Recommend your best tropical vacation with older kids

[jaylea]

Next Feb we are considering:
Bermuda
USVI (which one?)
Aruba
Bahamas
Costa Rica
Puerto Rico

Any recommendations or great experiences to share would be welcome. We will have a 12 and 15 YO with us. Bonus points if all inclusive but a lot aren’t.

[erbear]

We don't, as a rule, do all inclusives so I can't help with that.

We have taken kids to Costa Rica, Bermuda, PR and the Bahamas. Would recommend all three, depending on what kind of trip you're looking for. Costa Rica -- a huge hit for older kids. We went ziplining in Monteverde, hiking in the rainforest, and chilled on the beach in Manuel Antonio. Bermuda was also very fun, though much more expensive. The kids loved the beach, rolling around on mopeds to the hidden beach coves, and cliff jumping. PR was more chill for us (kids were younger), but you can rent a boat and snorkel, hike in El Yonque, hit up San Juan, etc.  Bahamas was a great trip with kids. We spent one day in Nassau (went to Atlantis, which older kids would love!) then to the out islands (Guana Cay) which I think was awesome, but I think my older kids would have been bored (mine were 6 and 8, I think).

I've been to the USVIs without kids (St. John). I loved it, but I'm not sure my kids would have liked it as much -- very low key, lots of chilling on the beach, it felt less kid-friendly. 

[Deleted]

Of the list I’d do Costa Rica, but not an all inclusive in Costa Rica. If I can add to the list I’d add Belize, but again not an all inclusive. We just did Belize with our kids who are 10, 13, and 16 and we did the absolute coolest thing we’ve ever done on vacation, the ATM cave.

Costa Rica is great too. My kids have loved it there. We’ve been twice. Once to Arenal (wildlife, volcano hike, hot springs), Monteverde (hanging bridges, zip lining, bat jungle, butterfly garden, reptile exhibit), and Ostional (beach, tide pools, boat ride/snorkeling, relaxation off the beaten track). And once to Tamarindo for my brothers wedding (total tourist area, there’s a reason it’s nicknamed Tama-gringo, not my favorite, but if you want a resort type place that might be the right place). The Arenal Oasis Eco Lodge was such a fun cute place to stay. It’s not remotely fancy, but I loved it so much. The Tamarindo Diria is very fancy and was also really nice, just a totally different vibe.

I think if you are really hoping to do all inclusive Bahamas is a good choice on your list. We stayed at the SLS Baha Mar in May, no kids, for a work trip for DH. The SLS isn’t all inclusive, but it was a super nice resort (at super high prices, but I think the Hyatt Baha Mar is more reasonably priced).

We’ve also been to Puerto Rico, but with a toddler, not older kids. It was fine, but not my favorite. It wouldn’t be my choice from your list.

[steamboat185]

We just got back from Costa Rica and Nicaragua with kids (one turned 6 on the trip and one recently turned 9) and they really enjoyed the trip. One thing to consider with Costa Rica is the rainy season. We’d been 2x before and don’t remember it raining as much, but this time it rained a lot! Basically every night all night and sometimes during the day too (we had a 2 hour hike in the rain one day). It definitely doesn’t ruin the trip, but we may have ruined 1 pair of shoes each. We ziplined, hiked, did a chocolate tour, horseback riding, hiking, guided night hikes, visited several national parks, and spent a good bit of time of basically deserted beaches. Costa Rica is nice because you can choose your own adventure- we stayed at 3 different places 1 was “fancy”, one required driving through several rivers and a 200m walk (with luggage) on the beach to get to the house, and one was just a normal hotel.

Belize is definitely awesome and I would recommend.

We’ve been to most of the places on your list and none really jump out as an AI destination. Maybe the Bahamas? We stayed at Small Hope Bay on Andros and it’s not at all the typical AI feel, but it was really nice.

[jaylea]

Aug 18, 2022 9:18:52 GMT -5 @mrsgreeko said:

Of the list I’d do Costa Rica, but not an all inclusive in Costa Rica. If I can add to the list I’d add Belize, but again not an all inclusive. We just did Belize with our kids who are 10, 13, and 16 and we did the absolute coolest thing we’ve ever done on vacation, the ATM cave.

Costa Rica is great too. My kids have loved it there. We’ve been twice. Once to Arenal (wildlife, volcano hike, hot springs), Monteverde (hanging bridges, zip lining, bat jungle, butterfly garden, reptile exhibit), and Ostional (beach, tide pools, boat ride/snorkeling, relaxation off the beaten track). And once to Tamarindo for my brothers wedding (total tourist area, there’s a reason it’s nicknamed Tama-gringo, not my favorite, but if you want a resort type place that might be the right place). The Arenal Oasis Eco Lodge was such a fun cute place to stay. It’s not remotely fancy, but I loved it so much. The Tamarindo Diria is very fancy and was also really nice, just a totally different vibe.

I think if you are really hoping to do all inclusive Bahamas is a good choice on your list. We stayed at the SLS Baha Mar in May, no kids, for a work trip for DH. The SLS isn’t all inclusive, but it was a super nice resort (at super high prices, but I think the Hyatt Baha Mar is more reasonably priced).

We’ve also been to Puerto Rico, but with a toddler, not older kids. It was fine, but not my favorite. It wouldn’t be my choice from your list.

We wanted to stay at the Arenal Oasis for our honeymoon but I was so overwhelmed with wedding planning I gave up planning our dream CR trip and just went to Mexico. Maybe worth revisiting now!

[sandandsea]

We just got back from Aruba with our kids and it was amazing. We stayed at the Hyatt and the pool and beach are great. We rented a utv and toured the island for a full day, went jet skiing, snorkeling on a catamaran, deep sea fishing, and ate lots of really good food. The weather is really nice and the water is clear and beautiful.