Looking to spend 5-7 days in the Caribbean over Christmas. Best bets for reasonable rates for a couple to rent a villa / apartment?

First, Christmas is the most expensive time of the far in the Caribbean.

Second, many, but not all, places have minimum stay requirements (7 to 14 days) at the time of year - this is especially true for rental villas, condos and apartments - so your choices may be limited.

Third, sorry but the term "reasonable rates" is meaningless without an actual dollar point of reference. Give us some idea of what is "reasonable" to you. It will make it a lot easier for contributors here to steer you in the right direction.

Fourth, areas in the Caribbean that are generally considered less expensive destinations include the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Cancun, Cozemel, Isla Mujeres and Belize so you might want to begin your search in those places.

7 to 14 is doable too, hoping to do something less than $3000. . .

Does $3000 cover air? If it does, it's impossible. Rates during Christmas and new years is usually triple what it normally is. It's the Caribbean "money week".

You might want to look at Cuzumel, maybe Dominican Republic. You might even have luck with Central America.

My best advice is not to go at Christmas. Not only is it crazy expensive, but it is also one of the most- if not THE most- crowded time of the year in the Caribbean other than spring break. What that means for you is heavy crowds at the airport and possibly at your destination, overstressed hotel employees, some long waits at restaurants even with a reservations, etc. Believe me, I've done it a few times due to other family members' schedules and it was really not fun. Should I go on about a nearly 45-minute wait at the towel hut during one of our Xmas vacations? Can you go at another time?

Your budget is tight but could be doable if the $3,000 is just for accommodations. If that budget number includes airfare and food you are going to have a real difficult time finding what you want.

Ocean Club and Ocean Club West (on Providenciales' Grace Bay in the Turks & Caicos) advertises a couple of smaller condos that you can rent for about $3,000/week during Christmas week.

There are some smaller one bedroom cottages on Nevis that, according to their respective websites, are priced close to $3,000/week (during Christmas) and I suspect you can find similar prices for similar size units on other islands during that same week.

But, and it's a big "BUT" finding a vacancy for this coming Christmas may be a bit tricky - many places (including the lower priced ones) are often booked a year in advance.

Try picking an island then do a google search using such topics as "Rental Villas, NAME OF ISLAND" or "NAME OF ISLAND rental condos". You'll find lots of links where you can research pricing to see what might be available in your price range. You can then check for availability. They only way to know if a place is available Christmas week is to contact them directly.

Try to remain flexible as to your destination and type of accommodations you want. Sometimes you'll find lower prices on villas/condos that are a bit further from the beach.

Good luck in your search.

www.magenspoint.com used to own a condo there

www.spirit.com cheap flights down

vrbo.com may have some options in some areas

like San Juan Puerto Rico in your price range

cheacaribbean.com a nice screening site for other areas