N3TR: Vacations

athlete010688 · June 2014

H and I are starting to look at a vacation this coming February/March with his family. All we have gotten thus far is…must be an All-Inclusive and not Mexico. All of us have been to the Cancun/Cozumel part of Mexico before. I also want to keep the hotel/flight to under $3200…that’d give us some money for tips, excursions, and other miscellaneous stuff. We’re coming from Indiana…so flights seem to be pretty pricey!

Doing some research…cost wise, it’s looking like the Dominican Republic might be our best bet, but I am open to other islands in the Caribbean as well. Any suggestions on the Dominican Republic or other Caribbean Islands on where to go? I know there are several parts to the Dominican Republic…any suggestions on those? I’ve been looking at Punta Cana…only because that’s the only one I hear all the time! J

And to make it TTTR related - I've decided we can't keep our lives on hold. I was so iffy on planning this vacation, because that would make me 8 months pregnant if we were to get pregnant this cycle (fat chance knowing our cycle). I've just decided that we should probably buy trip insurance for this vacation, and just hope I can't drink while we're on vacation. If I'm still drinking come February/March, we'll have issues!

gsancho · June 2014

I haven't been, but I always hear about Punta Cana, too. And being from Puerto Rico, I just know the beaches on the south side of the island tend to be calmer than the north. I think Jamaica has a number of all-inclusive places, too. I know there's more in smaller islands like St. Lucia, but it's more pricey to fly to them.

athlete010688 · June 2014

gsancho said:

I haven't been, but I always hear about Punta Cana, too. And being from Puerto Rico, I just know the beaches on the south side of the island tend to be calmer than the north. I think Jamaica has a number of all-inclusive places, too. I know there's more in smaller islands like St. Lucia, but it's more pricey to fly to them.

Good to know! Thanks!

FutureMrsBaldwin2012 · June 2014

Is this an adult only trip? If so check out Secrets Resort in Punta Cana. We got married at the Secrets in Jamaica and it was absolutely perfect.

KT416 · June 2014

My cousin and her DH were long distance when they were dating and both had wonky/flexible schedules, so whenever they would see each other, they would both fly somewhere and meet somewhere tropical to get together. They were long distance for a few years and ending up at almost every Caribbean spot!

There most favorite spot every was Punta Cana, which I thought was weird at first, but I guess I'll just have to visit to see

Use sites like Hopper.com that tells you the best time to buy, and you can always put a tracker on some sites to e-mail you when flight prices go down!

Would you consider doing a cruise? Although, I'm not sure if you are major preggo (hopefully!) that may be the best idea!

Spring78 · June 2014

Another Indiana girl, here! :-)

I have visited Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach in La Romana, DR and it was lovely. I did not get to stay there, but I met with some folks for work there and spent an afternoon/evening there and it seemed like a really nice facility. Beautiful beach, attentive staff, etc. I would love to go back on a vacation instead of work!

For something just a little different, would you consider going to Belize instead? I spent a summer there while in grad school & it is a beautiful country & not one people visit as often. They have beautiful beaches & islands, but with lush rainforests and amazing Mayan ruins (if you are in to that sort of thing... I am trained as an archaeologist, so that is a no-brainer for me ;-)). The snorkeling off the coast of Belize is stunning, too.

Wherever you decide to go, I hope you have a great time. Enjoy!

Kam10 · June 2014

I've been to Punta Cana and really liked it. Our honeymoon was to Negril, Jamaica and I hands down recommend it to anyone! The beach was amazing, and there was a ton to do!

theholmanherd · June 2014

DH and I really like Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Is a cruise an option? You could see multiple places at once. Check out Carnival. They have good deals in the off season.

You could also look into Australia! It would be summer there and I looked on Orbitz...less than $2800 for flight and hotel packages. My H and I are saving to go to Australia for our fifth anniversary or his 30th birthday, whichever comes along when we have the money first :P

Edit: read that wrong....$4800 total for Australia. yikes. Ocho Rios is really awesome, though! Another friend of ours was just there and now they can't stop talking about it either!

Mommalawyer · June 2014

DH and I went to Dominican Republic last year for our honeymoon. I highly recommend it. We had an excellent time. Lots to do. We stayed at Secrets which was all inclusive. It was amazing. We ended up having to stay an extra night due to our flight being screwed up. The airline put us up in another resort for one night & I wouldn't recommend it. It was called Paridisis (spelling might be wrong). We have been looking into going to Belize next month, bud had to cancel our trip. I know a few people who highly recommended Belize!

Mommalawyer · June 2014

Ambergris Caye in Belize. There's also a place called Hopkins, it's mainland...

Danielle0311 · June 2014

I highly recommend Punta Cana! I stayed at the excellence which is an all couples resort and was amazing and reasonably priced

pmpknbride · June 2014

Just to throw in my thoughts... I went to Punta Cana and was not impressed, while I've heard great things about it my experience was less than ideal - but I was young and didn't know a damn thing about planning trips then. When I went it rained the whole darn week, we stayed at club med - it was awful, it was expensive to get off the resort and we were broke college grads so we just hung out in the room...ugh..worst trip ever! Lol. I've also done Puerto Rico, so much to do and I found the prices very reasonable, but AIs aren't really available. We did Belize last year and it was awesome! I'd definitely recommend going there! I agree with @Rumbera28‌ - I love renting villas when we travel, it's great for family bonding, it's more comfortable then a hotel room, you can eat in some meals to save money and it's generally cheaper then a hotel. Enjoy! I love planning trips! We are going to Alaska next month and when I started booking I made sure everything I booked was fully refundable incase we had to back out due to my being preggers...welp, now I get to go, I guess behind every dark cloud is a silver lining!

