We've reviewed plenty of hotels and resorts in the Caribbean, the go-to choice for most travelers to the region. But for some families, skipping the hotel and renting a private home might be preferable. A house provides many advantages for families, like more room and amenities that can make travel with children much easier. It's one reason we like home swapping so much. 

The one drawback to renting a vacation house can be missing out on some of the services and amenities that you get at a hotel or resort. The family who wants the advantages of a house rental and the luxury service of a resort can find it with a company like Villas by Linda Smith in Jamaica. 

A trip to Ringing Rocks Park in Bucks County is far from your typical walk in the park. Instead of trees, creeks and woodland creatures being the main attraction here, visitors are drawn to a unique geologic phenomenon. Ringing Rocks Park contains an eight acre field of boulders that emit a bell-like sound when hit with a hammer.

The Hotel Riu Palace Tropical Bayis a 416-room all-inclusive resort in Negril, Jamaica. Accommodations, meals, sports, entertainment and drinks are all included. The pay-one-price option gives families the chance to engage in a variety of activities, without experiencing sticker shock when it comes time to pay the bill

Despite the large number of rooms, the resort feels manageable, thanks to its compact layout. The Hotel Riu Palace Tropical Bay stands out for personalized service and a staff that is genuinely friendly.  It takes just over an hour to get to the resort from the Montego Bay airport, so you’ll be on the beach soon after clearing customs.

As we prepare for Halloween with our kids this week—buying high-tech costumes that sometimes seem like they came from a studio wardrobe department, or getting crafty in the new age of Pinterest perfection—it's made us think back to our own childhood get-ups. For a bit of fun, we asked our writers to share pics from Halloweens way past, and we've created a gallery of low-tech costumes that we wore when we were kids. (Our trip down memory lane involved a lot of old Polaroid scanning.)

I had forgotten how often we used to dress as hobos, Raggedy Ann, and Native Americans in the '70s. Remember those funky Ben Cooper, Inc. boxed costumes we used to pick up at the drug store? I still recall the sensation of poking my tongue through that scratchy mouth hole in the mask all night long; I knew it was a bad idea, but I couldn't seem to stop myself. And trying to get through the night without ripping the accompanying thin plastic sheet printed with our favorite pop-culture icon— ever wonder why the face of the character had to be printed on the chest of the costume, too? Why? Why!