Somewhere hot and sunny in Dec/Jan not £5k!!

[Namechangeforone]

Absolutely desperate to spend 10 days/two weeks sat on my arse in the sun reading books and drinking cocktails. Does such a thing exist without spending five grand per person at an all inclusive resort in the Caribbean or Mauritius or wherever?! Are there cheaper options? Self catering/villas? Is that actually do-able? Any experience/recommendations appreciated.

Plenty of non all inclusive places in the Caribbean but it will take a lot of planning and booking separately. BA flights. Hotel/Villa on beach but access to bars and restaurants. So much nicer than packed our AI resorts and masses cheaper

Try Grenada, Guadeloupe, St Lucia. Locate area you want to be in and search villas or SC/room only hotels through eg Booking.com. Responsible Travel was one I used to use a lot. Even just search Google maps once you locate an area. I booked a Jan Caribbean trip for £3k between 2 of us a few years ago. Flights were 50% of that cost. Accommodation beautifully basic but right on a peaceful, beautiful beach. Access to 1 restaurant and bar that made gorgeous fresh, local food and cocktails. Took a lot of research and planning but was fabulous.

You could try Cape Verde.
Not much to do but if you want to sit on your arse and drink cocktails it’s perfect.
We went to the Melia Tortuga which is 5* (more like 4 to be honest) but we had a great time and it was around £4000 for 4 of us.

Thailand! Flights are about £500 and you can get very cheap, lovely hotels

Canaries are pretty warm that time of year!

@Malin52 That sounds amazing and just what I'm after!

Thanks all, will look up other options too

@Namechangeforone I suggest

1. Decide country. Eg Caribbean
2. Research islands and which would suit you. For example Barbados big, noisy but well set up for family holidays. Guadalupe : French speaking, quiet. Get Lonely planet guide to The Caribbean or research forums online
3. Research flights from your local airport to said islands and cost
4. Once you have a shortlist narrow down to locale, beaches etc.
5. Look at lonely planet suggestions or just Google 'accommodation x beach'. Go on Google maps and focus on beach/area and search 'accommodation, villa' etc. try Booking.com for the area. Check reviews and look at walking distances to restaurants/bars etc. car hire cost if necessary. Some accommodations do free airport transfers.
6. Book flights and accommodation. Check if the airline do a 'holiday package' for that specific accomodation. BA often do for bigger resorts
7. Get excited.
8. Buy travel insurance. It's not a package so any failure by airline or accommodation isn't covered by the other so you need insurance.