Vacation Destinations

Lounge By Carson Updated 12 Feb 2009 , 3:06am by JodieF

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Carson Posted 9 Feb 2009 , 8:33pm
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I am so excited!!! My husband and I just decided today that we will finally take a real vacation! The only problem is that we don't know where to go...thinking somewhere tropical (since I live in a winter wonderland). So I want all of your opinions where your favorite place to go is, or somewhere you always wanted to go to. We are thinking of going Jan 2010 (I know, a long time away but we want our small children to be a little older before we leave them for a week).

I can't wait to hear all your responses... thumbs_up.gif

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neecerator Posted 9 Feb 2009 , 9:15pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Carson

I am so excited!!! My husband and I just decided today that we will finally take a real vacation! The only problem is that we don't know where to go...thinking somewhere tropical (since I live in a winter wonderland). So I want all of your opinions where your favorite place to go is, or somewhere you always wanted to go to. We are thinking of going Jan 2010 (I know, a long time away but we want our small children to be a little older before we leave them for a week).

I can't wait to hear all your responses... thumbs_up.gif




Hello Carson:
Do your homework. All inclusives are nice because once you're booked, that's it. Nothing else to decide or worry about. Try this website: www.selloffvacations.com I've used it many times. Since you have time, ask some CAA or travel agents what 'sell offs' they offer if any. Find a friend, or friend of a friend who is a travel agent, so that you can pick their brain. I've gone on Signature Vacations and Apple vacations, both were good. Make sure you attend the 'session' they offer when you first arrive, especially since you don't travel much. Go for 5* or 4*, nothing less, or you could be disappointed. I've heard good stories about Ibero Star in Punta Cana. We went to "The Gran Bahia Principe" in Riveria Maya, and it was pristinely clean, with lots of Cdn's there from Western Canada. Food was fantastic, A-1, top notch. Good luck! icon_biggrin.gif

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Deb_ Posted 9 Feb 2009 , 10:34pm
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How exciting........I always say half the fun of going on a vacation is planning it.

Since you won't be taking the kids my first thought was Bermuda, however
in January it's not that warm there, so forget that one.

We also love the Riviera Maya, (Playa Del Carmen, Mexico). We've stayed at the Iberostar Tucan and the Viva Wyndham Maya. I highly recommend the Iberostar although the Viva was cheaper. We felt that the food and drink were better at the Iberostar, they're both all - inclusive, which means everything is included, food, alcohol, tips, non-motorized water sports, etc.

I absolutely love that area of Mexico, and there is a lot to do with the Mayan ruins not too far away and very good shopping, they have their own "5th Avenue", I'm not kidding! LOL!! It's not like the 5th Avenue in NY. There are some awesome restaurants downtown too, which is just a 5 minute taxi ride from the gated community of Playacar. Playacar is just the area where all the resorts are located, it's gated and completely safe. Also, Cozumel is only a ferry ride away.

We've also done an all inclusive in Punta Cana, and for the life of me I can't think of the name. It was the Grand something, I'll ask my DH when he gets home. We loved the beach at our resort, however, the Dominican men are VERY friendly, if you know what I mean. It was so bad that me and my friend wouldn't go to the bar at all to order drinks, we made our DHs do it. Even when I went with my 17 yr old son at the time, they would hit on me, it was very uncomfortable. The resort area was nice, but other than that there isn't a whole lot to do there. We would not return to this area of the DR again.

Of course, there are always Cruises. You can't go wrong with a cruise. We love Princess first, than Royal Caribbean and Norwegian are pretty equal, and actually our last one in October was on Carnival Destiny and we had a great time.

We've found that there is some good info and traveler reviews on tripadvisor.com, check it out.

Have fun planning. Also, we've used TNT Vacations for our all-inclusives, they have a representative at all the resorts so if you need anything while you're there, they will help you.

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Carson Posted 10 Feb 2009 , 3:49am
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Wow, thanks for the great information! We don't really travel too far, just throughout Canada and the northern states. I am thinking that since this is really our first time travelling anywhere that far we will do the all inclusive.

I guess I should add we like to explore a little. Somewhere where we could do that without a lot of worries would be nice, but I'm not really sure what to expect...I know expeditions cost more (above the inclusive price).

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Deb_ Posted 10 Feb 2009 , 4:27am
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If you guys like to explore than I think Playa Del Carmen is a great choice. I've always felt very safe there, I love the Mexican people, and in this area it is mainly the Mayans. They are so warm and welcoming.

You guys would love Talum (ruins), it would be a day trip, I think we paid about $75 pp for the entire tour including lunch. We also did a jungle tour which was really cool. You go over to Cozumel, each couple drives their own jeep and follows a tour guide through the jungle. It includes some snorkeling and lunch on the beach prepared by the Mayans. Absolutely the best fire grilled redsnapper and homemade salsa and chips that I have EVER eaten.

And my God the beaches, how could I forget that........the water is a deep turquoise and the snorkeling was phenomenal. Can you tell I LOVE this place? I highly recommend it.

I remembered the name of the place in Punta Cana, it was Grand Paradise Bavaro, but I really don't recommend that specific resort, the food was just OK and the alcohol was all no name and watered down in our opinion. Like I said, other than the resort there isn't a lot of other stuff to do, and honestly I didn't feel particularly safe enough to wander off of the resort property. So I don't feel comfortable recommending DR.

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fancyface Posted 10 Feb 2009 , 4:32pm
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carson, the one other place i would suggest you look at is cuba, i know americans can't go there, but we canadians can, you will find a alot of canadians & europeans there, I really liked the cayo coco area
I also went to los cabos in mexico which great too.
I have also recently just went to punta cana in the D.R. and loved it!
pm me if you have any ??
michelle

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Hippiemama Posted 10 Feb 2009 , 4:45pm
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If you are wanting a tropical place to relax the Cayman Islands are great.

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Christina222 Posted 11 Feb 2009 , 5:36am
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Well, cruising is ALWAYS my first choice. I don't care where it goes, but I want to be on it! My 5 year old has already been on 7 cruises. But other than that, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii is a fabulous destination. It's on the big island so it doesn't have all the hustle and bustle of, say, Honolulu. It's quiet, beautiful and relaxing. We like to stay in a condo at Kanaloa near Keahou. So relaxing to just sit on the balcony and watch the boats (and whales) go by. We're actually going in March and I can't wait!!!!

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JodieF Posted 12 Feb 2009 , 3:06am
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Sanibel Island...Florida...not far from Fort Meyer. It's just my favorite place on earth.

Jodie

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