Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: REP0MAN on February 09, 2008, 09:06:07 PM
-
I've been married to the most wonderful woman for near 13 years now. To date, we have never had the money or the time to take a vacation just the two of us. Well, that time is upon us.
I want to take my wife to the beach for a week.I'm thinking Nassau or Cabo. Not too picky on the place. I have been pricing "All Inclusive" packages that include everything. Best I've seen so far is Cabo for $1,600.00 through Expedia.
My question to you; Do you have any experiences with All Inclusive vacations? Preferably a beach destination. Do you recommend any companies or websites? My budget is about 2k.
:aok
-
check your pm's repo.
Try to avoid using 3rd party companies, you get nailed with about 25% markup. Book direct with airline and hotel.
-
Please remember that "All Inclusive" also means...."many restrictions apply". (similar to a cruise ship...you may have to follow specific schedules...menus...etc...)
Yeah you will save money...but I rather pay as I go and treat a vacation as everything is ala carte.
Also...Nassau.... avoid it.
Have you looked into the cayman Islands?
-
I went on an 'all inclusive trip' to Aruba a few years ago. It was arranged local club and cost us about $2000 per couple. The fee covered room, food, and drinks. During check-in they strap on a colored bracelet that you show in the restaurants or bars. It was good all the time (in fact there was a period in the day when the bar would only serve those with a bracelet). It didn't cover the most expensive items like filet's or good bottles of wine, so you aren't charged for stuff unless its something you really want to treat yourself to. But the room was nice and the food and drinks were real good so there wasn't much that we had to pay for. The only things I ended up shelling out money for was tipping, gambling, shopping, and excursions. We had a blast and probably got our money's worth by not having to pay for the amount of alcohol we drank. I would definitely recommend you look into Aruba.
I too would avoid Nassau. I know a lot of people who have had a good time there, but I got fed up with the people asking for handouts or trying to aggressively sell you useless trinkets. I was there to have a vacation, not to get harassed.
Also check out Curacao. I have never been there, but its my parent's favorite destination in the Caribbean.
-
I really liked the "Sandals" all-inclusive at Ocho Rios, Jamaica. The service was top notch. The bus ride from the airport to the other side of the island is an experience all it's own!
I'm sure it is a cookie cutter of all their other resorts around the Caribbean.
Personally, I'm heading to Belize this year!
-
It will be a cold, cold day in Hell before Mexico gets a penny of my vacation money.
A perfect vacation for the wife and I is a trip to the hill country where she can go shopping and I can take advantage of the nice roads in my Z. Winter time it's off to Colorado for some skiing.
-
Why not New Mexico, Diablo? It's closer and more road to play with.
-
Actually, our last vacation, our escape from hurricane rita, was spent between El Paso with my relatives and Riudoso, New Mexico. I do love New Mexico, what a beautiful state it is. And being a huge fan of Billy The Kid I love driving around Lincoln and exploring alot of his history there, especially the scene of Mr. Tunstall's murder.
-
Oolahgah has some great spots and it's just North of Collinsville...just across the Dam and on the left.
:aok
Mac
-
Repo,
I've been to Cabo. It's an OK place but frankly I have no reason or intention of visiting it again. It's a very over priced tourist trap. Watch out for all of the vacation time share salesmen, they are all over the freaking place. We found a motel for $60.00 US that makes a motel 6 look real good and that was more than 7 years ago. The fishing can be OK if you are there at the right time. I'd rather spend time in San Diego (cheaper too) than Mexico any more. We used to go to Mexico to dive and relax, not any more.
-
I had worked and lived in Mexico , pretty much in Central Mountian areas and by Puerto Vallarta . There is a place called Guyabitos that has a great vacation spot and its all inclusive and yes you wear an armband but you can eat all day pick from different resturants for dinner , swim in warm ocean water( even in dec. ) . You can also fish , dive , boat . Go to the clubs at night or movies . as for street urchins that is anywhere you go even the U.S. just look around do some research and check it out well . I do not recommend Acapolco as there is a major drug war going on at the moment but other wise Mexico is fine .:D
-
come to florida we like your money...err i mean we treat you nice, and most of us still speak english.
have a nice day.
