Advice on All Inclusive Vacation

We went to Cancun, Mexico last year and went all inclusive stayed at Riu Caribe it was awesome we booked thru www.funjetvacations.com

A.
My husband and I spent a week in Tulum, Mexico (a little south of Cancun) at the resort Dreams Tulum. It was all inclusive and we had an amazing time! The food, drinks and service were wonderful and the water was gorgeous- I would recommend it!

I second Couples Resorts in Jamaica. www.couples.com We stayed at the Couples Negril resort. I highly recommend it. We had such a wonderful time. It was so relaxing. We can't wait to go back.

My husband and I took a babymoon last March to Negril, Jamaica. It was WONDERFUL! We stayed at the all inclusive resort Couples Negril, it's an adult only resort, no children to deal with which made for a very relaxing beach. This location has white sand and the calmest waters on the island, virtually as quiet as a pond. I could go on and on about some of the great features of the place but if you want to know more just PM me. If cost is a factor we paid around 4200 for 7 nights (March is peak season). But do make sure you go through a travel agent so they can help with a charter flight (no connections).

I don't have any suggestions, Alyssa... just wanted to say hi!
T.

Playa del Carmen, Mexico - stay at the Rui Playacar, they also have other Rui resorts in the area

My family took a cruise to the Bahamas. It had activities on the boat, we stopped on a private island for a day for some fun in the sun then stopped off at the Bahamas and did some shopping and tourism stuff. There were activities for children and adults and was a blast!!! After the cruise we went to Disney world! Great vacation idea!
--S.

Hi Alyssa,

8 years ago I got married to my husband in Jamaica. We were married in negril at th Grand Lido all inclusive resort.
The food is awesome, everything you would want to do is right there. The resort bought a yacht that once belonged to the late princess Grace, we were married aboard that yacht and took nightly free cruises on it as well. I've been to Jamaica twice. The first time I was at a Sandals that was nice, but in my opinion, this one was better. Oh....and if you don't want to drive to the resort (it can be quite scary), You can fly from the airport straight to Negril in a fraction of the time and it is very beautiful. I highly recommend this resort and will go back someday. This same exact resort was one that Regis and Kelly gave away as a trip, so you know it must be good. Everyone is so friendly and helpful too if you need anything. I could go on and on about this place :)

Good Luck,
K.

hi cozumel mexico is great you can usually get packages that include food. went there for our honeymoon and had a blast and it was affortable too.

Hi! Right now I am earning a trip through my home-based business to the all-inclusive Cancun Moon Palace Golf and Spa Resort. It looks fabulous! I know someone who went on their honeymoon there and she said it was incredible. So, I thought of it as soon as I read your email. If you want to hear about how you can earn this trip for free, write back! We do have doctors, lawyers, teachers, stay-at-home moms, etc., in our group.
D.

My husband and I got married at the Sandals Resort in Jamaica close to three years ago. It was a awsome all inclusive trip. My con with it being Jamaica (don't get me wrong, I love the country,) is that if you do plan to leave the resort to do any of the excursions, you definately need a chaparone from the resort to take you there and back. If I had to go back to a resort that is from Sandals, it will probably be in the Turks & Caicos area. Also, if you are planning to take your daughter, then Beaches will have to be the all inclusive resort for you. Hope this helps! Good luck and enjoy the trip!

the Couples Resorts in Jamaica are fabulous. check them out online. Just enter Couples Jamaica in the search window. they are similar to a Sandals resort, but from what i've heard from friend who have gone to a Sandals, Couples is better!

Congrats on your anniversary! My husband and I love, love, love the couples resorts in Jamiaca (there are 4 of them). We have stayed at Swept Away and at San Souci....highly recommend both. www.couples.com

One great thing about these places is that all activities, including a sunset cruise, a trip to Duns River Falls and SCUBA diving are ALL INCLUDED. Most all inclusives charge you for these extra activities. Also the food is fabulous, and they serve all kinds of liquors/wine/beer. I've stayed in all-inclusives in Mexico (Cancun and Puerto Vallharta) and they only serve house liquors/wine/beer. Have fun (just don't go during hurricane season Aug-Nov)

My husband and I have done Sandals vacations 5 times over the years and for our honeymoon. In all-inclusive you get what you pay for. If you want a worry free, everything is perfect (or they correct it) do a Sandals trip. (I don't work for them, but I should get a kickback for this blip-ha ha). I am just a big fan!!

