Travel Forum / Destinations / Caribbean Islands / March 2010

In
news:2a1e9797-309e-433a-b6a2-57a788db5b4a@t20g2000yqe.googlegroups.com
"shoemakerted@yahoo.com" <shoemakerted@yahoo.com> wrote:

But you're starting out in Wisconsin, not the beach in Florida. And
you're flying, not swimming.

Go to any airline's Web site or any of the travel-related Web sites and
price out a flight yourself.

Then add a hotel.

I suspect that you're not getting the entire story in that $99 offer.

I would, however,

Yo' Ted:

I vacation in the Caribbean every couple of summers or so on a
"shoestring."  I make all my own arrangements, stay for a week, and not
in expensive resorts.  Assuming low season travel, I budget $500 for
transportation, $500-$1K for accommodations (lots of choices here) and
also assume about $100/day day-to-day expenses (Not as much as it seems-
most everything you consume on one of these islands (other than Rum!)has
to be shipped there for your consumption- a bottle of Evian bottled water
costs about $10USD, the same as a common bottle of French champagne- it's
the shipping costs, depending on the weight of the contents that affect
the price more than the contents.  Also you will want to do some things
while you're there- tours, excursions, parties or whatever- these all
cost money.  If you're not going to do anything while you're on an
island, why go- just go stay in your local Holiday Inn for a week.)  
Anyway, the total comes to something around $2K for the first week, maybe
$1500 or a little less for an extra week.  More people sharing
accommodations expenses can help.

A $99 offer is almost certainly a come-on to a timeshare, where you will
be subjected to pressure that will make Guantanamo torture seem like
child's play by comparison to buy their timeshare.

If you'd like to email me directly at capnjohn AT windstream DOT net,
I'll be glad to go into details.

Regards,

Cap'n John

On Thu, 4 Mar 2010 12:28:46 -0800 (PST), using References:
<2a1e9797-309e-433a-b6a2-57a788db5b4a@t20g2000yqe.googlegroups.com>

Well, posting as a google grooper already tells us something about the OP.

<- snip ->

's/ad/spam/'

The spam was sent so that idiots would click on the
embedded links and allow their windoze PCs to be 0wn3d.

sigh...  Don't tell us that you clicked?

Hi Ted,

Travel agent? I have never used a travel agent. I look around and book my
own flight. Then using a guide book like Lonely Planet I look for the
cheapest guesthouse. It won't be on a beach, but then I go to the Caribbean
to explore and not get bored hanging out on a beach. Oh you can read, but I
don't have to go to the Caribbean to read. Now I used to rent a bike to
explore with, but now I bring along my own folding bike. Now I presume you
have other interests, but you have given us no clue as to what you want to
do when you get there. There are numerous things. You could be interested
in historical sites, various water sports (sailing, snorkeling, SCUBA
diving, parasailing, etc), camping, eating fine food (though that may not
be very budget), shopping for duty free items (what a waste to me), golf,
horseback riding, hiking. The list goes on. Give us some idea and we can
help.

Don <www.donwiss.com/pictures/carib> (e-mail link at page bottoms).