How about Tulum, Mexico (from what I understand, non touristy and gorgeous... but the reccommendation was from someone single and under 30.. not sure re families ... see link), or Punta Mita (they have a Four Seasons, SueB, and a neighbor who'd been loved it) or the new Ritz Carlton in San Juan (great write up in the NYT and maybe you can even fly JetBlue there, how pleasant).

Have you you been to the 4S Costa Rica? Nice property but is it their "gold" season?

St Barts? Went to Le Toiny years ago; not sure if its really for families, though.

Or, Havana! It's on my short list for Spring Break 2016.

Edited to add:
I would spend Christmas proper at home, and leave on the 26th. We have missed Christmas at home 3 times now (to travel to far flung places in their season and minimize school time missed). I don't like missing Christmas. Vastly prefer flying the day after if you aren't going too far afield and need only a week or less.
Another tip: If you are in a luxury hotel on NY Eve, you may often find your only choice is to be part of the NY Eve bash, which can easily be 200+ per head for all ages, and mainly features a lot of booze (gee, just what my 11yo wanted, all the champagne she can drink! exactly none). You may want to think about NY eve plans very far in advance!
Oh and one more tip: Some resorts are very big holiday destinations and can require 7-8+ months advanced booking, prepaid in advance and non-cancellable. Ask me how i know this.

{{!gwi}}

Here is a link that might be useful: Tulum

This post was edited by mtnrdredux on Tue, Jan 13, 15 at 16:21

I could never leave home at Christmas! My dad and my (96 year old) grandmother is still living and I have two siblings. We have always been together at Christmas. I know someday that will change, but for as long as we can be together, we will. The holidays are not a time that I want to travel. Too many deep rooted traditions, family and friends. The nice thing is my husband was off for over two weeks with me (I work part-time). We loved it.

On the other side of the coin, a guy I work with, he and his wife are 60ish, kids are grown (don't know if they have grandkids), but for the last several years they have gone on a 2 week cruise at Christmas. Different strokes!

Tina,
If little kids and Santa aren't involved, there are ways to have your cake and eat it too. Just this past Christmas, we got a tree and we decorated the house as normal, sent our cards, and gifts, etc. We celebrated with an extended family and friends dinner party, and the next morning the kids woke up and opened their presents. Five days later, Dec 12, we left for vacation. We were almost confused a few weeks later when it actually WAS Christmas and everyone was talking about it. But I didn't really feel as though we missed much; mainly school concerts and dances. The rest of it, friends, family, traditions, still happened just on a different timetable.

We have been to the Tulum area multiple times-living in Texas, Cancun is only a 2.5 hour nonstop flight. The beach at Tulum is gorgeous as are the Mayan ruins. We have also stayed at Soliman Bay and Akumal in the area. We always fly to Cancun (would never stay there), rent a car and drive south. Akumal has a little more going on than the other places. However, the whole area is very laid back.

Usually at Soliman Bay, there are caretakers of the homes who will also cook incredible, authentic meals for you. We like to fish, and went with Capt. Rick's in Puerto Aventuras and caught lots of fish which our caretaker cooked for us. Our middle son even caught a swordfish, which we released.

The snorkeling is very good in the whole are of the Riviera Maya since there is a reef there, and we went to multiple cenotes to swim. We also saw lots of sea turtles at Akumal.

We have also been to the 3 US virgin islands, Virgin Gorda, Tortola, Bahamas, Hawaii, and St Lucia. I would go back to any of them. I am thinking next time we go to USVI, we will stop over in San Juan for a few days on the way there.

Here is a link that might be useful: Soliman Bay, Mexico

I have never been, but I would choose Turks and Caicos.

I tried to skip Christmas a few years back, didn't quite make it due to family emergency but would have enjoyed it just for something different. FIL wants to skip next year and I think he may finally have worn down MIL to give it a try...more power to them!

We love Costa Rica, and will be going next week. But, December is still rainy, so I wouldn't recommend it.

I have not been to Aruba, but so many people I know have. And, they go annually so there must be something to it.

Second recommendation to leave Dec. 26th! When our kids were young we traveled frequently after Christmas because they were in church pageants and recitals prior to the holiday.

Just to set everyone's minds at ease...I just checked the calendar and since Christmas is on a Fri. this year, we would most likely be leaving on the 26th! No kids in recitals or pageants here any more, but we will probably miss a gymnastics meet for my DD, which (to me) isn't an issue.

