Travel help

[4wheeldrifter]

The wife and I are getting ready to celebrate our 10th anniversary in April and are trying to plan a trip south (ie. to H*ll with this Ohio winter). We're looking to go somewhere in Florida or Carribean but I've never been south of Georgia, and my wife only as far as Orlando. We are not looking for Disney, etc type vacation nor probably a cruise (although not out of the ??). We were thinking more beach-related, snorkeling, swimming, etc.

Anyone have any first-hand experience/suggestions in the Keys, Bahamas, VI's or Florida coast?

Thanks. :cool:

[Turn7]

You can't beat some of the deals that they have for Mexico, Belize and other central American countries.

Beautiful beaches, great food and wonderful culture.


Being an Anniversary, I would go to an established area but not to the heart of it. Something like Cozumel but, one of the resorts on the far end of the island. That way you have the feeling of seclusion but, are within reach of shopping, night clubs and such.

[Cam]

In the Keys you might like to try here. (http://www.holidayisle.com/) It's not the rat-race of Key West, but it's about a 2 hour drive to KW if you feel like having a party day.

[TravelGal]

You are fortunate that you are on the side of the continent that affords lots of possibilities. The question is, do you want to afford them. Yeah, corny. But it is the question you have to ask.

You have already done the difficult part (trust me on this). You have decided what you want your vacation to do for you. The next question is what will fit your budget.

All-inclusives are often the best deal if having liquor included is important. Club Med, Sandals, Couples. If you're set with 10 colas a day, a cruise is good if you buy the beverage coupon. LOTS of good prices on Caribbean cruises Both of these alternatives let you budget up front because they include food. That's often quite helpful.

April is a good time to hit the beaches (or cruises) because it's before the highest of high season. If you're going to Mexico or the Caribbean, check the documentation requirements carefully. More and more regulations pass every day requiring passports.

I think Acquiese joined OC. See if he can hook you up with some good digs in Miami. That could be the best of all possible worlds!

[chop456]

If you like small, boutique type hotels, there's a place in Islamorada (The Keys) called the Cheeca Lodge. Very small, very nice, and an excellent restaurant. It's not even close to cheap, but if you're planning on staying around the hotel/beach, it's a cool place. We only stayed there because it was August and discounted by about 70%. Check with a travel agent to see if you can get any kind of a deal. Did I mention it's pricey?

http://cheeca.rockresorts.com/

You can get way better deals to Mexico/Carribbean. $800 for 7 nights all-inclusive isn't uncommon.

You can usually find some good deals here:

http://www.bestfares.com/home.asp

[rocket]

http://vacations.travelape.com/cabo-san-lucas/playa-grande-resort.html

This is where I'm heading with my daughter. 3/28-4/4. Right on the tip of the baja peninsula. I think that's also when the whales are heading back north from spawning. From what I understand though, due to the position of the place swimming in the Pacific is at your own risk and not recomended due to the VERY strong riptides. Plenty of pools though. Can't wait.

[chop456]

Thanks for rubbing it in. :p

[solpadeine]

Just got back from two weeks in Mexico's Riviera Maya. I highly recommend it for the beach/snorkeling/relaxing aspects. Down in Akumal we rented a house right on the beach for $2500 for the week for 6 of us (http://www.locogringo.com ) When you go in the water off our beach, you hit the first coral within the first ten yards. Kayaks with the house and only 15 or so other houses on the bay. Can't be beat.

http://64.36.26.242/html/images/riviera_maya08.jpg

[Dvdb]

Houses? Them's look like huts to me!! :gomer:

I'd look into Cancun, Cozumel, or Belize myself.

[KLang]

Got back yesterday from a week on the beach in Ixtapa, Mexico and we really enjoyed it. It’s smaller and more laid back then Cancun, good beach, great seafood and cheap beer. :cool:

[CARTNUT]

I hear Haiti is very nice this time of year! :eek:

'NUT :gomer:

[Corner5]

Mexico- Puerta Valiarta,more natural beauty

Florida- Key West- search out where the locals hang out. (But Sloppy Joes is fun for people watching)
St Petes/Clearwater- beautiful beaches.

[cartman]

Not sure how much you're looking to spend, but if you can afford it I would highly recommend Grand Cayman. Me and the wife spent our honeymoon there and absolutely fell in love with the place. It's very clean, very safe (I've heard on a lot of the Caribbean islands it's not really safe to leave the resort at all. Not the case in Grand Cayman, you will feel safe no matter where you are or what you're doing on the island), and has some of the best snorkeling and scuba in the world. Stingray City alone was worth the cost of the trip if you ask me, that's one of the coolest experiences I've ever had in my life. It's only an hour and twenty minute flight from Atlanta and it's very easy to get around on the island. Food and drink is a tad pricey on the island since they have to import most everything, but everything else was dirt cheap, especially the shopping because everything on the island is tax and duty free. Our 6 hour snorkeling excursion to Stingray City only cost us around $25 a person. We stayed at the Marriott on 7 mile beach and it was really nice. Some of the best snorkeling on the island was right off of the beach at our hotel. Anyways, if it's in your price range, I would definitely highly recommend taking a look at Grand Cayman.

