Best place to go for vacation on a Caribbean island?

[superjohn]

Has anyone been to Tobago?

Why am I thinking ... fairly vacant & sparse population ... great snorkeling and diving ... and rainforest great beaches

Did you happen to have any of those Bake and Shark sandwiches on the beach? I remember watching Andrew Zimmern's show a while ago and he said it's one of the the best things he's ever eaten.

 

[jleves]

Thanks, guys! This will be our 30th anniversary. Suggestions so far have been very helpful in terms of getting a better idea of what the options are. We are not necessarily tied to an island, but the beach part will be essential. I will have to confer with my wife about some of the options, as I am more inclined to want to go look at stuff or do things as compared to spending lots of time sitting on a beach.

I haven't seen a lot of mention of St. Lucia but when we were in Barbados, we asked all the local where they would vacation and everyone said St. Lucia. Literally - we asked at least 10 or 15 people who lived on Barbados and every one said St. Lucia.

We loved Barbados and thought it was better than Kauai, which I think is better than Maui which is way better than Oahu. But we like small and quiet with not a lot of tourists.

At any rate - check out St. Lucia.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Did you happen to have any of those Bake and Shark sandwiches on the beach? I remember watching Andrew Zimmern's show a while ago and he said it's one of the the best things he's ever eaten.

I had one. Zimmern was either exaggerating or he was recalling his pre-sobriety days. Perfectly fine but not life-changing.

Unfortunately, I'm not old enough to have been to San Miguel before the Americans arrived. From what I know that'd be pre-WWII. Still, one of my favorite places people don't know a ton about, and it's managed to avoid a lot of the dbaggery you'd associate with a lot of expats.

 

[huskyinfl]

Cat island or harbor island in the bahamas

 

[superjohn]

I had one. Zimmern was either exaggerating or he was recalling his pre-sobriety days. Perfectly fine but not life-changing.

Unfortunately, I'm not old enough to have been to San Miguel before the Americans arrived. From what I know that'd be pre-WWII. Still, one of my favorite places people don't know a ton about, and it's managed to avoid a lot of the dbaggery you'd associate with a lot of expats.

Expats have always been there but they say it was a lot cooler and felt more authentic 25 years ago.

 

[I Bleed Blue]

Grand Cayman is amazing and would be my recommendation but is pricey as hell. Grenada is a little more for the open minded and adventurous because its much more undeveloped, thus far less touristy, but I had a great time there. My sis is at St. George's University in Grenada now for Vet School. Tons of UConn students down there including her.

 

[CTGoonie]

I have to agree with several posters' recommendation of Turks & Caicos. Direct (and very short) flights from NYC. Grace Bay is very calm and relaxing. We stayed at Parrot Cay and the Sands . Both were nice but I don't know how to improve upon Parrot Cay.

 

[Danzz]

Been to a bunch of the Caribbean Islands and they all have beautiful beaches. Personally, I like St. Martin. Good local casino downtown on the Dutch side and fantastic food on the French side.
For a really high end Caribbean experience St. Barts is nice.

 

[Matt (Chicago)]

the wife and i did st lucia for our honeymoon two years ago. loved it... it offered a good mix of relaxing beach atmosphere as well as plenty of active-type excursions... ie hiking, snorkeling, etc. the food was great too(on and off resort). we did a day trip with a local tour group not affiliated with our hotel which ended up being awesome... took us to alot of "off the beaten path" places that a more mainstream tour wouldnt go. never felt unsafe there either... we took cabs into a couple of the larger towns to check out the open air markets etc and it was totally fine. you can also get a direct flight there from a number of major airports.

 

[Phorcys]

Have a big anniversary coming up in the spring and would appreciate recommendations about vacation spots for April, 2016.

Criteria: Caribbean island, nice beaches, not a family resort with lots of kids, safe, possibly not completely flat (not a deal breaker).

Thanks!

If you are looking for a great spot for a vacation in April 2016, I recommend Houston.

It ain’t in the Caribbean, but it’s kinda close to the gulf.

 

[8893]

Which island has the best pizza

Procida or Capri.

