Caribbean or Mexico
 

Hi - My husband and I were looking into celebrating our 20th Anniversary in Feb/March - Trying to figure out if we should go to Mexico, or Caribbean. We would love a hotel with a nice pool (infinity would be nice), a great beach with beautiful, (color), calm, warm water, and nice places to eat/shop. Any suggestions? I would be open to a cruise, but I would have to talk my husband into it. Also, how soon should we reserve - do you get a better deal reserving early, or last minute? We're fairly flexible. Thanks!

Some of the better Caribbean resorts are already sold out for much of March due to Spring Break. If you're flexible about dates, avoid Spring Break at all costs.
There are many places which would fit your goals. Budget is the most important factor. What kind of range are you thinking of?

travleis, we would like to keep it around $3000 for 6 nights. I loved to be pampered, but don't always have the budget for it. Also, can you tell me when is high/low time defined? - Is it different for Mexico/Caribbean. Also, we are flexible as far as exactly when we go - Jan thru April, even possible May. - I guess the most bang for the buck is what we're looking for! Also, that price doesn't include airfare, as we're hoping to use my husband's F.F. miles, - not sure how strict they are on all that! Any advice?
Thanks!

If you plan on using frequent flier miles, you should start booking now. Those seats are very hard to come by especially when going to popular destinations at popular times.

It's usually a lot more expensive in Mexico and Caribbean mid-December through end of March or mid-April, sometimes twice as much. Hotels vary as to specific dates, but if you could go in May, you would avoid spring break crowds and also get a better deal.

Yes I agree with Samsaf,
Offseason is typically Apr 15 - Dec 15 where the rates go down sometimes drastically. May is a great time, just before hurricane season...very slow travel time, you should find good deals.

Thanks for the advice - I guess we'll focus on May - & hopefully be able to us Frequent Flier Miles!

Elle,
You shouldn't have too much trouble with FF miles in May. Are you using American miles?

No, they're United

Ewww United is terrible for Caribbean service, they only fly to San Juan (daily) and St. Thomas (Sat service only). However, they do have service to Costa Rica, Mexico City...oh this is a squeeze from memory but I think Cancun (but yukk). Ok based on that, recommend take the St. Thomas flights but take ferry to St. John, rent a villa and relax...perfect.
Too bad FF miles not on AA.....they service just about the whole Caribbean. You know you might do better with UA miles to something like Hawaii, Europe or perhaps a partner to So. Pacific....very nice and different than Caribbean. Or perhaps Singapore/Malaysia. Just thoughts hope this helps.

Elle,
More to add...I'd highly recommend Costa Rica as a destination, absolutely great country, however, flights there are usually pretty cheap (~$350, from east coast) so it would be a waste of 35,000 miles....thats a ticket best bought out right.

Assuming US Airways is still in operation, you could use your UA miles to get to MANY destinations in the Caribbean via US Airways - so don't worry about UA's limited Caribbean service.

Whoops, forgot to mention...some of my favorite places include St. John with day sails to neighboring islands, Barbados and Aruba. Playa del Carmen and the area south is very nice as well. This area provides many side trip options such as Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, Tulum, Cancun - grand 5* resorts as well as top rated, beachfront boutique properties - great restaurants - culture - history - beautiful beaches - diving, etc. Wow, maybe I need to plan a trip back to the Riveria Maya this Winter.

I would not tangle US Airways with UA miles at this point, whereas UA certainly will reaccomodate you and you won't be out the miles but you could have some serious hiccups should US Airways cease operations just before or during your trip.

sorry if this is a late responce.. Usually the first week of Dec. is always cheep for most resorts... then the first week in Feb. I have had good luck with CheepCarribbean.com for resorts in that area. They also deal with US airways.
joanne

United is now offering daily service to Aruba. My husband and I just made arrangements for the first week of March.