month stay on a caribbean island
 

I have been on here for about six months and have gained much infro on the different Caribbean islands. I have been on three cruises and have visited many of the islands, st.thomas, St martin, Barbados, St Lucia, St Kitts, Cozumel. I will be retiring April 2015 and would like to spend the month of Jan 2015. I realize the cost of my adventure. I guess me question would be could I do this for $5000.

$5,000 for a month comes to $160/day - that's doable in the Caribbean provided you stay in a "simple" guest house, bed & breakfast or basic "non-beachfront" hotel/motel. It also assume you prepare many of your own meals so look for an "efficiency unit" that has access to a kitchen and laundry facilities. Your two biggest expenses are going to be for your accommodations and food. I'd estimate a room at a basic guest house will run you between $75US and $100US per day (plus applicable local taxes). That leaves you with $60 to $85 per day for everything else (your discretionary spending). Since everyone's eating habits are different it's difficult to give you a dollar value for meals, however, you can expect food costs will generally run you about 35% more than you pay for similar meals "back home". So it should be easy for you to figure out what your monthly expenditures for food will be. Deduct that from the $60 to $85 discretionary spending money and you'll know just how much you have left for "activities".

I noticed your post is "tagged" St. Eustatius". Is that the only island you are considering? If so, you should know that there are not very many beaches on that island and it gets very few tourists. On the other hand there are a number of moderately priced guest houses and some very good hiking and nature trails on the island which will afford you plenty of "free" activities so your budget will go further than staying on a more built up island.

So to answer your question, yes you could probably spend a month in the Caribbean (on St. Eustatius and as well as many other islands) with a budget of $5,000 provided you have reasonable expectations as to the accommodations you can afford, you prepare some or all of your meals and you recognize that you won't have a lot of money available for fee based activities.

Thanks roamsaround. No I tagged it wrong. Wanted to tag those islands I visited and anymore in the Caribbean. I sent email to fodors to see if I could correct it.thanks for the intro.

Of the ones you've been Cozumel is your best choice. The others will cost quite a bit more.

Keep in mind, January is peak season, your money can be stretched so much more in May.

Other "budget friendly" destinations in the Caribbean include Belize, Roatan, Isla Mujeres, Cancun & Playa del Carmen so you might want to check them out. Some of the more remote Bahamas Out-islands are also budget friendly but they are sparsely populated with not much infrastructure and and activities.

As blamona says, with the exception of Cozumel the islands you mentioned in your post tend to be among the more pricey destinations.

Cozumel (or Playa del Carmen or Isla Mujeres) would be my picks. You money goes a lot further in Mexico (plus I love the people there).