Taking the Kids: Ten fabulous Caribbean summer deals

-- Playa del Carmen is one of my favorite spots on the Riviera Maya, less than an hour from the Cancun Airport. Kids stay free at the Gran Porto Resort and Spa with deals more than half off. The new 314-room Hyatt Playa del Carmen is designed for families and includes everything from a teen arcade with a movie theater to "Mom and Daughter Milkshakes and Manis" at the Cenote Spa. Families with kids under 13 can get a second room for the kid at half off and activities from cooking classes to sand castle making competitions. Rates start at $255 a night.

-- Guests at the newly renovated Comfort Suites Paradise Island, adjacent to the Atlantis, enjoy full use of the Atlantis facilities -- its water slides and rides, tennis courts and aquariums, complete with full signing privileges. Let's not forget the free breakfasts and Wi-Fi! Rates start at approximately $180 this summer, typically one-third less than Atlantis.

-- The Sands at Grace Bay resort, which was recently named by Family Vacation Critic as a top 10 Caribbean Family Resort, is touting a fourth-night-free deal and rates starting as low as $195 for suites that include kitchens, free use of watersports equipment like snorkeling gear, kayaks, Hobie Cats and stand-up paddleboards. Go snorkeling right from the fantastic 12-mile long Grace Bay beach or borrow bikes to explore the island. The resort's Hemingway's Restaurant and Bar is a local favorite. (I loved watching the sunset from here!) (Use promo code 4NF2015 to book.)

-- For chocolate-loving parents getting away without the kids this summer, or in September, check out St. Lucia's luxury beachfront boutique Calabash Cove Resort and Spa’s Sweet Days in Paradise five-night deal commemorating the island's Chocolate Heritage Month in August, complete with private champagne beach dinner and dessert made with local cocoa, a chocolate scrub treatment for both of you, breakfast daily, airport transfers and more, all for under $2,500.

-- Luxury lovers can check into the Four Seasons Nevis and get a fourth-night free, complimentary transfers from the St. Kits airport, for kids and teens, complimentary water sports equipment, including a water trampoline and a complimentary Kids for all Seasons program. (Go monkey spotting on the golf course!) Come for the annual Sea Turtle Conservation Weekend (Friday, July 10 to Monday July 13) and join the nighttime volunteer Turtle Watch Walks and turtle-naming contests. I'm in for the $150 spa credit per day. Starting rates are $375 a night in summer, as compared to peak winter rates that can go as high as $1,400 a night.

-- The Buccaneer in St. Croix, long considered a top family Virgin Islands Resort on three of the best beaches on St. Croix touts a second room at half price, free breakfast, free learn-to-scuba classes and complimentary Kids' Camp for those starting at age four. Think beachside basketball and volleyball, as well as tennis. I loved this place, in part because it is just 138 rooms. Summer rates start at $285 a night.

Who will build the biggest sand castle?

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