Perfect Vacation (3k budget-June)

April 11, 2007 7:59 PM

Trying to plan the perfect anniversary/vacation for two people (in their 20s) . Early June 2007. $3k budget all in. criteria 3 of the following: white sand beaches, jet skiing, amazing food, warm, great accommodations with ocean views; culture a plus, not tourist invested but still fun, relaxing. Any ideas? Links to places to stay or things to do much appreciated!
posted by quiverandquill to travel & transportation (12 answers total)

Where are you located?
posted by nathan_teske at 8:07 PM on April 11, 2007

How long do you have?
posted by nitsuj at 8:12 PM on April 11, 2007

Thailand.
posted by pompomtom at 8:21 PM on April 11, 2007

Haha, pompom, I came in to post the exact same thing.
posted by klangklangston at 8:26 PM on April 11, 2007

Are you looking for all-in resort style, or no?
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 8:31 PM on April 11, 2007

Caye Caulker, Belize
posted by bizwank at 9:47 PM on April 11, 2007

Yeah, I was kind of thinking Thailand as well, but it'd be a bit of a stretch for $3,000. Airfare would be $2,000 (at least), so you'd only be able to stay a week or so.

You might do better with a cruise.
posted by chickletworks at 11:05 PM on April 11, 2007

thanks for the thoughts guys. I have 9 days. I'm looking for a great hotel or place to stay first...thank you!
posted by quiverandquill at 4:39 AM on April 12, 2007

9 days?

That could be tough. Break it down.. 9 days gives you $330/day, and that needs to include your hotel, meals, drinking, shopping, activities, and air.

The best recommendation I can give based on that is to go with a package or a cruise. Don't need to do a group tour, but Sunquest always has great prices. I can definitely recommend any of the Superclubs (Superclubs, Grand Lido, Breezes, etc) chain in Jamaica. They're ultra all-inclusive, and--if you roll that way--you also play for free at the Hedonism resorts.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 4:58 AM on April 12, 2007

Nova Scotia has everything except warm and maybe jet skiing. And it's not that cold.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 5:03 AM on April 12, 2007

If you want to stay in the US, the Florida Keys can be pretty nice.
posted by TedW at 7:31 AM on April 12, 2007

I have taken several two person trips on that sort of budget. The hard part is that you will be traveling in Summer. It kinda drops Europe off the list in my experance. Anyhow, I have several suggestions depending on where you are located some will be cheaper then others. There are sort of two categories of budget travel. First, expensive to get there very cheep once you are there. Second, low cost to get there highest once you get there. I have one very strong suggestion which is make a list of all the places you might want to go, put them in a spreadsheet and calculate cost of airfare, cost of lodging, meals and entertainment. You can get all of this information up front from either the net or travel guides at your library or bookstore. I found my assumptions on cost in my head often don't hold up to the numbers on paper.

So my list of category one places

1. Ecuador -- Quito-- There fight there can be pricy but if you are in the US you don't have to deal with time changes, and the flight isn't too far.
Everything is cheep there (except trips to the Galapagos) We paid like $30 a night for a private room with bath at this hostel, with a huge cooked to order breakfast included in the price. We went horseback riding, visiting old churches it was just a blast. There is also rafting and other activities just outside the city.

2. Argentina -- Buenos Aires-- Expensive flight, low prices on amazing culture experiences, accommodations and food.

3. I am sure others can recommend similar locations. You might want to read the board on the lonely planet site for some ides.

Category Two:
Toronto/ Vancouver/Chicago/Santa Fe NM/
I hear that there are some amazing places in Tennessee and Kentucky that are like a cross between a camp and a resort. You say in a nice cabin and they have food and lots of activities.

Hope these suggestions helped!
posted by kantgirl at 8:56 AM on April 12, 2007