I understand Aruba is fantastic for it.

From cruise stops, we really liked Grand Cayman & USVI/BVI.
Cozumel was a good stop as well, we hopped a ferry to Playa del Carmen on one trip, did the Explor zipline park.

Even before all the stuff here about Turks, we didn't care for it nor Jamaica.

Puerto Rico was ok too, we mostly wandered the town there. Good food for sure.

We loved Roatan. Great snorkeling and it’s right off the beach. Planning on going back soon.

I saw Punta Cana years ago. It was very nice. We were told not to stray from the resort, but honestly there was no reason to... I don't see a reason to cruise there though

Suggest AVOID: Kingston, Jamaica (Dangerousness). I got a glimpse of Montego Bay. I would avoid it as well

Worth repeating, Mexico is not safe.

Atlantis is a fantastic family resort.

Bought my trips through Costco.

Meal package is worth it.

Dolphin trip worth it.

We went to Punta Cana on our honeymoon. We stayed at Breathless, which is adult-only, but they had a sister resort next door that was all ages. Dreams Onyx I believe. We had an excellent experience. From the moment we landed to the moment we took off to come home we didn't need to worry about a thing. The food was good at both resorts (Breathless vacationers could eat at Dreams establishments), the drinks were good, and the hospitality was great. We had a concierge all week who handled issues (we didn't have any) and could make arrangements for basically anything you wanted to do on or off resort. He was very responsive, you told him what you wanted to do and when you wanted to do it and he made it happen. We did go during Covid so we got their VIP package (Exhale Club) basically for free, I don't know how different it would have been if we didn't have that.

All in all we had a great experience, and I would love to go back. In the mean time, I will happily recommend it to anyone that asks.

I have been to Bonaire and Curacao the last two years. I note that you did not mention scuba diving. I would avoid Bonaire with the parameters you mentioned. It has great snorkeling, but that is about it. Bonaire is a dive/snorkel destination. There is not much else there.

I highly recommend Curacao. Great diving/snorkeling. More like the Caribbean vacation sites one has in their mind. I am uneducated on the "all inclusive" availability, but the dive resorts are excellent.

I've only been to Grand Cayman and Puerto Rico. I'd recommend GC over PR.

Here are the places I’ve visited and the order in which I’d recommend:

Puerto Rico - Airbnb on Vieques, rent a Jeep, and visit all the beaches while being surrounded by the wild horses. Explore San Juan and El Junque on the main island if you have extra time. Absolute best beaches in all of the Caribbean are on Culebra.

Belize - Stay on Ambergris Caye (pronounced Key), rent a golf cart, enjoy world class diving and snorkeling trips, visit the not-so-Secret Beach.

Playa del Carmen / Cozumel - Enjoy beautiful beaches and nearby Mayan Ruins, swim in a sonote cave, drift dive off Cozumel, check for recent cartel violence before booking.

Grand Cayman - Amazing diving and beaches but expensive.

Aruba - Beautiful beaches but always windy.

Dominican Republic - Don’t leave the resort.

Wouldn’t completely rule out Hawaii. A short affordable flight from California and if you stay away from the tourist traps prices are not crazy. If someone in the party is retired military rooms at Hale Koa, depending on rank run about $100/ night. They do a good job offering reduced rate tourist activities.
In Kauai is the barking sands missile range, can rent a beach house for a great price, and stocking up on food at the navy commissaries saves a ton. They have the most pristine beach I have ever seen

Thanks to everyone who has and will yet reply!

quote:

Originally posted by mdblanton:
Based on your great snorkeling is a must comment, I'd rule out Punta Cana in the DR. My wife and I were there almost exactly a year ago. I'd rate the snorkeling as below average. I had a much better time snorkeling/scuba diving in Cozumel.

Thank you, this is great input.

quote:

Originally posted by 71 TRUCK:
Have you thought about a cruise that stops at some of the Islands with activity's you might like?

We've done one cruise and we had a good time, but I think this time we want to do things more on on schedule and be based out of real resort and not a ship.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

Go to the Philippines, has everything Hawaii has, but it's bigger and less expensive.

Boracay if you want the white sands experience.

Cebu if you want to swim with whales, turtles, and schools of sardines, amongst other great dive/snorkeling options.

El Nido is great for beaches, island hopping, snorkeling.

