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Family Caribbean vacations

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VILLAS: JUST LIKE HOME, ONLY BETTER
These homes-away-from-home offer plenty of privacy and all sorts of amenities. Want your own pool? You got it. Bringing along aunts, uncles and cousins? No problem — you can choose villas with one to 10 bedrooms.

A few tips when shopping for a family villa: If you have young children, ask about safety features. For instance, in the French Caribbean all villa pools are now required to have an alarm. Are there lots of stairs, a cliff, a long walk to the beach? Know before you go.

Jamaica Villas by Linda Smith
This agency’s large villa menu includes a Family Collection with 43 houses featuring child-friendly features such as outdoor play areas, large lawns, adjoining bedrooms, cribs, high chairs and movies. The Wharf House, for example, comes with a play cottage complete with toys, games, a mini pool table, a dollhouse, and even a kid-size four-poster bed for naps. Nannies can be hired at any villa, and each house is staffed with a chef who can prepare special meals for the children in addition to standard fare. Contact: 301-229-4300.

St. Barth Properties
French St. Barts has more than 400 villas in its eight square miles. St. Barth Properties represents more than a hundred, several considered family-friendly. Villa Playa Dorada offers five bedrooms on big, sandy St. Jean Beach, where the water is shallow. Other suitable houses include Champagne, Sky and Roi Soleil. Contact: 800-421-3396.

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McLaughlin Anderson
This agency rents villas throughout the Virgin Islands; St. Thomas has the most equipped for families. Villa Overlook has an oversized great room, a pool and a media room with games, books and a collection of more than 100 videos and CDs. Captain’s Walk has a fenced yard to corral the young’uns. Others to check out are High View, Mimosa and L’Esperance.
Contact: 800-537-6246.

WIMCO
Representing more than a thousand villas on 15 Caribbean islands, WIMCO has a wide selection of child-friendly houses. The beachfront Nevis Palm has four bedrooms and a fenced-in pool. The six-bedroom Villa Serena on St. Martin has a large pool and a spacious living area.
Contact: 800-449-1553.

Caribbean Travel & Life is the magazine for anyone in search of the perfect tropical getaway. Each issue presents expert insider’s advice on where to find the Caribbean’s best beaches and attractions, its finest resorts and spas, liveliest beach bars and activities, and its friendliest people.

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