-
Originally posted by DiabloTX
It will be a cold, cold day in Hell before Mexico gets a penny of my vacation money.
I can understand the sentiment, but... Spending tourist money IN Mexico is one of the better ways to make Mexico more attractive to Mexicans so they are less likely to cross the border.
That said, I do prefer less formalized vacations in Mexico. There are plenty of small towns that just LOVE tourists and haven't been taken over by large entertainment companies. If you watch your back a bit and don't go around flashing a roll of cash, crime is pretty low because the locals utterly depend on tourism to feed their kids. If a town gets a rep for mugging tourists, they quit coming and everyone starves, so crime isn't a huge problem.
Go in the off-season, and then just bring a shortie wetsuit if you want to swim in the ocean.
Last time I was there (a January vacation), we drove down Baha to Ensenada or Rosarita and hooked east towards (if I recall correctly) Mulege. We took 5 down the coastline to a really nifty little town. There must have been maybe 20 Americans in the whole town, so they welcomed us with open arms. Reasonable prices, and we camped on a beach. Some local guy came by twice a day with fresh seafood (the lobster was still moving and the fish looked like it had just quit twitching) so we ate pretty well on a couple bucks a day.
A good place to start for do it yourself vacations in Mexico:
http://www.mexico.us/baja.htm
-
Originally posted by AWMac
Oolahgah has some great spots and it's just North of Collinsville...just across the Dam and on the left.
:aok
Mac
I did some volunteer firefighter time in Oologah. Spent a few 4th of July's down at the beach by the Verdigris River Dam. Excellent Crappy and Catfish'n on the river side in the spring. Howzabout you and me get a pony keg and head over say, April? :)
Thanks for the replies guys. I would love to go to Aruba but I am afraid the local rif-raf will carry my wife off and drown her in the ocean. :eek:
After living in Phoenix for so long, I really don't want to go to Mexico. I really don't want to be bothered by people trying to rip me off on my vacation either. I don't have the patience to put the trip together myself. I know I'll forget to book a minor detail, like the plane ride home, and be screwed. I've never been to Florida (I thought ya'll spoke Spanish down there?). I want something affordable, beachy, all inclusive so I can stay mostly drunk most of the time and not have to think, where my cell phone doesn't work and a place where my wife can really relax.
:aok
-
Try here:
http://www.toejamet.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/toejamet
http://wikitravel.org/en/toejamet
http://www.toejamet.net/
Great diving, great beaches, good hotels, and they rely on tourism so they don't treat tourists badly. They seem to have recovered from the tsunami and that means a lot of the touristy stuff like hotels ought to be almost brand new.
-
Spring break starts in 2 weeks and run until April. Keep that in mind if you are trying to plan a quiet and romantic vacation, especially at cabo.
-
We're looking at June but thanks for the heads up. My oldest is 13 and she still likes to hag out with mom and dad on spring break.
:)
-
Ach I just PM'd you a set for Mexico :P
Oh well.. i mean for all inclusive stuff its really only Mexico or Jamaica or some Asian countries (that'd be out of your budget due to the flight and your time restriction).
I tend to not recomend Jamaica unless you're going to one of the expensive resorts.. too many times Ive had clients insist on Jamaica but dont want to spend on the 4-5 star resort, choose the cheap 3 star with all inclusive that has pictures that look oh so nice... and come back complaining about how crappy the place was and what a dump the location the hotel was in.
Florida is nice but it will over the 2k price to get the same type of beach+food+pampering you'd get from an all inclusive resort in Jamaica/Mexico.
-
http://www.superclubs.com/brand_hedonism/resort_hedonismiii/
-
You sure about wanting to go outside of the USA? Look into passport etc.
Take a look at South Padre Island, TX. You fly into Brownsville, rent a car, 20 minute drive to the beach. There's a buncha nice places to stay there, lotsa decent restaurants and saloons. Great beaches. Plenty of recreational stuff to do like dune buggies, horses, waterpark, parasailing, golf, boat tours, fishing (piers, party boats, charter boats) shopping etc.
Its a real friendly place, and everyone speaks your language :)
Look at it on the net, I can give you local tips if you're interested (which places are dumps etc).
