Caribbean for Families
What are the best friendly hotels in Caribbean’s for kids? and what things can you do to keep the keeps occupied and ensure that they are not bored? So we have come up with the following suggestion to help you with your planning on where and what to do with the kids while laying back in Caribbean’s.
Best family friendly hotels in the Caribbean
Antigua
Carlisle Bay Completely child friendly with safe beach and 2-roomed Beach Suites, featuring the “Cool Kids Club” – a purpose built facility with professionally qualified staff providing daily programs for kids 6 mths – 12 yrs old, split into age groups: Creche (6 mths – 3 yrs): finger painting, treasure hunts, beach games), 3-7 yrs: art projects, song & dance, junior tennis and swimming, 8-12 yrs: outdoor sports and excursions such as horse riding and swimming with stingrays. No charge for children over 3; $15 per hour for babies and toddlers. (www.carlisle-bay.com)
Jolly Beach Resort All inclusive family vacation resort, with the “The Jolly Kidz Club” to entertain your little ones with a variety of fun and exciting activities including sack races, lessons in rounders (an English game similar to baseball), nature garden walks, sea shell hunts and the Kidz Soirée — a gastronomic delight especially for the children! (www.jollybeachresort.com)
Jumby Bay Resort Children of all ages are welcome at Jumby Bay, a wonderful place for children to explore the wildlife and natural surroundings of the island. Sunrise Beach is an especially delightful place for children - designed with kids in mind, it offers numerous beach activities. Youngsters will also enjoy bicycling and playing on the jungle gym located near the Children’s Centre. The restaurants at Jumby Bay offer children’s menu for both lunch and dinner. Babysitting services available. (www.jumbybayresort.com)
Barbados
Crystal Cove A buzzing resort hotel, particularly popular with families, set on the West Coast of Barbados. Crystal Cove stands in brightly coloured buildings ranged over multiple levels around lagoon pools that descend to the beach. It is well priced (on an all-inclusive plan) and has an upbeat atmosphere with good facilities including the Tommy Turtle kids’ club, teens’club and a gym.
Turtle Beach A large and lively all-inclusive resort set on a pretty stretch of sand on the south coast of Barbados. The hotel is laid out in a horse-shoe of buildings that looks over a central garden, pool, beach restaurant and watersports to the surreal blue sea. Turtle Beach Barbados has extensive facilities including a kids club, gym and a small spa.
Sandy Lane Caribbean’s most famous hotel, a luxury resort with the Sandy Lane Tree House Club for kids aged 3 to 12 years old, featuring fully equipped indoor play space, tree house dining, the Den Teen center, and the Toddler Corner for ages 0-3. Organised theme days, in addition to the multitude of regular kids activities.
Jamaica
Half Moon Resort A large and luxurious resort on 2 miles of shoreline and beaches just east of Montego Bay. Half Moon has hotel rooms, suites and villas in its extensive grounds, and an extremely wide range of activities, including a children’s centre, conference facilities, shopping centre, golf course, riding stables. A popular Caribbean and leading Jamaican resort.
The Ritz-Carlton Golf and Spa Resort A large and luxurious beach hotel, it has the exceptional service of the Ritz-Carlton brand and includes a full service spa, a championship golf course and conference facilities.
Sunset beach Resort and Spa A large, well priced all-inclusive resort set in the Freeport area just outside Montego Bay. A very lively hotel with a huge range of facilities and activities, by day and night, including a large children’s water park.
St Lucia
Cotton Bay Village A luxury villa resort designed specifically for families in the far north of St Lucia. Set on a curve of Atlantic-facing sand, Cotton Bay has suites, townhouses and free standing villas around very good facilities that include a spa and an all-ages children’s club. Golf course right next door.
Royal St Lucia A large and lively resort hotel set right on the sands of Reduit Beach in the north of St Lucia. The Royal St Lucia’s 96 suites stand in a horseshoe around a pool and dining room, overlooking the island’s busiest and best beach. Good facilities including watersports, spa and conference facilities.
Windjammer Landing Village of whitewashed villas clambering up a hillside (and some hotel rooms nearer the beach), set in 55 acres fronting onto Labrelotte Bay, a calm beach on the Caribbean side of St Lucia. Very popular with families in holiday periods, but otherwise a good all-round resort, with something for everyone.
