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Austin to an island beach: best trip for my $$

GottaB

By GottaB
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GottaB

GottaB 595

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Wife wants to go to Hawaii....or any island beach. I’m thinking we will likely travel in the winter or spring.

 

It’s just us. We are 40ish and open to some hikes or sight seeing but likely also a looking to schedule a massage and a lot of just taking in the sun on the beach.

 

Even in the off months, 5-7 days to Hawaii starts at $3000. Is there a better option. I’d rather pay less in airfare and stay and more into the extras while we are there.

 

Suggestions from the pros?

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crash_davis

crash_davis 23115

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just got back from 7 nights in playa del carmen.  hiking is not on the list but it's an awesome beach vacation and short ass flight if you live in texas.  went to pdc once to have dinner at the blue lobster.  was way crowded, though every seemed to be friendly and having a great time.  spent 2 days snorkeling along the coast and sailing the beautiful blue carribean water.  spent another day snorkeling and doing a cenote.  

wonderful trip.  pdc is added to our annual vacation rotation.

ignore all the stupid angst shit about it being dangerous.  never once felt the least bit unsafe.  the workers and people were friendly as shit.  the hotel/resort workers work their fucking asses off.  much respect for how hard they work.

it's not hawaii, but it's damn nice and much less expensive.

 

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midtown

midtown 3348

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1 hour ago, GottaB said:

5-7 days to Hawaii starts at $3000. Is there a better option.

I've never been to Costa Rica but I have a client who travels all over with his family and went to Hawaii and Costa Rica and asked me about buying a vacation home.   He said Costa Rica because why would you go to Hawaii when you can go to Costa Rica

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RPM

RPM 26354

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Also never been to Costa Rica but have a friend that loves the place and is planning on retiring there. He's an "off the grid" kinda guy so ymmv. For a quick vacation The Bahamas is excellent. White coral sand beaches, crystal clear water, luxury resorts and it's 90 miles from Florida so getting home in an emergency is pretty easy.

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GottaB

GottaB 595

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Bahamas- Exhuma, Eleuthera, etc
Belize - Palencia or Ambergris Caye
Bolivar- technically an island if you get west of Rollover Pass. 



Exhuma and Eleuthera look great so far. I’ll have to spend some time looking into the others as well.
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PorscheGuy

PorscheGuy 127

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Exhuma and Eleuthera look great so far. I’ll have to spend some time looking into the others as well.

Eleuthera is amazing. Went last summer. Absolutely amazing. Only two resorts worth staying. French leave or the cove.

It’s Not Hawaii. If you need to be entertained all the time then it’s not for you. If you need to eat at chili’s, it’s not for you.

People are friendly. You will be the only couple on a 5 mile stretch of beach for hours and the water is amazing


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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VABuckeye

VABuckeye 2472

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If you want the best for the money it's probably Isla Mujeres.  Difficult to beat the value of that island.

If budget wasn't a concern I'd be looking at St. John, the BVI, Providenciales Turks & Caicos, Anguilla, St. Barths or St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

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thrillhammer

thrillhammer 684

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11 hours ago, GottaB said:

 

Wife wants to go to Hawaii....or any island beach. I’m thinking we will likely travel in the winter or spring.

 

It’s just us. We are 40ish and open to some hikes or sight seeing but likely also a looking to schedule a massage and a lot of just taking in the sun on the beach.

 

Even in the off months, 5-7 days to Hawaii starts at $3000. Is there a better option. I’d rather pay less in airfare and stay and more into the extras while we are there.

 

Suggestions from the pros?

 

pick any island, not in the pacific, and it's cheaper than hawaii.  spent a week in maui and it was costly.  cozumel is my #1 pick because it's close, flights are short, hotels are fantastic, and i'm a scuba diver and it's an excellent destination for that. plus it's super affordable.   belize i've never been too but would love to go.

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solamente73

solamente73 1132

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The Caribbean and The Pacific have completely different vibes IMO.  GottaB, do y’all have any preferences with regard to food, culture, beach types, water sports/activities?  Prefer all-inclusive or on-your-own?  Resort or beachfront cottage?  Ceiling for budget?

Edited by solamente73
English is hard
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CHIEF

CHIEF 5095

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Headed to Cozumel the 5th through the 10th 0f August. Wanted to do the whole "rent a house, cook, stay away from tourists" thing. After I put the total together, it was only $200 more for Iberostar All-Inclusive, so I was "outvoted". Gonna run $771 per head with airfare for 6 day/5 night, that's cheap as shit. We are divers as well, was about double for Belize, and almost triple for Roatan.

 

CHIEF

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CooterBrown

CooterBrown 18029

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In Belize, look up Xanadu resort on Ambergris Caye. It’s about a dozen 1-3 bedroom condos. Pretty affordable and nice but not posh. Has a nice pool and free gear to use - kayaks, paddle boards, etc. It’s just south of town away from the more popular resorts so it’s pretty reasonable. Under $300 for a 2/2 in the off season.

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Whiskyteer

Whiskyteer 51

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I’m here in Costa Rica and it’s a great place for all outdoor activities.  Lots of hiking, surfing, fishing opportunities, volcanos, waterfalls etc...think of the scenic ruggedness and beauty of Hawaii coupled with the ease and familiarity of the Yucatán/Pacific vacay spots.  We’re contemplating a 2nd home here it’s so badass.  

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AustinMT

AustinMT 952

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My take:

been to Hawaii, been to Costa Rica, been to muliple places in Caribbean.

I liked Costa Rica (and, not being an island, not sure why it was recommended) but, in all honesty, the beaches are just OK

Caribbean has the nice white beaches and blue water.  Heading to Aruba in October for the first time, an dit looks pretty awesome.