 

[mahofan]

St. John. Period, end of debate.

Unless you want to be like everyone else and go to some crappy all-inclusive in Aruba or DR.

 

[sledog]

Caribbean Tune - appropriate on any island

First you take the coconut
Then you get the banana
Mix with rum, drink it down
You'll be sittin' on the can-na.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Another big factor is this....do you want to enjoy the vacation on a plush resort with amenities galore or do you want to explore the native area?

If you want resort and relax with some day excursions off the reservation I had a great experience with Sandals. Plenty of options across the Caribbean. We stayed at one on St. Lucia for our honeymoon and it was great.

If you are more of an off the beaten path type you need to go to the state dept website for safety and security info.

 

[sledog]

I was at St Lucia as well, some time ago. Bows & arrows bubbles up as my impression.

b*

 

[Chin Diesel]

I was at St Lucia as well, some time ago. Bows & arrows bubbles up as my impression.

b*

I was there in 2001. First experience with a swim up bar that served made to order daqu iaries. Dirty banana for me. Creme de Cacao, dark rum, ice cream and some type of banana liqueur.

Also had a fantastic sunset catamaran experience with rum and Caribbean juices. Snorkeling excursion was boss too.

 

[SallyH]

If you really want seclusion and aren't afraid of spending a bit more, check out Petit St. Vincent in the Grenadines. Private villas, and if you want some canapés just hoist up the yellow signal flag, and they will be by in an electric golf cart.

 

[Phorcys]

Add me to the list recommending the U.S. Virgin Islands. Full disclosure: I am a bit biased, having spent an undergraduate sabbatical year (a nice way of saying I dropped out of college for a year) living on St. Croix and St. Thomas.

The USVI offers opportunities for every Caribbean experience you may desire. All three islands boast pristine beaches, crystal clear water, and all the activities and amenities one would expect—without the potential for language-barrier or currency-translation concerns.

If you are looking for relative seclusion and unspoiled nature, most of St. John is a nature preserve, but it is, by far, the most expensive island of the three. Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas has the best nightlife, although it can become absolutely swamped with tourists, since it is a major destination for cruise ships. (Perhaps notably, day trips from Charlotte Amalie to the nature preserve on St. John are beyond easy.) Christiansted on St. Croix probably represents the best mix—excellent restaurants and bars, as well as easy access to great beaches and activities without the crowds of St. Thomas.

 

[HomeKing93]

As you can see from my avatar, Turks & Caicos is my favorite spot.

 

[UConn4ever]

Went to St Lucia last summer and loved it!

 

[HooperScooper]

Went to St Lucia last summer and loved it!

I hate to dig up a thread so old but I remembered this one and am planning a Caribbean vacation around Christmas time. Yes I know it's crazy expensive that time of year but I have one son in college and one in high school and that is the only time everyone in our family is available to vacation. Summers don't even work any more with internships and all they both have going on.

Was thinking about St. Lucia for a bunch of reasons. If anyone has any other good suggestions that fit my criteria below I'd love to hear your suggestions.

I want a warm place that time of year that's relatively easy to get to. St. Lucia has direct non-stop flights on Jet Blue from Boston.

Speaks English as the main language.

Can rent a car so we can explore the island without the need for someone else (taxis) driving us around. Took the family to Bermuda a few years ago and got sick of spending $50 each way for every cab ride we took. Would rather just rent a car and go wherever we want, whenever we want.

Is relatively safe so we can check out the island on our own without worrying. I realize almost every place in the Caribbean has some crime but was hoping for a place, like Bermuda, that is pretty safe.

I want a place that has mountains and lush green forest in the interior. Kind of like Kauai and Maui in Hawaii (obviously smaller mountains in the Caribbean) when we went there a few years ago. This way we can do water/beach stuff and also do cool land based things like hiking, zip lining, check out a volcano (St. Lucia supposedly has a road that you can drive into an inactive volcano crater), etc.

Want a place where everything isn't ridiculously expensive. Probably hard to find somewhere like that with all of the above criteria. How expensive is St. Lucia?

