Had to also cancel a 2017 trip to St. John and multiple trips to Marco Island. Poor Marco! We’ve planned 4 trips but only made it there once. Hurricane, COVID, then another hurricane. LOL!
I’ve never did a cruise and there was a time I wanted to but just don’t have that desire. Maybe a river cruise somewhere in Europe but hear of too many first timers that do get seasick and others who just are not happy with them. Others live to cruise- I would rather walk Europe or do an all inclusive on an islandJust got off MSC caribbean cruise. So sad now
Yeah, Negril is very much where you stay, so research must be done. If you're into the naked wilder vibe, they definitely have that. If you want to unplug from life and just do the beach, they have that. I have yet to find a happy medium there. Much preferred Ocho Rios. Loved RIU and Sandals, though haven't been to the latter in many years. Haven't been to this Moon Palace, but will make a note of it. (Fortunately, I have more Marriott points than I need. Unfortunately, it somewhat limits where we pick, and as I've said the Marriott properties in Trelawny suck). Rose Hall is near MoBay, while Ocho Rios is 1 1/2 hours (Dunn's River is closer to there)
And 100% skip buffets in Jamaica. The local food is too good to waste an opportunity eating buffet slop. Hell, our daughter wants to go back this summer just for the jerk.
My wife grew up in Jamaica. As a kid, her Dad ran a cantina that was on the Runaway Beach resort property. This resort later became hedonism and then Jewel. His place was good, drink and music for the local workers on the site. She was the little local kid that played with all the resort guests. I think she was there from about tge age of 5 until 8 or 9. Her Dad used to have her gather the guests for his crab races. He would always tell her the slowest one and had her tell the guests to bet on that one and she would get a split of his winnings. She was so good that she would start crying when the crab she told them to bet one would lose. His Cantina was also a favorite for big time musicians and tge famous that would visit the resort. At any given time, you may have a Jimmy Buffet or Mick Jagger break into song with the locals.
She ended up going to High School in Ocho Rios. Her uncle was the local “Mayor” he made her and her sisters learn to talk without accent and do the walk with books on their heads, learn proper dinner settings etc. she excelled at everything but also got into a fist fight with a male teacher and stabbed one of her friends through tge hand with a pencil. Last time we went there, she gave me a tour of tge High School and they still remembered her there.
Montego Bay is not the place to visit. It’s either Negril or Ocho Rios.
If you ever go to the Moon Palace, Pier 8 is the place for breakfast. They serve up the best authentic Jamaican breakfast.
The resort is great and we had timed it perfect. It was the same week most kids went back to school. So tge resort was still fully staffed but the resort was maybe only 40% full and almost no kids
Ahh, ok. I remember Hedonism. That was awhile ago. Did not realize it was now Jewel. Makes sense.
Yeah, my wife grew up in Kingston and graduated from Wolmer's. Still has two sisters and brothers-in-law living in Kingston, which is a hike. And yes, she'd pick Ohio Rios every day over either Negril or Mo Bay.
But she enjoyed Atlantis even more (though it would be based on staying in The Cove. She had no use for the crowds and noise and bustle of the Royal Tower. She'd eat at Nobu and dip).
Although it had the reputation of a wild vacation spot in the past, the Club Med at Turk & Caicos Islands offered about everything you wanted. If you wanted to be alone, you could be alone. If you wanted to part of group activities, you could do that. They had constant team participation games like volleyball. You could also explore the ocean, etc. It seems to be a lot less than your price range. Just wanted to point that out. Good luck planning your trip no matter where you book it.
It was the best island I’ve been to. English speaking, beautiful beaches, perfectly safe anywhere on the island. I got to swim and stingrays in the wild, about 15 minutes out in the Caribbean. I’ll definitely go back again. No need for me to see any other islands (I’ve to been to about 6 or 7 of them)
Absolutely. There were plenty of families there. Check out the IHG Hilton
I can’t speak for the summer but there wasn’t one piece of seaweed the last week of March.
They refer to seaweed as sargassum and I read the season was from March to October. So it looks like you missed it depending on the place you went.
I was reading Mexico/Cancun can be really bad
Last time we went to Jamaica-?we stayed at Moon Palace. They have their most popular resorts in Mexico and Ocho Rios.
People that have been to both, say you just can’t enjoy the beach in Mexico
I was at moon palace in Cancun over Easter. Sargassum was bad but they tried their best to clean up.