Hawaii is a mixed bag.  Oahu is too crowded, beaches aren’t that great.  Honolulu is a nasty place.  Maui is better, still lots of tourists.  If you can do Kauai, North Shore (Princeville/Hanalei) do it.  Do not do the south shore.  North Shore has good beaches (Tunnels, Hamalei), clear water, great snorkeling, hiking and, importantly, not a lot of crowds.  Search VRBO/Home away.  We’ve been there 3 times and will keep going back.

We have not been since the flooding a few months ago, so check on the recovery.

 

 

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po elvis

po elvis 2076

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1 hour ago, AustinMT said:

Hawaii is a mixed bag.  Oahu is too crowded, beaches aren’t that great.  Honolulu is a nasty place.  Maui is better, still lots of tourists. 

was in Hawaii in May. did 6 days in Maui and then 4 in Oahu. Maui was great. but I don't think I would go back. We saw every piece of the island and feel like we did everything. but Oahu. Oahu is gorgeous. you drive east toward Kailua and it is just green lush mountains. then you go through the tunnel and get on the other side and you see the water. Kailua beach and Lanakai are gorgeous. Better than anything I saw in Maui. The North Shore is beautiful and has a great vibe. Yeah Honolulu is a shithole and Waikiki feels like Vegas on a beach, but I was shocked at how beautiful parts of that island are. 

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HookEm

HookEm 2467

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I'll throw another vote for Costa Rica. The trip is cheap and easy. Also once you are there you are in the same time zone so you don't feel like crap like in Hawaii.

Regarding beaches, we took the kids to Playa Flamingo. It was an incredible beach IMHO. Better than Hawaii. The waves were perfect for boogie boarding and the temp was just awesome. I went to the beach after a run one morning and I was the only one to be seen for about a mile.

Recently the wife and I stayed at the Andaz Papagayo. It was a great resort, but the beaches were too calm for our liking. There were monkeys everywhere though which made it feel more exotic.

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wild_turkey

wild_turkey 3182

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12 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

Isla Mujeres is the answer and also the greatest place on earth. There’s a whole thread in this forum.

Isla Mujeres gets a lot of love on this board but I honestly don't get what the big draw is. It's cheap and close? What else in your opinion makes it the greatest place on earth? Does it have any unique qualities that you wouldn't find elsewhere?

I've never been there, but looking at pictures, it looks like a generic flat island:

70b6bbcfee2149809be3f7d7207c0492

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AustinMT

AustinMT 952

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7 hours ago, po elvis said:

was in Hawaii in May. did 6 days in Maui and then 4 in Oahu. Maui was great. but I don't think I would go back. We saw every piece of the island and feel like we did everything. but Oahu. Oahu is gorgeous. you drive east toward Kailua and it is just green lush mountains. then you go through the tunnel and get on the other side and you see the water. Kailua beach and Lanakai are gorgeous. Better than anything I saw in Maui. The North Shore is beautiful and has a great vibe. Yeah Honolulu is a shithole and Waikiki feels like Vegas on a beach, but I was shocked at how beautiful parts of that island are. 

North Shore of Oahu is great, but very few places to stay.  We’ve stayed about 2 blocks off Lanakai beach which was a great beach, but the area (Kailua) is crowded.  The drive through the mountains is nice for the 15 minutes you are doing it. Again, no where to actually stay near them.

Also stayed on the West side on one trip (Ko’Olina), which is a resort area, which is nice, but also pretty packed.

Go to Kauai and you’ll never miss Oahu.

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VABuckeye

VABuckeye 2472

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54 minutes ago, wild_turkey said:

Isla Mujeres gets a lot of love on this board but I honestly don't get what the big draw is. It's cheap and close? What else in your opinion makes it the greatest place on earth? Does it have any unique qualities that you wouldn't find elsewhere?

I've never been there, but looking at pictures, it looks like a generic flat island:

70b6bbcfee2149809be3f7d7207c0492

Fighting words right there.

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VABuckeye

VABuckeye 2472

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Cost is fantastic.  No better value I know of.  Direct flight from Dulles for me to Cancun and they're almost always cheap flights.  The people there are fantastic.  The bartender at Hotel Secreto treats us like part of his family.  He'll hop on his scooter at lunch time and bring back whatever we ask for.  If we let him choose our lunch he'll bring back something local that blows our minds and it's almost always $20 or less for two.

We love the vibe of the island.  We go every year for their Carnival which is during the week of Fat Tuesday.  We can go anywhere on that island at anytime of the day and feel completely safe.

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irishtexan

irishtexan 11522

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Wife and I went to Vieques, Puerto Rico for our honeymoon. You might be able to get a good deal because it got hit pretty hard by the hurricane. I think they're mostly back up and running at full capacity. Beaches were beautiful. Snorkling was great. But it's a tiny island so not much else to do other than beach chill. Bonus is that you could do a couple of nights in San Juan and get all the extra bullshit there. 

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4th and 5

4th and 5 4915

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9 hours ago, wild_turkey said:

So what makes it so great? Cost? Proximity?

It's close, easy to get to, cheap, great laid back and old school Mexico vibe, tons of places to eat great meals for cheap, Playa Norte is a beautiful beach with no seaweed, world class sailfishing in winter, whale shark watching in summer, no huge monolithic resorts like in Cancun, the native people are cool, I've made friends with people from Europe to a dude that has a vacation house around the corner from mine. It's just a great place to chill. Go read the old thread on Shaggy or the one on this forum. There's a reason there is at least one of us assholes on Isla at all times.

 

http://www.shaggytexas.com/board/showthread.php/68775-Just-got-back-from-Isla-Mujeres

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