I'd go to Puerto Vallarta Mexico no contest. You don't need a rental car. Most of the condos aren't actually ON the beach though. Many are up on the hillside overlooking the ocean/town.

PV may or may not be to your taste, it is a fairly large and busy city. But you did ask where *I* would go, and that's the answer!

I'd go to Belize - we did a split between the San Ignacio area with adventure activities, ruins, caving, etc. and Ambergris for water and beach. Check out Hol Chan - some of the most amazing snorkeling we've ever done. We saw huge rays, colorful tropical fish, sea turtles, etc. there. You could also take a look at St. John - really beautiful with good snorkeling as well.

Belize is a great choice and Roatán, Honduras another one - loads of rentals there and the snorkeling is great from shore. Happy planning!

Costa Rica would be a great choice, specifically Playa Flamingo. There are many beautiful vacation rentals and many are available right on the beach. I haven't been to Hawaii, but many visitors say the area looks like Hawaii before all of the development and tourists.

Thanks so much! I looked at Belize and Costa Rica but had not thought of Roatan or PuertoVallarta. Now obsessed w/VRBO More ideas or votes on the above please.

We spend three months every winter in Belize. On Ambergris Caye, to be exact. We walk everywhere. No car rentals available, although you can rent golf carts.

We made our first trip to Bonaire last fall. Talked about returning for a month this fall. Plans have changed, will probably on go for two weeks. I was surprised how much we enjoyed Bonaire. It doesn't have great beaches, but, the snorkeling is incredible. I was amazed at how many really good restaurants there are on that little island.

You might want to look at Akumal on the Mexican Caribbean. Very relaxing little area with great snorkeling, beaches, restaurants and a short drive to some world class Mayan ruins. Have you checked out locogringo.com ?

Hello my name is eric you should go to Costa Rica, if you flight to Liberia and one hour later you can get to the area of pan de azucar beach there are two places to stay las Catalina or sugar beach hotel l thing you would have a great vacation there.

Thank you all again. Puerto Vallarta is our first choice at the moment-we have been to Costa Rica and Belize in the past and look forward to returning with our grandchildren, but think a month may be too long us. I've been known to change my mind though.......

Since you mention VRBO, please let me tell you the agency I used my last trip and found a fantastic apartment in Puerto Vallarta (it sat high on a hill overlooking the ocean, but only a 5 mins walk to the beach using various staircases that connect the neighborhood). www.vallarta-getaways.com They manage units in several buildings including Selva Romantica, Posada Rio Cuale, Loma del Mar, and el Escondido to name a few I know of.

Have you been to Puerto Vallarta before? If not, or even if you have, I have a couple fairly long threads here on Fodor's under my screen name with all kinds of good suggestions (not just mine, lots of people joined in). Also the PV forum over at Trip Advisor is pretty good.

The thing about Puerto Vallarta is you're looking at a fairly large city, where some of the other destinations suggsted are more nature and touring oriented. PV is a place I could live permanently myself. So 1 month would be a dream.

If I had your budget, I would try Costa Rica or Belize, but on my budget, I go to Puerto Vallarta -- the Old Town, not the sterile Marina or Nuevo areas. It's a friendly and easy-going place, with lots to do -- nearly all of the Americans and Canadians I meet are there for at least a month, often three or four. They even have a community center, Paradise on Pulpito, half a block from the Los Muertos beach.

I really recommend you the south of Mexico. The Sate of Chiapas includes San Cristobal de las casas, Palenque, Yaxchilan, Bonampak.
the State of Campeche with Campeche city.
The State of Yucatan includes Merida and Chichen Itza.
The state of Quintana Roo includes. Playa del Carmen, Tulum, The hotel zone of Tulum, Coba, Etc. Best Regards

Ex NYC'er now living in Costa Rica.....tough situation you are in....I could plant myself in the Zancudo area or Santa Teresa. Coyote is very nice and situated between Mal Pais and Samara. You could even break it up and do two weeks, giving a you the opportunity to enjoy two different regions...Osa & Caribbean, Osa & Guanacaste..Caribbean & Guanacaste..as examples.

Look at Playa del Carmen, MX. You fly into Cancun. You can get a great oceanfront rental for a lot less than your budget for month of Feb. (look at El Faro condos, very niceoceanfront, good service and restaurant, great location, great pool and balconies). You don't need a car in Playa, everything you want and need is walkable. From Playa, you can do many day trip tours, to Chichen Itza, to Coba, to Tulum, snorkeling at Akumal w/sea turtles and great fish, to Cozumel on the ferry that leaves right form Playa, etc. Weather is fantastic in Feb. Lots of Canadians spend Feb. there so book early to get a good oceanfront condo.

El Faro is the nicest oceanfront, IMO. Elements is also nice and very upscale; instead of being in middle of oceanfront area it is at the north end of playa and a more quiest area, but beach in front of it and the beach chair area is not as nice as El Faro, plus no restaurant.

P.S. The Riveira Maya in MX has a very good system of colectivos, vans that seat 12-15 people that go up and down the one highway that goes to all the beach resorts, Playa Del Carmen, Akumal, Tulum, etc. It is a very cheap system to use, easy, and reliable. Very good service from Playa to other places in those colectivos.

So many great suggestions-thank you so much! We decided to try Puerto Vallerta this year, found a nice condo in the Romantic Zone and non-stop flight. Feb. is far away, but many condos do book early so I'm glad I started planning. In the meantime the weather right here is glorious so I'll stop dreaming of the future and enjoy NOW.

We live the month of February in Cozumel, Mexico every winter. The snorkeling is great (2nd largest reef in the world), there are lots of activities (Feb is Carnival, Sunday's on the central square, salsa at Playa Azul every Sunday afternoon, fishing, diving, cooking classes), the people are amazing, its easy to get there from NY, restaurants are plentiful and excellent, shopping is good, lots to do if the weather turns rainy for a few days (movies in English, spas, etc.), excellent groceries, bakeries, fish, wines & spirits, it wouldn't be hard to find a very nice condo on the water in your price range. From some of the North end condos, you can walk to town -- or bring your bikes. Great flat island for biking.

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