Beach Vacation Ideas

Preferring all inclusive

Good clear water , direct flight

I’m OK with Mexico

We like Seaside, FL

Cancun is nice

I like Cozumel. There are a number of all inclusive resorts. It's more laid back and I think safer than Cancun. Cayman is nice if you don't want Mexico. American has direct flights now, but they are discontinuing them in September.

What place? I’m not worried about the safety of the country

What is your budget?

Cayman is awesome. No all inclusives.

?

3-5 for 2

Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun

Excellence Riviera Cancun

There's a lot of places.

I would be careful with Mexico and seaweed. Last two times I went, it was awful.

Are there all inclusive resorts in Florida?

Bahamas. Much nicer than Mexico.

Or St Thomas.

Just saw your budget,,, how do you like Galveston?

Idk for sure but I don’t think they have cartels

It’s nice

The Hot newish one is Atelier in Cancun, it's a foodie paradise, I have done it a couple of times

I am trying Live Aqua next month, suppose to be very good.

On my radar is Hyatt Ziva all inclusive

Go to Costco Travel and super easy to book trips and flights and private transportation. It's a 2 hour flight from DFW to Cancun I like to adjust the menu for flight and get to Cancun around 10 am and leave Cancun around 6pm that way it maximizes you days.

https://www.costcotravel.com/

I haven't stayed at an all inclusive in Cozumel in a long time so I would not personally make a recommendation. We have stayed at the El Presidente the last few times and it's not an all inclusive. If you don't have to have all inclusive the El Presidente is the nicest on Cozumel. We are going to Little Cayman soon and will be a the Little Cayman Beach Resort. It's all inclusive but has a connecting flight from Grand Cayman ( I know you said direct flight). It is a resort that caters to divers.

I would say Costa Rica.

Are the resorts as nice as Cancun?

What about tourism infrastructure? Cancun probably has some of the best in the world, is there stuff do there?

I have Costa Rica on my radar, but thru Costco Travel they only offer about 4 hotels that are all inclusive

I believe there is a level 2 travel advisory in effect. Not a deal breaker, but be aware.

He can easily get 5 star hotel in Cancun for 3500, includes direct flight , private transportion to and from airport to hotel, and all inclusive at a very nice hotel

For 2k he can get same deal at a nicer but not 5 star hotel in Cancun area

Gulf Shores, Alabama

https://www.gulfshores.com/

Costa Rica is a solid option. Much better than Mexico. They love and cater to Americans, Dominican Republic not so much, they hate Americans and love the Europeans. Driving from city to city doesn’t feel like a war zone and you don’t have to worry about the cartel owned policia robbing you if you rent a car and drive.

Check out Turks And Caicos! My daughter and her family are there right now and the beaches are stunning, ,And no seaweed

Just returned from Grand Cayman. Would certainly add it to your list to consider. Great destination and experience.

^^^

Probably not as flashy as Cancun, but not as touristy either. Plus, I don’t have to worry for my safety if I want to leave the hotel.
For me, it’s just a much better vibe and the fishing I find to be better.

The Westin in cayman is nice. So is the sea fire. Ritz beach looks crowded for me.

When we go with kids, we stay at beachcomber or meridian condos.

Cancun Mexico is like 5 star US hotels. I rarely leave the resort and if I do it's on a guided tour bus or van, I have been all over Cancun north and south and it very nice.

We didn’t mind Mexico, Cabo was our least favorite, Cancun is good, Cozumel was ok, Playa was good, Puerto Vallarta was good,,, then we started hitting other countries and discovered there is better options.

I'd rent a sail boat with captain and cook and hit all the french islands. Leave out of St. Marteen but head to the smaller islands, moore and walk up to beaches, bars and eats.
Cabo can't get in the water most places but there are some really high end places quiet, safe and really relaxing, and great food in town staying away from the tourist places

I would caution everyone before planning a trip to Mexico.

Family friend’s younger brother was shot in the face by a stray bullet in Cancun.

Completely shattered right side of his jaw.

In surgery right now so please send up a prayer.

Destin, FL is tough to beat in my book.

Short flight, clear water, squeaky sand

USVI or BVI. If you need nicer than either of those, I can’t help you

Has is made the news yet?

Was it cartel shot he got hit by stray?

Or robbery?

BVI over USVI but yes those two are hard to beat. Unfortunately not the most budget friendly options, as airfare can be pricey

NO direct flight to either from DFW?

Last I checked

If you're willing to connect in Miami, St. Lucia.

