Inexpensive vacation ideas for a family of 2

[29Candicanes]

Hi all, I want to take my son on vacation after school is out for the summer. We just spent 5 days at Disney in December but I want to go somewhere tropical. My fiancee and I went to Punta Cana in May so I want to try somewhere I haven't been.

Any ideas on a good but inexpensive vacation outside of the US for an adult and a 8 year old boy? I want an all inclusive trip for under $1500 if possible. Thanks in advance.

 

[scrapquitler]

Hi all, I want to take my son on vacation after school is out for the summer. We just spent 5 days at Disney in December but I want to go somewhere tropical. My fiancee and I went to Punta Cana in May so I want to try somewhere I haven't been.

Any ideas on a good but inexpensive vacation outside of the US for an adult and a 8 year old boy? I want an all inclusive trip for under $1500 if possible. Thanks in advance.

How about a cruise?

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

How about a cruise?

I agree. Airfare alone to any islands or tropical place could easily reach your limit. I would avoid Carnival if it all possible. If you can drive to the port you may be able to come close to $1500 on DCL if you can choose a 3-nt.

 

[pigletto]

I would also consider driving to a port. And I'd skip DCL all together if budget is a concern. People seem to love Royal Caribbean and their prices are much more reasonable.

 

[stsomewhere]

A cruise is a great idea. We sail all lines depending on price. You could probably get a Carnival cruise for that price. I agree drive to port.

In the last 12 months, I have cruised 4 times.
2x on Carnival ( each 8 nights), 10 night NCL, 5 night RCI,

We had a bad experience on Carnival about 10 years ago. We had not cruised with them since. I got a terrific price on Carnival Breeze and decided to try it.

My least favorite out of the 4 was Royal Carribean.

 

[DisneyDiana]

Groupon has had some amazing deals including airfare. They had an all inclusive to the Bahamas including air for $299 for four nights in July. I have been to the resort they were offering myself so know it's a nice place.

 

[kymom99]

I would also consider driving to a port. And I'd skip DCL all together if budget is a concern. People seem to love Royal Caribbean and their prices are much more reasonable.

In 2013 the three of us took a RCCL cruise to Bahamas out of Port Canaveral for about $1100. If you are in NC, you can easily drive and stay in an inexpensive hotel for the night before. After the cruise you may be able to drive straight home. We took a 3 night trip from a Friday to Monday. My son was 13 and absolutely LOVED it! He had a blast. We didn't pay a lot out of pocket, but I signed him up for a teen excursion on the private island and we went to a pirate museum on Nassau.

 

[29Candicanes]

Thanks everyone. I guess the only thing to do is research and play with some dates. Last year, I was able to get an all inclusive trip to Punta Cana for $1413 (flight, food, and hotel). The trick was to call and book over the phone because originally it was $1800.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I would also consider driving to a port. And I'd skip DCL all together if budget is a concern. People seem to love Royal Caribbean and their prices are much more reasonable.

It depends. Most of their short cruises out of FL are their older ships. I've only sailed them 2x on their newer ships (at the time) and it still left me longing for DCL. Then again, pretty much anything else does.

 

[Our 2 Princesses]

It depends. Most of their short cruises out of FL are their older ships. I've only sailed them 2x on their newer ships (at the time) and it still left me longing for DCL. Then again, pretty much anything else does.

Us too. We were on Freedom and it was an awesome ship but it just wasn't Disney.