40th Birthday Trip
 

In the middle of January I will be celebrating my 40th birthday. After being on another forum, I have decided I want to be in this area. Now I need to narrow a place. I want to spend no more than $3,000.00 USD for the total trip- including airfare. I have 4-5 nights to spend. I am traveling with my BF who is fluent in Spanish. I haven't decided AI or not. Just looking for the best bang for my buck.... Not run of the mill is fine.... Please give me some suggestions!

If your budget includes your airfare it would help to know your city of departure.

Not a lot of time, but Mexico may work depending from where you are daparting.

3,000.00 USD for 5 days is more than enough... Although some Mexican destinations can prove to be expensive, you are able to find all kinds of packages for way less than this amount. Of course, if this amount is for the 2 of you then you will have to do your homework and check out last minute deals.

I looked at your other post and see you are coming from North Carolina.
I would look into Puerto Rico or the Playa del Carmen area of Mexico. Your budget is tight because air fare is so high now, but it might fit and there is plenty of history, culture, and great beaches in those areas.

In order to keep your air fare costs down in (high season) January, you need to look for places that have direct flights...such as Cancun, Cozumel. From Cancun you can get to Playa or Isla Mujeres or (a little more laid back) Holbox.

If you are flying out of Charlotte, NC, you have non-stop access to Antigua, Aruba, Belize City, Cancun, Cozumel, Punta Cana-Dominican Republic, San Jose-Costa Rica, and the "saint islands" -- St. Croix, Kitts, Lucia, Maarten, and St. Thomas. All are serviced by US Air, so without competition the prices may be somewhat high. Of these, Cancun gives you access to Playa, Isla Mujeres and Holbox as well as Cozumel via ferry. Most bang for your buck might be Playa or Isla or Cozumel depending on what you want to do on your vacation. Do you want night life? Diving? Beach time? Touring? Nature?

Next step, read the Fodor's guides (on-line) to some of these places and decide which sounds like what you want to do. Once you've narrowed it down to two or three locations, come back to this board. Trip Advisor "Things To Do" on each island location is also a good source of general information.

Good luck and happy birthday!

On her other thread Jan seemed to be interested in Akumal specifically.

Because of the tight budget and the very short time frame (4-5 days only) and possibly wanting an All-Inclusive, I'd look at Cancun, Isla Mujeres, and Playa del Carmen in Mexico.

WOW. Thank you all. I haven't been able to check this site in a while and I feel as if I've been taken care of. I am doing research as we speak!