Help! Island travel in August (from Minneapolis)
 

Dear travelers,

I have never been to the Caribbean since a beach vacation had never interested me before - but now I am ready to try sitting on an island away from all the stress of life and enjoy the slower pace. My boyfriend and I are hoping to go somewhere for 2 weeks in August - and the longer I am looking the more overwhelmed I feel. Help!

What I'm looking for:
- a place that is not completely overrun with tourists - it's fine if there is "nothing to do" there, e.g. no need for discos, etc.

- natural beauty, if possible some topography, not completely flat. A volcano would be ideal!

- someplace that's not insanely expensive (including the flights). We are fine with layovers and taking local boats and staying in small hostels/family owned pensions, no need for luxury and convenience.

Any leads for me? I had thought Providencia Island originally, but it would be great to find a place a little cheaper to fly to...

Thank you so much for any suggestions!

Yana

What's not expensive? Without a budget we have no idea.

After that, the cheaper places tend to be Isla Mujeres Mexico, Tulum area, and Dominican Republic.

Good point, blamona. I would love to find something for around 700-800 for a flight maybe. And a room for about 50 bucks a night. Unrealistic?

First, by "Providencia" do you really mean the island of Providenciales in the Turks & Caicos. If so, you should know that island is very flat and arid and does not have a volcano. It is also one of the more expensive destinations in the Caribbean and not the best option for "budget travelers".

If your budget of $700 to $800 for airfare is per person you'll have a lot of destination options. If that's your total airfare budget for the two of you then you should concentrate on looking at Cancun (which also includes Playa del Carmem, Tulum and Isla Mujeres), the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Jamaica as airfares to those destinations are traditionally among the lowest you'll find.

Wow, $50US per night isn't going to get you very much in the Caribbean but you may find hostels or rooms at a few guest houses in that price range. You might want to check out the island of Dominica - it's an ecotourist's delight and not overrun with tourists. It may be perfect for you if the airfare meets your budget.

Actually, I meant the island of Providencia that belongs to Columbia, so technically that may not be considered the Caribbean, my apologies.

I was thinking of flight prices per person - I haven't been finding much under $700-800 from Minneapolis to the Caribbean in August. Not for both - I wish...

Thanks for the feedback on lodging, that's really helpful.

Thanks so much, this all helps a lot since I am so unfamiliar with this kind of vacation.

You might like Costa Rica, either the Caribbean coast or the Pacific Coast. Look also at Belize and Roatan, they are two of the more economical destinations in the Caribbean - still somewhat "undiscovered" so your money will go a bit further.

Lastly, you might want to pose your question on the Lonely Planet Caribbean Forum - that website is popular with backpackers and young budget travelers who are probably more familiar with hostels and inexpensive guest houses than the regular contributors on this forum who tend to have bigger travel budgets than yours.