cja374

My husband and I are looking to get away for 3nights/4days before Thanksgiving. We want to do nothing but relax and regroup. I would like a direct flight from Providence, Boston, or Hartford and one that is under a few hours (we are leaving a toddler at home for the first time). I know nothing about the Carribbean, as we usually take cross country or European vacations. Help would be GREAT!!!!

budget under 2000.00
all inclusive/beachfront property
NOT a family resort

Thank you so much!

donw

Bermuda, Nassau, Virgin Islands

doug_stallings

Any nonstop flight will be just a few hours, but you are more likely to find more options from Boston. If you insist on this budget and an AI property, then I strongly suggest Punta Cana. The DR is the cheapest destination in the Caribbean. There are some non-family resorts there that would suit you. Check with a travel agent. The resorts at the very bottom of the price range (which you would be getting with this kind of budget) are not very luxurious, and you should expect basic buffet food. If you can deal with those compromises, then you should be able to find something so long as you are back before Thanksgiving.

virginia

take a look at secretharbourvi.com a wonderful, quiet resort on the east end of st. thomas, usvi. the east end is the quiet side of st.t. you'll be 15 mins from red hook - a small town with a few shops and places to eat/drink and the ferry to st. john (trip takes 20 mins) should you choose to go over to snorkel.
secret harbour is not ai, but does have a wonderful restaurant (blue moon cafe) that serves 3 meals per day and great, fun beach bar. sh will give you a "credit card" so you don't need to carry cash around.
gorgeous beach with plenty of shade if you need it and fabulous snorkeling just off the right end of the beach.
i love this resort.

another option on st. thomas is all-in wyndham sugar bay.
both should be in your price range.

cja374

Secret harbor looks perfect, as does St Thomas because we can fly direct from Boston. Virginia, which rooms would you reccommend?

KVR

From personal experience and looking on beachdestiantions.com, Mexico will give you more for your money than the DR. Both destinations can be reached non-stop from Boston in about the same time frame. The Mayan Riveria of Mexico has many very nice AI resorts with better prices that the DR. The DR's advantage is, I do believe, their beaches are nicer, but I haven't found but a few AI properties that are adult only, and those are the pricey ones. If you're wanting to venture of the property and acutally see the destination, the Mayan Riviera area has more of a choice of things to see and do, and safer to venture off on your own.

Also, if you pick resorts such as the Royal Playa del Carmen, any of the Secrets, Iberostars, or El Dorados, the quality and taste of thier food is very good compared to the lower end priced AI resorts. This is a case of you get what you pay for. The old sigma of getting mediocore food at an AI resort has definatley changed with the newer AI resorts that have recently been built. We stayed at The Royal Playa del Carmen and felt the food there was much better than anything we found we had to pay extra for on 5th Avenue in Playa del Carmen. The resorts have heard the food complaints for years and have stepped up to correct it. (IMHO)

We also stayed at the Wyndam Sugar Bay in St. Thomas. Not as nice as hotels in Mexico. You'll need to pay for the higher catagory rooms to get a view. The 99 wooden steps to the beach, restaurant, pools and bar was a pain. We didn't care for St. Thomas and is not on our return list. The Wyndham is not a full service AI resort. They provide an AI plan that includes food and drinks. We thought the buffet and grill was OK, but the main restuarant was not good.

Look at beachdestinations.com, cheapcaribbean.com or orbitz.com. Price out some vacations and see if any particular area or resort appeals to you. We gone in a November around Veterns Day (I get an extra day off work) almost every year since 2001 and we've found the better prices and the resorts not as crowded.

If your interested, we have all of our trip pictures posted. It might give you an idea of an destination your interested in: http://community.webshots.com/user/kvrlvn