Holiday to Carribean - can anyone give me a price?

moneysavingyvonne

Carribean

I don't actually have a quote, but got some specifications - tell me off if this is not allowed.

We (2 adults) are wanting to go to Carribean in April / May (cannot be away on the 2nd May) / June 2009 for 2 weeks, All inclusive from Manchester

Wanting a nice hotel (4* or above - or 3* with excellent reviews).

Been looking about for a while, but struggling to find any hotels that really grab our attention for a good price.

We went to Punta Cana, Dom Rep last year (not really wanting to Dom Rep again, unless it Punta Cana with a very low price tag). We paid £1600 for two last year, and are hoping to round about the same(ish), obviously more for more exotic placees.

Places we are thinking primarily are Cuba, Jamacia, Antigua or Barbados. Obviously we know the latter two will set us back a lot, but willing to pay more for these places if it is a good quote.

Any help would be great either with a quote or ideas on a lovely hotel / place to go.

Many thanks

Yvonne

Incapuppy

Yvonne, I have been to Cuba three times and I love it. If you want some general info do a forum search for 'Cayo Guillermo' and it should bring up a couple of my previous posts on the subject.

As I'm sure you are aware, Dom Rep, Cuba and Margarita are at the lower end of the price scale for the Caribbean, what sort of budget do you have for 'more exotic places?'

May (excluding half-term) and June should be cheaper than April as for most islands it is the start of the rainy season, whereas April just sneaks into the tail end of the winter peak (drier) season.

moneysavingyvonne

Incapuppy wrote: »

Yvonne, I have been to Cuba three times and I love it. If you want some general info do a forum search for 'Cayo Guillermo' and it should bring up a couple of my previous posts on the subject.

As I'm sure you are aware, Dom Rep, Cuba and Margarita are at the lower end of the price scale for the Caribbean, what sort of budget do you have for 'more exotic places?'

May (excluding half-term) and June should be cheaper than April as for most islands it is the start of the rainy season, whereas April just sneaks into the tail end of the winter peak (drier) season.

I will have a look at this, thank you.

I don't want to go in half term - NNOO kids ha ha

Margarita is not somewhere my partner wants to go - he has been before and had a bad experience.

We normally go in May, but wanted to not limit my options but just saying May.

Many thanks for your post!!

moneysavingyvonne

Atomised wrote: »

Would you be willing to stay here? Found it on Travelzoo but it looks a tad basic

http://www.destinology.co.uk/offers/allamanda-beach-hotel/2542/?utm_source=travelzoo&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=tz_barbados_allamanda

This does look basic, but having said that, all the hotels in Barbados that are more luxurious are mega bucks, so yes, would consider this hotel, if the price was right!!

Many thanks

Incapuppy

Try the Virgin Holidays website for inspiration.

I have heard good reports on here about Caribbean Warehouse - their 'from' prices on the website seem very competitive but I think you have to phone them for an individual quote.

Catti

I went to Barbados 2 years ago with First Choice and stayed at the Tropical Escape - a small family run hotel. Although it was small, they were very attentive and really made the holiday special. We flew from Manchester on a FC charter flight and even with upgrading to premier class at that time, total cost was less than £2K.

And going back to Barbados next week!!!!:j

moneysavingyvonne

Catti wrote: »

I went to Barbados 2 years ago with First Choice and stayed at the Tropical Escape - a small family run hotel. Although it was small, they were very attentive and really made the holiday special. We flew from Manchester on a FC charter flight and even with upgrading to premier class at that time, total cost was less than £2K.

And going back to Barbados next week!!!!:j

Thank you, i will look into this, have a wonderful holiday - i'm soooo jealous!!:p

hkwintrip

hi, dont know if anyone has already posted this advice, but just in case:
i went to the caribbean in december last year, and i went on teletext (not the website but on tv) and wrote down a load of phone numbers of companies that did all incl holidays. i then phoned one random one up, got some quotes for different islands and hotels, and then i phoned up the next one and knocked a random amount off the original quote. some, but not all, of these will match, and better, the quote. after i had played this little game a few times, i called up my local co-op and did the same with them, and they have a policy to match your best quote. its better to book through an actual agency (rather than internet companies or the phone line places) because if something goes wrong, then they are solely accountable.
its a very competitive market - so if you behave competitively back, you will definitely get discounts.
we ended up going to a 4* barcelo hotel in the west of the dominican republic - if youve not been to the caribbean before, be warned that the whole star rating thing doesnt really apply over there. our hotel was nice but it wasnt 4*. i wouldnt really recommend the dominican all in all - we didnt bother going to the holiday rep meet and greets, and consequently we ended up hiring a car when no un-hardened and un-travelled westerner should. there were men with guns on the roads and the poverty was horrible. saying that though, when we got back to the hotel it felt like absolute paradise! i wouldnt go there again - and i imagine jamaica and the bahamas are the same. saying that, its like anywhere - depends what bit you go to.
hope thats helpful.

hkwintrip

hmm maybe i should read ALL of the original message before responding! never mind

Incapuppy

hkwintrip wrote: »

hi, dont know if anyone has already posted this advice

Martin Lewis in this article perhaps?


http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-holiday-haggling-guide#haggle

discoinferno_99

Sorry, a bit late on this one!

I had a very good experience earlier today with Caribbean Connection as I was looking into getting some prices for a possible trip to Barbados next year. Only reason I stumbled across them was because they were mentioned on the Travelzoo Top 20 today.

The site is at https://www.caribbeanconnection.com but I phoned them up as it is usually easier to ask loads of questions with someone on the phone as I haven't been to that part of the world before. Anyway, had a pretty positive 30 minute chat and a few possible schedules costed up. I'll definitely short list them if we do anything in the future.

Just thought I would mention them in case Yvonne was still looking. Hope you get something suitable sorted!