<p>My favorite travel site, hands down, is tripadvisor. I also subscribe to Bookingbuddy and Travelzoo. Airfarewatchdog gives me weekly updates on fares from my chosen airports with specific destinations. </p>
<p>Snowflake, I answered your question about Puerto Rico here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/671293-puerto-rico.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/671293-puerto-rico.html</a></p>
<p>Cozumel, Mexico. Especially if you like to snorkel or scuba.</p>
<p>D did study abroad in Costa Rica last summer. She didn’t care for San Jose too much, said it was Americanized & vulgar, but she loved the smaller villages & jungle.
An acquaintance who recently vacationed in CR, recommends Manuel Antonio.</p>
<p>[Manuel</a> Antonio, Costa Rica - Amazing ocean views & the best park in Costa Rica. - Go Visit Costa Rica](<a href=“http://www.govisitcostarica.com/region/city.asp?cID=258]Manuel”>Hit the Beach at Manuel Antonio - Go Visit Costa Rica)</p>
<p>I don’t know if Duff has recovered from the zip lines in CR yet, but your kids might love it.
[How</a> Mike McCready and I Brought Rock ‘n’ Roll to Costa Rica](<a href=“http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2012/04/how_mike_mccready_and_i_brough.php]How”>http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2012/04/how_mike_mccready_and_i_brough.php)
My D made it sound like other than slogging through the mud, ziplining was how they got around the jungle!
This is where she stayed in between their research in Carara National Park.
[Danta</a> Corcovado Lodge](<a href=“http://www.dantalodge.com/index.html]Danta”>Access Denied)</p>
<p>Aruba and St. Thomas … which one is better with 2 college kids? (i.e. need beach, but also need stuff for them to explore at night.)</p>
<p>Hi again snowflake!</p>
<p>I’ve been to both islands recently. I think going with college age kids, you will find Aruba more to your liking. We liked St. Thomas a lot too, but I just don’t know enough about night time activities to answer. We were in St. Thomas during the day as part of a cruise excursion. Aruba has a young crowd and lots of “clubs” near the beach…</p>
<p>Hi CCC … I can’t believe I’m still guessing which place to book. After I posted my Q on Aruba and St. Thomas my 18yr-old son asked, why don’t we just go to Cancun and be done with it? I only asked about Aruba and St. Thomas because some marketer person called and is trying to push a good deal on me.</p>
<p>I’m about to call a travel agent and tell him/her what I want and have her plan it. Without having been to these places I don’t know if I know what I want. I know the kids want to be able to go out at night, and us parents might a little, too. I also want to be able to mix in a few side excursions, maybe a tour of ruins and another day to some outdoor adventure or something. I think I would enjoy a spa day with my D, and other than that I don’t care. Having not been on a touristy beach-type vacation, I don’t have a lot of experience randomly picking a hotel based on a few photos.</p>
<p>How did you all pick the resort you picked? Is there some general criteria that will guarantee me a clean room with access to the beach and night life that a family of 4 w/ 2 college kids would all enjoy? I’m comfortable spending $8K total, including flight, but more than that and my H will croak I think.</p>
<p>Snowflake, have you visited tripadvisor? The reviews there will give you a very good picture of what normal people like. [Aruba</a> Hotels: Read Aruba Hotel Reviews and Compare Prices](<a href=“http://www.tripadvisor.com/HACSearch?geo=147247&inDay=15&inMonth=06%2F2012&checkIn=mm%2Fdd%2Fyyyy&outDay=16&outMonth=06%2F2012&checkOut=mm%2Fdd%2Fyyyy&searchAll=true&adults=2&cat_1=1&zff_8=1&geo=147247&refineForm=true&hs=&sortOrder=popularity&availability=&tb=0&add_location_input_filter=&prng_0=0&l1currency=0&propType=on&trating_0=0&zfc_0=0&zfa_0=0&unear=&snear=&nameContains=&zfb_0=0&zfb_0=0]Aruba”>http://www.tripadvisor.com/HACSearch?geo=147247&inDay=15&inMonth=06%2F2012&checkIn=mm%2Fdd%2Fyyyy&outDay=16&outMonth=06%2F2012&checkOut=mm%2Fdd%2Fyyyy&searchAll=true&adults=2&cat_1=1&zff_8=1&geo=147247&refineForm=true&hs=&sortOrder=popularity&availability=&tb=0&add_location_input_filter=&prng_0=0&l1currency=0&propType=on&trating_0=0&zfc_0=0&zfa_0=0&unear=&snear=&nameContains=&zfb_0=0&zfb_0=0)</p>