Went all inclusive to Montego Bay twice LOVED it. The hotels offer many activities that are included. Staff were VERY much there to please. All the food and drinks were included- and were FANTASTIC. We went on some outings that were not included but were very inexpensive - we climbed Dunn's River Falls, had lunch and 2 hr shopping time cost was like $60 per person. Went on ride to the glowing water, rum punch was included was like $35 each

Went to Cancun all inclusive, was also great Was just a year after hurricane damage, was amzing what they had repaired. took trip to Myan Ruins and a swimming place where fresh and sea water meet was a bit more costly $150 ea

Took cruise that stopped in Cozumel and Playa Del Carmen - was fun, as my first time BUT everything wasn't included, so there was a bill at the end to pay. Did do activity on one stop which was to swim with dolphins $150 ea but WELL worth it, an awesome experience.

No money to exchange for any of these, and every place has activities for kids. So that there are times when adults can do things they want and kids get to do what they want

we found the best prices are usualy through
Travel by Jen, Travel flea market, apple vacations.

Have fun!

Hi A.,
My company owns a variety of Condo Hotels. And although they are not located in all inclusive Resorts, we do have some very exotic locations. I would recommend our newest location in Placencia Belize. Our 2 BR, 2 Bath condo sits directly on the beach and overlooking the infinity pool. There is a Restaurant and Bar onsite and a variety of tours both inland and at sea. Please email me direct at ____@____.com if you would like more info. The best part about this property is that they are offering very low introductory pricing since they just opened in 12/2007.

Hi:
I manage our condo in Florida, Indian Shores RIGHT ON THE GULF OF MEXICO.
http://gulfcoastrentals.com/florida-9/2indS-kellumK-india...

OR
http://www.vrbo.com/133303

it's beautiful and our favorite destination.

jeannie

i am also open to negotiating rates.

for more info, visit the site and click on send email...

My husband and I got married at a Breezes resort in Runaway Bay Jamaica in August. Our wedding, food, drinks, and an ocean front room cost us roughly $2600.00. I thought that was very inexpensive & we had the most amazing time.

Have you thought about a Disney Vacation? Disney owns it own private island, so you could have some beach time and they have all kinds of activities for children and that would give you time alone with your husband. They also have all kinds of activities for adults. - just something to think about- J.

Call a travel agent. I just used on to book my twin, cousin, and I a trip for our 30th birthday. For $669 per person, we got an all inclusive resort in Cancun. It pays for airfare, transportation from airport to hotel and back, hotel, taxes and fees. With the all inclusive hotel we get food and alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks along with some entertainment. We have kids so we could not go longer. They did have similar packages to the Riviara Mya (more laid back)for just a bit more.

The Sandals Resort in the Bahamas is wonderful. It is all inclusive and for couples only. My husband and I love to go there often. I used to be a travel agent for 6 years and that was one of the best locations to go. It is called the Royal Bahamian.

Go to this link: http://www.sandals.com/main/bahamian/ba-home.cfm

And a vacation does sound good, my husband and didnt take a honeymoon either because I got pregnant 2 months after our wedding. And now I am expecting again. But we will soon.

Hope this helps. ENJOY I know we did.

If you're doing adults only I would definitely recommend Sandals in Negril (Jamaica).

If you want to do a little closer to home, and with kids, Moon Palace in Cancun is great.