-
Originally posted by eagl
I can understand the sentiment, but... Spending tourist money IN Mexico is one of the better ways to make Mexico more attractive to Mexicans so they are less likely to cross the border.
I can understand that sentiment, but...that's Mexico's problem and I'll be damned if I have to pay for my government program's that I disagree with much less funding Mexico's econimic problems. If they don't want them leaving they need to butch up and start being involved instead of screaming bloody hell about an illegal that goes on a murder spree and gets the backing of his government in an anti-death penalty case.
No sir, my money stays here.
-
Originally posted by culero
You sure about wanting to go outside of the USA? Look into passport etc.
Take a look at South Padre Island, TX. You fly into Brownsville, rent a car, 20 minute drive to the beach. There's a buncha nice places to stay there, lotsa decent restaurants and saloons. Great beaches. Plenty of recreational stuff to do like dune buggies, horses, waterpark, parasailing, golf, boat tours, fishing (piers, party boats, charter boats) shopping etc.
Its a real friendly place, and everyone speaks your language :)
Look at it on the net, I can give you local tips if you're interested (which places are dumps etc).
Passports: check :aok
Having lived in Oklahoma from 96-01 and now for the last few weeks; AND being married to a farm girl from Claremore, Ok, I don't think Texas is the place for us. Aside from my disdain for any Texas College football team, I've seen the Midland-Odessa area and it spoils the whole state for me. :)
Actually, we are thinking about San Diego too. Possibly a flight into Phoenix, visit family/friends for a day then drive over to SD. It's only about 6 hours and the beaches are nice. Tac gave me some good advice as well. (Thanks!). I'm also looking into the Catalina/Encinada Cruise. My parents did that one for 450 per person two years ago and had a blast. Decisions decisions.
:aok
-
Originally posted by DiabloTX
Actually, our last vacation, our escape from hurricane rita, was spent between El Paso with my relatives and Riudoso, New Mexico. I do love New Mexico, what a beautiful state it is. And being a huge fan of Billy The Kid I love driving around Lincoln and exploring alot of his history there, especially the scene of Mr. Tunstall's murder.
Angelfire has some great skiing too........
Last time I was in Mexico it was the Rio Jalisco in Puerto Vallarta. All inclusive food at several restaurants, drinks, rentals (kayaks and such). Was a great time. For 20 bucks we went on a day long outing to a working ranch and ate there then rode horses, crossing a river several times. At lunch we tied off the horses and walked along a cliff ledge crossing the river on rope bridges to get to a 60 foot waterfall. We swam under the waterfall there and then ate lunch. Walked back to the horses and continued our trip till we got back to the ranch. Where we ate dinner. What a great time... horse riding is not hampered by incurance like it is here stateside. We were allowed to run our horse out front and return to the group. Great time.
Of course I never pay for those trips as my Wife works for Budweiser and they send us out in groups fairly often. This one was on Corona... (one of the few beers that was not available at Rio Jalisco)
-
the RIU Jalisco not the Rio.
RIU is an excellent hotel chain... always 4 to 5 star properties. You cant go wrong with them no matter the location.
As always, do your research regardless :)
-
If you go to Hedonism III, let us know how it is. Wifey and I are considering it. ;)
-
Originally posted by culero
You sure about wanting to go outside of the USA?
Spending time outside your country of birth should be high on everyone's list of things to do. Preferably often.
-
RIU.... RIU.... RIU... lol forgot that....
Going down into Mexico you get to see the real folks. Nothing like the trashy border area. Of course these days you can go to the corner store and see some too. :rofl
I think we should annex mexico as another state.
-
I went to Akumal last year. Was all inclusive. Nice. Beer included! Great snorkeling. Family orientated. Cost was around 900 per person including airfare.
Most of these places mentioned have web sites and forums check them out.
Akumal; Loco gringo.com
-
Originally posted by Shuffler
RIU.... RIU.... RIU... lol forgot that....
Going down into Mexico you get to see the real folks. Nothing like the trashy border area. Of course these days you can go to the corner store and see some too. :rofl
I think we should annex mexico as another state.
Ya before they annex us!
-
Too late Seņor.
:D :lol ;)