Western Hemisphere Vacations
- Thread starter Angie
- Start date
Thank you! I love trying local food - I figure that, if I'm somewhere, I should try what they do. I do get a bit squeamish about some things (I'm not going to knowingly eat intestines or brains), but why wouldn't I embrace the local fare? So this is great!
Thank you so much - this is super-helpful! My mom was just in South America for work a few months ago, and got a really bad case of food poisoning that caused some digestive thing where she had to be on a lot of antibiotics and such. I'm prone to catching everything and being really susceptible to stuff, so I want to make sure that I am safe!
I wasn't at all familiar with Isla, so this is great!
Just got this in an email from Scott's Cheap Flights about discounts to Curacao. Unfortunately nothing flying out of the midwest but thought it could be useful. There was also a link highly recommending a tour of the Curacao Liquor Distillery. 
If you're worried about the water in a location, remember ice cubes, washed fruits & vegetables (and salads with fresh greens). Those are all handled with or made out of tap water. And use bottled water when brushing your teeth as well...
We also happen to be looking at a 5 day trip to the Riviera Maya (or a couple of other places)
in mid-March. The prices are really good this year. I recommend looking at cheapcaribbean.com for prices but be sure to look at the flight schedules. If you find a resort you like, be sure to check the Oyster review and Tripadvisor ratings. Familyvacationcritic.com is pretty useful when travelling with kids. Also, travel agents do have access to deals that the rest of us don't see and can be really good. The flight portion of the trip is always cheapest Tuesday - Thursday. The other days are a bit random with Saturday usually being the most expensive. For best value for 5 nights, I'm finding that Sunday to Friday seems to have the best prices. We live in the Twin Cities.
Unless you are staying in Cancun or Playa, I don't think you need to worry too much about the college Spring Break crowd. There will be a few at most any resort but they'll stay confined to the noisier parts of the resort. Honestly, on 2 of our last 3 trips to resorts that our family took, it wasn't the college kids that misbehaved. It was the 30-60 something-aged Hawkeye fans acting like a bunch of foul-mouthed barbarians at the pool. Their kids that were in college actually mostly behaved themselves.
Sorry about the "too much information" thing but I happen to be looking at almost the exact thing right now and have done similar trips the last few years.
@Angie - if you'd like to go to the Caribbean but would like more than a beach you might like Puerto Rico. I enjoyed it when I went there but it was 25 years ago. It has a historic colonial downtown, two great fortresses to explore, and a rain forest. If you travel to the south side of the island there's a bay with that glow-in-the-dark algae. I don't know if it's fully recovered from the hurricane yet but I found it super-interesting.
Thank you! I'd taken a look at Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands only at a really high level just because it wouldn't require a passport, but I'll look closer!
happy to give recs if you go that route! And I speak no French and we were fine - we didn't end up renting a car so we didn't have to worry about the road signs too much!
Jamaica almost never gets effected by hurricanes. Also the air routes are great. You can be at a resort by midday instead of wasting a whole day traveling.
You are the absolute sweetest! <3
That's a really strong draw - when I looked at flights to Curacao and a few of the other islands, several of them required an overnight in Panama City.
Kind of an under the radar destination is Ecuador, like a Costa Rica before it was discovered. Have visited there three times and it’s fantastic. I no longer work so go on longer holidays, three weeks on the last visit. Quito, the capitol, is the usual destination.From there you can visit a variety of places within two hours. On our last trip, we based ourselves in Quito and made several side trips. Visited the Mindo Valley which has everything from white water rafting, tubing, zip lines, birding, hiking and good food. It’s in the cloud forest at about 4500’, so not too hot in the day and nice cool nights. Accomadations are cheap, $50/night avg and meals are inexpensive.
Spent two days at Antisana Ecological Reserve, where you can see Condors and travel to 14,000’ near the base of a 19,000’ volcano.
There are several National Parks/Reserves close to Quito,
I’m rambling but within two hours you can be anywhere from Cloud Forest to above the tree line to being in the Amazon drainage to visiting any number of charming smaller towns or villages. It’s safe, inexpensive (!), beautiful and fantastic. I have been fortunate enough to travel a fair bit and it is my favorite.
I recommend Air bnb or vrbo for lodging, last place we rented in Quito was a two bedroom very nice home that was $58/night. Uber or renting a car for travel.
Be glad to answer any questions you may have.
We fly out of Denver and usually connect with a flight to Quito thru Dallas or Miami.
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@Angie i say take the kids to Cabo, they will have a blast. Remember drink the tequila and not the water.
If you need French help. Ménage e trois is how you ask for help in French.
If you need French help. Ménage e trois is how you ask for help in French.
This is the type of help for which I've been looking my whole life. <3
Just Booked it! All Inclusive!
Had been looking for 5Nights out of DM, to Cancun Area. (Family of 4).
Had been looking in Feb, Finding prices around $4,500 - $5,200.
Travel lady said to try late April & early May. (I know it is no longer icy Iowa Winter).
But, we found 5 Nights the first Week of May.
$3,550.00
Barcello Resort, South of Playa Del Carmen (south of Cancun).
Not quite a "Winter" get away, but Great Price!
Had been looking for 5Nights out of DM, to Cancun Area. (Family of 4).
Had been looking in Feb, Finding prices around $4,500 - $5,200.
Travel lady said to try late April & early May. (I know it is no longer icy Iowa Winter).
But, we found 5 Nights the first Week of May.
$3,550.00
Barcello Resort, South of Playa Del Carmen (south of Cancun).
Not quite a "Winter" get away, but Great Price!
Fort his trip at least, I think we've decided on Curacao - but I am FO SHO bookmarking the rest of these!
This is our destination of choice, if they have it available still: https://baoase.com/
This is our destination of choice, if they have it available still: https://baoase.com/
