*I don’t get paid for my opinions in any way; this is just me sharing stuff that I like and I think you will too.

I can’t believe that my family won’t be able to take advantage of this SPECTACULAR offer from Club Med! Unfortunately we have already made our vacation plans, but this price is absolutely unbelievable, so do your family a favor and book this vacation. Club Med is one of my favorite family vacation spots because it is all-inclusive and there is so much for the kids to do (and so the parents get to have their own kind of fun). Because our kids are such different ages, it is hard to find vacation resorts with activities of interest to both of them. We have taken a cruise before and with my apologies to the cruising fans, we all hated it. Club Meds are perfect for us. The price is all-inclusive, the food is good and plentiful, the staff is fun and the destinations are sunny. The atmosphere is very casual, kind of funky and very international.

On our first Club Med vacation, my son and I went to Sandpiper, Florida when he was 4 years old. My husband couldn’t take time from work, but I didn’t a vacation that was easy to do with a four year old alone and a quick flight from New Jersey. By the second day in Florida we had a routine: we would eat breakfast together, I would drop him off at the Mini Club and I then I wouldn’t see him again until 5:00 p.m. My son made fast friends with several boys his age and had a blast doing all the activities planned by the G.O.s He played tennis, participated in Circus School, built sand-castles, tye-dyed a tee shirt, won a prize in a talent show and was in several theater productions. I had great plans for myself during the day: roller-blading, tennis lessons, circus school, maybe even some golfanaged to do was yoga class every morning before I parked myself by the pool for the rest of the day. Sometimes I found my son at his activities and joined in, but mostly I enjoyed my much-needed time alone.

When he was six years old we went to Club Med in Punta Cana with my husband as well and again my son had a blast. My husband had a great time too playing basketball, working out in the gym and lounging by the pool with me (7 months pregnant). Punta Cana had a lovely beach, good food and a great pool. The G.O.s at that Club were just as fun as at Sandpiper.

I have a soft spot for Club Med because I used to be a G.O. a long before husband and kids. I worked at both Sonora Bay, Mexico and Copper Mountain, Colorado. I don’t believe that either of these Clubs are in existence anymore and Club Med as a whole has changed a lot. It is more “Americanized” than it was before, and while I do miss the old bohemian Clubs with no televisions, alarm clocks or door locks, the newly renovated Clubs look very nice. One of the exciting additions to the Family Clubs are the teen centers–perfect for my pre-teen son who is too old for the Mini-Club, and wants some independence on vacation, but could still benefit from planned activities with kids his own age. Ixtapa and Cancun in Mexico are on our list of Clubs to visit in the future.

Listen to this song; it is addictive.  I promise that you will want to jump on a plane and get to a beach as fast as possible!