Coron for island hopping and amazing adventures to remote islands.

Exchange rate is 56-58 ₱→$. If you are not doing fine dining most meals are ₱300-700.

The people are the friendliest people on the planet. They all speak English. I love the place. I'm thinking of retiring there because it's so cheap. I could retire today there if I wanted to because it's so cheap, but I prefer to pad my retirement some more because I'm 14 years from being able to draw from 401.

I'll have to look at travel times... I want to spend the least amount of time in a plane as feasible... they aren't comfortable for me at all. I'm under the impression it takes longer to get to that part of the world, but I may be wrong.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
We’ve stayed at Sandals resorts all over the Caribbean. Last was Sandals Negril (west end of Jamaica) there were several other resorts there, there’s a Beaches which is kid friendly. The snorkeling was so-so but I’ve scuba all over. The resort food was top notch. And you can bounce from sandals to beaches for food or pools etc.

Like others have said, some places are not ok to leave the resort like Dom Rep. St. Lucia, Curaçao

St. Martin, St. John’s, Aruba, VI all GTG

Thank you for this info, it helps.

quote:

Originally posted by jprebb:
What about Cabo San Lucas? I know nothing about the place except it seems like it would be very convenient since you're coming from California.

JP

We've been to Mexico once before (Carnival Mexican Riveria cruise) and while it was a good time, I'd prefer to go somewhere completely new and not hand over money so directly to the cartels.

quote:

Originally posted by armedprof:
I have been to Bonaire and Curacao the last two years. I note that you did not mention scuba diving. I would avoid Bonaire with the parameters you mentioned. It has great snorkeling, but that is about it. Bonaire is a dive/snorkel destination. There is not much else there.

I highly recommend Curacao. Great diving/snorkeling. More like the Caribbean vacation sites one has in their mind. I am uneducated on the "all inclusive" availability, but the dive resorts are excellent.

Thank you, this is good info indeed. We haven't ever dived, but snorkeling is on the menu for sure.

quote:

I'll have to look at travel times

If time is of the essence, then scratch it off your list.

Unless you can swing direct flight, but then you'd still need to get to SAC then fly 16+ hr. I leave from East coast and choose Korea Airlines or EVA (both very good airlines). It's 24-26 hours flying with connection, 22hr direct. It's brutal, but so worth it.

To offset I usually take an extra day off on front end and two days on the backend. Plus you have to add rest day in Manila or Cebu before your island hopper. So add ~3 days to travel vs local. I also like to stay 3 weeks due to so much traveling.

Caribbean for me is quick flight, but I would pick Philippines every day over it. I did enjoy St. Lucia and DR, also I didn't feel uncomfortable going down town, even at night, but that was 20+ years ago. Stayed in Sandals super luxury villa, all inclusive loved it, stayed in a lesser known one and still loved it in much more meager accomodations.

Philippines wouldn't work for flight time this time, but I highly recommend doing the trip one time. Most beautiful beaches I've ever seen and I love the idea of not feeling like you should be a prisoner of a resort. In the Philippines other than the Southern part, I would never fear going anywhere anytime.

Enjoy whatever you decide to do!

We've been considering Belize. I'll have to look at Costa Rica, too.

I just went on a cruise to Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. Of the three, my family had the most fun on Aruba. You can rent UTV's and drive them all over the island as they are street legal. Half of the island is unpaved dirt roads so a lot of exploring can be done. The family had a blast. Great swimming and snorkeling too.

I've been all over the Caribbean and the best snorkeling I have ever seen was in Mexico. I cant remember what city it was but it was definitely Mexico. It was like jumping into the most amazingly stocked fish tank in the world with hundreds of different colorful species of aquarium style fish swimming all around you.

I absolutely loved the Hyatt Ziva in Cancun, very beautiful and luxurious. Made the mistake of heading off site to souvenir shop, YIKES! This is my only experience with an all inclusive


The Mrs. is planning a all inclusive place in Belize next summer. We never did any snorkeling there, river trip to see Mayan ruins, that was great


We have been to Cozumel several times on cruise stops, always had a good time and snorkeling is amazing there. Good place to investigate an all inclusive

Roatan would be another fave


Not a fan of Nassau, mega shithole. We haven't stayed at Atlantis but we did use there water park and beach for a day. Meh


The most beautiful snorkeling I have seen was in Sint Maarten, worth a look

Finding a one size fits all for both children and adults can be challenging. Most of the islands i've been to sort of specialize in one area like diving while falling short in other sreas like shopping or tourist attractions.