<p>Hi Kathiep, thanks for sending that … you sent it before and I didn’t know which property to study, but now that I have 1 in Aruba and 1 in St. Thomas to analyze it’s much easier. Now if I could just pick one in Cancun to compare/contrast I’ll be so close.</p>
<p>If you want, let us know which two hotels you are comparing; have been to both Aruba and St Thomas…</p>
<p>Fwiw, you may have to take a 2nd mortgage out on your house to have your college age kids travel around St Thomas by cab at night; it’s a fortune…average of 10-15/person for each cab ride…and they always charge/person</p>
<p>Have never been to Cancun as a family, but my college age daughter thought it was the best place for college students ever; loved it; especially the nightlife</p>
<p>We thought Cancun was fun, too - good for all ages. One night DH and I left the kids at the resort and went to a nightclub. Oh, my, it was quite something! You can DO that in public?? I don’t imagine it was any worse than a US club - we’re just old, lol.</p>
<p>Rodney,
Aruba: Marriott Surf Club
St. Thomas: Marriott Frenchman’s Cove
Cancun: ?</p>
<p>I’m fine with renting a car as we’ll want to do our own non-resort excursions, but I do want to make sure my college age kids will have fun in the evenings w/ or w/o the 'rents. Clean is important to me, but super luxury is not. We will likely not be in our hotel except to sleep and eat breakfast as we like to explore and do stuff.</p>
<p>Snowflake:
Sorry my PMs were full. I fixed that. We loved our Aruba trip!</p>
<p>I want to put in a plug for Maui. I know it is not that convenient for East Coasters, but the weather and views are incredible. We rented a Condo in Lahaina to be near our daughter who lives there. If we were not doing that we would have gone for a completely different experience and rented a camper to literally camp on the beach and travel the island at whim. BTW, we took our college age son and he loved it too. </p>
<p>Check out Aloha Campers for Westie rentals:</p>
<p>[Aloha</a> Campers - Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia Camper Rentals on Maui, Hawaii](<a href=“http://www.alohacampers.com/index.jsp]Aloha”>Maui Camper Rental)</p>
<p>Funny, I took my son to Maui last year. Stayed at Sheraton, tho same price as westin. More pools, black rocks for jumping, and far less shopping.</p>
<p>Yes Maui, Kauai, Big Island and Oahu are great options. Some years there are some amazing package deals which include car, hotel and airfare, if you shop around. Definitely you should get warmth and sun, even in December!</p>
<p>I agree with you on Hawaii/Maui/Kauai … we spent our honeymoon there and it was beautiful. If you’re from the East Coast you need to have 10 more more days of vacation available to make up for all the travel.</p>
<p>I finally called a travel agent to get their assessment. The travel agent did suggest we do an all-inclusive and he’s going to send me some suggestions. I’ll see what he comes up with … I haven’t used a travel agent in forever because I’m a pretty good internet surfer and shopper, but he said it doesn’t cost me any money to use him so what the heck. I’m hoping he can line up something that I wouldn’t be able to figure out out line, like a special transportation arrangement or a better room or just a resort off the beaten path that only a Vermonter would love.</p>
<p>We did an all inclusive when we were in Cancun, but not on Aruba. Thre were fun places to eat on the beach and elsewhere, including some really cool place that cooks on a stone. I’ll find it for you if you end up going there.</p>
<p>Thanks, jym … I’m hoping to hear from the travel agent today to find out what he suggests. I think he said that in Cancun/Cozumel the all inclusives were the best deal; I don’t remember that he said the same for Aruba/St. Thomas/others.</p>
<p>Here are some recommendations to all-inclusives in/near Riviera Maya (south of Cancun) that my local travel agent gave me. Does anyone have experience with any of these? They all look like they would do the trick and fit within our budget:</p>
<p>Marina El Cid Resort and Spa - [Riviera</a> Maya Hotels- Mayan Riviera Cancn- Hotel Marina El Cid Spa & Beach Resort](<a href=“http://www.elcid.com/marina_beach_resort/]Riviera”>http://www.elcid.com/marina_beach_resort/)
Barcelo Maya Beach - [url=<a href=“http://www.barcelo.com/BarceloHotels/en_GB/hotels/Mexico/Riviera-Maya/hotel-barcelo-maya-beach/general-description.aspx]Hotel”>Barceló Maya Beach | All Inclusive Hotel | Barcelo.com]Hotel</a> Barcel</p>