A cruise is definitely the best bang for your buck though I would think. On our last cruise I was getting 24 oz. Crown and cokes for like $4.50 :eek: In a bar where I live in Atlanta that same drink would probably be around $8-10. Not to mention all of the excellent food that is included with the initial cost.

[mello]

Just got back from two weeks in Mexico's Riviera Maya. I highly recommend it for the beach/snorkeling/relaxing aspects. Down in Akumal we rented a house right on the beach for $2500 for the week for 6 of us (http://www.locogringo.com ) When you go in the water off our beach, you hit the first coral within the first ten yards. Kayaks with the house and only 15 or so other houses on the bay. Can't be beat.

http://64.36.26.242/html/images/riviera_maya08.jpg
Agree on the RIviera Maya. You can do an all inclusive there for under 1,000 each at the El Dorado Royale. It is an adults only resort. Check out funjet.com or apple vacations. They had some super specials going. www.tripadvisor.com will give you ratings of all the resorts. I have about 20 super links for the whole cancun/akumal area if you want them pm me.

[mello]

And get the passports if you don't have them all ready. Even if Mexico doesn't require them they are bad about wanting bribes to let you pass with just a birth cert. More and more complaints all the time. It is a hassle with women that have different names because of getting married.

[Turn7]

I have been to Mexico on several occasions for vacation and never had a problem entering or leaving with only a drivers license and birth certificate.

If you have a passport, I would use it, if not, I wouldn't sweat it.

[mello]

I have been to Mexico on several occasions for vacation and never had a problem entering or leaving with only a drivers license and birth certificate.

If you have a passport, I would use it, if not, I wouldn't sweat it.
As of late there has been alot of problems with it. We just had a group from work of about 20 go. About 10 of them had problems.(mostly the ladies) If you read the forums from Cancun and Akumal it is a hit and miss thing. Slip the guy a $20 and they let you go though.

[Turn7]

Tipping a federale' a 20 is cheaper and much easier than obtaining a passport if you don't have one.

I have never had this issue but, it has been a couple of years since my last visit.

I had more trouble come across from Canada than I have ever had coming from Mexico.

[4wheeldrifter]

Thanks for all the advice. Was out for a few days and glad to see all the responses.

I was wondering about the passport situation. My wife doesn't have one at this time and seeing how time is a little short, we may just stick to Fla. this time around.

[TravelGal]

Thanks for all the advice. Was out for a few days and glad to see all the responses.

I was wondering about the passport situation. My wife doesn't have one at this time and seeing how time is a little short, we may just stick to Fla. this time around.

I also was out for a few days and am glad to see all the replies. I specialize in other parts of the world so I found it all very interesting reading. Especially Ixtapa (glad you liked it KLang!) and Grand Cayman. Never been either place. Always wanted to. Riviera Maya too. So much world; so little time!

Mello, thanks for the tip (there I go again with the puns) about Mexico. A new passport costs (I think) $65 and is good for 10 years. Sounds like it is a good investment.

[mello]

One of my job duties includes booking all trips and entertainment for our company. (which is alot of trips) The ones I love doing are the Vegas ones with no limit of what I can spend. Just wish I could do that for our personal trip sometime. lol It's still fun to get paid to search the internet and come up with fun and exciting things though.

[cartcanuck]

Hey 4wheeldrifter, Mrs. Cartcanuck and I just got back from the Gulf Coast of Florida on Monday. And for a trip planned on short notice without spending an outrageous amount of money, I'd suggest the St. Pete's, Bradenton, Sarasota area. We were on Anna Maria Island just off the coast of Bradenton and it's a cute little island with all kinds of small resorts and absolutely gorgeous beaches. We only had a couple of days of good sunny weather but we still got a lot of sand between our toes. Coquina Beach at the sound end of the island is great, it's a couple of miles of sand that varies between granular sand, to soft powdered sand that is like flour, to your typical tropical soft sand.

Plus, just to the south of Anna Maria Island is Longboat Key with all the big mansions, a couple bigger resorts, some awesome dining and shopping in St. Armand's circle, and some great boat charters and such out of Sarasota. Plus there's a lot of other touristy things to do as well like the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, or heading down to Naples and so on just down the coast. We loved it in the area and will be going back.....of course we have friends in Tarpon Springs (north of Clearwater) so the accomodations will be free next time :thumbup:

We spent little time in the St. Pete's beaches area, but they were very nice with some bigger resorts and more of a nightlife than on Anna Maria Island. AM Island seems to more or less shut down after 9pm, but it is a very cool small town'ish island.

Here are a few links for you:
Anna Maria Network (http://annamarianetwork.com/)
Anna Maria Island (http://www.amisland.com/)
Enterprise Sailing Charters (http://www.sarasotasailing.com/)
The Ringling Museum (http://www.ringling.org/)
Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce (http://www.longboatkeychamber.com/)
St. Armands Circle (http://www.starmandscircleassoc.com/) (I strongly recommend the Hungry Fox Restaurant....the best Key Lime Pie i've ever tasted!)

Wherever you go, HAVE FUN!!!!!