Courtesy of Terri Peters
My husband and I have traveled to several all-inclusive resorts together, but we'd never taken our kids to one until recently. While our family's decision to homeschool leaves lots of travel opportunities open to us, an all-inclusive vacation just hadn't lined up until we decided to visit Beaches Turks and Caicos with our 14- and 16-year-old earlier this month.
As the parent who does the bulk of the planning when we vacation, I suspected visiting an all-inclusive resort with my kids would be a welcome break from the hustle and bustle of being the travel coordinator. Eager to test my theory, we chose a Beaches resort because it's the sister resort to Sandals, where my husband and I spent a week earlier in the summer and loved it. Here's what it was like.
Courtesy of Terri Peters
Like most all-inclusive resorts, everything at Beaches Turks and Caicos was taken care of for us. With more than 20 restaurants on the property, there was always something for everyone at mealtime. Excursions could be booked easily through the resort, and the front desk staff helped us book a taxi into town. There were pools, miles of white sand beach, and a schedule of activities like karaoke and trivia. There were also kids clubs, including one for teens in my kids' age group.
I'm known to develop quite the busy itinerary when we travel on our own, so being able to show up at an all-inclusive and play things by ear felt like a welcome respite.
Courtesy of Terri Peters
Because there were pools, activities, and teen clubs, my family was flexible about splitting up and doing our own thing when we wanted. My son, more of an introvert, enjoyed watching movies on the television in our room or reading during his downtime, while my daughter made time to work on her tan and float on rafts.
My husband and I were able to sneak off for cocktails and mocktails or early-morning beach walks while the kids did their own thing. But we also scheduled mandatory family time, like excursions or nightly dinners together, to get an even split of independent activities and family bonding.
Courtesy of Terri Peters
I'm a big researcher of restaurants, and it's happened more than once that we've traveled to a specific restaurant on vacation, only to be disappointed. Since there are tons of restaurant options available at an all-inclusive, we found it easier to pivot and choose the best restaurant for our family during our sit-down meals together.
Case in point: After being seated at the on-property hibachi restaurant, we realized the experience was going to be much louder and more chaotic than we were in the mood for. We politely excused ourselves before ordering and headed to a French bistro instead, where we enjoyed a quiet meal and some great conversation with our kids.
Courtesy of Terri Peters
There was an on-site desk where guests could book excursions to see more of the island of Providenciales. On our trip, we chose a three-hour catamaran tour that took us to an island filled with iguanas, snorkeling, and deep into the ocean for swimming.
The ease of booking things through the resort was lovely, and it was relaxing for me as a mom to just show up, sunscreen and towels in hand, and go on an adventure with my family without lots of pre-planning. Because our boat tour was coordinated through the resort, there were even food and drinks offered on board, all included with the trip, so I didn't even need to think about packing snacks.
Courtesy of Terri Peters
We did head off-property once to explore the downtown area of Providenciales. Years ago, I read about Potcake Place, a dog rescue on the island, and wanted to volunteer to walk one of its rescue pups for a morning. We took a taxi from the resort lobby into town and signed up to walk a pup and explore the town, and it was a true highlight for our family.
Traveling with my teenage daughter usually needs to include pricey iced lattes and shopping in town, so this was a great way to check some of her favorite activities off the list while helping out and bonding with a potcake puppy.
Courtesy of Terri Peters
I've been living an alcohol-free lifestyle for over a year, and have visited an adults-only all-inclusive resort as a sober person along with my husband, who drinks alcohol. While adults-only resorts have a definite nightlife vib, with open bars and tipsy late-night entertainment, I found the family all-inclusive vibe to be much less alcohol-focused.
Sure, the resort was still all-you-can-drink, but I felt much less pressure to be out late with a mocktail in hand since I had my kids with me. Instead, we watched movies some evenings in our room, and I went to bed early with a good book.
Courtesy of Terri Peters
While there were some cons to our resort — like long restaurant wait times and staff that often gave us incorrect information or seemed overworked and exhausted — there were plenty of happy moments, too. Overall, visiting an all-inclusive resort with my teenagers was a great experience, one that required little to no planning on my part once our flights and resort were booked. It allowed me to focus on being present with my kids.
I know my time taking family vacations with my teens is limited, as soon they'll be off to college or settled into their own lives. Taking a trip to Beaches Turks and Caicos with them now, while they're still able to travel the world with us, was a lot of fun, even with some stressful moments.
