My husband and I (early 30s) are trying to plan a short, relaxing getaway (4-5 days) from NYC area. Any suggestions on beach destinations, warm weather and flights in the 3 hour range or less? We'd like to go somewhere tropical, an island would be great but I am not familiar with any. We're not interested in Puerto Rico, the Keys or anywhere in FL b/c we've been there already. We are primarily interested in a short flight since we won't be away for very long. Thanks for you help!

You can get a direct flight from the New York City area to St. Thomas for about 3.5 hours.

Also St. Martin (SXM) -- non stops from Newark on Continental.

JFK to PLS which is provo in the turks and caicos. AA #1015 deps. 8:25am arr 11:50am. small airport so customs is pretty fast. 1/2 hr drive to resorts. resorts are on 12 mile long grace bay beach. great weather, snorkeling, diving, great restaurants but not lush with palm trees. Very laid back bring a book kind of island.
st. thomas is alot busier. shopping, bigger, tons more to do and see. you might like www.secretharbourvi.com for a quiet but nice place to stay.
amazing nstp flt to sxm but pricey.
it you are not going for a month or so the bahamas would be a fast flight, but it is still a bit cool there for beach lounging and hanging in the water now.
you can fly nstp jfk to cancun on mexicana or AA. not tropical, very busy.
or jfk to dominican republic delta or AA. very lush, tropical island and thats about all i know about it [its on my to go list].

Thanks everyone. I will check out the locations you all mentioned. Do any of the other islands have direct flights or do you have to generally take a smaller plane or boat from, say, St Thomas for instance? Thanks!

Add Grand Cayman to the list too. Beautiful beaches.