When my husband and I were deciding on where to honeymoon, we each made a list of priorities of what we wanted the resort to include. (I married the right man....our lists were so similar!) We looked at a lot of brochures to see who could accommodate our "lists" and narrowed it down from there. We took a trip to paradise at a Sandals resort in St. Lucia. It wasn't terribly expensive, and it had everything we wanted (and more!)
St. Lucia is a small Caribbean island (27X9 miles), but has a lot to offer. It takes about and hour and a half to get from one end to the other (by car...let someone else drive!). It's lush with vegetation, rain forest, volcano (inactive), beaches (of course!), and the most beautiful people on earth (inside and out).
That's not even mentioning what the resort had to offer. It's worth it to look in to honeymooning here. My husband (of 10 and a half years) and I still look back fondly on our honeymoon and intend to make it back there again some day.

Hello!My husband and I have done all inclusive vacations at Antigua in the Caribbean, and in Mexico. In Antigua we staid at St. James Club. The rooms were clean and the staff was very friendly. We did a lot of activities while on the island. We did a jeep tour/kayaking/snorkeling trip, a catamaran boat tour, and horseback riding. The catamaran was a lot of fun. We have done all inclusive in Riviera Maya and Cancun, Mexico both were nice. Lots to do or just relax.

We have gone to Riviera Maya, Mexico the last two years. It is beautiful and a wonderful, hot, sunny break from this cold weather. We have used Apple Vacations for both trips. We fly into Cancun and take a provided shuttle about 40 minutes south close to Tulum. In 2006 we stayed at Barcelo Maya Resort. BEAUTIFUL, the food is good, the beach is great but so are the pools. They have a small water park and nice kids' club if you're taking your daughter. In 2007 we stayed at Bahia Principe - Coba. This is a huge complex and also very beautiful. Not as close to the beach, but the shuttles take you everywhere. The beach was not as nice, but you could go to a different pool everyday for a week! The Apple people have offices on site at the larger resorts (both of the above ones) and are there to help you with any problems or to book excursions. If you go to this area, be sure to visit the town of Playa del Carmen. Great shopping and lots of fun. Good Luck!!

My son had his wedding at the Moon Palace Resort in Cancun. It was great. The rooms were beautiful and included a double jacuzzi. Our group booked about 12 rooms, and all but one had an oceanview. The service was fantastic and a couple of dollars in tips went a very long way. Between the Moon Palace and its sister resort, next door, there were many options for nice meals and the food was great. In April of 2006, the cost, for 5 nights, including airfare was less than $1500 per person. I completely recommend this all inclusive resort if you want to relax, enjoy the ocean and be pampered. I also recommend "swimming with the dolphins."

Couples Resort in Ochis Rios, Jamaica. The resort is about an hour or so from the airport, the drive there is very interesting.....but it's all inclusive, they treat you like royality....you just can't go wrong there. We went on our honeymoon.......FABULOUS!!!! It a dream to go back.....I can't wait until we get the chance to. Call your travel agent to book.

We have been to the Gala Esmeralda Resort in Playa Del Carmen Mexico (about 40 miles south of Cancun) twice.
It is an absolutely beautiful all inclusive resort. Gorgeous pool and the food deserves a rave revue.
Rooms are really nice with great linens and spotless.
Mini bar contains bottled water and soft drinks.
Could not ask for more.
Try it you will love it.
K.

Try going to Akumal Beach in the Mexican Riviera. You would fly into Cancun, then travel South about 1.5 hours past Play del Carmen. Akumal has beautiful resorts, and wonderful ancient ruins in Tulum a 35 min drive south, and lovely white sand beaches that are not commercial. We stayed at the Grand Sirenas Riviera Maya (not the G.S. Mayan Beach--that's different)it was fabulous. We took our 3 daughters over New Years last year; they still talk about the trip. It is family friendly and have kids programs, face painting, games that are supervised, etc. Being it was in Mexico, the dollar went far, as compared to other beach destinations. We also took a day trip down to the Tulum ruins, and went into Playa del Carmen for a 1/2 day--very commercial there--like Cancun. Good luck! Go to this website for more info: http://discovermexico.com/nhotels/GrandSirenisRivieraMaya/

