by Ashley Murphy

It's that time of year again when all you parents of seniors out there get to see your "little" one graduate from high school and make an attempt to find their own way in the world. Some parents see it as time to prepare your child for their new adventure and some parents wish to have one last family adventure before they're babies leave the nest...well, most of them.

So, how about one last family hoorah taking the vacation of a lifetime that they will be guaranteed to never forget?

I personally prefer the clear aqua waters of the Caribbean. Even though it's getting into the hurricane season for that part of the world, Caribbean trips will have some outrageous deals that you can take advantage of. Plan your trip well and you will pay minimal cost for a beautiful resort and also have sunshine for days.

Mexico, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, USVIs, BVIs, Aruba, Barbados or Turks and Caicos. Take your pick of a lovely, exotic island and relax in the Caribbean with your family.

You can choose from several different packages, whichever suits your tastes or needs better. There are all-inclusive resorts that include dinner, drinks, rooms and various other amenities.

If all-inclusive isn't for you, just choose the resort option and have your dinners out in a cute little town, call in room service or have dinner in one of the hotel's restaurants.

When booking, you can also choose to include the flight to your destination. Usually when booking all of your options together you can get a discounted price and have everything bundled through one agency so it's easier to make all of your plans go smoother.

Once arriving, sunshine, snorkeling, sailing and more adventures await. I actually just booked a Mexican vacation to the beautiful Playa del Carmen. We went for all-inclusive that covers just about everything and even includes non-motorized watersports. We are even looking to see what is offered outside the resort. Many of the excursions involve Mayan ruins tours, snorkeling at various locations, jungle tours with ziplines and ATVs, cave adventures and waterfalls.

If you wish to do a little research of your own, I've found that sites such as BookIt.com, vacationexpress.com, cheapcaribbean.com and Travel Zoo have some of the best deals around. If you have younger ones, as well, several places will let children stay free.

I definitely don't have a lot of money, but found an excellent deal and thanks to that my boyfriend and I can finally take an exotic, abroad vacation together. This will be his first trip outside of the United States and I'm glad it gets to be with me! I just hope the weather fairs well for us.

Maybe you can have a trip of a lifetime, too!

And even if you don't have a kid graduating to use as an excuse, a romantic getaway is excuse enough. Isn't it?

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