Hot weather, nice beach, interesting town ...
 

My wife and I are in our 60's. Our sole experience with the Caribbean was a wonderful 3-week stay in Puerto Rico.

We'll be celebrating our wedding anniversary on January 1st. Where can we take a 4 day trip (Saturday to Tuesday) and find hot weather, nice beach, and, perhaps, an interesting town? Thanks ...

Not sure where you are travelling from, but for a great town oozing with history and character, what about Basseterre in St Kitts? There are some nice hotels on the island, particularly the ones that are in old plantation buildings like Ottleys.
Barbados has great beaches, but may not be practical for a 4 day trip.
If you enjoy good food, Anguilla is the place. Fab beaches, very relaxing.
You can find a lot of info on these and other islands at www.destinationcaribbean.net

With only 4 days I'd suggest a destination you can reach non-stop from your nearest International Gateway airport (sorry can't be more specific since you didn't say where you are travelling from). You really don't want to waste a full day getting to your location and another getting back home.

St. Kitts is nice but you may not be able to get their without changing planes in San Juan. Same holds true for Anguilla.

Check out islands like St. Thomas, Grand Cayman, St. Martin, Jamaica or the Dominican Republic as they are often easy to reach.

Or, tell us where you are flying from and we can guide you.

somehow the other responders did not notice your dates. almost everyplace in the islands and mex coast rent out in 1 or even 2 week increments during xmas/new years. also many places are booked months to a year in advance. not to mention that you want to come home on new years day! are you sure you can't stay a bit longer????? lol - i would fear a hung over pilot not to mention my hung over plane mates.

so you need a big island, a/or a very good travel agent to find a place to stay.

i would look at the all-inclusives on dom republic. you will have a Gorgeous beach but would probably need to forego the interesting town. domrep is the kinda of place you take only escorted tours unless you know the island and it's ways very well.

jamaica would be a good choice for your anniv, i think. a big island with many resort choices. it's romantic, has nice beaches and would have a town or 2 to poke around some.

I agree with Virginia-
you'll be hard pressed to find a place that allows only 4 days during New Years week.

You may be able to find something in Dominican Republic, I would check out Punta Cana area-the nicest beaches, or La Romana area. You can day trip to Altos De Chavon, a gorgeous stone village (it's mideveal looking, but it's actually fairly new.) You also pass some towns with cathedrals on the way.

My best suggestion would be Playa Del Carmen. Check out The Blue Parrot hotel. It's a small boutique beautiful hotel, with hammocks and palapas on the beach. You can walk around the town, with mariachi bands playing, gorgeous and easy to navigate. You can also do an excursion to Tulum, stunning Mayan ruins on the beach.