I would recommend any of the Couples resorts in Jamaica. They are all adult-only all inclusive resorts and offer a variety of activities included in the price (i.e. diving, horseback riding, catamaran cruises, etc). The food and drinks are of a wide variety and very good quality and taste. The staff are amazing and go above and beyond what you would expect from an all-inclusive resort. The best part of all of their resorts is they are all about romance. Candle lit dinners by the water, dancing in the evening to the house band, and wondering off to be alone in one of the hanging baskets, hammocks, or even hidden hot tubs in the lush tropical gardens. I mean this is definitely the place to fall in love all over again.
My husband and I have been to 3 of their resort properties (5 total trips), and are scheduled to stay at their newest property Couples San Souci in 6 wks. Both of us are so excited to see what this new resort has to offer, as each property offers a different type of atmosphere and experience.
You can access their website directly for more specific info on each resort. www.couples.com

I'm not sure if you have already planned your vacation but please feel free to check out my travel website at www.plan4paradise.com when you are looking at other sites such as orbitz and expedia. I hope you have a great vacation!

A., I am a Leisure Travel Consultant for a host agency called "WorldVentures" out of Plano, TX. Due to our 65,000 + membership base, we can deliver luxury vacations at wholesale prices!

Please visit my website:
places2go.worldventures.biz and click on 'DreamTrips' link at the top of the page. From there, you may select from over 70 wholesale, prepackaged vacations if you join as a member (most recover their membership fee with the savings from the first trip!).

You may also book your own non-member vacation by visiting
places2go.worldventures.com and using our PowerSearch tool to bundle your own vacation. Saves time, money and energy...because it hits up to 200 travel sites for you!

If you need any help, or if you'd like to join my team, my email address is: ____@____.com. I'd love to hear from you!!

Happy Traveling!!

We've done Sandals in the Bahamas and Negril
Aventura Spa Palace in Playa Del Carmen
and a place in Cancun I didn't like.

I liked the 3 mentioned very much.

The El Dorado Royale Spa Resort in Riveria Maya, Mexico. We didn't get a honeymoon until we'd been married for 10 years. We've gone back to this place 3 times and have taken friends. If you need a travel agent, I recommend Kim Cook at Love to Travel (www.lovetotravel.com). She is awesome and only requires a down payment (unlike other agents requiring you to pay all up front).

We had really good luck with Sandals Resorts. It is adults only or you can try Beaches if taking the kids, it is owned by the same people.

I would suggest Playa Del Carmen(in Mexico near Cancun) They have several places to choose from with all-inclusive packages. The best part is it is near water.
Something to think about also is maybe a cruise. This is our favorite way to travel. We have had great luck with Royal Carribean. Good luck with your plans.

Hi,
2 years ago my husband and I went to Cancun Mexico. We stayed at an all inclusive at the Secrets Excellence Resort. You can go to www.secretsresorts.com and look up the Secrets Excellence Capri. I can't find the one where we stayed, but this will give you some ideas. Our trip was wonderful! My husband had some friends getting married, so that is why we were there. If we ever go back to Cancun, it will definitely be to The Secrets Excellence! It was very expensive, but well worth every penney!!

Hope this helps!
J. Y

We had a great time on the Mayan Riviera. We stayed at the X-Puha Palace, but all of the Palace resports are lovely. The food was incredible, and there was so much to do! We paid just under $2000 for four days.

http://www.palaceresorts.com/Resorts/XpuPalace/Index.asp

My husband and I enjoy traveling and have been to a lot of place; however, one of the most romantic places I've ever been is Puerta Vallarta, Mexico. If you go, try to stay in Old Town. We stay at a place called La Pallapa which is right on Los Muetroes beach. During the day, the waiters wait on your every need. There's a walk way along the beach that will take you all the way into downtown. Along the way the palm trees are all lit up with twinkle lights and there is music in most restaurants and bars which are along the walkway. You can easily walk into town where there are street performers and shows going on.

My other piece of advice is to avoid holiday times. Prices are always higher. Some friends of ours got a great deal to an all inclusive in Cancun because they went in October.

Enjoy.

