Each year the Caribbean welcomes over 26 million visitors to its lush islands and crystal blue waters. It's no wonder that so many families want to visit and share these memories and experiences with their children.
The most popular vacation spots for families in the Caribbean are the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Aruba The Bahamas and Puerto Rico. Cuba actually ranks second on the list thanks to Canadian and international visitors. No doubt their tourism numbers will continue to climb as American families begin to discover their beautiful beaches. Often American are surprised to learn many of the familiar hotels and all inclusive resorts they know from other islands have well established properties on Cuba. These islands are the most popular because they have the most airline service with frequent flight schedules.
Once families have a taste of the Caribbean sweet life, they want to venture back with their kids time and again. Often they want to explore other destinations like Turks & Caicos, the Virgin Islands, Antigua or St. Lucia.
Often families will call or email our travel agency saying they want to take their kids on a dream vacation to the Caribbean. Most don't take into consideration that the "Caribbean" is a very large piece of geography.
Imagine a visitor from say England walking into their local travel agent saying "I want a U.S. vacation". There is NO WAY they could possibly make a dent in seeing the U.S. in a couple of weeks. (Lucky for the Brits they generally get 4-6 weeks vacation time compared to our 1-2 weeks here in the states). Think of the diversity we have here in the States...beaches, mountains, deserts. The same is true in the Caribbean. Each and every island has a very unique culture and personality
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If you're trying to zero in on the best Island for your family to visit there are usually 6 main factors that parents consider when planning and ultimately choosing a Caribbean Family vacation. Usually this is their order of priority...
- Budget
- Flight schedules
- Type of Accommodations
- Beach
- Weather
- Food
So if budget is the mail priority for parents, how can we help them create a dream vacation with their kids?
All inclusive resorts are often key to affordability and there are hundreds of choices throughout the Caribbean. Here the price of your generally includes airport transportation, gourmet meals and snacks, all your drinks (yes...alcoholic and non), activities (like sailing and snorkeling) evening entertainment, complimentary child care as well as all tips and taxes. This means parents pretty much know up front what the total cost of their vacation will be. You won't have to be whipping out a charge card every five minutes so everyone can simply relax, chill out and indulge.
Of course, another big factor when it comes to budget is international flights. Not only are they costly but flight schedules are another big consideration. Often for many midwest and west coast parents, a Caribbean dream vacation can quickly turn into a nightmare if it means double or triple flight connections to get to your island destination. These flight schedules are costly, not only in dollars but in long lay-overs and short tempers.
In these situations, parents should HIGHLY consider a Caribbean cruise vacation. It's easier and much more cost effective to find a nonstop flight to a port city in Florida or even Galveston, New Orleans or even NYC. Cruise prices start at around $75 per person/ per night or you can enjoy luxurious stateroom suites with butlers and even baby Grand Pianos all on the same ship. They include almost all of the same features as an all inclusive resort (minus the alcohol and sodea - sorry). Actually they offer MORE activities and greater savings when cruising with teenagers. Once again, parents can know the cost of their vacation pretty much in advance so they can keep on budget.
The nice part about a Caribbean Cruise vacation is that your family will get to visit and explore multiple ports of call. You can enjoy several different ports of call during your week at sea. You can explore different Caribbean destinations which will help you to know exactly what you want on your next vacation.
The most wonderful thing about a Caribbean Family Vacation is the millions of choices that are out their just waiting for you. Often all these choices can quickly become overwhelming when it comes to vacation planning. This is certainly where a travel agent can take the work out of vacation planning and give you peace of mind with your decisions. We're like a tour guide that can GET YOU to your perfect Caribbean family vacation paradise!
