I May be sending my son and his girlfriend on a trip for graduation.
Budget is total of 2K
Safety is important.
Somewhere between 5-7 nights
He doesn’t want Mexico (wants someplace he hasn’t been).
They are not big drinkers, but like going to shows and things like that, so Im Leaning towards an all inclusive.
At this point Montego Bay Jamaica is my first choice. (Specifically the Riu Montego Bay)
Any other ideas/suggestions?
Try going through the Caribbean all inclusive list at Trip Advisor https://www.tripadvisor.com/TravelersChoice-AllInclusive
@1214mom For Montego Bay and at that budget. Alongside RIU, look at Holiday Inn and Royal Demarco on the hip strip.
I’ve stayed at both RIU and Holiday inn, the later many moons ago. The Riu drink is very watered down, the food neh, the beds uncomfortable the walk to the main lobby area a hoot, and not covered. It is close to the airport. The planes constantly are flying over. Also, you have wifi only an hour each day and in the lobby area only . However, fora fee you can remedy that. They do however, have a wonderful staff, across the street, are two supermarkets , pharmacy in a mini shopping mall. One must be extremely careful in crossing, drivers can be ruthless.
My stay at the HINN is dated and I understand they have undergone a huge renovation. Both Hotels are about 5-10 mins of each other. We did enjoy HINN at the time.
The Royal Decameron is located on what is called the hip strip. Also very close to the hotel, but the lowlands flying over doesn’t seem to be as much issue as the RiIU. You can walk up and down the hip Streep at all times. Places to go for patty and dining is Pier 1 and Margaritaville. This Margaritaville is pretty cool with a water slide as it is basically off the street by the ocean.
With all of that said. If you can up that budget. Try looking at the iberostarsuites. It has everything and more for the young adults. My kids and their friend absolutely love it. I am not allowed to take them anywhere else in Montego Bay except their lol.
PM me if you have further questions.
How serious is the relationship? Are they planning to marry and start a family soon? If she were to become pregnant accidentally, would they want to have the baby even if the timing is not optimal?
Jamaica is one of the areas in the Caribbean where the Zika virus is being spread by mosquitoes. It’s particularly a threat to pregnant women and those who may become pregnant. And part of the threat comes from their male partners, who can transmit the virus sexually, apparently for long periods of time after they contract it.
Your son and his girlfriend may want to look at the CDC Web pages on Zika before deciding whether a trip to the Caribbean is a good idea for them.
I agree with Marian. It isn’t worth taking any chances. That said, my son and his new wife may be going to Mexico in September, as my son qualified for an international competition. I will be worried the entire time and then for a few months afterwards.
Thanks everyone. We decided Jamaica is not safe enough for them. The second option was a cruise, but that price has gone up $500 since when I initially considered it. So much for good intentions.
What is the departure airport, if you don’t mind my asking?
My wife and I are looking hard at St. John for New Year’s.
Any of the airports in the DC area, but preferably Baltimore.
It’s not an all-inclusive in the Caribbean, but we are looking at flying to Iceland out of Baltimore this summer. Wow airline has reasonable rates and Iceland seems like a great 7 day destination…just a thought. Also, Norwegian Air also flies out of Baltimore and has had reasonable rates.
@amom2girls, I think that would be very intriguing to my son, but since he’s only 22, renting a car would be very difficult. Thanks for the suggestion.
Does the $2K total need to cover airfare too?
OP, check out cheapcaribbean.com (along with the usual suspects: Priceline, Expedia, Travelocity, etc.)
TripAdvisor is helpful for reviews, of course.
You have ruled out Mexico and Jamaica, so I think that leaves the following for $2000/5 nights/2 adults:
- Bahamas
- Punta Cana (Dominican Republic)
- Puerto Rico
I did a sample search on cheapcaribbean.com – 2 adults, flying out of DC, 5 nights (I plugged in five nights in June), Puerto Rico destination:
~$1400 (taxes and fees included) at the
Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Beach Resort & Spa. That is the All Inclusive price.
I’m sure they offer similar deals to the Bahamas and PC.
Thanks. I was hoping for about 2K total. At 1400 each, that’s way over budget.
What about a long weekend in Bermuda? Would that be affordable?
Also, ther is a cruise out of Baltimore …Royal carribean. It was $900 a person when we did it two years ago.
My S was able to rent a car at 22 with an additional fee. He called a bunch of rental companies before he found one with a fee that was pretty reasonable. I think it was Enterprise but it was a while ago so I’d check around again to see what is possible.
And my first reaction was to do a cruise. My S as a young professional has been on Carnival cruises with friends and they are very reasonable.
Check out cruise critic dot com - there is a pretty good search function that will enable you to price cruises and itineraries and locate good deals. Another option would be through your local Costco if you are a member. With a little searching, patience, and flexibility, you should be able to find something within your budget
@thumper1, my first choice for them was the cruise from Baltimore. It was just at 2K, including taxes and fees. But then we moved on to look at other options, and now cruise is $2500.
I would like $2K to include airfare (which is why cruise from Baltimore worked so well- no airfare required).
One more thing, just in case others look at this later. I’ve found vacationstogo to be cheaper than (or in some cases equal to) cheapcaribbean or Apple, or any other random sites I’ve looked at.
For now I’ve kind of given up. I’m hoping as it gets closer there will be some last minute deals.
Costco.com travel sometimes has nice cruise prices.
belize or costa rica
St Lucia is beautiful and there are some very affordable but nice places.