Me and Mrs. Axe want a new vacation spot. We're thinking Aruba, Carribean resort, that type of deal. Anybody have recommendations?
My sister liked Aruba, but said it was a little more desert-like than she imagined a Caribbean island would be.
I don't have much personal experience in that area, but I LOVED Puerto Vallarta. Think Acapulco's geography, but without the 50 years of heavy tourism. hehe, more like 15-20 years, but still. Having a command of Spanish will usually earn you at least extremely courteous treatment, if not some extra benefits, and for my personal time schedule the Pacific sunsets fit quite a bit better than the Atlantic sunrises :)
My better half and I are kind of in the same boat, we're stuck in the Vegas rut. We're planning to check out Hawaii early next year, but that probably won't become our "regular spot". She's not big on Jamaica, so we might end up taking some cruises or something.
Come to think of it, that might be a decent way for you to settle on a tropical place. You figure after a cruise or two, you would have at least stopped at the majority of the islands.
We're generally opposed to cruises on general principle -- they're big floating hotels where you spend most of your time eating -- but that's not a bad idea from the perspective of getting exposure to a bunch of new places to hang for a week. I'll see what she thinks.
I've been to St. Thomas and Grand Cayman. Neither had a lot to do outside of the hotel/resort. St. Thomas had the nicer beaches, but Grand Cayman has better snorkeling, and you can swim with the rays. Of course, the Caymans are crazy expensive, so it all balances out.
costa rica - this time of year is deserted - miles of beaches - downside, unless you surf, there is only like a week's worth of stuff to do. There is literally nothing there. Horse riding, hiking, but not much else.