Sherman's Travel

If you have four nights (and a few tax refund dollars) to spare, you can be sipping cocktails on a beach with your special someone in under four hours. Here are a dozen trips to romantic locales that feel far away—but aren’t. Simply book in the next few weeks for savings.

From the East
• Bermuda: Less than two hours from New York, Boston and Philadelphia, this pink-sand paradise has a “Bermuda’s Finest: Stay Three, Get a Fourth Night Free” program through the end of April with great rates at resorts such as the Fairmont Southampton (from $199 a night) and Elbow Beach (from $315 a night).

• Jamaica: After just a four-hour flight from New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore or Washington, you can mix relaxation and reggae with the Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall’s “Complimentary Club Level Experience”—pay for three nights in a Club Level room with its dedicated concierge and complimentary breakfast, light snacks and sweets, and get a fourth night free. Rates start at $379 and are available through April 30, 2010.

• Nassau/Paradise Island: Also just a two-hour hop from major Northeast cities, this Bahamas duo linked by a causeway is offering a “Companion Flies Free” promo, with a four-night stay at any of 16 hotels, from Sheraton to Sandals to One&Only Ocean Club. Book by May 10, 2010 for travel through December 22, 2010.

From the Midwest
• Cancun: Enjoy an all-inclusive stay at either of two upscale, adults-only resorts just outside this Mexican resort enclave located under four hours from Chicago or Detroit: Excellence Playa Mujeres or Excellence Riviera Cancun. Book before April 30 for travel from April 4 to August 14, 2010, with all-inclusive rates from $424 and $448.

• Fort Lauderdale: Just three hours from Chicago, Detroit or Minneapolis, this revitalized beachside city is a great spot to spend four nights—either by booking the newly renovated Westin Beach Resort, Fort Lauderdale’s “Buy Three Get One Free” promo or sailing aboard Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas to Key West and Cozumel, with fares from $359 per person.

• San Juan: After a four-hour passport-free flight from Chicago, you can salsa or spin the roulette wheel in San Juan’s sexy Condado neighborhood with one of a half dozen packages at the San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino, where rates start at $274 throughout 2010.  

From the South
• Belize: It’s a little more than two hours from Miami and three hours from Atlanta or Dallas to Belize City, then a short hop to Ambergris Caye, where you can book Matachica Beach Resort’s 4-Night Taste of Paradise Package, which includes accommodation in a SeaBreeze Suite, breakfast and dinner daily, a spa treatment, snorkeling excursions and more, from $2,510 until May 31, 2010 and $2,195 from June 1 to November 20, 2010.

• Caribbean, Mexico, and Costa Rica: Ten Marriott and Renaissance resorts in Aruba, Curacao, Grand Cayman, St. Kitts, St. Thomas, Cancun, Puerto Vallarta and Costa Rica—all four hours or less from Atlanta and Miami—are offering “Spring Into Savings” rates of 40 percent off for stays from April 1 to September 30, 2010, if you book by March 31, 2010 and enter the code LLF.

• Curacao: This colorful Dutch isle is just three hours from Miami, and by booking the “Curacao Now” package by March 15, 2010, you can enjoy five nights at Kura Hulanda Spa & Casino in historic Willemstad (from $499 per person) or Lodge Kura Hulanda & Beach Club (from $519 per person), both with air from Miami (or a $200 per person flight credit from other cities), a $200 food and beverage credit, a dive excursion and one-day car rental. Valid from May 1 to July 4, 2010 and August 15 to December 18, 2010.  

From the West
• Acapulco: Known for its retro ambience, this Mexican resort enclave, just a 2.5-hour nonstop from Houston and 5.5 hours via a connection from Los Angles and Phoenix, is currently staging a 21st-century comeback with sleek new resorts like Encanto, which is offering an $825 Encanto Pack Promotion, featuring two nights in a Corner Suite, roundtrip airport transport and daily breakfast for two.

• Hawaii: Okay, so the flight from Los Angeles or San Francisco is more than five hours, but even a short stay in Hawaii is worth a little jetlag—especially with Starwood Hawaii’s “Sunsational Savings” packages, featuring a third night free with complimentary upgrade and daily breakfast for two at 11 resorts under the Sheraton, Westin, St. Regis and Luxury Collection banners.

• Los Cabos: Hop a two-hour fight from Los Angeles or Phoenix to indulge in Capella Pedregal’s “Escape to Capella” Package. Enjoy Cabo’s newest five-star property, where each suite has a private terrace and plunge pool, while you get a fourth night free, breakfast for two daily and a resort credit of $100-$350 with rates starting at $550.