Affordable Tropical Vacation

[Hkymom66]

Okay fellow smart canucks I need some advice:
I really want to take my family somewhere tropical for 10 days this Feb. I have been promising and promising but things never work out. This year I am determined. I have a daughter who is 12 and a son who is 14. I dont even know where to start looking. Would LOVE to go to Hawaii but it seems out of reach for us. Mexico seems more affordable. I need something for the kids to do too. Any suggestions?? Experiences??
Thank-you!

[heycinderella]

I went to Cuba last year. Booked things with Sunwings, 8 days, 4 star hotel, round trip flight, all meals and drinks included $1100/adult. It was very nice. You can lay on the beach, go to the bar, go on day trips to islands or the old city, go swim with dolphins, go jeep safari etc, the kids will enjoy the hotel activities. People say that Cuba is much safer than Mexico for vacations but I don't know for sure.

[imasham]

My wife and I went to Hawaii for two weeks in September. We stayed in a condo instead of a hotel and saved a BUNDLE! With our own kitchen we were able to have our own meals which saved further. We bought a bus pass and traveled to various spots each day, spent the day time exploring and enjoying the sites, came home in the evening to enjoy a sunset and walk on the beach. We also bought an GoOahu Card which further saved costs as it provides discounts and bonus offers to places we were going to go to anyway.

The tone of your message indicates costs could be a major factor for you. Consider California or Florida instead or a Disney cruise which has days FULL of activities.

[pippinelkhound]

Without knowing your price point it's hard to give advice.

When we used to travel with our two boys were could do it for around $6K to an all-inclusive in Puerta Vallarta. We did a couple of excursions and used the city bus. The resorts have activities for families. Usually a kid/teen area with games, pool tables etc. I remember the Melia had a pottery event where you could decorate/paint pots and have them fired so you had a permanent souvenir.

There are hotels in Honolulu that do breakfast as part of the package and if you shop in grocery stores not the ABCs it's doable but still expensive. Climbing Diamond Head is free, so is Pearl Harbour.

[imasham]

The actual climbing of Diamond Head is free but entering the park is not! $1 as a walk-in or $5 per vehicle. Pearl Harbor is partly free (other than getting there): exhibits plus ticket to the Arizona Memorial is free. Visits to the USS Bowfin, USS Missouri and the aviation museum cost extra. Using a hotel in Honolulu is way more expensive than using a condo. Your assessment of the ABC stores is correct. They're EVERYWHERE but they're expensive. My wife and took a bus out of Waikiki to a neighbourhood Safeway.

Of course the beach is always free! You just have to get there.

[Kelkens]

Well the beach is free but the beach chairs are not. It is hard to sit on the beach for the afternoon on a towel.

However we throughly enjoyed Waikiki as there was lots to do there. We too rented a condo with a full kitchen. We saved a lot as well as we made all of our breakfasts and lunches. Out of seven evenings we only ate supper out four times. I agree about the ABC-Safeway is cheaper. There is also a Costco but we did not find it.

There were a couple of free appetizer nights at our condo as well there was a pizza teen night as well. There was free entertainment across the street at the local street mall. I heard the mall has free food demos and some people go from one to the other and fill up.

We did pay for a day excursion which included a hike in the rainforest, a bike ride and a boat out to see turtles. It was expensive but well worth it.

The downside to Waikiki however is the horrendous traffic. As an island, there are only a couple of major highways and they get so congested.

Other than that we had a great time.

Anywhere you go remember American airlines charge per suitcase. We shared one as did our kids to cut down on the costs.