I was thinking of renting a condo or house rather than staying at a hotel. How doable is that on St. Lucia? I saw lots of places on Airbnb and Home Away that looked nice and were reasonable.

Other specific questions on St. Lucia are:

1). How safe is it? I'm taking the family and don't want to have to deal with a place that's not that safe. I looked into Costa Rica but it doesn't seem that safe if we want to go out and do things on our own.
2). Where is the best area to stay? Seems Castries is the most populated but there look to be some nice smaller places. I like to be near some kind of town that has some restaurants, supermarket, bakery, etc. Walking distance from where we are staying would be great.
2). Seems there are 2 airports there. SLU and UVF (Castries). Is one better than the other to get into and out of?

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I hate to dig up a thread so old but I remembered this one and am planning a Caribbean vacation around Christmas time. Yes I know it's crazy expensive that time of year but I have one son in college and one in high school and that is the only time everyone in our family is available to vacation.

My family did this for around a decade when my brother and I were in the same general age range. I've been to St. Lucia, it's beautiful, but I went with a chick and stayed at a resort so I don't know much about the island itself. Add my name to the list of people plugging St. John. Everyone speaks English. The beaches are beautiful. Renting a house is a snap. The island is hilly and lush so you can rent a spot up in the hills with pretty spectacular views of the island and surrounding islands. I don't think it's particularly expensive, although I haven't been in a few years. And there's enough restaurants, etc. to keep your family occupied if no one feels like cooking. Downtown has shopping, etc. but there's also plenty of areas to explore. I've been there with my family probably 5 or 6 times and never felt unsafe for a second.

Anguilla has spectacular beaches and amazing (world class) restaurants but has been blown up by development recently and is getting very pricey. Also, like Turks and some other spots, Anguilla is dry and flat. I've been all over the Caribbean and for what you're looking for I think St. John is great.

 

[SubbaBub]

You are going during the highest of high season. Forget inexpensive. English is widely spoken on most islands, 100% if you are staying at a resort.
Safe? As safe as anywhere you might go in the lower 48, assuming you don't wander into the wrong areas. Good chunks of the population on these islands are extremely poor, so that is what you are potentially up against. On the upside, they are 100% dependent on tourism, so major crimes against tourists are rare, but petty opportunistic crimes do occur. If you leave valuables in your rental car for example. Local police are generally not looking to make a federal case out of theft. That said, I've been to many of these places and not had a problem, but I'm generally aware of my surroundings.

The first question to ask yourself is resort or wanderlust experience. If you want a resort (Sandals-like, or a major chain hotel resort) they you can go anywhere. Any island that has regular cruise ship traffic will have the infrastructure in place that you can book local tours easily and not worry about it. In St. Lucia I recommend Joe Knows tours. (Ask for Big Al and Lyon).

If you intend to wander on your own in a rental car, then St. Lucia isn't for you IMO but it is very easy to arrange guided tours to anywhere you want to go. Castries is the capital, but Soufiere is where most of the tourist attractions are located. There is one main road between the two. It's twisty, full of traffic, and a general PITA to drive around. It is just emerging as a US-friendly (Disney/Cruise ship/Ugly American/Retiree catered to crowd) There are a few Sandals-like properties, some very expensive luxury resorts like Jade Mountain. It's safe enough, but it isn't designed for wandering around by the inexperienced family units.

If you are looking to rent on Homeaway, I'd say USVI is your #1 box checker. St John, St Thomas, and St. Croix in that order. Personally, I like the BVI (Tortola, Vigin Gorda) but, I like island hopping way more than hiking. Other options for people who ask, "Is it safe?", are Aruba and St. Maarten, both are fully developed as tourist destinations so wandering around freely isn't an issue.

 

[White Dwarf]

Virgin Gorda. Rent a place at Nail Bay.

 

[Fishy]

I just got back from the Caribbean. (Cruise)

In our limited time at each - we liked Tortola (Virgin Gorda), but loved St. Thomas and St. John's.

You can hike, snorkel or hit the beach at all three which is pretty much all we care about. If your preferences are different, I can't help.