Budget caribbean in January from South America

Question

I'm planning on going to the caribbean (any part of it) during January 2012 (for 7 to 12 days) but anything above U$S 1500 per person turns out to be too expensive.

I'm basically looking for a whole package including airfare for that money, intending to buy for two people. Every suggestion comes in handy: cheap destinations, airlines, bugdet dining, etc.

Inexpensive all-inclusive cruises can be found to some destinations, but airfare is too expensive. Some examples: to Antilles, Venezuela and Dominican Republic

For cruises from the US I must raise a word of caution: for an Argentinean a visa is needed, which costs U$S 140 (besides, it's a pain to get :)

Answer 1

You don't specify what sort of Caribbean holiday you're after, so I'm going to have to take a punt and assume "winter sun" (even if it's your summer in January....)

I've just looked at one of the UK package tour companies at random. They'll happily do you two people for a week in January, all inclusive 3* resort with flights from the UK, to either Jamaica or Cuba, for sub £2000 total. They even include local alcoholic drinks in that, along with the food and hotel and flights. (That's at around $1500 each, so just in budget). That's flying from England, and you're closer in Argentina!

So, I'd suggest you just look at package tour operators for an all-in deal, you can hopefully get something that's in your budget.

Answer 2

According to Kayak, your airfare is likely going to be at least $1000 per person. Most package deals do not get discounts on airfare anymore, so you are likely just as well off purchasing the airfare yourself. That leaves you with $500 per person for the trip, which isn't very much. Most all-inclusive resorts are going to cost at least $120 per person per night (assuming one room with two adults) during January (which is the high season, since that is the middle of Winter in North America). That means, if you can find a really good deal, you might just be able to get a week's vacation for $1500 per person. http://www.cheapcaribbean.com/ is a great website for finding good resort deals. http://vacationstogo.com/ has excellent deals on cruises, especially if you are willing to wait until the last minute to buy.