I would ask each of them to research a trip and make a persuasive proposal to the rest of the family.

That is a good idea, assuming they have different dreams. Where have you gone in the past? Is this a yearly event or a once in a life time type vaca? Our first HUGE trip we chose to do Florida Disney. Our kids were 8/9/11. They had the most fun at the hotel pool/ beach and chose to give up one day at "The Magic Kingdom" and take in a water park. I think it really depends on the experiences your children have already had. In the end we could have saved a bundle and checked into a local hotel for a week and not have had one complaint!!

Are you talking about a Club Med type of resort? We have never been to one of those but we have bee on a cruise--- although not all five at once due to scheduling problems. I've taken the children to the Caribbean and DH and I have gone on an Alaskan cruise. If you consider a cruise I'd recommend Alaska for a family, you can go to the beach anytime.

Riu Palace all-inclusiveâÂÂs are pretty nice. They have kids clubs and several locations. There are two different sorts of Riu as far as I know; you have regular Riu and Palace Riu. I have only stayed in the Riu Palace all- inclusive and without children. To take advantage of the kids clubs you usually have to go in season as sometimes with all-inclusives the off season kids clubs are nearly non-existing or just an ice cream party or sparse amusements. During season there are many childrenâÂÂs activities I think up to the age of twelve. We really enjoyed not having to make any decisions for a week. My aunt stays in Riu Palaces often and recommended them to us. I have seen some good deals online with airfare in the past.

Two years ago we went to Aruba and stayed in a Divi resort all-inclusive. We stayed at the Lynx on the golf course as opposed to the water front hotels because we were able to have an apartment as opposed to just a hotel room. The room was very clean, there was a washer/dryer, kitchenette, master bedroom and 2 bathrooms. The waterfront properties have adjoining rooms so you may need to get 2 rooms if you stayed there. It is a huge resort and you can use all of the restaurants there. It was not in the high rise area of Aruba and the beaches were very quiet which was really nice and relaxing. I really loved the entire vacation. There were a lot of fun poolside activities for the kids, mine were younger than yours, but there were several that age there as well. I enjoyed most of the restaurants there, some much more than others. I would definitely go back there again if we decided to vacation in Aruba again. We generally pick a different destination for every trip we take. Good luck.

We have gone to Beaches in Turks & Caicos for the last 2 years and are going back next month for winter break. I have younger girls, ages 6 and 10. They LOVE it and it seems more geared to that younger age group although the teenagers always seem to be having a great time there. I used to say I would go to an all-inclusive resort like Beaches over my dead body, but some friends convinced us to go with them a couple of years ago and I was very pleasantly surprised. As a mother, it is totally liberating to not have to lift a finger to do anything for a week. At Beaches, literally everything is thought of to make your visit enjoyable. The Turks resort is huge with many pools, restaurants, and the most amazing beach. We do things off site (which you pay for) but there is tons to do on site. The food is variable but there are many excellent food choices - and I am a "discerning" eater, shall we say. :) It is a TOTAL vacation for me. And for my kids - we call it the week of "yes" since so often they hear "no". (I should add that all-inclusive vacations are undoubtedly a more expensive option than vacationing "a la carte," but not dealing with money make everyone more relaxed. :)

We took a family vacation to Beaches in Turks and Caicos as well. We don't travel often, and it was a big trip for us. We had a great time. Our kids were pre-teen/teenager and they had a great time. They really didn't participate in many activities, but they loved the freedom of the resort and being able to do things on their own.

DH and I spent a lot of time on the beach, it was lovely. Great time until DH got the Bends scuba diving and spent two nights in the hyperbaric chamber. He's a trip to travel with. :)

Beth P.

Have you considered a wilderness adventure trip? We've made three trips down the Middle Fork of the Salmon river in Idaho and those trips were wonderful - no cell, no internet, no worries and absolutely glorious! It's a 5-7 day whitewater rafting trip in the Frank Church Wilderness area. The river is strictly controlled by the forest service and there are a limited number of permits for launch each day so it is not unusual to go all day without even running into another group. Our trips have all been on private permits, but there are some good outfitters running all inclusive trips - some will even set up your tents for you each day and most pride themselves on their campire cuisine. The whitewater is exciting (but not extreme), there are wonderful side hikes, good fishing, abundant wildlife, and fabulous scenery. The river is more boisterous during snowmelt until about the end of June, but calms considerably later in the summer.

Thank you so much to all but especially those that detailed their trips. I will check into beaches resorts, the RUI palace (sounds awesome) and the wilderness trip. That sounds incredible! Were the bugs bad in summer?

we went to an iberostar resort when the kids were about that age and the kids had a great time. i would look into the activities the resort has to offer-- windsurfing, paddle boarding, water/jet skiing, snorkling, etcetcetc so that there's lots of activity for them- that's what my kids liked.

we also went to a dude ranch in co when they were close to those ages which we all absolutely loved--- helps to like horses, but there were lots of things to do- hiking, skeet shooting, fly fishing, riding, etcetc and some hokey evening entertainment, which was actually pretty good!!--- i love vacations where there is not a tv in sight!!

Perfect timing! The Travel Channel website just today posted their picks for the best all-inclusive resorts for 2014. You should check it out.
Lynn

We have been on several all-inclusive vacations. We booked them all through Apple Vacations. Places we stayed include Riviera Maya, Cancun and the Dominican Republic. The awesome part is that there is no need to carry huge sums of cash, no arguing over where to eat and wonderful weather. Usually we do one or two side trips that Apple helps plan and all transportation and meals are provided with it (extra cost of course.) The vacations are relaxing and so enjoyable! Cancun is a favorite destination because of affordability and plenty to do and see ( Isla Mujeres, Xel-Ha- great snorkeling, Tulum, etc...)

Corgimum, we have used Apple Vacations as well in the past as has many family members. Good company!

I saw that you had written about Riu Palace. We stayed at the Riu Cancun in 2012. A Riu Palace was recently built there so DH and I walked over there to take a look. It was very nice.

We took a family vacation to Mexico, all inclusive, Riviera Maya. It was awesome. We want to go back, oldest will be 21 this spring. We want to do it before he has completely left the nest. We loved it so much, we may take out a loan to go. Sounds crazy, I know but we made great family memories.

Corgimum, the service was fantastic! Unfortunately husband ended up in the ER there shortly after we arrived due to his ticker. However, for the first time ever they brought him back in rhythm with some sort of Mexican ckt drug. We had such good care! Never ever has drugs worked in the states to bring him back around he always needs a cardio version (sp?). We carefully enjoyed the rest of our vacation and husband was so happy not to make any decisions. He has since had an operation to fix his problem and so far so good. We did take out the extra insurance before that trip and was reimbursed. That worked so well I will never travel to another country again without it.

Joanie, just do it! Life is short! When my kids were young we could only afford one big trip the whole time to France and England and some mid trips to the Carolinas and mid west. The trips they enjoyed the most though were trips to the Florida Keys on the Gulf side. Those trips were just a few hours south for us though. And I have to say that they were not as much fun for husband who worked so much and had to do the long drive and then go to a NON all inclusive where decisions on where to eat and how to amuse the children were nonstop. Once the kids were grownâ¦we have been doing some traveling as itâÂÂs a piece of cake with two.

All Inclusive is great. And the Caribbean is a huge place to select sun & beaches, if that's your thing. Resorts/locations vary in prices. I'm frugal, and can't see $300-$400/day.
Compare 'dot com's' to your hearts content.
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Understand what's included in the package. Some have horrible flights. Enjoy your trip.