All inclusive beach vacations..on a budget?

[BABY_EINSTEIN'S_MOM]

Well, dh mentioned possibly wanting to go somewhere besides Disney sometime soon. I was telling my dd about some beautiful pics I saw of a little girl she knows on the beach in the carribean. Dh heard me and asked why we couldn't go somewhere like that instead of always Disney.

So, the only ones I know of are sandals/beaches. I priced those and unless I'm doing something wrong, I got over 10 grand land/air total and that was with a discount! So, any info on these types of vacations would be greatly appreciated!

The resort would need to be very family friendly and very all inclusive, so that dh wouldn't have to be upset with constant charges! LOL

 

[Darcy03231]

Try www.applevacations.com

We've traveled quite a bit and found we like the Iberostar chain (we've stayed in several in different places). My kids love going to the Mexican Riviera - there's lots to see/do.

 

[SondraC]

I second Apple vacations! We did an AI in 2005 and it was really nice having everything (incl. air) paid for in one price!

 

[robsmom]

Go to tripadvisor and search for hotels in punta cana, the mexican riveria, cancun, jamica, aruba, etc. you can get reviews and good nformation on the various hotels. Sometimes it is cheaper to book everything yourself and other times I think a package might be better (such as apple vacations as mentioned above). There is also a site called cheapcarribean.com or something like that. There are many resorts that are family friendly. There is a resort in Jamica called FDR. I have not been to this but i understand that it is geared to families. We went to aruba and found this to be a very safe and friendly island. They are south of most hurricanes so we were able to go in August without having to worry about storms. We stayed at the Hyatt but there were cheaper options and all inclusive options. There are many places in Punta Cana that are all inclusive and allow kids and there are as mentioned above, a bunch in Mexico. Also Have you considered a cruise. Dollar for dollar there are some very good cruise deals right now which would let you see a bunch of islands and give your husband the feel of a different vacation.

 

[nunzia]

We've really enjoyed the Iberostar resorts..

 

[ckret01]

I triple Apple vacations.....Went to Mexico (Riviera Maya) and the Dominican Republic (Punta Cana) on really awesome deals with Apple Vacations including all inclusive.

 

[An_Island_Girl]

We love the Iberostar resorts in Mexico and the Dominican Republic. They have great kids clubs, organized activities that you can participate in if you so choose, HUGE pools, beautiful beaches... can you tell we love it there? Our favorite is the Iberostar Maya and Lindo at the Iberostar Paraiso complex (5 sister hotels all next to each other).

The pricing comes down to airfare for the most part. If you are able to book when airfare is down, it can be a fairly cheep vacation. We go to Mexico for 2 weeks each year for what it costs us to stay at Disney (poly) for only 1 week. As for booking, we like to price out our dates at either Funjet or Apple online, and our travel agent can typically beat that listed price. FYI, May is a "value" season for Mexico, and the fall is also a value season for the caribbean, but you run the risk of hurricane season.

We love that the All-Inclusive resorts include all you can eat and drink, activities and entertainment that are pre-paid. It really does make for a wonderfully relaxing holiday.

 

[dvcnewgirl]

We toured the EL CID resort in Mexico and it looked very child friendly ( great pool and beach for kids) and the resort was beautiful. I think Funjet is running them as a special. It was pretty inexpensive.

 

[limace]

Sign up for travelzoo.com's weekly top 20 email-great deals can be found there.

 

[JennSaint]

Another good site for booking Caribbean vacations is:
www.cheapcaribbean.com
We used them for our trip to Turks & Caicos and everything went smooth.

 

[Keishag]

Ditto Applevacations.com. If you can catch a square deal, even that much better! Priceline concept, you select price range, where, how many apples (or star equivalents) and you wont know the hotel until you arrive at the airport. We've never been disappointed and I am an avid planner! It 'freed' me of having to plan out every detail. We always do the 6 apple square deal in the Riveria Maya and have ended up at Dreams Tulum and Dreams Puerto Aventuras for under $1000/pp every time for air, hotel, food, etc.

 

[trinchick]

We love AI vacations - and I think they're far more affordable than Disney. Last year, DH, DD and I spent two weeks at the Iberostar Punta Cana for $3,000 including airfare from Boston. That's less than it would cost us for one week at Disney!

We've done two AI vacations - both in Punta Cana - and have been thrilled with both of them. The first we booked through Travelocity, and the second we booked through an on-line travel agent that purchased through Funjet.

And you can definitely assure your DH that there won't be many add-ons. We don't leave the resort at all on our trips, as DD is really too young for most of the excursions. The only money we spend is on tips and souvenirs. Our airport transfers have always been included with our packages. Tips are not required (included in your package), but we generally give a few dollars a day to the maid and $5 or so when we go to an a la carte dinner. Then if we've had a great server at the buffet throughout the trip, we'll usually give them $5-10 on the last day of the vacation.

 

[chrisrich]

I did an all inclusive to Puerto Vallarta last year. I went through company called Bookit.com. We stayed at the San Marino in Old Town. The resort was family friendly and the bonus of being in old town in there is lots to go do and see. It wasn't a fancy hotel but was clean with good staff, nice beach and a great view. IMHO Mexico is way cheaper than the Caribbean.
Have fun what ever you decide !!
Cheers
Chris

 

[MarieLuvsWDW]

I did an all inclusive to Puerto Vallarta last year. I went through company called Bookit.com. We stayed at the San Marino in Old Town. The resort was family friendly and the bonus of being in old town in there is lots to go do and see. It wasn't a fancy hotel but was clean with good staff, nice beach and a great view. IMHO Mexico is way cheaper than the Caribbean.
Have fun what ever you decide !!
Cheers
Chris

I'd check TA for recent reports on Book It. I've heard some pretty harsh things about them lately, including bait-and-switch.