The locals are friendly and speak English. The food is fantastic, water is amazing, beaches not crowded, great scenery and nature to see. Small sail boats for very small groups are easy to arrange and you can beach hop and snorkel hard to get to places. We did our own research, bought tickets, arranged VRBO, had a rent car and did our own thing. Best trip ever. Ti Kaye Resort and Spa is where we will stay next time. Paid $40.00 per day to use their private beach access two days and stayed all day right there. The VRBO way is good as well, we hit a grocery store and LOADED up with beer, lunch and breakfast stuff and went out to dinner most nights. We left out each day with a cooler, snorkel gear and found different beaches.

Try LiveAqua, suppose to be nice resort in Cancun: Looks amazing to me

Live Aqua was nice when we went a couple years ago. It was our 25th anniversary and they gave us a bad arse penthouse suite. We normally stay at Playa Mujeres or Isla Mujeres. I prefer the island and not doing the all inclusive thing cuz there are so many places to eat there.

Just for grins my wife priced out Live Aqua yesterday. For a trip leaving next Fri for 5 nights it was only $3K. We're now on the fence cuz we have lots going on later in the summer.

Take her to Galveston and spend the rest on shooting lessons

Patrick, our top spot we've found is Turks and Cacaos. It has the clearest and prettiest water I've ever seen. We stay at Beaches in Provo (LINK). Ample activities. My favorite was the surf machine. It's a family resort, but there are other adult only (no kids) resorts around. The fishing is also good. Snorkeling and scuba is some of the best in the world there.

I'll let buzz have all my Galveston time


Still looking at all the suggestions, I just have very narrow windows

How are you going to get out of a narrow window?

The possibilities are really endless....if you narrow down exactly what you are looking for that would help. So far this summer we've done a week in Belize and a week in Aruba. Both were nice, but very different from each other.

Turks probably has the prettiest beaches. Mexico is the cheapest. Costa Rica has a lot of options for adventurous type activities. Seaside/Watercolor is very nice with good clientele (but not all-inclusive). Bahamas is an easy flight with lots of options....

I never found new outlet report about this, and scanning the Cancun Tourist pages on FB I see nothing.

You got a link?

Was this thru Costco Travel?

I have a 4 night trip in August and October at Live Aqua, only paid $3500 and upgraded to the Aqua level, got private transportation, and got a flight that arrive 10am and departs at 7pm.

I thought it was a heck of deal for this resort, it will be my first time staying there but I have done extensive reserch.

Yes, it was through Costco. She said the sweet spot seemed to be booking about a week out for some reason.

At a week out they are wanting to fill the resort up. If you are flexible and don't have work in the way, that's often the best deal. But then it also depends on flight load factors as well.

Can you do that on a budget of $3K to $5K?




How about other places mentioned here in the Caribbean on that budget? other than Mexico?

Looking at all and now watching " the weather "

Layovers are keeping us Leary on some, we aren't good travelers

That's a nice benefit of the Cancun and Playa area, relatively short and direct flight.

Bahamas

Easiest with All inclusive, Clear water with direct flight is Cancun, Playa, Tulum, Cozumel, Belize, Jamaica.
Not so clear water is puerto Vallarta.

A step up will be Bahamas, Turks Caicos, Virgin Islands, Aruba. Cayman has no all inclusive.

Harder to get to St Kitts-Nevis.

Will this budget below be sufficient for a 5 star one week trip at these locations above?

Airfare included probably looking more like $5K+++

I can add more $. When I posted this it was early.

Use Costco travel and it will give you some prices. https://www.costcotravel.com/

Plug in some places on there, Expedia, and AA Vacations. See how much and where.

Late to the party,

Besides all inclusive what do you and your wife want to do while you are there?
Priority list like Deep Sea fishing, golf, crowded resort because y'all are pervs and want to people watch or the opposite, not jammed up nice place to kick back, neat tourist sites (Mayan Ruins etc).

Have a great time wherever y'all go!

I have been booking on Priceline.com lately for trips they have been a lot cheaper than a lot of the other travel sites, never found a good deal on Costco either.

Doesn’t hurt to check them all when booking.

For Costco you find when they are running a special on hotel and or all inclusive and book it. They will have it highlighted and usually is the first choice and says Special. It is usually triggered by when the hotel runs a deal. Good thing about Costco if the trip/package you book prices evers drop you can call them and they will give you that price. Costco usually adds a Costco card for certain amount you get in the mail after your trip, You will see it offered when you are booking.

Another thing I like about Costco is I never buy any travel insurance, You can cancel like almost up to the last day and get a full refund if you rebook, if you decide to cancel and not rebook then they will only keep $200 per person for airfare, not a bad deal.

