<p>So much for a driving vacation. After looking over the calendar carefully we can not find the time for a entire family vacation nor a trip with just my husband.
D3 has 2 weeks off for spring break. We are in Ca. We would like to do something for one of those weeks.
One option is a ski trip to Mammoth. That is an easy trip. We have done it many times and it can be planned at the last minute since we drive.
Option 2- Fly to Palm Beach area of Florida. Visit for a couple of days with a oldest child iin Florida. We are considering flying from Ft Lauderale or W Palm Beach to somewhere in the Bahamas. Whe are looking to go somewhere that is just one flight from Florida. Looking for a flight of around an hour. Our only Carribean/Bahama type of experiences have been via sailboat. We have never done a land based trip. In the Bahamas our boat trip was out of Abaco. We spent a couple of days on land but the place was marina oriented and not a good beach. We are looking for a nice beach, good snorkeling. We don’t need nightlife or shopping. We will have a 14 yr old so a resort that is not full of adults and honeymooners. We would probably want to stay around 4 nights and then back to Florida for a couple of nights with Child 1.
Option 3
Visit child 1 for a couple of days. Rent a car and drive to the Keys for a couple of days. I am afraid that the 14 yr old might get bored.
Looking for suggestions of hotels in Bahamas or Keys.
Thanks</p>
<p>Since it seems the family likes to snow ski, think Whistler or Jackson Hole. Both should still have plenty of snow. The cost to get to Florida/Bahamas won’t exceed getting from California to Wy or BC. </p>
<p>The Canadian exchange is better now and Whistler has something for all ages. Jackson Hole is an amazing place to ski.</p>
<p>07Dad- part of the allure of going to Florida/Bahamas would be the chance to see Child 1. With her being across the country we don’t get to see her enough. She would probably not get to come to the Bahamas with us. We would see her a few days on each end of the Bahamas trip. If we did not have a child in Florida we would not be considering Florida/ Bahamas.
If we do snow it would definitely be Mammoth. That would be the low cost spring break option. Husband and D3 would drive. They could stay in a friend’s condo. The main expense only being lift tickets. For a snow vacation away from Ca we would want to do that when all 3 kids could get away. We have been to both Whistler and Jackson Hole but only in summer. Whistler has been on my husband and son’s wish list for several years but it hasn’t happened yet.</p>
<p>I am going to see a friend tomorrow a.m. who went on a 3-4 day cruise out of Florida to Bahamas in the last 2 months. Any interest in a part cruise vacation?</p>
<p>Based on one of our favorite trips, I recommend Atlantis in the Bahamas. If money is no object, stay at the Reef or Harborside. If you want to save some money, stay at Comfort Suites. All have access to all of Atlantis’ amenities. They even had a teen nightclub that my kids loved.</p>
<p>[Paradise</a> Island Hotels: Read Paradise Island Hotel Reviews and Compare Prices - TripAdvisor](<a href=“http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g147417-Paradise_Island_New_Providence_Island_Bahamas-Hotels.html]Paradise”>http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g147417-Paradise_Island_New_Providence_Island_Bahamas-Hotels.html)</p>
<p>I was going to make the same recommendation, toledo. We’re very fond of Aruba, and we go there every year, but if I was taking a youngish teen to the Bahamas, Atlantis would be my first choice. But as you mentioned, it is a little pricey, so your tip on how to save money and enjoy the same amenities is great.</p>
<p>I could never get my husband on a cruise. D3 wishes.
Money is always an object. Everyone I know who has been to Atlantis has enjoyed their stays. But I think Atlantis would be not be my husband’s type of place.</p>
<p>I dont know when your spring break is but if its feb. I would check the average temp. in the Bahamas. I went once in Feb and it was on the colder side.
I would also recommend Atlantis.
To tell the truth, the Keys are pretty boring unless you go all the way to Key West which is about a 3 hr drive from Palm Beach.
If you want to stay in Fla, you could go down to Naples/Ft Myers or Sanabel Island. Its a bit more upscale than the keys.
Check out tripadvisor.com and go under forums for the areas you are looking at.</p>
<p>last week in march or first week in april.</p>
<p>Atlantis has a way of ‘getting to’ people…your dh may enjoy it more than he realizes…or will let on. And my dh was extremely resistant to a cruise until I dragged him on one. Now he’s all ‘when can we go again?’ </p>
<p>If it must be Florida and you don’t want Disney or Islands of Adventure, there’s the Okefenokee Swamp area. Get back to what Florida was like pre-Mouse.</p>
<p>We went to Atlantis. Loved it. Would return in a heartbeat. We stayed in the cheapest building they offered. Also, Comfort Inn is a very good idea. Might to that next time.</p>
<p>Treasure Cay in Abaco, there’s no village or nightlife other than in the resort area, but the beach is fantastic and very long. It’s one flight from Ft Lauderdale or Miami. It’s easy to rent a condo, if you want more than a hotel room. At that time (early 90s), many condos for short term stays were listed by private owners in Flying Magazine, since the area is frequented by small plane owners for some reason.
