When trying to decide on a location for your family’s next long weekend getaway, use this list to determine what you’re looking for – Easy to reach? Check! Relaxation or adventure? Check! A vacation for parents? Check! Fun for the whole family? Check! Familiar but a new experience? Check! See why Long Weekend Traveling Mom feels like Beaches Negril Resort and Spa can check off all the items on your list.

Beaches Negril Resort and Spa: Can You Go for a Just a Long Weekend?

After spending five days at the Beaches Negril Resort and Spa, I’ve decided that we just need to move there or at least visit for a long weekend once a quarter.  For our next visit, I’m using the excuse that my husband didn’t come along so he needs to experience it too. (It was just myself, my four-year-old and my eight-year-old son for this long weekend getaway.) For all the visits after that, here are the reasons why I’m arguing that we need to go back.

Beaches Negril is easy.

First off, it’s easy. Traveling for a long weekend, I don’t want to put six months of planning into having a great trip. The all-inclusive factor is a vote for easy on my list. I don’t have to worry about booking transportation from the airport, finding out what excursions we’re going to do or arranging a childcare service. I know that when I book with Beaches, there will be someone to meet me at the airport, all watersports are offered onsite and included, there are plenty of restaurants to visit all onsite and the childcare staff is fully screened.

The Beaches resorts are all conveniently located in Jamaica and Turks and Caicos, which makes it a short two hour flight from our home in Georgia and most of the East Coast in general. If you plan your flights well, you can find direct flights onto the island and be there in time for lunch.

TravelingMom Tip: Make sure to choose easy travel for a weekend getaway. Leave stressing about all the details to someone else and book all-inclusive.

There is Something for Everyone at Beaches Negril

Secondly, Beaches has activities that suit all members of the family. There are places that I like to visit and there are places that are great for children; they’re not always the same. Beaches is a blend of both with formal and casual experiences, spa and tennis, even opportunities for service learning.

No matter your perfect relaxation style, there is something at Beaches for your family. We were able to do water sports like paddleboarding and SNUBA but then there was also time to build a sandcastle on the beach or float around and order a drink at the swim-up pools. Pretty much anything that fit our mood over the weekend, we were able to do.

I love that they have a free children’s camp starting with infants up to age 10. Because I travel with just my children a lot of the time, quality childcare is an important feature. The nannies are all certified based upon US university standards. I’m confident that once I check them into the Kid’s Camp, I can check-out of being mommy – even if only for a few hours.  This trip, I gathered up a few girlfriends and had an adult evening out with plenty of champagne toasts, giggles and girlfriend conversation while my children were watching a live Sesame Street show with their friends just 20 feet away. (I’ll admit I did go and look in on them to make sure they were having a good time.)

I feel like it would be a place to please all members of the family on a multi-generational family trip.  My mother is a baby boomer and really loves the more formal level of service that made travel special. She would be perfectly at home in The Venetian restaurant. The Venetian is one of the six restaurants onsite serving a Northern Italian menu. It is a more formal dining experience than the others with reservations required and a dress code but is still family-friendly so we’d all be able to enjoy ourselves. They’ll even bring chicken nuggets for my four year old.

TravelingMom Tip: Evaluate all the activities to make sure they’re a good fit for the whole family. With just a few days to spend on a long weekend getaway, you don’t want to waste any time with a member of the family getting adjusted to your resort. You want to make sure that on day one everyone has something they’re looking forward to.  

Beaches Negril is a familiar place.

Finally, I love that we’re going someplace we know but each trip is a new experience. I’ve been to Jamaica and to a Beaches resort before so choosing Beaches Negril is an easy choice. I like knowing what to expect to prepare my family accordingly. There are no language barriers and I don’t have to worry about exchanging currency.

At the same time my children are young and developing new skills as well as perspectives on the world that make each trip different. Our first visit to a Beaches resort when my son was two, he was more concerned with building sandcastles than playing on the waterslides. My older son was able to ride the banana boat for the first time ever on this visit; it has replaced the XBOXs as his favorite thing to do at a Beaches resort.

We also love that going to one of the Beaches we generally know what to expect at the other two properties as well. There are some differences between the three Beaches resorts but I can trust that they’ll have Sesame Street experiences, good food and I’m going to be safe.

I’m not the only Traveling Mom who thinks Beaches Negril is a good idea. Check out these VIP Tips for Beaches or read along figure out which Beaches Resort to visit. I’ll admit I do have a favorite one but there’s not a bad one to visit. Let me know if you choose to visit and I’ll share my favorite things to do there.