Does anyone have any suggestions for a 7 day vacation around $3-4k. Including airfare from Tokyo for 2 adults and 2 children and hotel stay. Preferably somewhere relaxing and warm around March/April time frame. Thailand? Saipan?

I haven't been to Saipan but have been to Guam twice. For my family of 5, which with the ages of my kids, its 4 adults and 1 child it cost us through IACE about $4500. That was for 6 days/5nights at the PIC (Pacific Island Club) and we had 2 rooms. We went both times at Christmas. The rooms at the PIC aren't the best however the water park and beach festivities are great. You can pretty much spend your entire time at the water park and beach and not leave the hotel except maybe to eat but they also have several restraunts in the hotel as well.

We stayed at the Navy Gateway in Guam (the one off-base) and it was $67/night I believe for a living room (with pull-out couch for kids), kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Was VERY nice and we ate breakfast in our room b/c we had a kitchen. Saved us a bundle and then we went parasailing, scuba-diving, snorkeling, submarine ride, etc. Ate at restaurants around Guam. Got our plane tickets at IACE ...

The airfare is what will kill you. My advice is take the Space A flight from Yokota to Singapore, fly commercial from Singapore to Bali and enjoy yourself. If you cannot use space A or cannot tolerate the hassles, a package to Guam is your best bet. Oh... Also consider Okinawa, if you don't mine staying in Japan.

I went to Bali it was nice I had a great time but I don't think my kids would've liked it and they are a pre-teen and teenager. They loved Guam that's why we went 2 years in a row. We also did the snorkeling, parasailing, seawalker, submarine ride etc etc. For the most part they all have age restrictions except for the submarine ride. Snorkeling, kayaking, wind surfing, archery, basketball, tennis, water tug of war, water slides etc etc are all included at the water park at the PIC. Okinawa is also very nice and weather is warmer there than here. You can also Space A it to Oki or try Skymark airlines. It's basically like Southwest but only flies throughout Japan. Your ages of your kids and what they like to do or are old enough to do will probably weigh heavy on your decision.

Okinawa is warm and for that amount of money you could have a blast there! Check out the ANA Hotel or Hotel Moon Beach...perhaps get a plan from JTB.

Saipan is okay, but after three days you have done it all. Beautiful area, but again...SMALL.

Thailand is superb depending on how old your children are...I highly suggest Phuket, Kata Beach Resort and I prefer using www.asiatravel.com for travel to Thailand (get airline tickets from JTB).

It is not really warm during those months, but Hong Kong is a fabulous place to visit/vacation and for that amount of money you could get a decent hotel (Flights are really cheap). You could also take the ferry over to Macau...(I believe it is no longer off limits).

Thanks. My kids are 4 and 7.

Thanks. My kids are 4 and 7.

Personally then, I would go to Hong Kong...  HK Disney Land is great, hardly any lines compared to Tokyo Disney land.  A day trip to Macau you can see several World Heritage Sites (mostly religious -- Catholic) and all the walking around will make them dead tired at the end of the day.  Victoria's Peak is a fun trip as well with lots to do on top of the mountain.  The Subways are child friendly and you all can get an Octopus card (similar to the Suica/Passmo) which gives you head of line privileges at a lot of the tourist spots.  When you are leaving you can cash out any balance on the card too.  Needless to say there is the shopping which is unbelievable.  A trip out to Stanley Market, then there is the midnight Market and one cannot forget the Women's Market.

I agree with Wilson. Hong Kong is another great place to go. They also have another theme park called Ocean Park (might not be exact name) which has some rides, giant panda's and some other animals. The SHOPPING their is GREAT!! I would take a trip their for like a day or two just to shop.

And to add to the endorsement for Hong Kong. The museums we went to on the Kowloon side were great. They were the science center and space museum. You can get a five day pass for adults is only $30 HKD. Kids are a bit less.

My son and I went in Nov he is 6.5 hrs old and on the day we left after 8 days of being there he told me he was not done seeing Hong Kong yet.

Beware a major rip-off in Phuket: Jet ski rentals. After the rental, they'll claim you damaged the craft and want hundreds of dollars in recompense. The cops are in cahoots with the rental operators, so you won't get any help from them. Phuket can be a fun place, but be wary. There are many rip-offs.

For that matter there are scams everywhere, I just got back from HK and Bali and they all have their own downsides along with the benefits of seeing something new. Of course you can get ripped off in the US just as easy too.

I'm not sure you can do Bali on 3-4K, the airline was 1K each and our resort was about 200 a night after all the local tax (21%) etc. etc., plus food was about 80-90 a day, and then you have the elephant rides and monkey tours etc. etc.