I can't speak to the all inclusive part but I would recommend either St Marteen or the Florida keys.
We usually do a day snorkeling trip while in St Marteen by boat that hits various spots around the island to snorkel, includes a beach lunch, and of course, boat drink. The island is large enough to support shopping, great restaurants. And other tourist attractions. (Google the flying dutchman)

The Fl keys can offer up pretty much any type of trip you want. World class snorkeling and plenty to do when you’re not wet for all ages.

quote:

Originally posted by captain127:
Wouldn’t completely rule out Hawaii. A short affordable flight from California and if you stay away from the tourist traps prices are not crazy. If someone in the party is retired military rooms at Hale Koa, depending on rank run about $100/ night. They do a good job offering reduced rate tourist activities.
In Kauai is the barking sands missile range, can rent a beach house for a great price, and stocking up on food at the navy commissaries saves a ton. They have the most pristine beach I have ever seen

Cheapest rates at HALE KOA are $189 if E-1 through E-6. Not many retirees E-6 or below.

As a person who likes to drink water out of a tap I go to Hawaii not Mexico.

quote:

Originally posted by thumperfbc:
I'll have to look at travel times... I want to spend the least amount of time in a plane as feasible... they aren't comfortable for me at all. I'm under the impression it takes longer to get to that part of the world, but I may be wrong.

You're in the Central Valley, flying out of SMF, SFO, SJO or OAK you've already lost an entire day driving to & flying Eastward, and hopefully your first flight is early in the AM so that your next connecting flights aren't after sunset. I'd cross-off the Caribbean as an option just because of the amount of travel you're going to be doing on your first and last days. You're gonna change planes in ATL, Miami, Dallas, Houston, Orlando, etc...then a possibility another plane change depending on location.

Have you considered looking at what Costco Travel is offering? They've got quite a number of options, for both resorts and cruises, along with some experiences if you check deeper on their website.

Mexico is an easy getaway for us in CA, although you've already been there so maybe that knocks it down a few notches.

My cousins and a handful friends have all repeatedly spent time in Belize as that seems to be the newest hot-spot for American visitors tired of Mexico. English is the national language and Belizean dollar is pegged to the USD.

Costa Rica is another hot destination that many American's have discovered and go back to. A very stable economy and a much different vibe that of its more volatile neighbors.

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:

You're in the Central Valley, flying out of SMF, SFO, SJO or OAK you've already lost an entire day driving to & flying Eastward, and hopefully your first flight is early in the AM so that your next connecting flights aren't after sunset. I'd cross-off the Caribbean as an option just because of the amount of travel you're going to be doing on your first and last days. You're gonna change planes in ATL, Miami, Dallas, Houston, Orlando, etc...then a possibility another plane change depending on location.

Have you considered looking at what Costco Travel is offering? They've got quite a number of options, for both resorts and cruises, along with some experiences if you check deeper on their website.

Mexico is an easy getaway for us in CA, although you've already been there so maybe that knocks it down a few notches.

My cousins and a handful friends have all repeatedly spent time in Belize as that seems to be the newest hot-spot for American visitors tired of Mexico. English is the national language and Belizean dollar is pegged to the USD.

Costa Rica is another hot destination that many American's have discovered and go back to. A very stable economy and a much different vibe that of its more volatile neighbors.

Costa Rica has risen in the possibility ranking today as I read about the troubles with that seaweed algae stuff that has been plaguing the Caribbean the last few years... Nothing is off the table at this point, including Mexico... It's just not near the top at this time, but I could be convinced.

I have read the snorkeling on the west coast of Central American isn't as good as the Caribbean, so that is kind of a bummer... I wonder how it ranks to Kauai, the only other place I've been snorkeling. I suspect it is probably better than Kauai.

Grok told me that I can get direct flights from SFO to Belize City, though Grok lies to me on the regular, so maybe that isn't true.

Just so many options... I haven't checked Costco yet, but I will. and Artie shot me a contact he has used and I intend to talk to that person as well.

We've got lots of time to figure this one out.