Lindsay Cohn February 4, 2025
Kids at play on Puerto Rico’s Dorado Beach.
Sunny breaks for all ages.
As winter casts its cold, gray shadow, indoor hours increase, leaving kids (and parents) cooped up. A tropical trip brings the antidote to the big chill: warm-water swimming, leisurely alfresco meals, and a stay at a fabulous beach resort. Here, six escapes for families ready to trade sweaters and screen time for swimsuits and splashing in turquoise water.
Puerto Rico
For a sunny getaway that doesn’t require U.S. citizens to pack a passport, turn to the culture-rich Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. The unincorporated U.S. territory shares a currency with the mainland, but travelers don’t have to deal with customs or crossing multiple time zones. In Luquillo, La Monserrate’s crescent-shaped beach provides shallow water, lifeguards, and chair rentals that take the guesswork out of planning a family beach day. Rincón is a great spot for older kids and adults to take a surfing lesson. Eco-adventures – from hiking in El Yunque’s tropical rainforest to kayaking in bioluminescent bays – are also within reach on this easily drivable island. Families looking for out-of-the-classroom education should take the kids to Castillo San Felipe del Morro to see centuries of naval history up close.
Stay: Nature trails, swimming pools, beach access, stargazing, a kids’ club, and 96 oceanfront rooms and suites top the long list of reasons for families to check into Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve. Its two TPC golf courses are a huge selling point for link-loving parents. Virtuoso travelers receive a $96 daily breakfast credit per room and a $100 hotel credit.
Pools in paradise: Montage Kapalua Bay.Montage Kapalua Bay
Maui
With lush scenery and heaps of kid-friendly activities, Maui remains a go-to for families. Of course, its beaches are a huge draw: Kapalua Bay, Napili Bay, and Ka’anapali are top picks, thanks to calm surf, soft sand, and tide pools. Active clans can go snorkeling, tour pineapple farms, and visit Haleakala National Park. The Road to Hana’s scenic viewpoints, parks, and banana bread stands appeal to teens, tweens, and even young ones. Families can help community efforts by joining monthly Ka’ehu Beach cleanups or volunteering at the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge’s native pollinator garden.
Stay: At the 70-room Montage Kapalua Bay on Namalu Bay, family-focused programming ranges from hula lessons, lei making, and nature walks to crafts and lawn games (for kids ages 5 to 12). Two of the resort’s three pools welcome kids, and little ones can even sign up for mermaid-themed swimming lessons. Virtuoso travelers receive a $35 daily breakfast credit per person and one $150 spa credit.
Mayakoba, Mexico
In contrast to Cancún’s sprawling resorts and club scene, Mayakoba shows off a more slow-going side of Mexico’s Riviera Maya. The 620-acre gated community is a sun-kissed place for families to chill on miles of white-sand beaches, float in crystalline lagoons, search for mangrove forests and sea turtles in nature preserves, and take to the water for sailing and Jet Skiing. It’s also well positioned for educational day trips to the Xaman-Há Mayan ruins in Playacar.
Stay: Parents (and kids) love the 129-suite Rosewood Mayakoba for vacations filled with biologist-guided boat tours, scavenger hunts, beachside movies under the stars, and hours of fun at the colorful Rosewood Explorers kids’ club. Parents in need of a little R&R can unwind with pre-Hispanic herbal-medicine treatments at the sanctuary-like spa. Virtuoso travelers receive breakfast daily and a $100 hotel credit.
Sofitel Barú Calablanca Beach Resort’s kids’ club and (right) Cartagena’s Plaza de la Aduana.(City) Getty Images
Cartagena
Situated on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, Cartagena is an educational city break. The Old Town presents opportunities to wander cobbled lanes, pose for photos in front of colorful buildings, clap along to music and folk dance performances in Plaza de Bolívar, and cool off with refreshing paletas (popsicles). The sherbert-hued sunset views from the central stone walls are a worthy iPad substitute (at least for a little while). Keen to catch some rays? Walk over to Playa de Bocagrande or hop on a boat to Islas del Rosario for a day of snorkeling, swimming, and dolphin sightings.
Stay: Perched on Isla Barú’s north coast, less than an hour from the city by boat and car, the 187-room Sofitel Barú Calablanca Beach Resort supplies direct access to a private serviced beach. Steps from the sand, the kids’ villa keeps tots thoroughly entertained with toys, puzzles, and cupcake decorating. The clan can bond over movie nights under the stars and aborrajados (Colombian cheese plantain fritters) cooking classes. Virtuoso travelers receive breakfast daily and a $100 hotel credit.
Golden hour at The Ritz-Carlton, Naples.
Naples, Florida
While nightlife seekers flock to Miami, families will find a more low-key South Florida vacation just across the Everglades Parkway. Naples’ sandy beaches invite hole digging, shell spotting, sandcastle construction, and nap-inducing strolls. Take a beach break at the Naples Botanical Garden, where staff lead drop-in educational programs for tots to preteens and offer special events such as illuminated nighttime tours. Nearby, Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is a 13,000-acre nature preserve that’s home to red-shouldered hawks, alligators, and a 2.25-mile boardwalk through old-growth cypress trees. As parents know, fresh air makes mealtimes easier, and Naples has many alfresco restaurants, including longtime favorites The Boathouse on Naples Bay and The Dock at Crayton Cove.
Stay: The Ritz-Carlton, Naples, a family favorite with 474 spacious rooms, recently underwent a $100 million renovation that added a nature-inspired kids’ club (complete with a stage, craft areas, eco-education stations, terrariums, and aquariums), a game lawn, water sports, and serviced open-air cabanas for smoothie sipping by the pool and on Vanderbilt Beach. Virtuoso travelers receive breakfast daily and a $100 hotel credit.
Ko Yao Yai, Thailand
Thailand is home to many palm-fringed, turquoise-ringed destinations. While well-trodden hot spots such as Phuket, Ko Samui, and Krabi are popular with families, crews looking for a quieter retreat should consider Ko Yao Yai. The Andaman Sea island offers swimmable beaches (try Loh Paret and Loh Jark), fishing villages, and tropical foliage. Island pursuits include long-tail boat rides, playing “I spy” monkeys while lazing on the sand, kayaking through mangrove forests, and snorkeling coral reefs. Teens and adults can visit the sunken car ferry at the King Cruiser wreck dive site.
Stay: The 148-room Anantara Koh Yao Yai Resort & Villas, just 35 minutes by boat from Phuket, offers a sandy beach, southern Thailand’s largest kids’ club (expect mini slides and bubble pools), culturally immersive activities such as batik painting, and family suites with bunk beds, tents, and slides. Virtuoso travelers receive breakfast daily for two and a $100 resort credit.
