Which island
 

Greetings all....we are flying from Albany, ny and would like a direct flight to an island since we are only going for 4 days. We were considering Bahamas but feel that with this cold winter, and since we are going in Late Feb. ....it will be cool. We are beach people. This is what we would like

- beautiful Beach with gorgeous water
- Prefer non resort
- no casino
- Privacy
- Good local food
- some snorkeling
- other things to do-- would love a little culture or hiking

We are locked into a USAirways vacation so we have a lot of limitations. We have eliminated Puerto Rico & Jamaica
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Budget is less than $3000 including air.
Any ideas?

Thanks!

Grand Cayman has beautiful beaches and blue waters with great snorkeling, good food, and not a lot of crazy nightlife. It is more of a beach bar type of island. There are resorts, but also many condo complexes. Not sure if it will be too high priced for your budget though.

http://kayak.usairwaysvacations.com/...elDetails.aspx
US air flys there and offers the last week of Feb and staying at the Westin for two people for 3200. The Westin is a nice hotel on some of the best stretch of beach in GC. I am sure if you hunt, you can find a condo type of lodging instead of a hotel/resort.

The Westin has a great beach, but if you add in food you probably will go way over budget. Consider Comfort Suites or Sunshine Suites which are not on the beach, but are probably half the price of the Westin. They are about $300 per night.
A decent condo on Seven Mile Beach at this time of year will be over $400 per night. The East End has cheaper accommodations, but the beaches are not as nice as Seven Mile Beach.

I forgot to mention that we would prefer an island that is not inundated with cruise ships

Curacao will give you great weather this time of year. I went last year Feb 1th and going back this year. If you stay northwest you can avoid the cruise ships and commercialism. Very laid back. Check it out.