Costco is just a travel site, middle man, like the others, never hurts to price it with others, may save you hundreds of dollars.
Last trip I book to Cabo for the girls a few weeks ago was $300 cheaper pets person with Priceline

I use it for Cancun alot. They have it all there and easy to use. I can get private van for only $30 extra and I love they way have it set up for finding flight with the time adjustment, and picking non stop only flights.

I have tried to book each part seperate, Hotel, Air, Transportation and I can't beat Costco prices

I just ran it for priceline for my October trip, Priceline was $300 higher and it was Spirit Airlines, I heard they blow. I am flying from DFW and American Airlines is based here and they are my #1 choice since they have so many flight per day going to Cancun.

I did find it a tad bit odd they didn't offer American Airlines

I would take a submarine before spirit airlines.

Now there's a start to a memorable trip.

How about here?

All inclusive as well.

We just got back from Riviera Maya Mexico last week and we had a great time at the Barcelo Resort. Beach was a little rocky in places but food and drinks were good, and had plenty of things for us to do. Pools were really nice and the resort was beautiful!

I like that Barcelo. The adults one is nice.

Beach is a bit Rocky.



Give us dates and let us find you a deal.

That's a good place.

We stayed there last year. Kind of dated rooms but excellent food and the beach is on a protected cove so there are minimal waves. I would go again. Only real minus for us was all the pools were about 4 foot deep so not ideal for little kids but you shouldn't have to worry about that.

We just got back from all inclusive in Nassau and thought it sucked…

7/9-7/15 give or take a day

Looking around at some west coat stuff also. Punta Mita but I’m not sure the water is blue enough

I think the Bahamas pretty much suck.

Orcas are killing boats. I would suggest a mountain trip for you this year... Just saying

Fredeboy knows !! Go there.

I’ve stayed here. It’s above average, not the ritz. Fairly new.
Sun country. Leaves dfw at 7 am. Returns like noon.

6 nights

Thanks for the update, I only stay at adult only resorts. Not a pool person, I dig the beach. I like waves, and not a fan of outdated rooms.

I will scratch this one off my list.

Why can't you take American Airlines instead?

I like the early flight there, I need my flight to leave around 6pm since resort recommend a 4 hour gap to get to airport, so the last day is wasted, can you not book it to fly out later?

Kinda my thoughts as well......

My first and probably last trip to Mexico was for my daughter’s wedding last year. The resort was great but the beach was heavily patrolled by the military. The best part was it was adults only. Maybe I’m getting old and grumpy.

Mehico. Used to Dive Cozumel at least 5 or 6 times a year back in the 80's early 90's. Nice place then. Ex/Wife kept a place/lived in Cozumel for years after our Divorce. She palled around with and knew all the Local's. She was there more than Her place in Texas. . She had a Friend shot Dead on the Beach in Cancun at one of the Nice safe Hotels. That was the last straw. She Didn't trust the place anymore. She left/moved all Her goodies back here a couple years ago after Cartel Families started moving in. It's Their Safe Place now. For the ones that think it's safe, think again. There is No Law in Mehico. Even the Cops will Clip You. Just be careful and add me on your Life Insurance as a Beneficiary.

If you're just going to Nassau, that's a terrible barometer for the rest of the Bahamas. Exuma is one the most beautiful islands that we've ever been to. Very expensive because it's so remote, but it is stunning. And if you like bonefishing, the Abaco islands have the best bonefish flats in the world.

Bermuda. Spend some coin for a once in a Blue Moon adventure. Beautiful Place and if you Dive, Ship Wrecks everywhere to see. Years ago, Wife had an Assignment one summer as a Consultant for Global Crossing a Company that was laying Telecommunication Cable under the Ocean from England to New York. I went a couple times and it was awesome. Only place i found seedy was the backstreets of Hamilton, Bermuda's capital city. After dark it's a Zoo.

Was that in the Hotel Zone? Maybe there was a cartel threat with another cartel in the area. I have never seen military on the beach, but it sure wouldn't bother me at all.

If I can't carry my pistol in Mexico I sure do want someone else there who can.

I have only been to bahamas a few times and that was years ago, and alway on cruise ship and doing tours. Last trip there were opening up Atlantis and every famous black person from USA was there for the Grand Opening, Michael Jackson, Sidney Poiter, etc. I assumed the owner of Atlantis was black.

I am open to explore the place more, do they have all inclusives there?

