In todays tough economic environment families are becoming more and more selective when it comes to picking their vacation destinations. Booking cheap Caribbean vacations can be just the ticket for budget conscious families that want to stretch their vacation dollar.
For a very inexpensive getaway that is family friendly you should try one of the cheap Caribbean vacations on the fabulous island of Barbados. Barbados offers all of the outstanding beaches, warm water, sunsets and nightlife that you would expect from a Caribbean island destination but without the hefty price tag. You can find many great vacation packages to fit your familys budget if you take some time to search online.
Because of the bad economy many cruise lines are also giving great discounts on seven and ten day cruises to the Caribbean. Imagine you and your family lounging around the pool of one of the newer fabulous modern cruise ships. The nice thing about cruises for cheap Caribbean vacations is that your kids can go pretty much unsupervised around the ship. There are special activities directors for the children also and will keep them entertained for hours at a time. They have arts and crafts, storytelling, swimming classes, lots of fun and games, and much more for the children to do. Meanwhile you and your wife and adult friends can shop at the massive indoor shopping malls aboard the ships, or gamble at the beautiful floating casinos. During the day you can suntan or swim at any of the four or five huge outdoor pools. Each day adults can participate in one of the many activities going on aboard the ship, including skeet shooting, learning how to scuba dive, and much more. Since you and your adult friends will be staying up late at night at one of several restaurants or live music shows that the ships feature nightly, you may just want to sleep in while the moppets go off to their independent activities.
One of the best parts about cruise ship cheap Caribbean vacations is getting off the ship at each of the various ports of call. Many of the ships stop at Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. Once you are off the ship you can join a guided tour organized by the ships staff or you can hire a taxi at the pier to take you around exploring. The only thing you need to remember is to be careful where you go and not to forget to get back to the ship by the time designated otherwise they could go out to sea without you. It is not that difficult to get caught up in activities on shore and just plain forget to go back to the boat, especially if you have been drinking a bit (or a lot). On many of the island shore stops you can take guided tours to rum factories or plantations and this is always fun. There is usually some taste testing, not unlike wine testing at wineries in California. Be careful not to overindulge, especially in the hot weather.
Cheap Caribbean vacations can be a lot of fun for you and your whole family if you plan it right. There is so much to see and so much variety that you could go each year and find new and exciting adventures every time.