With your budget your choices are limited. Thats part of what makes Turks and Caicos so great!, especially for newer or nicer accommodations and free use of kayaks.

You might want to try Pineapple Fields in Eleuthera (Out Islands in Bahamas). Long beaches, and Tippys restaurant is really good. it's a lot more isolated than Provo, a lot more rustic, but decent rooms, long beach stretches.

You could also consider Club San Salvador, Bahamas. It is all inclusive, but food is amazing. Includes water sports and the beach is gorgeous! Yalu are limited to just the resort as nothing else really on the island, but actually in summer will meet your budget. It's not new nor upscale, but decent.

Really for the money there is no comparable trip!

eliminate st. thomas. too busy, no long beaches to walk, you'd need a car.
somewhere on seven mile beach on grand cayman would be a good choice. long safe beach, easy taxi to loads of dining options, quite safe. (we took my friends 81 yr old mom and felt quite safe - we rented a house on the north side) not sure about the $250/nt part.

otoh, since you enjoyed provo so much why don't you go back. you'll both feel safe & comfortable & familiar. (you can go off to other places when you travel with your buds)
several fodorites have had great luck finding a good deal using http://www.turksandcaicosreservations.tc/ ie royal west indies is offered at 40%/any room off to travel 7/1 thru 9/30 if booked by 7/15

Thanks you two! I believe I owe the both of you much of the credit for my first wonderful trip to T&C. I'm researching those other options... main problem is flights so far. Either too long to get there or too expensive. I hate how much more expensive travel seems to be getting.

Anguilla! It can be a pricey island but there are definitely accomodations in that price range. and some of the resorts/condos offer free nights in the summer. Carimar has pay for 5 get 7.

We live in Orlando, FL, so we can easily drive to many beautiful beaches, and do several times a year. But until we visited Turks this past January, we didn't know what a beautiful beach was.

Turks and Caicos has become our "big" vacation that we save for all year. It's worth it to us. We're already counting the weeks and days.

Try the Caribbean part of mexico... South of Cancun like Tulum and Playa del Carmen... Great beaches and lots to do and more affordable.

http://sbvillas.ai/

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g147238-d150644-Reviews-Shoal_Bay_Villas-Anguilla.html

Grace Bay, Ocean Club West (next door to Seven Stars) has been our go to place for the last 4 years but I must add that Anguilla on Shoal Bay East was quite remarkable.

Our balcony at Shoal Bay Villas was the closest to the sand that we have ever had. The property is a bit older but very well maintained. Certainly not anywhere close to Seven Stars newness & quality, but the beach is right up there with the beauty of Grace Bay. A few miles long, there are several beach bars & restaurants in walking distance. They do have a huge grocery store but you would have to take a cab. The sunsets from that property were absolutely stunning.

Right next door is Ku. A larger property but we still preferred SB Villas.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g147238-d152252-Reviews-Ku_Hotel-Anguilla.html

Anguilla has some exceptional resturants but you would have to take a cab. Anguilla also has some very high end properties similar to Seven Stars but, unfortuneately I think they would be above your budget, but maybe some deals can be had in July.

After visiting 20+ islands Grand Cayman might fit the bill with 7 mile beach and newer properties but I'm not sure about the price. We paid a lot more there but it was in March not July. You have an advantage in that month. I can't come up with a specific reason, but GC just wasn't our favorite.

Anguilla, IMO, is the only one that comes close to the beach beauty and quietness of Grace Bay. OTOH, it's a bit harder to get to.

Again, after 20+ islands, it's hard to beat Grace Bay and that's why we keep returning there. You could return & just try a different property for variety.

Good luck.

You all have sold me on Anguilla but it's a $1200 flight for our time frame.

Provo flight is around $700 right now.

FYI: Sands has had a $125 per night special on Jetsetter this week. Not sure if it's expired yet but if anyone's looking...
If you find that you need an invite, let me know and I'll try to send you an invite. It's one of those flash sale sites. I used it for San Francisco last summer.

One of the great things about Seven Stars was the complimentary shuttle and the location across street from groceries. Given all of that, we still spent $4000 for flights, resort, food, airport taxis for two people last time.

The flight to Nassau is the least expensive at $420. I was looking at those Eleuthera and Exumas options but they want you to buy a the whole package for the Out Islands specials and it looks like we would need a rental car there?
And if I understand the Exumas... is it a big boating culture with people island hoping on their own or rented boats?
Seems like something I do need to experience someday.

Spent 2.5 hours today trip shopping. Frustrating, but I guess it's a problem many wouldn't mind having.

St. Lucia. Getting a close up view of the Pitons, can hardly be rivaled in all of the carribean.