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I have been given the (dubious) honor of planning a family vacation for 2010,probably in March. Due to the wide variety of ages, interests and health needs, I think an All-Inclusive hotel would be our best option. Everyone agrees somewhere tropical, with fishing, hiking, National parks,beach, and diving. Has anyone been to the Dominican Republic? We will have ages 5 to 70. One member has Parkinson's but still gets around pretty well. Some are well traveled, some not at all. Some are very active, others just want to relax. I could use some opinions and input!
On a cruise, everyone will stay accounted for in the same location. There will be activities and interests for absolutely everyone. The little ones, the teens and the ones with mobility difficulties will be safely and compassionately cared for. You can eat like royalty while going someplace amazing -- while having absolutely everything taken care of by others! A cruise completely eliminates the necessity of you having to become an in-depth student of Central America, for example, in order to learn everything there is to know in order to create a trip. Carnival, Celebrity, Disney and other lines are known for caring for children big and small, and all cruise lines care for the disabled and for everyone else. And lots of family reunions take place on cruises, so the profession knows how to put that together and handle that.
There are lots of cruises from the east coast to the Caribbean, for example, and from the west coast to Mexico. Thsee destinations are your best bets for the shortest cruises. There's also awesome Alaska, leaving from Seattle or from Vancouver, British Columbia late May through early Sept. A superb resource is CruiseCritic.com
If you want to put together every detail of a land trip, you'll need TripAdvisor.com where real travelers report their real experiences everywhere, in detail.
If you're really thinking of the D.R., you might also consider Costa Rica which likely has a more peaceful economy and atmosphere. Ditto Panama, which also has that mind-blowing canal connecting gasp! the Atlantic and the Pacific in a north-south canal (!) -- school textbooks come to life, and amazing for everyone else.
I suggest St. Thomas. DR is great but when I was there, we were pretty much confined to the resort area, which was gated. We were only allowed out on guided excursions, which were expensive. I don't know if it's that way everywhere in the DR but we stayed at Punta Cana. St Thomas does not have any gated resorts and it's easy to get about on your own and therefore not as expensive to do activities outside the hotel grounds. Plus, St Thomas is US Territory so the US dollar is used. St John - only a short ferry ride away - has a National Park.
Thanks for your input! We had originally considered a cruise, but my father and a brother-in-law won't go. I admit its not my favorite mode of travel either-not enough time in the ports of call, and too many people on excursions. I'm not a big shopper and that seems to be a big push at the cruise ship ports. Also, I'm more of an adventure-doer, not a show-watcher. I had also considered Costa Rica, which we loved, but when we were there found the roads very bad and a long distance between attractions. The volcanic sand and activity make bus rides a little rough, not sure if the older folks will go for that. I was hoping DR might be better in that respect.
I had not read anything about "gated" resorts- was it an all-inclusive or condo that you stayed at? Were there security issues with taking a cab to town? Locals not friendly? Or did the hotel just want all the revenue? I've been looking at the Punta Cana area, some hotels mention shopping within walking distance. Ideally, the hotel would be just a short cab ride to a moderate sized town for site-seeing and local food.
I don't think St. Thomas will fit our needs. The websites say it is the most-visited island by cruise ships. We usually find out what days the ships are in port and plan our tours around them, so attractions aren't as crowded. They seem to get several boats a day. We love to snorkel, and a whole boatload of cruisers stirs up the water too much. I'm fortunate to have a good friend who is a travel agent that will help us locate deals and make travel arrangements but nothing beats the views of someone who has been there. I've already been consulting with Tripadvisor about which hotels are suitable. I love that site! We won't be leaving till March of 2010 so I have plenty of time to do research-finding out all I can about a place is one of my favorite things. I guess that's why I'm the "Chosen One"! The Internet is one of my best friends!
I've been to St Thomas twice and the only place that was crowded was the town where the ships dock. About snorkeling - when we went to Megan's Bay, my brother was snorkeling and saw a huge tortoise. He probably shouldn't have but he dove down and grabbed it by it's shell, brought it to the surface to show us. I don't think you'll be disappointed but it's up to you.
You could also stay on St John which is less crowded as the majority of it's land is the National Park and I don't think cruises dock there. This website describes it as undeveloped and laid back: US Virgin Islands Travel Guide to St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix and Water Island - USVI Travel
But there is no airport on St John so you have to fly in into St Thomas and take a ferry. I believe there's also no hospital on St John so if anything happens, you have to be flown or ferried into St Thomas.
There's also St Croix but I don't know what it's like.
As for Punta Cana, I assumed it was not safe to go outside the resort complex without a guide. On the excursions, there were some areas we drove through that did not feel safe. It wasn't just one resort in the gated area though, it was many hotels. There were shuttle buses to take people to and from the airport - I didn't even notice any cabs at the airport.
Hmmm, I may have to reconsider...if it was just us, I wouldn't be so concerned, but for those who haven't traveled outside the country I don't want it to be too scary!
Well you can see where I live and I think we have everything you need right here! That said, I went to the DR a few years back and have no desire to return there. The disparity between the "haves" and the "have nots" is huge and I always find it rather amusing when people say what a great time they have there when all they've done is stay in a gated compound with all facilities and have never seen the "real" DR except on a guided and chaperoned tour. I stayed in a friend's condo (not gated) and traveled a lot via moped. The poverty in so many areas was very distressing while the contrast between that and the gated vacation compounds was, well, I've already said it! The locals were charming and hospitable but it's perfectly understandable why so many of them risk life and limb to leave when they have so little to look forward to. Cheers!
Hmmm, I may have to reconsider...if it was just us, I wouldn't be so concerned, but for those who haven't traveled outside the country I don't want it to be too scary!
I think it depends on the individual, I wasn't "scared" but my mom was a bit nervous about it on the way to and from the airport. She was okay on the guided tours though because I think she felt like they would not stop somewhere unsafe, even though we drove through some parts.
But I know a lot of people who go to the US Virgin Islands because it's US territory so they feel safer and it's more convenient because you don't have exchange money.
On the issue of poverty though, the one thing positive about going to the DR is that tourism creates a lot of jobs for the locals and supporting that is a good thing. Some people in St Thomas almost seem resentful and bitter about tourism but the people in DR are grateful for it.
I have a good friend who has taken her family to the DR several times,the name of the hotel is the Ba'hai Principe (sp?). She raved about it.
On the other hand, my niece rented a home in a gated compound for her honeymoon, and woke up one night with a gun held against her temple, as well as another against the head of her husband. They were robbed of everything. They were not hurt, thank goodness. They felt secure because of the gates and the security guard, but it was a false sense of safety. The police were not very interested in finding the men that broke in. Be careful!
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Have you considered a cruise?
