Vacation

[reef-nut]

I am starting to plan for a vacation and I am married with 4 boys, 16, 9, 4, and 1. My main thing is to finally get to snorkle. I am disabled and can not dive. My wife and I was wondering weather to do a cruise or just go to a Island. Money also has a small part of the decision. We have never been to the ocean and know nothing about snorkling or diving. I am looking for the best snorkling I can find. I would like to see some fish and coral. I also need somewhere for the kids to have fun. They do not care about my hobby at all. Any good tips would be apreciated. Thank you!!!

 

[ricordianut]

were are you planning on going mexico has some awsome snorkiling

 

[b0bby1]

mexico, especially cozumel, has great diving. the only bad part about it is that the drinking water is basically poisonous. the cheapest island to go to is puerto rico. check out the El Conquistador, definetly one of my favorites with tons of activities.

another island would be st. lucia. i have gone snorkeling there twice and it was great. i stayed at WindJammer Landing, great family place with tons of water activities.

there is also atlantis in the bahamas which is cool as well. i thought it was great.

check out all 3 of those resorts, they all have great activities for the kids and snorkeling for you. all of them also have restaraunts on the resort as well as shopping. you have everything you need right there, don't need to go out into town to eat.

 

[currentking]

really depends on how much money you are looking to spend. Atlantis is beautiful but very expensive. Key west is nice but not sure how much fun the kids will have there.

 

[b0bby1]

i'm only 17, take my word for it. don't go to key west your kids will not enjoy it. i've went there when i was 13 and it doesnt even compare to the suggestions i listed above. atlantis and windjammer landing are both very expensive. both are very expensive, we stayed 5 nights at windjammer and it costed 16k without food. but the plus to staying there is that you get your own villa overlooking a nice bay where the resort is setup. at atlantis you are in a hotel rooms, some upperclass rooms are nice though. don't know how much you are looking to spend.

something i the cheap side where i have been was the caribe hilton in san juan, pr. fair price, costed like 6k for my family 2 bedroom suite 5 nights. not much to do there though, going into town there is like walking through harlem, real bad area.

 

[surfn]

my parents just got back from key west a week ago and were not impressed with anything to do with the islands. old......run down. they went on a glass bottom boat ride out to the reefs and most of the reefs were dead/dying.

its more of a nightly hot spot for spring break and college kids to party more than anything else. kinda like the bourbon street of south florida.

 

[b0bby1]

ya, surfn thats what i though as well. also, mexico is basically college springbreaker kids looking for fun.

 

[surfn]

ya, surfn thats what i though as well. also, mexico is basically college springbreaker kids looking for fun.

true......but cozumel also caters to allot of resort goers.....i've also heard of some very nice diving down there.

 

[b0bby1]

cozumel is nicest spot in mexico by far with the best scuba around, other than that though i think mexico as a vacation destination isn't all that great.

 

[currentking]

ok guys. He said he was on a budget. he has 4 kids and wants to snorkle. I was simply trying to give him a budget vacation. I live in ft lauderdale and would not goto the keys for a vacation because I live down here. But for someone that doesn't get to the water that often and has 4 kids and a budget might enjoy it. As I stated earlier I said the kids wont like it. And if you didnt like the reefs then you went to the wrong place here. Granted they are no where near as nice as some mexico spots or australia.

 

[J. Montgomery]

I had a nice time in Cozumel. The resort we stayed at had pretty good snorkelling (for seeing colorful fish) right off the beach. All resorts on the island had potable water, as they have their own water purification systems.