Maybe the best way to start is by finding a budget friendly flight that isn't too inconvenient from DTW to somewhere in FL or the Caribbean or Mexico? Then take it from there? For a 4day weekend in high season flights may be a big portion of the budget, so i might start there. Does jetblue or southwest serve anywhere promising direct from dtw?

Jetblue flies direct from DTW to Ft Lauderdale (for a short trip I dont think you want to fly a long distance or have connections or layovers or whatever).

Here is the cheapest long weekend I saw. You do a little better leaving before Pres day weekend and right after everyone is back from New Year.s

Not bad flight times ... you get four pretty full days... The cost is $232 round trip, and if you can stay until Jan 12, it goes down to $137!!

Key West. A lot of people go there from here anyway and really enjoy it that time of year. Fly to Miami and drive from there. Or to West Palm.

Two friends and I went to Key West in March a couple of years ago. We had a blast. We flew direct from Boston to Key West -- not sure if that's an option from Detroit. In my experience, though, the beaches there aren't that great. The night life is fun but a little crazy.

I know someone who got a great deal on a trip to Turks and Caicos last winter, again from Boston, direct flight.

The trick in Jan/Feb is that a lot of FL isn't really "beach weather" yet, so you have to travel outside of the US (or to the Keys or Miami). How about Puerto Rico?

I would say Turks. Not far away and a fantastic vacation location.

Thank you everyone. I lived in the keys for a while, and DH and I went to Key West before we had kids. It didn't do much for him, so that is out as an option. I'm looking at Isla Mujeres and Turks and Caicos.

Auntjen, sueb20, ravencajun: can you recommend a specific hotel(s)? Is all-inclusive worth it?

Another to add to the list is Punta Cana in Dominican Republic. At least from my area (NY NJ) there are always promotions for all -inclusives , very nice and very reasonable. Again, I think certain originating airports seem to feature different destinations for great prices so from Detroit, it might be that others are better.

Since you are only looking at a 3 night trip and since you're limited to Jet Blue and Delta with DTW...do you want a destination that requires changing flight and spending loads of time traveling? I would choose a US destination that I could get to quickly...ie Florida.

Exactly, it has to be direct if it's that short. I guess than the real question is, define "budget" .... How much will you pay for airfare? A quick look and place outside of FL were more like 500 to 1000 ppx airfare. Assuming you need to travel over a weekend? Can you wait till March?

If Florida is the only choice, I'd delay the trip until March or so and go to Cuba. You can cross the bridge and depart from Windsor. Florida is a Budweiser vacation with snowbirds. Cuba is a Corona vacation with authentic Cuban food.:)

Since we started staying two weeks on Isla Mujeres, we rented privately-owned homes. We have stayed at Casa Roca Caribe several times and loved it there, although it's mid-island in one of the colonias so may not be to everyone's taste. Most visitors stay on the north side of the island where the best swimmable beaches are and for being in walking distance to downtown. We really enjoy being in an honest-to-goodness Mexican neighborhood, though.

http://www.casarocacaribe.com/

Not sure of your budget, but there are many hotels to choose from in a variety of price ranges. Privilege Aluxes is very popular:

and for a more boutique stay, Casa de los Suenos:

and Villa la Bella:

are gorgeous little gems. In all of our travels to Mexico, we have only done AI once and would not do it again. Especially on a place like Isla, you want to be out and about, and with all those restaurants (I think at last count I heard 138 of them) in such a small area, you are spoiled for choice.

These pictures make me long to be back on Isla. Alas, no vacation for us this coming year as we're working towards paying off a mortgage. I'm not sure what other flight options you might have, but flying AA from DTW to CUN, you'd have to go through DFW. That might make for a long trip just to stay 3 nights, but then again, the weather on Isla in January-February should be heavenly. In Florida? Probably not so much. DH and I went to Clearwater in February and just about froze to death.