Looking for an island to honeymoon on for 10-12 days the 3rd week in May.<BR><BR>Criteria.<BR><BR>1) $5000 budget total<BR>2) Able to drink the water<BR>3) not many bugs<BR>4) Great snorkeling/beautiful beaches<BR>5) Ideally like a private bungalow?<BR><BR>Any ideas? <BR><BR>I've been to Dominican Republic-liked it a lot, but was sick the whole time?<BR><BR>Been to Bahamas-too commercial<BR>Stopped in Cozumel on cruise-loved it but want to feel safe eating foods/water<BR><BR>stopped in Grand Caymen-nice enough but not the best beaches (not very wide)<BR><BR>Stopped in Belize and Roatan, nice but not for honeymoon.<BR><BR>Thanks!!<BR><BR><BR>

Recommend Providenciales (Provo) in the Turks and Caicos or Anguilla. The October issue of Caribbean Travel and Life has a very good article on Provo. Have been to both numerous times. Feel free to E-mail me for detailed info

anyone else have ideas??

BVIs, St. John, Hawaii, or southern Italy (no snorkeling but it is just wonderful)! You could go to Hawaii or Italy on $5K for 10-12 days if you don't stay in the upper end hotels. We went to Italy and France on our honeymoon 3 years ago, stayed for 2 1/2 weeks, and only spend $4K. We didn't do luxurious accommodations though...we had great hotels, but not what you typically think of for a honeymoon. It just depends on what you are looking for...<BR><BR>We did the same with Hawaii 2 years ago - not posh hotels, but very nice and on the beach. We spent $2,500 for 1 1/2 weeks minus airfare (we used frequent flyer miles)...<BR><BR>

You canonly drink the water on a few Caribbean islands, which was one of the reasons we chose Antigua. The beaches were gorgeous, and we enjoyed the snorkeling. However, the airfares there tend to be pretty high, and you'd have a difficult time sticking to your budget for such a long visit, especially at a non-AI resort.<BR><BR>Food in Mexico is no problem. I've never gotten sick there, and I have been MANY times. Your resort will provide large containers of purified water, and you can always buy bottled water in the stores, too. Use it for brushing your teeth, too.<BR><BR>Get a Hepatitis C vaccination before you leave, no matter where you go, just to be safe.

x,<BR>I agree with Christie.<BR>I've been to Mexico (including Cozumel) many times and never been sick. <BR>I would suggest looking at locogringo.com.<BR>There is a town called Akumal on the Caribbean coast of Mexico about an hour south of Cancun (excellent airfares.)<BR>Within your budget, you can rent an incredible private villa right on the beach with its own pool, with great diving and snorkeling and beautiful beaches. <BR>We've been there several times and never had any problems with food or water. There's a lot to see and do in the area.<BR>BVI's is also a good suggestion for what you are looking for.

Oh yeah - Mexico just slipped my mind. We went to Playa Del Carmen and it was wonderful. There is an island close by named Isla Mujeres - we weren't able to go, but if we go back I think we'll look into staying there (after reading posts about it on other websites). It's a small island, so I'm not sure that they will have "honeymoon" accommodations though. But, I agree with the other posters on Mexico - beautiful beaches, great snorkeling, nice hotels/villas/etc., and you can take side trips to see the Mayan ruins (we only saw Tulum...and the ruins weren't spectacular, but the site of them sitting on a cliff overlooking a beautiful ocean is just incredible).