Not sure. We don't really do all inclusive (except Hyatt Ziva in Cabo and Cancun).

I am an all inclusive type of guy for beach vacations, Just makes it easier for me and more comfortable.

One other suggestion.

Pay attention to seaweed in Mexico. Has been a big problem, can ruin a beach vacation. Sargasso or sargassum they call it.

Gonna give this a go, I've done worse



https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_R..._Playa_del_Carmen_Yucatan_Peninsula.html

I see that one get recommneded quite often by Travel Agents on FB Cancun Websites

This year it has been lighter than last year.

I camp on the beach and swim in ocean, but there is a large percentage of people who stay at the pool the whole trip.

Here is a good FB group to keep updated with the Sargasso: https://www.facebook.com/groups/414023702449092

No Facebook for me , looked at a lot and did pricing comparison. Also wanted to see a new area

For beach locations, I'm a big in on FL Panhandle beaches, Pensacola, Ft Walton, Destin, Watercolor and farther east. Doing Panama Beach next month. Nice water, nice sand, good food and tons safer than international. International isn't what it was even 25 years ago.

Cancun probably has the best tourism infrastructure in the world. So many things to do and or go.

I am big fan of all the Adventure Theme parks like XPlor, Xel-Ha, Xcaret, Xenotes, etc. They have some new daredevil X park called : Xavage

https://www.xcaret.com/en/cancun-theme-parks/

I get it, tons to do. Did Cancun in mid to later 90s, loved it but that country was a lot safer than now. It's still a foreign land.

A friend just came back from Vietnam. He spent a week at Wyndham Quang Binh Golf & Beach Resort. He and his wife already booked another week next January.

For Me the flight time is same from DFW to Cancun or to Florida Panhandle

Where the Cancun has Florida beat is the quality of hotel, food and over all value for the money.

You get 5 star hotel at 3 star prices, if you are a foodie you can't beat the better All inclusives, another thing I dig is Cancun has many adult only resorts, I don't think is even legal anymore in the USA.

It's a wash for money Florida vs Cancun. In Mexico I don't have to buy alcohol, coffee, cook, clean etc

Or drive

Nothing wrong with Florida I just like being responsible for anything

For me Cancun is more of an Adult Vaction place, Florida is more like for wife/family/kids and grandparents.

The grandson was looking for a place to take his spectacular girlfriend, so I showed him this discussion. He booked a house in Costa Rica and asked me to thank ya’ll.

Tripple digit heat in Texas and humidity that you can swim through.....I personally am not going to a beach.

Give me the mountains baby...!!!

It’s a cool place

Tell him to make sure that house he booked has AC, a lot of them do not and in the jungle it gets very hot, A friend booked a nice house a few years ago and left after one night, he dod not realize most houses there don't have AC.

Good tip. Thanks. I’ll tell him.

It’s hot there for sure in the summer

Just saw this thread and was going to suggest just that resort! We stayed there like 8 years ago for our first Mexico all-inclusive and loved it and think you will too. Great value.

Get a swim-up room if you can.....it's not to the main pool, but a smaller pool toward the back of the property that runs along like three buildings but well worth it. Food was awesome overall. The Mexican place was average at best and not really worth a try. But the Japanese restaurant was incredible as was the place on the beach (Tierra, I think) where we had an awesome breakfast every morning and turns into a steak and seafood place for dinner. Never tried the Italian or fancy French one. The beach was good when we were there, but the pool is fantastic. And we're more pool people anyway. Drinks are plentiful and lots of variety. Only drawback when we were there was the only two beers they had were Dos Equis and Coors Light. I was good with Dos and I'm sure that's changed, but who knows. But all top shelf liquor is available and included. The overall resort is huge and seems largely uninhabited even when it's close to capacity, which is cool. Really cool resort and one of our favorites.

Not required, but bring a couple hundred in small bills for tips. The staff really appreciates it and it goes a long way......way further than it does here. Like a couple bucks at breakfast, maybe $5-10 to your bartender at the pool or beach bar for the day, and maybe another $5 or $10 at dinner. That's what we did and they loved it and the service was amazing. The same kid was waiting for us each morning when we had breakfast at the Tierra place on the beach just because I threw him a few bucks.

Enjoy and hope y'all have a great time.

Good to know and they’ve remodeled since.I think I did my homework right and am looking forward

I'm sure they have too. Looking forward to the report. We're going to the brand new Margaritaville Island Reserve Riviera Maya right close to there in August.

We love our location this summer.

Yes. We have done both now, and Montana was 100% better than The Bahamas. Added bonus you can carry a handgun.