A friend just went to Mexico over the holidays and had a great experience -- I need to find out exactly where she went.

Has anyone here been to St Lucia?

I'm sure there are, Mountain. I wasn't dissing anyone for their choice, just stating how I felt. We don't have children so that is not an issue. However, I want to celebrate Christmas ON Christmas and I want to do it here! (stomping my foot LOL)

While we don't have recitals, etc. I am involved in holiday community activities that I wouldn't want to miss. This year I co-chaired an angel tree project.

But that's just me! If one wants to travel during the holidays - they should do it! I like the idea of leaving the 26th also. We have vacationed the week between Christmas and New Years and enjoyed it. Really that is what we did this year too - we just didn't travel.

Mountain sounds so formal, LOL

I didn't think you were dissing, Tina!

I went to St. Lucia quite a few years ago. It was the last island I went to. I'm sure it's changed since then, but it didn't thrill me. My favorite was St. Johns...we stayed at Caneel Bay and loved it... though I've heard good things about Turks & Caicos and Aruba. Didn't the NYT just have something on St Kitts? Back in the 80s we were in St Martin and took a sail boat to Anguilla. Back then Anguilla was nothing but a beach with sand like sugar. But since then, it's been built up. Also many years ago, someone went to the Dominican Republic and really liked it...

Of course, by then, who knows? Maybe Cuba will be the place to visit. It used to be spectacular...I'm sure plans are already being made to move in...Tauck is already running tours there....

Would Belize be an option? Not an island but sounds nice with good snorkeling/diving.

Went to Turks and Caicos a couple of years ago. Meh, IMHO.

I went to Belize with a girlfriend several years ago. Great snorkelling, no good hotels or restaurants. Of course this was back before the invention of graph paper, so it may have gotten built up since then. We stayed at a spa that had all the services in huts, straight out of Gilligan's Island.

We have been to Aruba several times and feel like we are "done" with it.

Annie, we went to Caneel Bay almost 2 years ago and loved it. That's where DH will most likely want to go, but just exploring options. Our family is split -- two of us think Nevis 4S is the best place ever, and two think Caneel is the best. (One doesn't have a vote because he wasn't with us in Nevis.)

I have a friend who is planning a trip to Cuba. I will be curious to hear about it when she returns.

Belize...same friend went there last year and loved it -- and she is picky so I'm guessing they must have some better hotels than they did when you were there, Mtn! DH is all about the snorkeling so that might be worth looking into.

Isn't it fun to think about sunny places in January??

Do not know what happened to the rest of my post (subconscious editing, lol) but our family would go to Costa Rica for a week, renting a beach house. I would plan a few trips / outings for the group, but our kids are older and self sufficient to take off on their own otherwise.

One of my favorite places on this earth is a coffee plantation in the early morning during December - March.

I hear you. We actually don't repeat trips, except when they were little and we used to go to FIsher Island, FL every year, usually take some subset of the grandparents too.

I'd love to hear about your friend's Cuba trip. IIRC the trip has to have an "educational purpose" in order to get a Visa (though some people go there backdoor via another country). To certify the purpose I think you have to do the trip with a tour. I'm always skittish about tour groups because I don't want the personalities of a random group of travelers impacting my vacation (and they surely can). We had a good experience recently but still...

(Ahem, mtn, I am still looking for details of your Christmas trip.)

Yes, my friend said they have to do "something cultural" every day. Whatever that means.

I wonder if it's sort of like Isabela Island in the Galapagos, where we went last summer -- we couldn't just go off exploring, we had to be with a tour guide for almost everything. He was our own tour guide, so we weren't with a group, but sometimes I wished we didn't have to be with someone for every outing. (He was very nice by the way, but you know what I mean.) We are going to Iceland this summer and we'll have a few days/outings with a guide, but also several days on our own, which I think I'll like better.

So jealous of Iceland!

I will post on our Christmas trip but I still haven't gone through the photos. Feeling lazy!

Something cultural; the cocktail of the day? : )

I've visited all the places mentioned so far except Cuba* as well as several other Caribbean islands, and my heart remains with St John or one of the smaller BVIs such as Virgin Gorda or Peter.

