Caribbean Beach Vacation for Moms
As this New Year begins, you might be thinking to yourself, “Whew! What a busy and crazy year. December was especially hectic for me. I could really use a vacation!” And then, your mind drifts to a fantasy vacation: just your good mom friends, no kids, turquoise blue water, and sandy beaches. Yes, this is possible! Yes! You can do it! And now is the time to think about plot it… You will need a ringleader; all successful jailbreaks need a leader…
There were ten of us who went on this Moms Only Turks and Caicos retreat this past November. As we boarded the plane very early in the morning, we felt like we were part of a mass jailbreak. Boarding the plane wasn’t so simple. One mom left her passport at home and her husband raced to the rescue in a drive-by/handoff. One mom’s ticket had been booked using her Frequent Flyers number and had inadvertently booked her flight under the maiden name. Unfortunately, her passport was under the married name. Luckily, the stars aligned and we were all able to board the flight on time. And we arrived … to PARADISE!
Villa Oceanus, Turtle Cove
We rented this luxury villa. If you go on the shoulder season as we did in November, you can rent for less than one week. We stayed 4 nights, 5 days. Our house sleeps 10. You can also rent a chef to come to prepare meals. Yes, the water really is that turquoise and there is amazing snorkeling right behind the house! The house is modern and gorgeous inside. Note that there are lots of gorgeous houses available for rent if this is not the one for you.
We didn’t stay at Grace Bay Club, but we went there for spa treatments and they also let us use their pool (unlike other resorts). We had really delicious food and drinks there too at the lovely pool! It’s a long walk from the house but it’s doable. We rented two cars and drove. You could also take taxis.
Ocean Vibes Chartered Boat: Snorkeling, Lunch, and a lot of Fun!
Hands down, this was the thing we all agreed was the most memorable and the most fun! As it turns out, it was also a great way to face your fears. I am scared of the ocean and heights. Snorkeling was a challenge for me as it was my first time, the water was choppy and I didn’t put my mask on tight enough. Instead of water tubing, we were all invited to dive off the roof of the boat. I really did not want to do this, but my roommate for the trip, Mom Friend Tracy, said, “You’ll never have this chance again to take risks in such a safe environment.” She was right and it felt great to dive in. We highly recommend booking them!
Blue for Paddle Boarding
We weren’t able to pull this off but it sounded great: paddleboarding in the mangroves. You need to go at high tide and it seems to get booked up, so call two days ahead at least.
Green Bean Cafe
This great cafe, like a Starbucks but with a more extensive menu is open 7days /wk from 6 am – 4 pm and walking distance from our house. It is an Internet cafe, with great salads — my favorite was the seared tuna Niçoise — and also rents snorkeling equipment.
Nightclub: Thursday night at the Mini Golf
We confused this with the Golf Club so we missed a night of fun. Apparently, Thursday nights are a happening night at the Mini Golf. There’s a band playing and locals and tourists alike dance and party on the course, while the mini golfers continue to putt away. Sounds really fun! We were sorry to miss it!
Friday Night Clubbing at Gansevoort
The beautiful people were out in force Friday night at Gansevoort. We had dinner there first and then a few hours of dancing. Apparently, this is the place to be on Friday nights!
Four nights and five days without kids but with mom friends is a paradise in paradise. I highly recommend a moms only trip ANYWHERE but you can never go wrong with a beach location! As 2012 begins, think about pulling off your personal getaway. I know that if you’ve never done this before, it seems difficult to pull off. Carpe diem! It’s worth it and you are worth it!
p.s. What other Moms Only vacation locations do you recommend? Please share!
p.p.s. Another Mom Group started this Moms Only vacation trip at our elementary school two years ago. Turks and Caicos were also their first vacation. The genesis for their trip was a school auction item in which you could sign up for a slot. The group stayed together for the subsequent trips to Aruba and Barbados.
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Wow, that looks amazing and sounds divine! I have some friend who went to Miami – just the girls!
The name thing, what a pain – I used to travel for work a lot and I couldn’t believe I has to send the airlines copies of my marriage cert to get my frequent flyer cards updated!
To Ann,
Craftwhack suggested a blogging friend trip — or also could be potential reality show. Sound fun, huh? Miami sounds great too!
I read this post yesterday and drooled the entire time. Wanna wanna wanna. This would be fun to do with a bunch of blogging friends I’ve never met in real life- it could be a reality t.v. show.
To Craftwhack,
That’s such a fun idea! Blogging friends … we’d have to have Wifi! I think that I actually stayed off the grid the entire time though, b/c it’s expensive to get email/calls in Turks and Caicos. If you ever put together a group, though, count me in!
What a fantastic idea! Would love to do this with my mom friends.
To Asian Mommy,
It turns out to sound harder to pull off than it actually is. I’m planning a yoga retreat for a group of moms now for spring. It’s driving distance so it’s even easier to plan.