looking for ideas for an international beach destination for December travel with 6 year old

[Anonymous]

Somewhere in central america, carribean or elsewhere.....requirements:
-not to touristy
-we like vrbo apartments, or eco lodges, not at all into resorts
-prefer to do a driving trip where we can explore different areas within a country.
-thinking asia might be out of the question because of prices at holiday time
-would like a place that is relatively safe, mexico is out of the question, plus we have been there numerous times.

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Costa Rica? The Manuel Antonio beaches are near a preserve with sloths, monkeys, gorgeous birds. You can stop at the volcanos along the way (and there are some nice places to stay). On the east coast there is a turtle preserve. With a 6 year old the canopy tours in Monte Verde might not be doable, but seeing the cloud forest could still be nice.

[Anonymous]

Dominica? Not too many tourists, especially outside of the big town, because the beaches are rocky and mostly black sand. There are at least a few eco-lodges, as well as houses to rent, great hiking/waterfalls/diving/snorkeling. You can drive all over the island, though I'd recommend a 4w drive 'cos the roads aren't great and they drive on the other side, like in the UK.

We've been there a number of times and I've always felt very safe. You take the usual precautions, lock doors, cars, etc.

No direct flights from DC, so we've usually flown via PR.

[Anonymous]

My neighbors go to St. Maarten every December for two weeks. They have a time share, so I'm sure that some are available for rent.

[Anonymous]

thanks for the suggestions....we've been to costa rica though we would consider going again...was hoping to explore somewhere we haven't been.
Dominca....looked into it, but we would rather have beaches that are sandy where our child could play and runaround.....St Maarten, probably to many resorts for our liking...

[Anonymous]

Tasmania. It's a bit (ok, a lot) further than central/south america, but the weather will be gorgeous and there are tons of beautiful, sparsely populated beaches. But of course, it's expensive.

[Anonymous]

How about Belize?

Not sure if they're eco resorts, but the Coppola properties look nice. In any case, it's less built up, I think.

Otherwise, Turks & Caicos? Jost Van Dyke? St. John?