Family Beach Vacations - Tips and Deals

Mexican resort company Palace Resorts has added the Wet 'n Wild/Parque Nizuc Waterpark to the list of free excursions available through the Palace Passport Program to guests staying at the Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort, Aventura Spa Palace, Xpu-Ha Palace, Cancun Palace, Sun Palace, Beach Palace and Playacar Palace, which will open in the winter.

The waterpark, recently acquired by Palace Resorts, is in Cancun's hotel zone and is the only waterpark in the Cancun and Riviera Maya region.

The park has nine attractions, such as the Kamikaze, where guests can "experience the rush of excitement while riding an extreme water toboggan at daredevil speeds down slides that tower in the air."

Other options are tamer, such as the "gentle moving Lazy River that meanders its way throughout the entire park, offering a leisurely escape from the hustle and bustle."

The park's Caribbean Breeze dining hall has a choice of options that include hamburgers and ice cream.

Lockers are available.

Those interested in nature can visit the park's Atlantida, an interactive animal research centre that gives visitors the "opportunity to get up-close-and-personal with majestic dolphins and playful sea lions, while learning about these incredible creatures." Admission to Atlantida is available at an extra charge and isn't included in the Palace Passport Program.

Guests staying at any Palace Resort in Cancun, the Riviera Maya, Cozumel and Nuevo Vallarta for three nights or longer through Dec. 23, 2006, qualify for the Palace Passport package, which provides unlimited select tours and vouchers toward golf, spa and car rentals.

Those wanting further information on the park can access www.wetnwildcancun.com.

September 8, 2005 - The Easy Way to Plan a Family Reunion in Orlando

The Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau can provide complimentary family reunion planning services for groups of different sizes and different budgets.

There are several hotels that can provide accommodations for large families. Liki Tiki Village, a Club Navigo Resort, includes a kitchen, washer, dryer and room for up to 10 people in all units, while Walt Disney World Resort has accommodations for family reunions. Groups of eight or more who stay at select Disney hotels can receive the benefits of a "Grand Gathering." These groups can book special events like international dinners and a VIP viewing of Epcot's Illuminations nighttime show; a Good Morning Gathering" character breakfast; a "Magical Fireworks Voyage" at Disney's Magic Kingdom; a "Safari Celebration Dinner" with live animal interactions at Disney's Animal Kingdom and other entertainment. Groups booking 10 or more rooms at a Disney hotel can also enjoy discounted room rates, as well as discounted group park tickets. Groups of any size may also engage the assistance of a VIP tour guide to provide a personalized park itinerary and reserve prime seats at shows, parades and nighttime spectaculars.

The bureau adds vacation homes are another accommodation option.

Several Orlando restaurants cater to the tastes of children and provide private space for a variety of family sizes. They include Emeril's Tchop Chop at the Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando, which has Polynesian cuisine with a tiki bar look, while Salt Island, located on bustling International Drive, has private rooms for parties between 35 and 450. Groups of up to 1,100 can be accommodated at Dolly Parton's Dixie Stam-pede Dinner and Show, located minutes from Disney World Resort.

Thrill-seeking families can take an off-road journey with Boggy Creek Airboat & Swamp Buggy Tours. Airboats can hold up to 18 passengers and provide viewings of wetlands, cypress trees, alligators, turtles and birds. The bureau adds that swamp buggy tours take groups in a "monstrous land vehicle" through a working cattle ranch. Visitors might get a glimpse of wild turkeys, wild hogs, deer, bald eagles and other creatures. Other family options include the Central Florida Zoo, home to more than 400 exotic animals, including cheetahs to elephants. The zoo's Wayne M. Densch Discovery Center has meeting space for up to 300 people. Adventure-seeking families can head to the Orlando Harley-Davidson Historic Factory Dealership, Florida's largest authorized Harley dealer, where groups can have dinner, motorcycle rides and get temporary tattoos while surrounded by Harley-Davidson Heritage. Wet 'n Wild Orlando has a number of water rides, including the new raft adventure, Disco H2O. Open year-round, Wet 'n Wild has multiple family reunion packages, including catering options and special reunion rates.

The Orlando CVB can help visitors plan a family reunion. For example, families interested in putting together goodie bags for relatives will be provided with the CVB's Official Orlando Visitors Guide, as well as coupons and brochures from area attractions and businesses. The bureau will also help families find restaurants or banquet facilities for events and put guests in touch with area theme parks and attractions that can provide group ticket discounts, catering and event space. Another service includes personalized family reunion web sites that provide guests with information about what Orlando has to offer. The CVB's services are free.

For more details, call 1-800-551-0181 or access www.orlandoinfo.com.

September 13, 2005 - All About Karmina Palace - Manzanillo Mexico

Manzanillo's leading all-inclusive resort, Karmina Palace has launched a new website with a sleek design and easy-to-follow navigation to help vacationers and travel agents find the information they need fast.

The new website centralizes many of the resorts different areas and functions into one usable interface, with logins for travel agents, vacation club timeshare owners, and guests who want to join the Karmina club to receive news updates and special promotions mailed directly to their inbox.

