gofishtlp

I will be flying from the midwest in February somewhere to celebrate a long weekend with some friends. I need to pick the destination. I would like to keep travel time short and costs fairly low and want to make sure it is warm enough to swim in the ocean that time of year. Any recommendations? Thanks in advance

A_Traveller

The further south you travel in the Caribbean the warmer the water will be. You'll generally find the waters suitable for swimming on any island from Puerto Rico south. You should avoid any of the Bahamas as both water and air temps can be "iffy" at that time of year. Some people will recommend the Turks & Caicos because they are close to the US but waters will not be quite as warm as on more sothern islands. Depending on which airline serves your closest International Gateway airport (sorry can be more specific since the term "mid-west" covers a wide area) you probably can reach one or more of the following islands non-stop - all of which will have "warm water" (listed from north to south): Grand Cayman, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Domenican Republic, St. Thomas, St. Martin, Antigua, Barbados, St. Lucia or Aruba.

anonxx

Check out Grand Cayman. 80 degree water and weather in January. Not sure where you fly out of, but direct flights from Mpls, Chicago, Detroit, etc. via Northwest & others. Cayman Air had a cheap Chicago air sale, not sure if it's still going.

LvSun

In late January and early February from Puerto Rico to Aruba, we have always found the waters to be perfect -cool enough to be refreshing but warm enough to be comfy. After 45 minutes of snorkeling, I get cold but seems like I am usually the only one in my group who does.

I would head for an island in this area. Have never been to Cancun so I cannot comment on the waters there. We were in Belize this year and while the water temperature was great, the waters right off the beach were not the beautiful crystal clear blue waters you find at the beaches in the islands.

We have found the waters in the Baja of Mexico (Cabo and Loreto) to be too cold for us to enjoy watersports.

Knowing

We are able to fly direct from Mpls to Grand Cayman. It's safe to say that it is a shorter destination and warm water, but not cheap. We also found Jamaica to be a fairly decent flight with warm water, better prices and lots to see and do for a short weekend.