<p>After Frankenstorm and some family issues, my husband and I are adamant that this is the year we finally take a vacation (it’s been 13 years) and I’m looking for suggestions. We’d like a resort (considering a cruise, but not sure) with beach/pool/golf and good food. I am fairly high on the compulsive scale, so it has to be somewhere that’s nice and has good service but is really, really clean. We’re considering Florida or the Caribbean with a very outside chance of Ireland or Scotland. What I hope for is to relax, eat well, soak up sun near beautiful water and enjoy the company of my family. There will be four of us, two adults and a 14-year old boy and a 21-year old girl. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>I love, love, love Scotland, but it’s probably not what you are looking for after Frankenstorm. Too likely to rain, highlands can be very, very windy. Lots of hairraising one lane roads and I think it’s best for hiking not soaking up sun next to the water. I love St. John, most of the island is a national park, plenty of decent places to eat. There are a couple of resorts which look nice from the parking lots, but I haven’t checked them out, we got to a camping place with cabins.</p>
<p>I have no personal knowledge of this but I was recently with a group of parents talking about beach week for their kids and several in the room had been to the Club Med in Cancun. Said it’s actually really really nice, and pretty reasonable given that it’s all-inclusive. I believe the only extras would be something like deep-sea fishing. I think there are three different sections–one for families with little kids, one for families with older kids, and one kind of “adults only.” They arrange the flights, get you to and from the airport, . . . . They had great vacations there.</p>
<p>What about a cruise to Bermuda. You can sail right from New York, you go to the island and stay there. I think it can be the best of two worlds. You get to cruise and you get an island stay. </p>
<p>My S and his girlfriend are on a cruise right now. They went with one of the mega ships, looks like a floating hotel with a bunch a restaurants. For a first cruise they wanted to enjoy the ship and not the ports. I am so glad they picked this week and not last.</p>
<p>How about visiting us in Hawaii. There are a number of islands to choose among. It is sunny and beautiful with many, many beaches for lounging and soaking up sun. They also have surfing, body boarding, snorkeling, may even have some whale watching, light hiking, and balmy breezes. If you want, you can see an erupting volcano as well. I can promise–no snow or freezing rain!</p>
<p>Looks like we can’t do a cruise. Sigh. We have to leave midweek.</p>
<p>I was in Hawaii once years ago and would sell my soul to return. Not sure we can afford but I’m going to look into that!</p>
<p>How about the west coast of Florida? Sarasota is a lovely place with a number of resorts around it. If you want something really upscale and gorgeous, there’s the [Longboat</a> Key Club](<a href=“The Resort at Longboat Key Club | Sarasota Beachfront Resort”>http://www.longboatkeyclub.com/). </p>
<p>Farther south are Sanibel and Marco Island. It’s an easy drive to Sarasota from Tampa, and from Ft. Myers to the more southern spots.</p>
<p>I think our favorite family vacation was to Arizona. We stayed at a nice resort in Sedona for a week, then did a loop of the state, seeing the Grand Canyon, Canyon de Chelly, Petrified Forest, etc. The Canyon de Chelly is AMAZING - probably the highlight of our trip. We took a day-long Jeep tour of the bottom of the canyon. We saw Indian art that was many thousands of years old. We also bought some beautiful Navajo things.</p>
<p>The other thing that surprised my family (I’d been there before) was the huge diversity of landscapes. The view out your car window changes every few minutes! The kids didn’t know there were pine forests there. I could go on and on. I think Arizona is a hidden jewel. Oh, and I’m somebody who HATES hot weather (why I moved from Texas to Maine). Yes, it was hot when we landed in Phoenix, 120 degrees, but it cools off rapidly as you get away from that part of the state. Our hotel at the Grand Canyon didn’t even have AC, because it wasn’t needed.</p>
<p>Agree Ireland/Scotland weather will not be what you are looking for. Not sure I saw any outdoor pools on my various trips there. </p>
<p>Sanibel Island is very nice. There are several nice resorts on Sanibel proper, or head to South Seas on Captiva for high end service, that might have what you want. I’ve been there in February and the weather has been good, but it can be chilly in the winter. </p>
<p>Another option is Hilton Head with the bonus that you can drive there from NY. Lots of reserts & world class golf to choose from. Beaches are great. Savannah is a nice day trip.</p>
<p>My son has been to Ireland (on business) in January. He said that while he almost froze it was beautiful. We have taken4 cruises out of Florida and one (Southern Caribbean) cruise. Lots of fun, a good food…not great. When you are cooking for 2000 plus the food isn’t Spago style, . We went to Charleston on a whim last year in late April. A fantastic place…with fabulous food. And there are golf courses and islands (Kiawah) within driving distance. Hawaii…Maui has great golf courses and excellent food. (We go almost every year.)</p>
<p>What a dilemma! So many wonderful places to see.</p>
<p>You guys are the best!! How is the weather in Hilton Head in late March?</p>
<p>Well, Florida can be cold in the dead of winter. When are you going?</p>
<p>From your description: beautiful water, very clean, my first thought was Bermuda. Of course, Bermuda can be cold in the winter too but in the spring it’s lovely. And very very clean.</p>
<p>We’re going the last week of March.</p>
<p>I would consider avoiding any of the college student favorites… March is spring break for colleges… although you might miss it by one week, so do check. </p>
<p>Dominican Republic has a range if all inclusive resorts that would likely work well for a family.</p>
<p>We went to Cancun during the swine flu scare, which was great for us because it was pretty empty… not so great for the economy there, though. </p>
<p>My favorite vacations have been Outer Banks of NC, Maine… (would not recommend in March) Italy, Ireland, and Turks and Caicos. Looooved Turks and Caicos!</p>
<p>Have a great trip!!</p>
<p>Sent from my DROID RAZR using CC</p>
<p>Thank you so very much!</p>
<p>Maui will be warmish in late March. NOT Kapalua which is really close to Kaanapali. Kapalua is on the rainy part of the island. Lots of golf, some tennis…really good food. My girls did parasailing…LOVED IT> Mommy (me) sat by the adult pool in order to prevent my running down the beach screaming NO!!! </p>
<p>For a change of pace Oahu, home of Waikiki Beach. Pearl Harbor, the Bishop museum, Punchbowl Cemetary…Waikiki is VERY busy. We stayed at the Kahala…away from the crowds…and tended to eat there at the hotel. Very touristy, but truly interesting is the Polynesian Cultural Center. (My son screamed his way through the boat trip there…I wanna get off!!! The other people on the boar were ready to kill us or to never have a child…And we tried EVERYTHING to have him stop screaming…When we reached the end of the trip my son said, That was fun!!! Let’s do it again!!</p>
<p>One word: Maui!</p>
<p>We do not like Florida, but all depends what you are planning to do on your vacation. We just want to be on a beach with off shore snorkeling, no boat. This is how we spend our time. this is #1 request. the rest is secondary. For that reason, we have been going to the same place in Cozumel for 2 weeks vacation . We like it a lot, we do not need to leave our resort, everything is there and because we have been to Cozumel for about 16 times or so, there is nothing for us to see. Actually there is nothing to see in Cozumel even first time around, this is not the reason to go there. We have been to other places in Florida and Caribean, but nothing for us compared to Cozumel, so we just stopped going anywhere else.</p>
<p>The Buccaneer St. Croix.</p>
<p>Hilton Head may be a little cool that time of year - at least it’s not reliably warm. If it’s the first vacation you’ve had in a long time, I might not chance that one. (I’m a HH fan - just there this summer.)</p>