Hi There-

My family has taken a trip to the Caribbean every summer for the past 15 or so years, and we have tried out quite a few different islands.

As far as islands that pretty much have it all (beautiful water, great food and accomodations, and other activites besides just being at the beach) I would say my number 1 pick would be Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. We usually stay at Little Dix Bay (which is pretty expensive) but there are a few other options on the island that are worth looking up.

If I had to choose 2nd and 3rd favorite places they would be the Turks and Caicos or Exuma in the Bahamas.

All three of these places have very calm water and I have never seen a horse fly :)

I have never seen a horse fly in Mexico, Jamaica, DR, USVI or Hawaii. Actually I think the only place I've personally seen them is summertime in Vermont!

Have you considered the Tulum area? That could easily fit in your price range. I just arranged for my mother and a girlfriend of hers to go to Be Tulum. Her girlfriend was coming from CT and the trip cost her about $2k including air. My mom was going from Az and hers was a little less. Breakfast was included and they had "fabulous" dinners and drinks each night at the resort for around $30/each . You could probably find area restaurants that are even cheaper. They brought some wine etc... To cut down on costs. The beach was beautiful and the resort was trendy and boutiques and they both loved it! Another resort to conside would be Coco's Hotel in Antigua. They have online specials and are an A1... You might be Able to get a 5 night deal for around $2k. The beach is really nice and the resort is pretty nice... Maybe 3.5 out of 5. My husband and I travel a lot and we do anything from moderate to 5 star depending on the occasion, venue, timing etc... I totally understand and appreciate budgets.... I'm a travel buff and plan trips for my whole family hitting most every kind of budget and venue and purpose so I feel fairly comfortable giving recommendations . If I were planning a trip from NJ to a beach in your budget I would probably give serious consideration to south of cancan... Ie Tulum and playa del Carnen etc.... And I would try to avoid the super touristy big resorts.

i know Mexico was out right from the start but I really do think the suggestions of Tulum or Akumal, and I'll add Isla Mujeres (an island off Cancun) are worth considering because of the wish list and budget.

I'm not a fan of AI because part of the fun of traveling for me it to try local food experiences. So...I can't help you in that area. BUT -- if you are willing to forgo that requirement, I suggest you look into Puerto Rico.

-There are some lovely beaches, with calm waters and cool beach shacks. For the white sand, gorgeous waters experience, a day trip (or overnight) to Culebra will satisfy that.

-Terrain is varied, and includes mountains, rain forest, old historic cities and even some waterfalls.

-Iguanas and the little cocqui frogs are the animal life we encountered most. LOL. They are fun though,and some hotels make a ritual of feeding the iguanas.

-It wasn't windy when we were there, and I don't recall any bug problems. Flights to San Juan are pretty quick.

The food is FANTASTIC all over, and we only had a couple expensive, nice meals there. The rest of the time it was beach shacks, Lechon, and more low-key. Loved this island and the people. Super fun, can be as active or as relaxed as you want to be. I'll put a link to my trip photos for you to check out if you are interested. Good luck!

http://www.pbase.com/loridenise/puerto_rico

OMG...I just re-read your message and saw you are NOT interested in PR. My bad.

Well it is hard to make suggestions for a reasonable priced trip when <dominican republic, costa rica, puerto rico or mexico> have all been eliminated!