Advice needed
 

Taking kids 6 and 5 to Caribbean. At first looked at USVI or Puerto Rico. Under 3000 if possible. Not interested in Mexico or Bahamas. Please any advice on where parents have vacationed that they felt safe and kids enjoyed. Not looking for busy resort would prefer quieter villas or hotel on the beach. Which island where to stay etc.... Is a car rental needed? We enjoy exploring. Any advice or tidbits would be apprepricatef

Turks and Caicos or caymans. Both extremely kid friendly.

Rental car to explore, taxi really adds up

Both have condo resorts, with full kitchens, etc. Your budget will be kinda tight though.

You can get some 2-3 bedroom villas in TCI for your price, but they are a block or 2 from beach, but gorgeous and luxurious. Most require cars though.

We have good friends who stayed in a condo on Loquillo beach in PR. They really liked it. Side trip to El Yunque.

Is the $3000 for accommodations, or is it for everything? If your total budget, I don't think its sufficent. If only for a villa and car, then I definitely second Providenciales. A great choice.

St Thomas has several low-rise condo properties on beaches. Look at Secret Harbour, Sapphire, Cowpet West, Elysian, Anchorage. You might be able to save some by having a kitchen for breakfast and lunch. Car rental is recommended because taxi prices are per person and add up quickly.

Hmm. You were looking at the Marriott, which is a busy resort. They will have more activities for the children, but a condo will be quieter. Two different experiences, IMHO.

We decided on the USVI. Not sure which island yet. We looked at the Elysian beach resort on st thomas. Opinions? Air and hotel has to be under 3000. Tough but hoping in the summer rates are cheaper. We would like a place directly on the beach so the kids have access to walk out the door and there's the beach with a swimming pool also. Any advice would be great first time to usvi and since we don't have passports this seems like a good destination for us.
But where to stay that's on the beach and safe?

Where are you flying from? Airfare to the USVI's for a family of 4 will use up a large portion (maybe 50%) of your $3,000 budget - think around a minimum of $400/per person and perhaps as much as $800/person depending on your home airport and your dates of travel.

Fortunately, accommodations are at their lowest during the summer but you'll still be looking at low end properties to stay within your budget. Hint: Some beachfront resorts/hotels/condos have rooms/units that are have garden views rather than beachfront or water views - they are usually less expensive but still give you access to all the "resort's" amenities.

Don't forget to also budget for food, off-resort activities and rental car or taxis.

Since $3000 includes air, you're probably left with Mexico and Dominican Republic.

Most air is $400-$500 pp leaving accommodations at $200 nightly. Plus you'll need either rental car or taxi, and taxi adds up. Pretty much leaves out all the other suggestions.

I wish air was lower, but it's really expensive to fly these days!

I am not confident your budget is sufficient if it has to include basically everything, even in the summer in Mexico or the DR. But it really matters where you're coming from. You're going to be in an extra-budget accommodation, likely not on the beach, so a rental car will almost certainly be necessary.

FYI: Elysian Beach Resort is an older timeshare, so it's going to be very basic and not very nice (and typical of what you'll be able to afford for that price). That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's something to be aware of.

Agreed that Elysian is pretty basic. Decent pool, OK beach. Check our JetBlue Getaway packages from your city. Helps if your dates are flexible. You can do Elysian or Marriott Morningstar from Boston, air and hotel, for just under $3000 in July.

I would look at places less expensive than the USVI so you can get a nicer resort for the same amount of money.

Try and a/I DR or Maya Riviera in Mexico. With $3K to include air for 3 people kids pay full price I would try there for in summer they advertise kids stay free in some places. Also try Barbados. In the summer they have some good package deals. Try looking on cheap Caribbean or applesvacation.com and see what you can come up with.