Favorite family friendly island

[renae3]

Hi! We are looking to venture to an island for a relaxing beach vacation this summer. We have 4 kids ranging from 3 to 14, so family friendly, safe and larger rooms are very important. Any ideas on where to go and places to stay? Thanks so much!

 

[dclpluto]

Hi! We are looking to venture to an island for a relaxing beach vacation this summer. We have 4 kids ranging from 3 to 14, so family friendly, safe and larger rooms are very important. Any ideas on where to go and places to stay? Thanks so much!

I have been to lots of islands on cruises and there's only one I will want to spend a week there. That's Aruba. Sorry can't help you anymore

 

[pigletto]

If all you want is to stay on the resort, most islands will be ok. I have friends who get great deals and have a ton of fun with their kids in both Cuba and The Dominican. If you want to leave the resort, then you need to do more research into the area. We just went on a cruise and everywhere we went met the criteria for beautiful beaches. But the one place that wowed me and made me think "I need to come back here" was the Florida Keys!
I would love a weeklong vacation to the Keys. It was just beautiful and seemed to meet all the criteria for a great vacation.

 

[TnTWalter]

How about Anna Maria in Florida? love it. Can rent a house lots of room. Summer is cheaper.

 

[HeatherC]

Sanibel Island is awesome.. So is Hilton Head Island.

Or BERMUDA!

 

[renae3]

I actually was looking at Anna Maria island. Is it kid friendly and enough to do with kids?

 

[blessedby3]

Hilton Head Island is our family favorite! It is small yet plenty to do and absolutely beautiful! Be sure to rent bikes if you book HHI

 

[Hook326]

We really liked our week long trip to Aruba. We rented a house with a pool, hit the beaches, town. Felt very safe. Kids were 4, 7, 7, & 12. Oahu was great too. Kids were 3, 3, & 8 that trip. We stayed at a Hilton with a lagoon, climbed diamond head, museums. It really depends what your crew likes to do. We discovered cruising a couple years ago and I highly recommend that! So much easier and relaxing with kiddos than some land based vacations and you can see a lot of beaches!

 

[TnTWalter]

I actually was looking at Anna Maria island. Is it kid friendly and enough to do with kids?

well not sure by 'enough to do with kids'....sand castles, turtle watch, miniature golf, can rent a boat for day and look for dolphins, paddle board if they are older, ride the free trolley to and from things, fish from the pier, grab ice cream, swim in pool at your house/condo...it's not hilton head or disney world with nonstop activity but it's wonderful. Haven't been there in 5 years [waah] and I believe it's grown a lot in that time so there's probably more to do. Tripadvisor has an active forum.

 

[katie111]

Hilton Head or St John. We rent a condo in Hilton Head & love it there, especially all the biking. In St John, we've rented private villas. It is a spectacular place. Water & beaches are some of the most beautiful in the world. While not technically an island, I would also look at Riviera Maya in Mexico. The AI's can be a great deal in the summer & your kids would never be bored. There is always so much going on at the resorts.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We really liked our week long trip to Aruba. We rented a house with a pool, hit the beaches, town. Felt very safe. Kids were 4, 7, 7, & 12. Oahu was great too. Kids were 3, 3, & 8 that trip. We stayed at a Hilton with a lagoon, climbed diamond head, museums. It really depends what your crew likes to do. We discovered cruising a couple years ago and I highly recommend that! So much easier and relaxing with kiddos than some land based vacations and you can see a lot of beaches!

I couldn't agree more. The service on DCL is over the top. When my kids were little the servers would cut their meat and crack their lobster. If I tried to get up to help them I would be reminded that I'm on vacation. You see a variety of beaches, do some fun excursions and still get some Mickey time and an awesome live show in the Walt Disney Theater every night. Not to mention their private island, Castaway Cay, is paradise and the only people their are fellow passengers and CMs.

Summer cruises are very expensive and prices often get higher the closer it gets to sail time. We usually try to cruise around a time when school is closed but not for the entire country, such as a teachers' in-service or convention. We think nothing of booking a year or 2 in advance just to lock in a lower price. I'm looking now for #19.

 

[ajwolfe]

We stayed at the Disney resort on Hilton Head and loved it! Would definitely recommend and we are looking forward to going back.

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

We leave for the Disney Hilton head resort in two weeks and have heard nothing but great things!