Otherwise I’d recommend Eleuthera with its great beaches.</p>
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<p>We did this trip last year at spring break–stayed a few days in Naples and went to Red Sox (spring training) games in Ft. Myers. Also visited the Edison Estate and gardens. Then spent three days on Sanibel–stayed at a resort on the beach and explored the J Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. We enjoyed ourselves. I was hoping for warmer weather. We were there at the end of February–beginning of March.</p>
<p>Don’t stay in the hotel I stayed at in Nassau (I’m sure you wouldn’t - it wasn’t a resort) and don’t go wandering around at night in non-tourist areas by yourself like I did.</p>
<p>I went scuba diving plus some snorkeling in the Bahamas. I just went down to a dock where the dive boats are and just went out on the boat. They don’t need to go that far out, it’s a short trip, but the diving was good. It was pretty inexpensive. I didn’t try to do any snorkeling from shore.</p>
<p>Mammoth had a commercial on the radio when I was driving home today stating that they have more snow than any other resort in the country and they have a 70-125" base.</p>
<p>If you want to try a place somewhat less crowded than Mammoth during spring break, try June Mountain which is about 20 minutes north of Mammoth. You could still stay in Mammoth Lakes if you want and ski June for a day or the whole thing. I think the Mammoth lift tickets are good there but the tickets at June are cheaper. But don’t tell anyone I told you about June - I don’t want it to get crowded!</p>
<p>Club Med Columbus Isle. You could fly out of Ft Lauderdale. It’s only one hour away. Food, alcohol, activities all included, plus everyone that works there is really fit and pretty. It has the most wonderful, secluded beach. You would also see a lot less little kids at Columbus Isle than Atlantis.</p>
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<p>If you go, say hi to their employee parking garage for me. Last year, I designed the Phase II expansion for it… that they’re not building now because of the economy. How I’d have loved to do all the onsite construction administration for that project!!</p>
<p>How about Eleuthera?</p>
<p>This looks like a nice place to stay:</p>
<p>[The</a> Cove Eleuthera.](<a href=“http://www.thecoveeleuthera.com%5DThe”>http://www.thecoveeleuthera.com)</p>
<p>Onsite activities include biking, snorkeling, tennis and kayaking.</p>
<p>Offsite they list scuba diving, fishing and surfing.</p>
<p>There are several ways to do a short flight over to either Nassau/Paradise Island or Grand Bahama Island. We’ve done both and there are plenty of places to stay that are reasonably priced. We stayed on Paradise Island and walked over the bridge to Nassau for dinner and such. In Grand Bahama Island we stayed at the Sheraton/Our Lucaya which is attached to a sister property (so you get to use both amenities) and is right across the street from the shopping/market and places to sign up for water activities, etc. There is also a casino just outside the entrance, should the kids want to ck it out (as long as they are over 18). We got a great deal at the Sheraton. And there is a little shack on the beach at the Sheraton that sells the most incredible fresh conch at a very VERY reasonable price. I forget the name off hand (Ricks maybe?) but we practically lived there for every lunch.</p>
<p>I forget where we stayed on Paradise Island, but it was reasonable. I am not one for spending a lot of money on a hotel, so didn’t consider things like the Atlantis. Good luck</p>
<p>There are a ton of discussion forums for the Bahamas where you can get lots of good info. Here are but a few (this is how I found the info on that great conch shack on teh beach at the Sheraton) [Bahamas</a> Travel Forums - Directory of every Bahamas Travel Forum, Photo Gallery, Trip Report, Map and Cam](<a href=“http://www.caribbeantravelforums.com/Bahamas.htm]Bahamas”>http://www.caribbeantravelforums.com/Bahamas.htm)
[Bahamaslinks</a> - Media, Voices](<a href=“Bahamaslinks - Media, Voices”>Bahamaslinks - Media, Voices)
[Topics</a> - Grand Bahama Newsgroup](<a href=“http://www.geographia.com/cgi-bin2/grandbahamanews/discus.pl?pg=topics]Topics”>http://www.geographia.com/cgi-bin2/grandbahamanews/discus.pl?pg=topics)
[Bahamas</a> Forums - TripAdvisor](<a href=“http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g147414-i129-Bahamas.html]Bahamas”>http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g147414-i129-Bahamas.html)
[Freeport</a>, Grand Bahama Message Boards](<a href=“http://www.the-bahamas-islands.com/cgi-bin/eboard30/index.cgi?board=Freeport&frames=no]Freeport”>http://www.the-bahamas-islands.com/cgi-bin/eboard30/index.cgi?board=Freeport&frames=no)</p>
<p>please also dont forget that the last week of march is the last week of “spring break” along the lines of girls gone wild – just google spring break or go on college pr—er and see their first page – choose your hotels according to your personal preferrences (as far away or as close to) the action</p>