beach, food, little snokeling
 

Hi,

My wife and I (just the two of us) are looking for a beautiful, swimable, beach destination anywhere in the Caribbean for five days or so next Spring. We have 6 kids - we NEED relaxation! A good beach for sunning on; a good, pretty mellow ocean for floating in, a good pool for the occasional quick dip, good food nearby and maybe one day of exploration and snorkeling. Price range- under $350 per night. All-inclusive is a consideration for the stress-free factor but food has to be pretty good. AI price limit about $300 per person per day. Thanks for your thoughts.

hi maytoad - 6 kids huh. wow you really DO need a break. imho grace bay beach on provo sounds like just the ticket. 2 ai's. one is beaches and you definetly do not want to go there, the other is an all adult club med. there are several very nice hotels and alot of condo style resorts. all are directly on the beach, most have pools.
provo has a plethora of good restaurants. if you go be sure and have dinner one night at anacona. oh so romantic!!!
grace bay is protected from rough water by the surrounding reef, and has some of nicest,softest, whitest sand on earth. the snorkeling is very good from the beach.
provo is small enough to explore easily in one day. a very laid back island. not much nightlife.
it is not to difficult to fly there - meaning easy connections from miami or san juan.
www.provo.net is a great site to link to everything you'll need to know.

Not sure I understand you correctly, are you asking for under $350 per night total for accommodation, or $350 per room ?

Let's say per room, and you want two rooms (or condos), then that is $700 per night.

You then said up to $300 AI.. which really makes my case against AIs... as that would be $2400 per night, or $1700 per night difference for food and drink for 8 people :)

Cayman does not really do AIs, so consider Cayman, and renting either a 3 bedroom condo (would sleep all 8 of you) or two 2 bed condos (would give more room), or even a villa.

You should be able to get great accommodation for all of you for uner $900 per night total, and then you can take your choice from the local restaurants, and mix it up with doing some cooking of your own, as we have high quality grocery stores here with all USDA meat etc.

Just so you know, Provo is more commonly known as Turks and Caicos, the locals call it Provo. I completely second it!!!! One of the best beaches in the world, water is crystal clear and bright turqiouse, sand is blinding white. Great restaurants, look into Sands Resort, or Royal West Indies for your budget.
You can walk down and snorkel off the beach at Coral Gardens. For excursions, look at silverdeep.com and jbtours.com. The water really looks like those pictures!

Dear Maytoad,
I would suggest South Andros Island in the Bahamas. It is the most relaxing place I have ever been. There are two boutique resorts which would be perfect for you and your wife. Their websites are tiamoresorts.com (no pool) and emerald-palms.com, respectively. Then go to androsdiving.com for discounts on these resorts. Have a wonderful trip.

Reread his note - there is just the two of them NOT his kids.

Doh ! My apologies.... $350 per night and $600 per couple per day for food and drink will still go a long way in Cayman (or pretty much any Caribbean Island) :)

You may want to check out Anguilla for great beaches and good restaurants. I think if your budget is $600 a day you should be fine. Cuisinart and Cap Juluca are very popular.

I'm a big Cayman fan and the Cayman Islands sound perfect for you.. 7 Mile beach is just what you described and great restaurants all around.

2nd choice - Anguilla! Try Rendesvous Bay Resort! You can get a beachfront Villa with a huge porch - depending on what time of year you'll pay about $275 US per night in high season and cheaper in low season. Look for them on the web. Great restuarants on Anguilla and did I mention Rendezvous Beach Hotel is ocean front, right on the beach!

With six kids you need a get-a-way to either Grand Cayman or Anguilla!!!!

Lori