*My girlfriend just traveled to Cuba and suggests waiting a while for more American money to pour in and infrastructure and facilities to hopefully improve. She works for a luxury resort brand, so she's accustomed to a certain standard. I am, too, but can just as easily stay in a beach hut (and have on a few occassions, one being a fly fishing lodge south of Tulum located in the biosphere reserve - wonderful).

I tend to prefer more secluded and quiet areas with each passing year, so that's what I deem important. I understand you being done with Aruba ... nice beaches and warm water, but far too busy for my taste. What about you? Each destination has its own flavor as you know, so it might be helpful if you listed what you liked/didn't like on St John and Nevis to better direct you.

Maybe the Grenadines? Mustique?

I know parts of the Caribbean pretty well, and my main question is what kind of vacation do you want? What type of accommodation do you like? What kind of activities do you enjoy?

If you want to relax on a white sand beach at a big resort with plenty of familiar food options try the big resorts in Cuba or the Mayan coast. Or Aruba.

If you like shopping, casinos, nice beaches try St. Maarten, St. Bart's.

If you like like to explore and get off the beach I *don't*recommend islands like Turks and Caicos, Grand Cayman, etc., they are just too small.

If you want exclusive, high end, away from crowds, exquisite food try Mustique or some of the other small resorts in the Grenadines.

If you like to sail , go snorkelling off catamarans in incredible blue water, visit hidden bays on seemingly undiscovered tiny islets, away from the main stream tourist routes, go to the Grenadines. Rent a small house/villa on Bequia and explore all the small islands of the Grenadines.

If you love French culture go to Martinique or Guadeloupe.

You asked about St. Lucia, I admit bias, I lived in St Lucia as a child and visit it regularly now. My favourite place on earth is a small resort on the west coast called Anse Chastanet (and neighbouring Jade Mountain). St. Lucia is a great choice if you want to explore the island and do all sorts of activities, if you want a verdant mountainous rain forested island dotted with coves of dark volcanic sand. As St Lucia is heavily mountainous there are not miles and miles of white sand beaches like in Cuba or Mexico.

Go to St Lucia to see (arguably) the most beautiful island in the Caribbean, to snorkel or dive, to zip line over the rain forest, to hike up the famous Gros Piton, to moutain bike, or to just relax on the beach, swim and eat great food.

There are big resorts in the north of the island (which is flatter and has better beaches) but I don't recommend them or that part of the island. Head to the south west, around Soufriere, for the beauty and the smaller hotels and a more uniquely old style West Indian experience.

Can't resist, here is a pic of my favourite spot in St. Lucia:

This post was edited by sochi on Wed, Jan 14, 15 at 23:32

sochi gave a great rundown!

This link may also be helpful. It's my go-to resort list that I usually start with when researching new destinations since it gives a good summary of higher end properties including number of rooms:

Here is a link that might be useful: Luxury hotels

dupicate post

This post was edited by jujubean71 on Thu, Jan 15, 15 at 4:57

Good info here! I am still waiting for DH to formally say he's taking that week off, but when/if he does, I'm going to have a list of possibilities!

We like to snorkel but one kid doesn't like boats much -- that's why we liked St. John, as we could snorkel right off the beach.

We like a nice hotel but not too formal. Last year, we stayed at a Miami hotel that was too stuffy/formal for us. We don't want to dress up for dinner.

No interest in casinos or much shopping, though I like to have some sort of "town" to explore for part of a day. While DH and I could lay around in a beach cabana all day, the kids like a bit of activity and adventure, so there has to be something to do besides admiring a pretty beach. In Nevis, we went on a "monkey tour" and some sort of rainforest trek, and to a botanical garden. In St. John, we took the shuttle to town a few times for meals and browsing around.

I am off to look at Juju's list of hotels, and at St. Lucia!

I love St. Barth's, but there are no casinos there. But I would never visit over the holidays as it is madness there between Christmas and new years and the prices are doubled, at least. No organized activities for kids either that I know of. I've always wanted to visit St. Lucia.

Although we've only rented it for our anniversary week (around January 15th), we love the private villas in Peterborg Estate on St. Thomas. They overlook one of the world's most beautiful beaches, Magen's Bay. They're high enough for privacy but with drop-dead views. Quiet, peaceful, luxurious. Most with pools, gourmet kitchens and multiple patios. Ours has 6. Multiple suites with private patios/balconies for housing larger groups, too.
Lynn