<p>Yes, it is very last minute. But I want to take advantage of my son's christmas break from college to spend the holiday in a warm place...just the 4 of us. (College Frosh, Soph. in H/S)</p>
<p>Any suggestions? Not just a locale, but a specific resort/rental? Florida will be too cold to for beach swimming...and we go there all the time. Looking for a tropical place (Virgin Islands, etc.) </p>
<p>You can search on the net, but you never know what you're getting. Would really love a personal "testimonial." Thanks!</p>
<p>We love going to Puerto Rico. Last year we stayed at a guest house up in the hills, but not far from the beach. Puerto Rico feels exotic but they are part of the US, so no need for passports. They use the dollar and in the cities, many people speak English</p>
<p>We just got back from Aruba and found it to be delightful. English spoken most everywhere, dollar taken almost everywhere, driving is on the right side of the road and the airline miles I used for our tickets were the same as for domestic travel. . We stayed in the Marriott Aruba Surf Club and had a great time. I understand it does get crowded for the holidays. You do need passports so it is pretty close to time if you don’t have them.</p>
<p>Check out travelzoo for their weekly top 20 deals, and cheapcaribbean as well. Tripadvisor has lots of reviews for most hotels, although take it with a grain of salt as I wonder if some of them are from the hotel itself or perhaps a competitor.</p>
<p>I think Airtran has Aruba on sale right now, but do not know if it includes Christmas time. We stayed at the Hyatt when we went to Aruba 10 years ago as they has a 50% off the second room; this allowed us to put the kids in their own room instead of sharing with us.</p>
<p>We spent a Christmas in Hawaii one year - it didn’t have a Christmas feel to it but it was wonderful lying on the beach Christmas eve. We went with all the inlaws and stayed in condos just outside of Lahaina in Maui.</p>
<p>That’s exactly what we’re doing this year! Staying just outside of Lahaina in a condo! But I made all of our reservations back in July. We’re also using credit card points for much of the airline expenses and since H is attending a conference in Honolulu the week before, his company is paying for his flight.</p>
<p>Wherever you can still get reservations and flights! Seriously, I just booked the last four seats to St. Thomas for February. Aruba is very crowded during Christmas. Most resorts will probably be booked already also but you might be able to rent a house on an island. Don’t mean to be pessimistic but I would call a travel agent and ask her to find whatever she can. Good luck!</p>