Mommalawyer · June 2014

@pmpknbride‌ - I noticed that too, when we were on the other side of the island. Water sucked. Not as warm.

Where did you go in Belize?

Sigh202 · June 2014

We've been to Punta Cana twice. The Punta Cana Excellence was the best vacation we had anywhere. It's adults only so no chance of screaming kiddos.

athlete010688 · June 2014

Wow, thanks guys for all your responses! This would be an adults-only vacation, so I will have to look into Adult-only AI's.

For those that mentioned a cruise - a couple years ago, we all did a Western Caribbean cruise together. This past year, they did a Southern Caribbean cruise together (DH and I couldn't go). That's how the All-inclusive idea came up...someplace to just relax, and drink. LOL.

I will definitely have to look into Belize as well! I will have to look into all the recs you guys have posted. Thanks!

@buttmonkey34 & @spring78- where at in Indiana are you from??

SillySally24 · June 2014

Hi, Not trying to sell you anything by any means... but if you're looking for a little help, these are good friends of mine, and I've only heard great things from others I've sent to them.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/3D-Cruise-Travel-Delaware/198390586928257

pmpknbride · June 2014

@mommalawyer we stayed a few days on Caye Caulker and then the rest of the trip was on Ambergris Caye. Personally I looooved Caye Caulker and could have based myself out of there. It's much more low key then Ambergris Caye, they call it the back packers paradise and we had an adorable beach hut right off the water. In Ambergris Caye we stayed at Captain Morgan's. It's easy enough with the water ferry to do day trips back and forth to experience both islands. We also went on the mainland one day for a Mayan Ruin Tour which was pricey but a fun experience!

Spring78 · June 2014

I loved Caye Caulker!!! So much more my style than Ambergris. Very laid back. Beautiful beach. Restaurants right on the water and any touristy day trips available. We stayed in the guest room of a private residence (owners lived upstairs, rented downstairs) for next to nothing. It is a very small island, though. Don't know if it has any all inclusive resorts.

pmpknbride · June 2014

Caye caulker definitely doesn't have AI. I personally don't understand AI resorts, I know others love them, but I love exploring the islands I stay on and eating at all the local joints. Especially in Belize where rum is cheaper then water, it's easy to go out drinking and not spend a fortune. There was a palapa restaurant on ambergris caye that you could float on inner tubes and they'd deliver drinks to you in the water, I've never seen that at an AI!

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Spring78 · June 2014

I'm with you on all that, @pmpknbride‌! But OP was looking for AI. They do exist in Belize, just not on Caye Caulker. To each their own when I comes to vacation styles. As for me... I'd love to go back to Caye Caulker someday!

athlete010688 · June 2014

Spring78 said:

I'm with you on all that, @pmpknbride‌! But OP was looking for AI. They do exist in Belize, just not on Caye Caulker. To each their own when I comes to vacation styles. As for me... I'd love to go back to Caye Caulker someday!

I actually told DH about Belize last night. His aunt is the one that mentioned an AI. But I definitely told DH we need to check out Belize sometime!

I was looking at Caye Caulker last night, and it looks amazing!

RNCrystal · June 2014

My husband and I just did a all inclusive in Jamaica and loved it! (He's Jamaican so we are partial to it there) good luck

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N3TR: Vacations

Re: N3TR: Vacations

Me 33, DH 37 -- TTC since Jan'12 -- Low AMH (0.78) & endo, SA w/ low motility
IUI's 1-3 = BFN, IVF converted to IUI 4/13 = BFN
IVF 1.2: 8R 6M 4F -- 2 blastocysts frozen, FET 8/15 = BFP!!
Beta #s = 445;1,098; 9,545 -- EDD 5/2 -- Team Pink!

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Want a personalized experience?

N3TR: Vacations

Re: N3TR: Vacations

Me 33, DH 37 -- TTC since Jan'12 -- Low AMH (0.78) & endo, SA w/ low motilityIUI's 1-3 = BFN, IVF converted to IUI 4/13 = BFNIVF 1.2: 8R 6M 4F -- 2 blastocysts frozen, FET 8/15 = BFP!!Beta #s = 445;1,098; 9,545 -- EDD 5/2 -- Team Pink!

Choose Another Board

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Me 33, DH 37 -- TTC since Jan'12 -- Low AMH (0.78) & endo, SA w/ low motility
IUI's 1-3 = BFN, IVF converted to IUI 4/13 = BFN
IVF 1.2: 8R 6M 4F -- 2 blastocysts frozen, FET 8/15 = BFP!!
Beta #s = 445;1,098; 9,545 -- EDD 5/2 -- Team Pink!