Yes, I know August is a long way off, but I need something to look forward to!
I’ll have a week or so, and will be traveling by myself (I’m female, fwiw). Dates are flexible, but the latter half of August would be more convenient. I’ll have a limited budget - I’d like to keep this under $1500 all told. I’d be flying out of a NYC area airport.
It’s been ages since I had a beach vacation (my last real vacation, 11 years ago, to be exact), so I’m leaning toward something like that. Somewhere in the Caribbean/Mexico would suit me, but I’m open to other suggestions. This is a trip meant to de-stress, so I don’t need lots of nightlife & shopping. In fact, a quiet place with some scenic/nature stuff to enjoy would be just the ticket.
I’ve been to Puerto Rico (San Juan), St. Thomas, Aruba and Cozumel, but all a long time ago. All the same, I’d prefer to try out some place new if possible, and avoiding overblown American-style touristy spots (complete with Mickey D’s) would be great. I recently saw some ads for Los Cabos in Baja California, and that looked kind of neat, though I could have gotten the wrong impression.
Any recommendations? I’m all ears. And thanks in advance.
Playa Del Carmen, Tulum area of Mexico (Yucatan peninsula - opposite side from Cancun). Cancun is, of course, the big hotel, totally commercialized area. But around the horn is Playa Del Carmen, which was getting more popular, but I don’t think it’s as built up yet. There is a nice beach there.
Or further down the peninsula, there is Tulum where there are nice beaches as well as Mayan ruins. You could also take a tour to Chitzen Itza for more ruins.
Belize also has some cool ruins, and rainforest resorts. I’ve not been to one, but I met a bunch of people who had been. Not quite a beach vacation, but very quiet and laid back.
There are nice beaches in Belize, but I think they are all located on the outer atolls (hour or so boatride to get to).
I’d recommend the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, particularly Puerto Viejo. We went there last month, looking for pretty much what you’re looking for, and we couldn’t have been happier. I think you could easily do a week there on your budget. Can’t vouch for what it’s like in August, though.
I can’t recommend any place to go, but I can recommend the best way to research pricing and lodging.
Kayak.com is great for airfares. Sign up for fare alerts in email every day, you’ll get an idea of pricing, and there will be specials you can take advantage of. In the same vein, sign up for frequent flyer programs of airlines that utilize your airport and have the destination you want. If you have flexibility, this can be very beneficial. I went MSP to Phoenix last year for $120 RT through Kayak and I am going to San Diego next month for $120 RT through an email that the airline sent out. Pretty good pricing, I had at least a 3 week heads up, and they were direct flights at reasonable times of the day.
Once you figure out where and when, use tripadvisor.com to research hotels and things to do. Sometimes hotwire.com is good on hotels, but I always call the hotel directly to make sure I am getting the lowest price. In addition, if you’re open to renting a condo, vrbo.com is a resource I’ve had great luck with.
My week long Phoenix trip last December had airfare for 7 and we rented a very nice 2 bedroom condo in Scottsdale. The hard costs were $1465, but that doesn’t include food and entertainment.
San Diego in April for 4 days and 2 people with a vehicle will be about $575 hard costs. Still not too bad.
I am looking seriously at either Puerto Rico, Jamaica, or the Bahamas next fall/winter. Costa Rica sounds interesting as well. We’ll see.
Thanks for the suggestions, all. cormac, I’ve heard good things about Belize as well, guess I should check into that further. Doctor J, I’ve sent you an email. I’m sure it’s dog-hot in Costa Rica in August, but I don’t mind that so much. fisha, I appreciate the tip re kayak.com - sounds like it would be pretty useful for some of my business travel as well.
It’s not so much that it is hot, the average day in August is 72 F to 85 F. The issue is that August is in the middle of the rainy season. It will likely rain every day. Perhaps only for an hour, but everyday. The rainy season extends from May - November.
fisha, I appreciate the tip re