wendyjohnston

We are going on a family vacation with 10 and 15yr old at Christmas to St. Thomas or St. Johns. What is the best beaches and the best resort areas/resorts. I would prefer a resort--it is my 20th anniversary and this has been a long year! I dont want to get up and have to cook for kids. We love a pretty beach but are also active. My husband loves to shop and dance. My kids like to go to the beach but would also like side trips to see sites or try snorkling. They need variation to not get bored. Any help from best beaches/resorts and must do things would be appreciated. This is a long overdo trip so we will spend the money to do it right! Are there any all inclusives?

RoamsAround

Just for your information, the island is St. John not St. Johns (which is the name of the Capital of Antigua).

On St. John have you looked at Caneel Bay - wonderful resort with 7 different beaches on the property - most with very good to excellent "walk-in snorkeling". You'd also be a short ride to several other beautiful beaches, the town of Cruz Bay and the National Park (with more beaches and plenty of hiking trails). Note: St. John is not noted for shopping although there are a few "shops" in Cruz Bay - for that you can you are better off on St. Thomas - you can take a short ferry ride there when you want to exercise your shopping gene.

No All Inclusives on either St. John or St. Thomas but many of the resorts do offer meal plans.

RoamsAround

Also, you've asked for recommendations for "best resort" but you haven't define what you mean by "best". For most people that generally also means "expensive" but you may think "best" means "least expensive". So, it would help if you gave us some idea of your hotel and food budget - give a specific dollar range rather than nebulous terms like "affordable", "won't break the bank" etc. as they are meaningless without a point of reference. Know that will help the contributors here steer you in the right direction.

Keep in mind that Christmas is the most expensive week in the Caribbean so you are going to find resort rates will be the highest of the year. Many resorts also have minimum stay requirements which vary from 7 to 14 days.

FYI - On St. Thomas one of the "best" resorts is the Ritz Carlton.

LovelyCreation

My husband and I stayed at Bolongo Bay ALL INCLUSIVE in April 2013!

ishkribbl

As a good location and a place with beach and snorkeling, etc. you should look at Secret Harbour on St. Thomas.

amer_can

If I remember correctly there is an underwater snorkle/dive site near or at Secret Harbour with brass plaques identifying the corals. Watch out for sea urchins, DH did not..OUCH, OUCH was the expression of the day and night!!!