Fresh, new photography showcases the resort's three restaurants, 425-foot private beach cove, night shows and plenty of families, couples and kids having the time of their lives. Additional pages include loads of extra information on Manzanillo and the surrounding area, offsite tours and activities, travel details and even real estate investment
opportunities. Links to suite accommodations and elements of the all-inclusive program feature prominently.

"People are very internet savvy these days and we wanted to give them a comprehensive site that they could use in their vacation search and as a resource on Manzanillo in general," says General Manager Marcos Casillas. "Gone are the days when people book their holiday straight through their travel agent without doing additional research. Our goal
was to answer the questions people have before they have to ask them."

Karmina's new site also showcases a special kid-friendly design on the Kids Club section with cartoon fish that float across the page and reflect the fun atmosphere of the resort's special treatment and activities for children ages four to 12 years.

The relaunched website is the latest in the many improvements and upgrades Karmina has implemented within the last few months. Just last month, it unveiled new suite decor and Queen sized mattresses with back support in all 324 suites. The resort also introduced two new restaurant concepts * the a la carte La Trattoria Italian bistro and a beachside Taco Bar * that bring yet more variety to the three restaurants, 24-hour room service and five bars. A digital photo center provides guests with the chance to purchase snapshots taken around the resort by
staff, and also aids in camera issues such as downloading full memory sticks to CDs. And the newest service is an upscale clothing boutique with resort casual clothes, scarves, jewelry and other accessories that just opened along the storefront area inside the lower lobby of the hotel.

ABOUT KARMINA PALACE

The 324-suite Karmina Palace Resort has polished the concept of the all-inclusive vacation by offering special amenities like wireless internet access in a spectacular Mayan kingdom amid the blue waters and jungles of the Pacific Coast in Manzanillo, Mexico. Lush gardens with tropical flowers, banana trees and coconut palms surround eight interconnected lagoon-style pools. Nightly entertainment, 24-hour room service, unlimited food and drink & a full-service spa make Karmina Palace the epitome of grand tourism.

Check Best Family Beach Vacations - Karmina Palace Resort to check for best rates availabiltily

September 17, 2005 - Caymen Island Attractions

Wondering what there is to do in the Caymen Islands? Have a look at some family fun attractions:

Atlantis Adventures
The 48-passenger submarine Atlantis XI has resumed daily undersea voyages to reefs and shipwrecks just off the
southwestern shoreline of George Town, Grand Cayman Island. The submarine dives daily, hosting both land-based and cruise ship visitors to Grand Cayman.

Cayman Turtle Farm
Will offer a full underwater experience called Boatswain Beach. Opening in January, visitors will be able to swim and snorkel with turtles, fish and other marine life in a 1.3-million gallon saltwater lagoon, peer into a Predator Tank to view sharks, or take a walk through a bird aviary.

The Lost City of Atlantis
A newly developed underwater attraction, can now be found in Cayman Brac. The underwater city is located near a
popular dive site known as Radar Reef off the north coast of Cayman Brac, easily accessible to divers and snorkellers.

Xtreme Skating
Available at the new Black Pearl Skate Park, the largest concrete skate park in the world, encompassing more than
52,000 square feet of concrete and featuring expert, intermediate and beginner courses. Next door, visitors can try their hand at Xtreme Surfing at the Black Pearl Surf Park, featuring the Waveloch surf machine, a self-contained standing wave (of up to 11 feet) generated by a continuous 32,000 gallons per minute flow of water. At Black Pearl, lessons for skateboarding, in-line skating and surfing are available, as well as full rentals of all equipment.

Blue Iguana tours are now being offered at Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park as part of the Blue Iguana Recovery Program, set up to try to save the iguanas from extinction.

Save on Caymen Island Hotels with Best Family Beach Vacations
reservations

September 19, 2005 - Taking Home Souvenirs, Not Junk

Gift shops are a kid magnet and often a trip highlight! Do you cringe at the sight inexpensive trinkets and novelty items that will be lost or broken in the span of hours? Plan your souvenir strategy early and help your child assemble a collection that is unique and will last for years to come, preserving the memories of your travels together.

First, come up with a theme. What type of souvenir is fairly common at most tourist locations and has the makings for a great collection? If you set your child on a treasure hunt for specific souvenirs with some sort of common ground, they will be able to tell a story or make an easily displayed collection.

We’ve collected embroidered patches from the places we’ve visited with our child and sewn them onto a backpack he takes along on trips, adapting the idea from old suitcases with stickers from exotic locations.

Here are some more ideas for starting your child’s souvenir collection:

• Postcards. Have your child write himself a note and mail it back home. You can assemble it like a diary when you return from your travels.
  
• Key Chains. They can be collected and put on backpacks or hung on a strip hanging from the wall.
  
• Magnets. You can put them on the refrigerator at home or make a magnetic board to display the collection in your child’s bedroom.
  
• Snowglobes or Music Boxes featuring scenes from your travel location.
  
• Crazy sunglasses or hats. They could be relevant to your travel destination or just wacky.
  
• Holiday ornaments. Each holiday, you can recount stories about travels with your children and have a great starter set of special ornaments when your child is grown so he can share his travel memories with his children.