First-timers-- need some help!
 

My boyfriend and I, of four years, are planning a trip to somewhere hot for late May/early June. We have never been to Mexico or the Caribbean Islands, and are looking for some advice on which is the best for our purposes.

(I have been going through other threads, but thought it would be beneficial to post my own.)

Here are our qualifications:

-We are both in our early 20s.

-want to spend most of the trip on activities (with about 25-35% on beaches). We are interested in sportfishing, snorkeling, or other water activities.

- dining is somewhat important--we don't travel for the food, but would like to experience the culture. (probably would be eating breakfast and one afternoon/evening meal a day)

- nightlife is really important, as far as mingling with the locals, getting some culture. On average, we would stay out until 10-11 pm, but we are not necessarily looking for dance clubs with DJs (live music is a huge plus!) Somewhere with night scene within walking distance is great!

- shopping is a very small part of our trip. We may visit some local shops, but would prefer to spend our time elsewhere (in the sun/water! We are flying from Seattle and don't get much of that up here!)

- We are looking for a location that offers plenty to do, but does not look like Disneyland (screaming kids, long lines, huge crowds). We were totally sold on Playa Del Carmen (the Royal) until we saw the photos and realized there was no vegetation . It appeared to be all city. We want some seclusion, to that extent. Playa seemed too busy for us.

- We are considering all-inclusive, but not sold on it (so no real preference)

- Finally, we will be traveling for about 6-7 nights

Thank you (in advance) for all of your help with this! We are not stuck on all of these preferences, but we wanted to mention them. Some places we are looking at are Barbados and Anguilla. Any suggestions?

Barbados is one of the most diverse places in the Caribbean and has so mnay activities. It also offers more attractions per square mile than any other Caribbean island.

You can find everything from exciting nightlife to fine dining. The beaches are lovely and there is shopping. There are so many good restaurants, I really don't recommend AI's there.

Thanks for the great advice Knowing. Do you have any recommendations on where to stay? We want to be close to (within walking distance or a cheap cab ride) the Gap.

I'm suprised you indicated there was no vegatation in Playa del Carmen. We stayed at the Royal Playa del Carmen in September and loved it. In the actual town of Playa del Carmen, I can see maybe no direct vegatation, but once you get away from the town, there is. There are many, many hotels in the Mayan Riviera away from the actual town of Playa del Carmen if your looking for more seclusion and flora.

Mexico is one of our favorite destainations because there is so much to see and do off the resort. We've been several times and have plans to return. If your interested here's the site to our vacation photo album's:

http://community.webshots.com/user/kvrlvn

You are describing San Juan, Puerto Rico area Loads of things to do; including, as you mentioned fishing,snorkeling,nightlife,etc. One of the best times I've had was;booking a catamaran/snorkeling trip (alcohol and food incl.)............Don't 4get to take the ferry to Culebra or Vieques. (2 islands off the coast of PR)

4got to mention::No passport needed since PR is part of the US.

I second the comments about Barbados. It is an island which has at least some of everything the islands have to offer, except a volcano. Lovely people, wide variety of restaurants, beaches, sightseeing, nitelife. The beaches in the Gap area are not good for snorkeling like the west coast beaches north of Bridgetown. If you stay near the Gap, Bougainvillea is nice and on a nice beach. If Almond Casuarina beach is open by then, even better. The west coast hotels are in a more scenic area. But the most beautiful areas are away from Bridgetown and the built-up coastal strip. In addition to your water activities, try to see some of the land sights. Barbados has two of the most spectacular tropical gardens anywhere in Flower Forest and Andromeda Gardens. (A visitor once wrote in a guest book, "If I owned Flower Forest and Paradise, I'd live in Flower Forest and rent out Paradise.") Harrison's cave has a very good underground tour, and there are plantation houses and many other sights. See www.barbados.org