Family friendly activities in Carribean
Antigua
There are no play parks to speak of in Antigua, but there are a number of activities that are suited to children. For a bit of history and culture, try a day out at Nelson’s Dockyard National Park. The Dockyard Museum has some inter-active exhibits suitable for older children (knot-tying, rope climbing and models of ships) and with its marina and military fortifications, the area is fun to wander around anyway. There are many day sails that make an exciting day out for children and for something active you might also try the Tropical Adventures Kayak Antigua eco-adventure or Antigua Paddles Kayak Eco Adventure (minimum age 7 yrs). At Stingray City near Seatons you can swim with the rays.
Tamarind Bar & Restaurant (Browns Bay off Nonsuch Bay, VHF CH 68, tel 460 4174) A marvellous spot to escape to for a family day out with a spacious lawn with plenty of shade, a small beach and use of the resort pool, trampoline, hammocks, board games, tennis court and a kayak. Also a few Topaz sailing dinghies are available for rent. Children can play happily while parents enjoy an extended lunch. There is even an area where children can sit on their own to eat.
BBR Sportive (Jolly Harbour, tel 462 6260) A sports club suitable for the whole family. Facilities include the Steely Bar & Restaurant with satellite sports TV, table football, pool table, darts, half basketball court, squash court and tennis courts (junior and adult clinics available). There is also a 25m swimming pool, with swimming lessons for ages 6 months plus through Swalings International School of Swimming. Showers and lockers. Equipment available for rent. Daily entrance fee, or a week’s membership at approximately US$30 per person.
Barbados
Apart from frolicking in the sea and building sand castles, there are number of child friendly activities available on island: the Barbados Museum has a dedicated children’s gallery with an exhibition called ‘yesterdays children’ in the Kidd Gallery, Folkstone Marine Park near Holetown is a recreational underwater park with a snorkelling trail, an interpretive centre and museum with marine displays and a saltwater aquarium, there is also a picnic area, tennis and basketball courts and a playground. The Barbados Wildlife Reserve is popular with children for the animals on view, as is Atlantis Submarine and Harrison’s Cave. The Barbados Golf Academy has an 18 hole mini course with special rates for 14yrs and under. There is a Drive-in Cinema near the Sheraton Centre, which also has an indoor cinema.
Jamaica
In Montego Bay there is the Aquasol Park with a play area for kids and a go cart track. Kingston has a small funfare at Emancipation Park (with a merry-go-round and Crazy Golf) and Devon House is quite a popular spot for all ages. Quite a few of the general ‘sites’ around the island are suitable (particularly for older children). Consider YS and Dunns River Falls and some of the other river activities including the Black River trips (looking for crocodile and particularly river rafting, where they can swim to their heart’s delights as you descend the river. You might also try the submarine in Montego Bay. Older children find the plantation tours fun because of the rides and the extraordinary tropical fruits that they will learn about, and there are now some canopy tours in the treetops. If you are in Kingston then the trip to Lime Cay is a fun day out.
St Lucia
Marigot Bay A lovely, sequestered, natural harbor that once provided a hideout for pirate ships, Marigot Bay also served as the setting for the film Dr. Doolittle.
Pigeon Island Museum and Interpretive Centre This museum is housed in the former British officers’ mess building, which has been restored to its 1808 plans. A modern “hands-on” display brings Pigeon Island’s fascinating history to life.
Whale & Turtle watching St Lucia is recognised as one of the leading whale watching sites in the area. Over 20 species are regularly spotted throughout the year, including humpbacks, pilot whales, sperm whales and spinning and spotted dolphins.
Suggested Reading
National Geographic Guide to Caribbean Family Vacations
The National Geographic Guide to Caribbean Family Vacations offers detailed profiles of the best family-oriented tours, activities, and programs at one hundred vacation destinations throughout the Caribbean. Each of the wide range of options presented in these pages is designed for families that want to be active or to immerse themselves in the local culture while having fun together. The book includes family-vacation spots for every age group—from preschoolers to teenagers.
Covering the Caribbean islands as well as coastal Central America (everything from Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and Belize to Costa Rica and Panama), this handy volume shows families how and where they can enjoy a wealth of activities:
* Dive with stingrays on Grand Cayman
* Swim with dolphins in Jamaica
* Hike in a medicinal rain forest on the tiny Leewar Island of Nevis
* Learn the local Garifuna language of Belize
Including all the necessary practical details, each entry gives parents the sort of insider information and field-tested planning tools they need to guarantee a successful and memorable family vacation.