I just read an article about someone that contracted HIV from getting a tattoo there, also read up on the fugly bali website for more pointers, I didn't find it overly dangerous though.  But the checks for explosives is a joke it appears it is actually done only to satisfy the tourism not to really find anything.

Bali has a classic scam offering to help with your luggage when you arrive they actually move it about 30 feet to immigration and then demand a tip in IDR currency. I was tipped off about that one so I was expecting that one. They also were quick to short change you if you didn't keep an eye on them.


I found HK to be interesting, many of the locals were rude in general, unless you were buying something from them of course. On several occasions those actions really stood out as compared to Japan, I have never seen that behavior in Japan.  In HK it seemed like every time there was a line for something there were a few trying to cut in front of the crowd.  After you notice it a few times you realize that it speaks volumes about their culture.

HK should be easy to do in that price range tickets maybe 500 each ??, we stayed in a really nice hotel that was about 150. a night. I agree some of the food was awesome, the only marginal food we had was actually Chinese food. The boat rides are really nice around the city and reasonable too. Tour buses are are a great way to get a feel for the city too. There are plenty of shady people on the street pan handling.

As for the jet ski scam in Phuket, I had that exact scam done to me in Key West over mopeds.  It took a while and some effort but I was able to get the 500.00 back they charged my credit card for damage that I didn't do.

If you are looking for something that is in a nice beach with things to do for your family and fits your budget you. should try boracay Philippines. The airfare wont be super cheap for sure probably around 1500 but the hotels and everything else are cheap there because a dollar can buy you a lot of stuff there already. Or you can also try Singapore. They got nice places but not very cheap though.

My two kids at the time was 2 an 12 months alone with my husband and I went to Pattaya, Thaliand.Though this was around 2006 for 12 days, the airfare and hotel together did not exceed 2500.. There is so much that have changed with prices now

Posted By ThaiGuy on 12-27-2011 8:56 AM
Beware a major rip-off in Phuket: Jet ski rentals. After the rental, they'll claim you damaged the craft and want hundreds of dollars in recompense. The cops are in cahoots with the rental operators, so you won't get any help from them. Phuket can be a fun place, but be wary. There are many rip-offs.

The following ONLY APPLIES TO THAILAND:

Posted By Akakmg on 12-29-2011 4:36 PM
If you are looking for something that is in a nice beach with things to do for your family and fits your budget you. should try boracay Philippines. The airfare wont be super cheap for sure probably around 1500 but the hotels and everything else are cheap there because a dollar can buy you a lot of stuff there already. Or you can also try Singapore. They got nice places but not very cheap though.

I don't know any other services, but for the longest time US Navy members were not allowed to go to Boracay (some exceptions).  I agree it is a great location with very beautiful beaches, but last I checked it was off limits to USN members.

But why?

Posted By Wilson on 01-19-2012 2:00 PM

I don't know any other services, but for the longest time US Navy members were not allowed to go to Boracay (some exceptions).  I agree it is a great location with very beautiful beaches, but last I checked it was off limits to USN members.

Any idea why?  I know 2 Navy families who have been there in the last month & they came back raving about it. 

Posted By ThaiGuy on 01-19-2012 2:13 PM

Any idea why?  I know 2 Navy families who have been there in the last month & they came back raving about it. 

It was on some State Department travel restriction memorandum for terroristic activities.  I had some friends try to go there last year and USFJ denied their travel.  I know civilians can go there for sure on their own, but the military is supposed to require the prior approval for certain locations and last year Boracay was one of them.  I don't know current policy though so it might have been de-listed.

What type of vacation package does MWR offer from Yokusko? 

http://mwryokosuka.wordpress.com/

http://mwryokosuka.wordpress.com/information-tours-ticketing/

Flew to Manila for $400 on Jetstar. then to Boracay on Tiger airways for $75. book early. Boracay was fun not sure it would be so great for 4 and 7 though. Jet skis were $40 for 30 minutes. Other water activities were cheap as well. 

I am civilian but went with 2 navy families. April 2013.  Food was cheap too.

Boracay is very nice and more resort like than most of the Philippines with the exception of maybe Cebu. Unfortunately military will have a hard time reach these two destinations due to the FPCON. As far as I know Luzon is ok, everything else is classified FPCON B or C. Here is the link to the Foreign Clearance Guide, Philippines section.

https://www.fcg.pentagon.mil/fcg.cfm

Remember, if you are military you need to submit your foreign clearance request 30-days in advance or it will automatically be disapproved by PACOM. Everything you need to know is in the link and what needs to be submitted. Good luck.