The Best of Grand Turk

Our 10 year old would tell you Grand Turk's was his favorite stop on our entire cruise! He loved the clear water, snorkeling and that there were no waves so swimming and snorkeling were more enjoyable. It was also the perfect 80°F which helped! 

We initially were going to hang out at Margaritaville but once we arrived while the pools were great the beach area wasn't the greatest. We continued walking down the beach until we got to Reef Shark Bar & Grill. The Reef Shark Bar & Grill was only a 5 minute walk down the beach. Totally worth it. The service was amazing, chairs and umbrella cheap and cheap, cold local beer!  

Castillo San Felipe del Morro, San Juan Puerto Rico

Our afternoon in Puerto Rico was all about National Parks and history. Since we took our son out of school for 8 days we thought we should do at least one educational visit. San Juan was the perfect place do to this. As an added bonus our son has the 4th Grade National Park Pass so there was no charge for us to enter Castilla San Felipe del Morro.

When we arrived at the pier we walked through Old San Juan on the way to the bus stop. Old San Juan is full of beautiful architecture, brick roads and friendly people. We tried to find a bus to take to the Fort but decided not to wait and walked. It was a little over a mile.

On the way to the Fort we walked by the beautiful Cathedral of San Juan Bautista. We spent about 20 minutes exploring the church.

Once we arrived as the Fort we spent a couple of hours exploring the fort. As with all National Parks in the U.S. There is a great deal of signage that explains the history of the fort. There are also many areas set up to re-enact how the fort looked centuries ago.

 

Cemetery next to the Fort

 

View from the top of the Fort

On our way back to the ship we stopped by a little bar called La Cueva Del Mar for Chicken Salsa Plantains and Sangria. The drinks were refreshing and strong and the plantains were delicious.

A Day at St. Kitt's

The 3rd port stop on our recent Carnival Sunshine cruise was at the beautiful island of St. Kitts. Our premise for this cruise for our family was all about relaxation and beaches. St. Kitts satisfied this goal!

St. Kitts was first seen by Christopher Columbus in 1493 and became known for their large sugar farms. Our taxi driver told us they still grow sugar but it is for their use only now and their is hardly any importing remaining.

After reviewing numerous websites we determined we wanted to spend the day at South Friar Bay Beach. Our taxi driver said he knew the perfect place to take us. For $14 for the family of 3 he took us from the cruise ship to Carambola Beach Club.  He agreed to pick us back up later that day.

While the Carambola Beach Club is beautiful with food, bathrooms and chairs and umbrella's to rent, I highly suggest going down to the beach and to the left and walk down towards Shipwreck Beach Bar & Grill. The chairs and umbrellas are half the price as the Club and the food and drinks at Shipwreck Beach least 25% cheaper if not more. My drinks were amazing and only $5 each and chicken wings were $5. The Club charges approximately $15-20 US for lunch.

We had packed a life jacket for our son and our snorkel gear in an extra suitcase. It was well worth the extra bag (as we flew Southwest and didn't have to pay baggage) as we didn't have to rent gear at all of our stops.

The snorkeling from South Friar Bay was perfect for our 10 year old and my husband. There were few waves and not to far from shore was a small reef where sea cucumbers, fish, star fish and sea anemone were living.

Our tax driver picked us up on time and took time on the way back to the pier to show us the island along with the tip of the island where the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean meet.

Our goal for St. Kitts was to spend less than $50 and we were successful as the cab ride, chair/umbrella rental, a couple of drinks and some appetizers came to $50!

Behind Family of Three Adventures

Our family of 3 loves to take trips by cars, planes, trains and boats.  We like to go on adventures close to home and far from home. Our family of 3 consists of me, my husband and our 10 year old son. We love the outdoors, sports and creating memories as a family. We live in Spokane, Washington where I am teacher and my husband works in the safety department of our local utility company.

When we get ready to travel I scour websites for ideas, reviews, hidden places to see and to get the best price. It is difficult for some places we visit to find "real" reviews that cater to the budget conscious family. We are blessed to go on many adventures due to coupons, Groupons, deal sites, web deals and sales.

I hope you follow along as I share some great places to create family memories for the budget conscious family.

Our recent cruise to the Eastern Caribbeans. Beach at St. Kitt's.