Melissa in New York Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 My husband and I are taking our 2 young adult (24 & 23 years) males on a family vacation...probably in March. While I would love to head west, my hubby is craving beach time in the Carribean or Mexico. With sub-zero temps occurring, he won't have to twist my arm too much. My boys are not the party-type so loud bars and gatherings aren't necessary. Nature and/or athletic activities are preferred. Cruises are not possible due to major seasickness on my part. All-inclusive could be helpful. Ideas? Recommendations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bibiche Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 Norwegian Air out of NYC has fantastic prices to the French Carribbean. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 Costa Rica ROCKS and is perfect. In every way. :) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nrg Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 We took our young adults to Hawaii. We rented a house and had a great time! There was something for everyone--nature lovers, athletes, historians, and us--the snorkelers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen3kids Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 We just got back from Sanibel Island, FL and it was amazing! Warm weather, great beach, huge nature preserve, kayking, biking, 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitestavern Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 Duh and I had a second honeymoon in St Lucia at Windjammer resort. We did lots of water sports, relaxing, a little touring around the safe areas. We explored a rainforest. There's also the Pitons to explore (volcanoes) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in New York Posted January 10, 2017 Author Share Posted January 10, 2017 What's your budget? Hello! Good question but I'm going to politely decline answering it in a public forum. It was hard enough to post that my family is going on an international vacation when others can only dream about it. If you have an idea, please send it along. I'll make the decision if it is in our budget or not. Thanks for understanding. :) ~melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in New York Posted January 10, 2017 Author Share Posted January 10, 2017 Duh and I had a second honeymoon in St Lucia at Windjammer resort. We did lots of water sports, relaxing, a little touring around the safe areas. We explored a rainforest. There's also the Pitons to explore (volcanoes) This sounds great! I'll be looking into it. ~melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in New York Posted January 10, 2017 Author Share Posted January 10, 2017 We took our young adults to Hawaii. We rented a house and had a great time! There was something for everyone--nature lovers, athletes, historians, and us--the snorkelers. I agree about Hawaii! My dh and I celebrated out 25 years of marriage on those islands. Loved it! ~melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in New York Posted January 10, 2017 Author Share Posted January 10, 2017 We just got back from Sanibel Island, FL and it was amazing! Warm weather, great beach, huge nature preserve, kayking, biking, We did Sanibel Island some years ago. I'll look into it again. Thanks for the reminder. ~melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in New York Posted January 10, 2017 Author Share Posted January 10, 2017 Costa Rica ROCKS and is perfect. In every way. :) This has been on my list of places to visit! Typically, I would envision only my husband and I but I'll look into it again and see if it works, money-wise. Do you have a recommended place to stay? ~melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in New York Posted January 10, 2017 Author Share Posted January 10, 2017 Norwegian Air out of NYC has fantastic prices to the French Carribbean. Thank you for this! I'll be looking at it later this morning. ~melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 (edited) Oh wow, thanks for this lovely thread that can make me discontented with my upcoming Disney/Florida trip! :lol: So I'm subbing to get ideas for my dream file! :D SaveSave Edited January 10, 2017 by OhElizabeth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 This has been on my list of places to visit! Typically, I would envision only my husband and I but I'll look into it again and see if it works, money-wise. Do you have a recommended place to stay? ~melissa We went several places -- did a self-guided tour of sorts with a rented car . . . We stayed in the La Fortuna area to do the high adventure and hot springs stuff there We stayed at Hotel: Hotel El Silencio del Campo in La Fortuna. We loved it. We got 2 little houses/rooms, one for us and one for our kids. Even though you could fit 4 (maybe could have squeezed 5 since my kids are younger) folks in one . . . dh and I wanted the private space. That worked out great. We did white water rafting, "canyoneering" (rappelling down water falls and in canyons), a wildlife viewing river "float" (in a raft, but slow and easy) to photograph wildlife at dusk, hanging bridges through the jungle, etc, etc. etc. The hotel we stayed at had natural hot springs on site, so pretty much we soaked in hot springs "pools" in the evening as our after-dinner chill out after a day of intense high adventure. In the beach area, we went to Playa Santa Teresa and rented a VRBO on the beach. That was very nice. Definitely hire surfing guides for surf lessons!! Very awesome surfing in that area. There's also a great water fall you can take a day hike to and cliff jump, etc . . . Pretty much, CR is an adventure paradise. We took the kids there in May as my "stepping it up" family vacation . . . as the kids are getting older and I'd like them to KEEP wanting to travel with us, lol. I just mainly used Trip Advisor to find ideas. The forums for CR are good, and then used reviews of hotels, etc. . . We flew into San Jose and stayed one night in San Jose right before flying home, since we were coming from Santa Teresa If you decide to go . . . definitely PM me for more specific ideas. If your people like adventure and nature, CR is ABSOLUTELY the perfect place to go. It is incredibly tourist-friendly. Everyone loves the tourists and Americans. Prices are reasonable. No shady characters . . . Food is great. Awesome tours/guides/etc . . . Really, really amazing. It's $$ but not as bad as you think. Flights were very reasonable for us from the east coast. Like $550 or so from Pittsburgh, and just one connection and not a long travel time. Cheaper than going to Montana which was our initial thought (love MT) . . . Hotels were quite reasonable. (We traveled in May 2016). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellen Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 Puerto Rico has history, culture, beaches, and rain forest. It's also possible to get very reasonable flights from the East Coast. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 I would vote for Hawaii! However, we had an apartment in Costa Rica part-time for the past three years, and sure loved our time there. Our apartment was in San Jose. I could give advice on beach resorts coming from San Jose. However, if you're looking for an all-in-one type place that's easy to reach, I know many people fly into Liberia which I hear is very lovely and has plenty of those all-in-one resorts close by. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 ETA: there used to be an option to stay at the Comfort Suites that was next door to the Atlantis resort, and still be able to use all their amenities like the pools and waterslides and such. I don't know if that option is still available. ETA2: a quick check online of Comfort Suites Paradise Island says that's still the case. I stayed in those comfort suites and the rooms are nicer than Atlantis rooms! (We met people staying at Atlantis and saw their rooms) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 I've known people that went to all inclusive resorts in the Dominican Republic and loved it. I haven't been myself, but they were pleased and prices were very reasonable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in New York Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 Wow! Thank you for all the ideas. So many good ones too! I am always taken back by the written help or advice of those I haven't met. I'm a minimal writer/typist so I'm always grateful to those who spend time and effort in doing so. Mucho gracias! ~Melissa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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