I have to recommend the "Sandals" resorts. My husband and I did one for our honeymoon and it was great. EVERYTHING was included, food, drinks, water sports, including diving. Big resort with lots of room to roam. Also a plus, it is couples only, no kids (they have resorts called Beaches for families). Staff was very helpful and polite, any time you had your camera out, they volunteered to take a couple pictures for you- nice to have one or two with both of you in it! We paid everything up front and didn't take money out the whole trip. That really let me relax and not worry about the details. Hope that helps!!

Hi Alyssa! Congrats on your 3rd anniversary. I would recommend going to Mexico for an all-inclusive. There aren't many places in the US that do all-inclusive. Mexico is close and cheap. Not to mention beautiful! I have the name and number of an excellent travel agent that we always use. We just tell her when we want to go and how much we are wanting to spend and she gives us a lot of options. I always use a travel agent when traveling international just in case of any problems you have a direct person to deal with. E-mail me and let me know if you have any questions or would like some specific places to stay. I'd love to help!! Hope you have a great time!

Happy anniversary!

We took a belated honeymoon to Maui and stayed at the Hyatt Regency Resort and Spa. There were kid activities and grown up activities. The resort sits right on the beautiful Kaanapali beach on the west coast of the island. There were so many things to do that we couldn't fit them into our 10 day trip. I have never been so relaxed on any other vacation as I was in Maui. There's something about the island that makes you forget that you ever had problems on the main island. Check out Hawaii's tourist info online....I highly recommend it!

A.

Have you given any thought to Puerta Vallharta (sp?) on the west coast of Mexico. It is very nice and not as commercialized as Cancun. There is much to see and do there. It is really a nice place to visit and just enjoy the beaches and each other. I liked Puerta Vallharta because you could have all the privacy you wanted or be out and about with others. April is about as late as you will want to go, then it gets too hot.

We hear great things about sandals resorts -- all of them....we did the Beaches (a kid friendly Sandals) on Turks and Caicos and it was fabulous. There is also something in the keys...but i dont recall the name of it. Paradiso Costa Rica is our next trip, my brother in law loved it so much he was planning to buy a second home there.

All Inclusive are wonderful so I am told, we haven't done that kind, yet. Why not just contact a travel agent? Or do a search on inclusive vacations, go to Budgettravel.com Can type in all inclusive or do one on Riviera Maya.
My son and daughter in law did one last year. My granddaughter is getting married this summer and they are going on an all inclusive, not sure where yet but Mexico. I called a friend who is a travel agent and told her what they was looking at and their budget. She found some for $2000-$2010 for them. They are looking at Riviera Maya 40 min. S. of Cancun, Playa del Carmen. Can read about it at Budgettravel.com. Hope this is helpful

My husband and I of 25 years went to a wonderful resort in Jamaica called Rose Hall Resort and Country Club. It is all inclusive and is located just far enough but close enough to Montego Bay and the airport. We had been to Jamaica several years before and enjoyed this resort much better. Wonderful food and the the staff couldn't of been more polite or helpful. Go through a travel agent. Here is the website: www.rosehall.com/resorts_rhresort.html
Another resort that we looked at was the Rui in Jamaica. Definitely go and leave the kids at home for a relaxing adult vacation. Have fun.

My husband and I took a trip a couple years ago that was the best ever. We went to the Riu Palace Mexico in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. It was an all inclusive resort. The accommodations and food were fantastic.

I'll second Playa Del Carmen. I booked my trip through Funjet and it was a direct flight from KC to Cancun then a provided shuttle to the resort. The beach is beautiful and there are so many things to do in the area. Our funjet package included a day trip outside the resort for zip lining, there are also cool mayan ruins and a place called Xel-ha where we snorkled in an incredible river outlet just at the base of the ocean, swam with dolphins and also had plenty of lazy days on the beach sipping Pina Coladas. The town of Playa Del Carmen is worth going into at night as well. Its got fantastic shops and nice open air bars and restaurants for a nice drink and people watching.
http://www.xel-ha.com/
www.funjet.com

I have done the all inclusive to cozamel staying at El cozamalino through worryfreevacations.com flying out of Dallas I am sure it depends on where you live what is offered AA also has an all inclusive to there. there is an awesome place at Playa del carman all inclusive we had done also again through worryfreevacations. It was awesome if you want the nae of the Playa resort wrie and ask me I have it in the tip of my tongue but forgot! we also stayed at oxidental in Cozamel but I highly reccommend El cozamelino(sp) go to the site and you can see where they fly out of usually great prices we took our kids with us and they loved it too R. ____@____.com

We went to the Riu' in Cancun a couple years ago, and it was AWESOME!!! All inclusive is the way to go, it's the best!

