I would like to take a four day trip to someplace very warm 80+ and sunny for a long weekend with my college age daughter. Most of the places seem to tout remoteness. Ideally I'd love someplace with authentic local flavor, shops restaurants, beach bars, etc. I'm kind of turned off by oversized McResorts with cookie cutter activites and restaurants. But since I have a young adult with me, she isn't going to enjoy a honeymoon geared villa. Of course money is an issue, so we want value but we are both clean freaks and want to be on a beach. We'd love your suggestions. We live on the east coast (Raleigh NC)so the Carribean makes the most sense. Flights can get pricey even when hotels are adeal.

Check out Turks and Caicos..great food, beautiful Grace Bay is mostly condo resorts,shops, white sand, aqua water and no Burger Kings, 7-11, etc...

We'd love to help but you've used terms like "money is an issue", " we want value" & "flights can get pricey even when hotels are adeal" without giving us any real point of reference of what that means to you.
If you give us some actual budget numbers we can make more meaningfull recommendations. Telling us when you might be travelling will also be helpful

Just about every Caribbean island will have temperatures that are 80+ degrees all year round and all that are easily reached will have resorts (both big and small) on nice beaches.

Since you are only going for a long weekend I'd suggest you visit one of the bigger islands that can be reached non-stop from your nearest gateway city - those islands might include Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Martin, St. Kitts, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Aruba and St. Lucia. Sorry I can't be more specific since I don't know the Raleigh area.

On those islands there are hundreds of places that meet your general criteria - give us some more specific information about your likes and dislikes so we can steer you in the right direction.

I would still add Turks and Caicos to the above list...direct flight from Charlotte is 2 hrs, 15 minutes !!!

I have been to Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. John, St Croix, Antigue, St Maartin, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Jamaica and some of the smaller islands in between.

Since you want local flavor and some night life, I would suggest Tortola. It is a very safe island with some beautiful beaches and great bars. Make sure to visit Smugglers Cove if you go to Tortola!

From there you can take a nice day trip to Virgin Gorda to visit The Baths for snorkeling and to swim through the boulders.

St. Maartin is also great for night life with beautiful beaches. As for local flavor, half the island is Dutch and half is French.

The Caribbean is beautiful! Enjoy!

I personally think Tortolla or St. Martin would be boring for a young adult as some of the others but on a long weekend, say 4 nights, you should not try an have everything. The Marriott on Curacao might be worth considering. If either or both of you are into snorkeling and rent a car the WEST END, about 20-25 minutes from the Marriott has several bays with excellent off-the-beach snorkeling. If interested seaerch the Cuacao thread I and others have a lot of info there to help you.

Not sure why you would consider Tortola or St. Maartin boring, Stan, but I guess to each his own.

I used to spend a lot of time on Tortola when I was in my 20's and found plenty of great nightlife, great sailing, diving, snorkeling and beautiful beaches.

The one time I was on St. Maartin with my best friend we had a blast going to all the fun bars and hanging out on Orient Beach.

I had a great sailing vacation in the Caribbean with http://www.fabsafaris.co.uk. Different from the resorts, as you can get away from the crowd and discover some great beaches with no one on. They do diving of the catamaran as well so you can dive some remote spots.

I am considering Belize. I was told there is a great local buzz. Any feedback? Ambergris Caye was suggested. A friend has Delta buddy passes about to expire, so we have a deal on our airefare! Thanks so much for suggestions and sharing experience. We are going the first week in March.We pretty much have to fly out of Raleigh Charlotte is 3 .5 hr drive.

We are not totally committed to Belize. To give a point of references of places I've been that I liked: I love Maui and Key West. They have lots of local Kitsch. Grand Cayman was nice. I don't like being locked in a resort eating resort food or being surrounded by barbed wire becaue the locals are too dangerous to mix with. I don't want our entire vacation to be "the resort". We want to get out see local culture, eat local food--not just a tourist version of it. With that said I'm not an experineced traveler and I have my beautiful 19 year old daughter with me, so I want to feel safe.
Also if anyone has experience with buddy passes let me know if Easter break Early March is pushing it for stand by seating.Thanks to all who responded!