Seeking a tropical destination that doesn’t feel touristy? No boats.

Looking for a tropical honeymoon destination. Primary goals are relaxing poolside/beachside and eating good food, maybe some excursions in pursuit of nature and/or local culture. Not looking to party – would prefer something tranquil and maybe even secluded, but can’t do boats due to motion sickness, so a lot of small islands seem not ideal.

Coming from California. Aiming for flights under 9h. Thinking Central America/Caribbean. We’ve enjoyed trips to Mexico including San Jose Del Cabo and Oaxaca, but are thinking we should try a new country? Maybe Costa Rica or Belize?

Flexible budget, meaning I haven’t yet figured out how much the trip we want will cost. We like fancy resorts and good food but we appreciate good value as well. I guess we should start with a general location first and then zoom in on resort options.

Lots of people recommend the trendy little islands like TCI but they give me weird this-whole-island-only-exists-to-be-posted-on-IG vibes, like when I made the mistake of going to Ko Phi Phi in Thailand and it was just crowds of tourists trying to get photos that made it look like there weren’t crowds of tourists… is that wrong? Anyone relate to that feeling and know whether that applies?

Sorry this is so open-ended, we’ve been reading about a thousand places and feeling overwhelmed. Any advice much appreciated!