Help us choose a caribbean location!
 

Hi everyone!

My husband and I have finally paid off all of our debt, and saved enough to go on the Honeymoon we never had. :) But since we have no experience traveling out of country we need your experienced help please!

So our budget is roughly 4000 though we could be a lil flexible if we were convinced it was worth it! This budget would need to count airfare, accommodations, food and activities. We are very flexible on when we go as far as time of year, and we are wanting at least 7 days of vacation total. (More would be nice if we can afford.. We'd LOVE it to be 10 days...but not sure what we could afford.) As far as AI vs. Not AI we have yet to be fully convinced either way, so we are open to your opinions either way.

Our Wish List:
Warm Water
Blue Water
Beautiful Beaches
A/C in hotel
Beachfront Accommodations
Not overly windy (normal amount is fine, just looking for nothing extreme)
Reasonably Safe (as we are first time travelers)
Good Food! (We are not huge on seafood though...)
No Mosquito Nets (We are hoping to avoid Zika, though we are realistic that that is not a guarantee anywhere we are looking.)

Activities we're interested in:
Beach (Walks along/laying on/swimming/boogie boarding etc)
Kayaking
Horseback Riding on the beach
Ziplining
Snorkeling
Swimming with wildlife...(and/or dolphins?) (We are not interested in captive dolphins though...but a boat ride to see wild ones would be fun, and swimming-with would be a bonus)
Hiking (Waterfalls and/or seeing fun wildlife a bonus!)
Jet Skiing
((Please note: We don't need to have ALL of these things..this is just an idea of things we'd like doing. The more available at a location the better, but we don't expect to do them all necessarily!))

We have been looking at basically ALL of the Caribbean islands, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Dominican Republic. We are not really interested in Mexico, unless you can convince us otherwise.

Would love your thoughts on which location would be good for us, as well as any potential accommodation ideas.

THANK YOU in advance for all of your help! :)

Playa del Carmen México. Everything you want in your budget

I would also suggest that you look at areas south of Playa Del Carmen. You should be able to get ten days there outside of high season, like May -- which is a great time to go anywhere in the Caribbean. Check out someplace like Akumal Beach and Wellness resort.

You could also get beachside accommodations on Virgin Gorda (BVI), though nothing fancy, off season -- flights could be expensive though, depending on where you are departing from.

Mayan Riviera of Mexico offers the most of what you request and your money will go further than on any of the Caribbean islands.

Look at Isla Mujeres, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel, Akumal, Tulum for starters.

I am not sure your initial hesitation against Mexico, so I'm not sure what to say to "convince" you but local people are friendly, weather is great, flights are frequent, peso is trading way in favor of the USD right now (not sure where you are from). Stay 10 days, don't go All Inclusive.

Punta Cana will be probably cheaper that Playa del Carmen and you will have a better beach.

Another vote for Riviera Maya Mexico. It has everything on your wish list, and if you pick the right place, and the right time of year, 10 days (might) just be doable.