beantown

OK, perhaps a weird question to some, but not to others. We've brought our small dog to Las Ventanas in Los Cabos (unbeatable and w/out a doubt the top pet-friendly resort in the world) and to South Beach (lots of outdoor cafes).<BR><BR>We want to try the Caribbean - probably St. Martin, but are open to ideas. We've researched entry requirements and have a short list of where might be good. We found a list of properties on St. Martin that are pet-friendly, but have had a hard time locating others. We are currently leaning towards Le Meridien on St. Martin.<BR><BR>Can anyone offer any positive experiences at a resort in the Caribbean?

ejcrowe

Most islands have long quarantine periods for pets, even those with health certificates from veterinarians. Since they're island communities, they can't take the chance of some unknown disease running rampant. I can't speak for all islands, but the ones I've inquired about were Antigua, Jamaica, and Barbados--all of which had very stringent quarantine requirements. It may be different on islands of non-british descent.<BR><BR>You can get around this issue if you intend to bring your dog aboard a private sailboat or yacht and bring him/her to shore that way. It's technically illegal on the three islands I mentioned above, but it's done not infrequently. <BR><BR>Sorry this isn't positive or more helpful. My partner and I have two dogs so we wanted to inquire about bringing them with us sometimes since we always miss them while we're on vacation. Good luck finding something. I would love to know about anything you find. Maybe if you just traveled in PR or the USVI it would make a difference...

beantown

Thanks. That was long my assumption, but I was suprised to find many islands, including St. Martin and St. Barts, simply require a health certificate.

Statia

I have travelled thru St. Maarten with my dog and currently live nearby. I can assure you that you do not need anything other than a health certificate/rabies certificate to bring your dog to the local Dutch islands.<BR><BR>I would suggest any place on the French side of St. Martin since they are more pet-friendly. However, I haven't overnighted there with my pet, so I can't offer hotel suggestions.<BR><BR>Good luck.

penny

I do know that people travel to Anguilla,(neighbor of St. Martin) with pets. The Malliouhana Hotel is pet friendy, will accomodate guests with dog, the owner even greets all guests with his dog by his heels! Have not seen dogs in open air restaurants, but people dining at Mangos on the island<BR>had a hugh white parrot perched on their shoulder, later lap!

beantown

Update - we're travelling to St. Barth's in late May. All my research confirmed it was quite a pet-friendly island (the French thing, I guess). I contacted 7 hotels and ALL of them very much welcomed pets, (only one charged a nightly fee). Even confirmed with US Air that the Winair flight from SXM wouldn't be a problem (she'll probably be in our lap!)

AbbySBH

Beantown:

Now that you've decided on St. Barts check out www.sbhonline.com. It is a super informative St. barts only site where you'll get unreal info (in my opinion) for your vacation. Plus: the people who run it appear to be real dog lovers so you should feel right at home. Have a great trip.

Statia

Beantown:

Glad to hear you've made your plans. Just a word of precaution with WinAir, however.

I fly WinAir frequently, with my pet at times, as well. I had never had a problem before with having my Chihuahua in my lap during the flight, so I never owned a kennel for him when traveling inter-island. But, the last time I attempted to board in SXM, the agent wouldn't let me on without a kennel.

Nevermind the fact that I had entered SXM on WinAir w/o a kennel, she wouldn't budge. Therefore, I had to catch a cab back to town to locate a kennel, purchase it, and go back through all the hassels at the airport all over again. All with a very sick dog in tow.

So, just to be on the safe side, have your pet in a kennel when boarding WinAir. Then, you can take it out once your on board. That is, if the other passengers don't seem to mind.

Enjoy your trip!

beantown

We do have an &quot;approved&quot; carrier we've used on probably a dozen flights. We have to get to SXM from Boston to begin with!

Abby - thanks for the ad for sbhonline - already been there and had several questions answered.