My husband and I also went to Sandals St. Lucia for our honeymoon and would love to go back. A bonus to choosing this one is that there are three Sandals resorts on the small island of St. Lucia and once you pay for one you can hop to the others by shuttle to use their restaurants and amenities also.

Also know, that if you want to take excursion trips, those are not "included." We really recommend them but be prepared to pay. We did a rainforest hike and a day sail on a big catamaran. Wonderful.

It was and still is like a dream.

Hi, my name is N.. Don't know what your interests are, or the financial situation, but one of my favorite places in the world is New Zealand. And they speak english..sort of! Kiwi's are extreamly nice people. I would suggest s'thing like fly into Auckland, rent a vehicle, if you can keep left! You will need at least 2-3 weeks to travel both islands. Go from Auckland to Wellington, take the InterIslander ferry to Picton. The west coast of both islands are beautiful and easy to navigate. I would suggest going on the west coast of the south isl to Dunedan, back north on the east coast to Christchurch and fly out of there! You will see awesome things. The wildlife, the mountains, watefalls-that you can drink from, jade, seafood, wool products, penguins(dunedan) and much more. If you can make it to Lake Wannaka, take a personal flight over the alps to the Milford sound...definately worth it. You'll fly over the area where the Lord of the Rings was filmed. It is so green, so clean, nice people...even tourists are happy.

It is an addrenaline country, so skydive, climb a glacier, take a hike...or bungie jump! There is something to see around every corner...and not alot of touristy BS!

Hope you think seriously about it! My mate lives in Brisbane, Australia, that's where I am for my winter, St. Louis is too cold for me!

Well, g'day to you and congratulations! Hope whereever you end up is relaxing and all that you want it to be!

As Always, N.

Hi A.,

We must be neighbors... I am from Olathe too! OK, I recently went on a cruise to the Mexican Riviera. It was absolutely, amazingly romantic. We were on the Princess Diamond - highly suggest this ship. I am working on earning a trip to Moon Palace in Cancun in October - more than 1/2 way there already. My niece just went and said it was a blast, she gave me loads of advise on what to do.

My company puts out a trip yearly and I take my my husband and sometimes my family (this year the girls went with us to Paradise Island - the Atlantis Resort). So cool to have the whole family, but also love to have just my guy. They let you "double" your efforts your first month as a new consultant... Have you checked out Arbonne? Happy to share how to win!

Good luck and enjoy every moment of your life... S.

Breezes at Runnaway Bay in Jamaica. AWESOME!!! All inclusive, didn't have to leave the resort if you didn't want to, but information on site if you wanted to plan a trip to the Falls.

My husband and I did 5 nights in Cancun, all-inclusive and it was wonderful. Very clean and affordable. I highly reccomend the Palace Resort chain. They have about 5 to choose from in the Cancun area and since you're all-inclusive you can visit them all and that gives you tons of options for activities, restaurants, etc. We got to pick two activities to be included too...we did a snorkel trip and a trip to see the Mayan ruins. They were both top notch. Some of the ones I remember are Beach Palace, Moon Palace, and Spa Palace...but I'm pretty sure there are others. Have fun on your trip!

I also recommend Sandals in St. Lucia. We met several people at the resort who had been to other islands/resorts and they said far and away St. Lucia had the prettiest water. It wasn't cloudy even a little bit and the colors are undescribable. There are three Sandals resorts there, and you have access to all of the restaurants/activities for all three. Now that's a deal! Not matter what you choose I'm sure you'll love it.