Another Newbie here...never been vacationing anywhere tropical besides FL. Considering an early October honeymoon to an island. Nevis? St.Lucia? Your thoughts are so appreciated! It seems like details are helpful so here are the details and the wish list...
- We know it is hurricane season.
- Budget: $1,800 for 5 nights and 6 days including food but not necessarily all inclusive.....We are obviously not able to afford luxury but would like to get as close as we can. Not sure if the value of an all inclusive would make sense with our budget.
-like the idea of less tourism on Nevis vs. St Lucia but still admire the built in romantic experiences of the resorts we've researched on St. Lucia (i.e. spa treatments, pools, swim up bars....)
- We are not divers or into extreme sports but might like to try a zip line or snorkeling. Maybe more remote, all inclusive, dive oriented spot also good for non-diving honeymooners??? sans swim up bar.....
- LOVE day hikes...fresh water (and salt) swimming, horseback riding, fishing, cooking and eating catch with locals, exploring, lounging, dining, picnicing with market food
- We would prefer a place with lots of flora, gardens, natural beauty as opposed to a built up establishment
We need to make the most of the 5 days and still relax. Probably not looking for the norm... Thanks in advance! Elaina

I assume your budget does not include air? Both Nevis and St. Lucia are beautiful but you have chosen two islands that are relatively expensive, don't have a wide selection of value-priced AI's and can be difficult and expensive to travel to. For a few non AI suggestions on Nevis that might be in your price range, check out Mount Nevis Hotel and Oualie Beach. For more affordable locations you might look at Negril, Jamaica or Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. Also, the Dominican Republic has lots of affordable AI's in your price range. None of those will be quite as lush and mountainous as Nevis and St. Lucia.

Don't get your hopes up. This isn't a very realistic budget even for the low season in the Caribbean.

If your budget includes air, you will be limited to a low-end all-inclusive resort in the DR, Jamaica, or Mexico. I don't think there are any places you could afford on Nevis, but you could take a look at the Bay Garden Beach Resort in St. Lucia. In the off-season, you might be able to afford it if you get a good deal on airfare. But this is an extraordinarily low budget even for October, so I really doubt you're going to find something.

There are some lovely cheap options on Dominica, but it has really bad beaches and is expensive to reach. But there are simply not "cheap" options in the Caribbean, where food is particularly expensive. If your budget includes airfare, I don't see this trip happening. If it does not include airfare, you have a fairly large range of low-end lodging options if you can get a good deal on airfare.

I'd also look at Divi Heritage on Barbados or the cheapest room at Carringtons on St. Croix, where you would have to rent a car (but where cars are cheap). I'd certainly look at Playa del Carmen and perhaps Belize, where there are some cute and rustic simple accommodations on the beaches of the cayes.

At the low-end AIs, food is average at best, but that is the best way to limit your budget.

Hi, as mentioned by Doug, Mexico would be a good option if you are willing to consider it. Christmas 2008 we took our family of four to Puerta Vallarta (non AI) and were pleasantly surprised at how inexpensive it was to feed our teenagers -- we were having nice dinners with alcohol for about $40 - $50 for all of us! As I mentioned in my previous post, Playa Del Carmen, Mexico would be a great choice. You fly into Cancun, which is usually one of the less expensive airfares. A number of years ago we stayed at a great value place called Shangri-La Caribe (now called Mahekal, I believe) that had a wonderful lush, tropical, "Robinson Crusoe" type feel to it and you can take excursions to ruins etc. The resort includes breakfast and dinner so it's a real value. Another top value we have found is the Curacao Marriott. Not exactly a lush, mountainous island but nice beaches, an interesting euro-Caribbean culture, great town (Willemstad, which looks like a little Amsterdam). I was just on the Marriott website and notice they have room rates as low as $119 a night in the off-season -- just a steal for that caliber resort. The other thing you might do is check out skyauction.com. We got a great deal this winter for a nice resort at 1/3 the rack rate.

With that budget Mexico will give you the most bang for your buck. If you don't want to go AI, then I would suggest Cozumel. Choose a hotel close to San Migual so you are within walking distance to many great inexpensive dining choices. I also agree with The Mahekal Beach Resort in Playa del Carmen. We are actually staying there in December. So glad to here that Eileen liked it. It's within walking distance to 5ht Avenue in Playa del Carmen for many dining options. Also look at Petite Lafite and Playa Maya. If you would like to try an AI you'll find many within that area at reasonalbe prices. However, you may not get an adults/couple only resort with that budget.

We stayed at the RIU Tropcial Bay in Negril, Jamacia for that budget. Though I would not actually recommend that hotel or chain, you could easily find other accomendations with your budget. The Dominican Republic has many AI resorts for that price range also.

Have you checked out any of the on-line booking agencies and just see what prices are running for your dates? We went to St. Lucia in a November and the airfare along was $1,800. We went to Curacao last year and again air was along that same price. Ususally, I've found that if we want to go to the Caribbean for vacation it around $2,600 to $3,500 for air and hotel. Some are AI's and some are not.

Wow. You guys are great! Thanks for all the advice! Yes, we know what we are trying to do and are generally pretty frugal day to day so it's nothing new. Budget does not include air. Hoping we can keep all expenses (not including air) under $300 per day...for 6 days...Seems crazy to US to spend more.

The best deals we find are just that, found....and are minimally publicized. We have been shying away from Mexico, probably without real cause and will reconsider. Thanks you thank you thank you! PS Airfare from BOS to St Lucia on American Air is $438pp, one stop, for our dates in October. Elaina