I want to take my wife on a vacation that will be quite the experience. With that said, I am not looking at staying in a fancy hotel in the middle of “tourist town” surrounded by American franchises. I could stay home and see that. I have looked into Belize, spending one week in the jungle, one on the cayes, and one near the city (checking out Mayan ruins). I have found websites with hotels (in the loosest sense of the word) for cheap, as well as cheap airfare.
Since looking on Yahoo! Answers, some say that Belize is actually quite expensive. Is there somewhere else I should be looking for a cheap tropical experience? Perhaps more south, or even the northern end of South America?
Let me add a little information that will help. I have to be on “vacation” for about a month. Technically, I just can’t enter the United States otherwise I lose tax exempt status. So I am looking for a cheap place to stay for a month until I can go back to the US.
For 30 days, not including airfare, I want to stay under US$ 4000. I figure I should easily be able to pick up hotel costs for under US$1500. That leaves $2500 for food, travel, events, sightseeing, etc. Keep in mind that I want to split this vacation up into three areas: jungle, mainland, cayes.
