mcclntt

Want to find the best quiet beach in Caribbean or Latin America. Also looking for great snorkeling. Would consider other areas as well. This would be for a trip in Sept, Oct. or Nov. In addition to beach and snorkeling might like to explore ruins or archaelogical sites. Would appreciate it if someone could point me in the right direction so I can start looking for hotels etc. Thanks

xkenx

Caneel Bay Resort on St. John has SEVEN tree-shaded beaches with fine wade-in snorkeling. Very few people on any beach at any time. The hotel has only 171 rooms scattered over 170 acres within a National Park, so there is no development to be seen anywhere. Check their video on www.caneelbay.com
As nice as the video looks, it does not begin to do the place justice. This is paradise on earth for beach lovers/snorkelers.

mcclntt

Thank you for the link. Wanting to find a quiet beach, good snorkeling, hiking and archaeology. How is the temp in the fall?

mcclntt

posted this last night. Any morning people have suggestions? thanks Elizabeth
and will be flying from Seattle.

A_Traveller

Average temperatures on St.John (Caneel Bay) don't vary by more than 5 to 7 degrees F. throughout the year. You can find historical weather statistics for St. John and just about any destination at www.weaherbase.com

In general you'll find daytime temps in the mid-80's F. - it rarely gets higher than the low 90's in summer and high 70's in winter.

mcclntt

Thank you. Great to know.

LittleSalty

Caneel beaches ARE awesome and ridiculously quiet--I love it!!!!

mcclntt

Thank you all for the info. I was just on the phone to my daughter. She wants secluded but she does not want to cook. I told her to come here and check out all the helpful info. Her computer is off because they put in a new floor. thus Mom is doing the searching
I am exploring all the tips. Thanks again. Eliz

jackiehammond

caneel is amazing...i just went with my husband. here are some pics, if you'd like to see them:

http://www.anthemwebdesign.com

i wanted the same thing as your daughter wants - quiet beach with great snorkeling. it was a glorious vacation!

blamona

no real ruins or archaelogical sites on St. John, except a few sugar mills. BUT Caneel Bay is an awesome choice, with excellent snorkeling.
For all your choices, I would pick Cozumel/Playa Del Carmen area, day trip to Tulum, great snorkeling. or even Belize.

mcclntt

thanks for reply. She is looking very seriously into Belize. So many areas. It really helps to hear from others.

mcclntt

Thank You for the great pictures of St. John. Just got home and am enjoying these.

IPMsMom

Caneel Bay is beautiful (and all of St. John), but expensive. Consider looking at the Grenadines. The islands of Mayreau, Bequia, etc. To get there you travel through Barbados, but it is a beautiful location well worth the trouble. You can daytrip to the Tobago Cays that have some of the most beautiful beaches and best snorkeling in the Caribbean IMHO. Look at Saltwhistle Bay, Tamarind Club Resort, Frangipani (sp?) to look at options. Good luck!

Oh, and Belize looks great to me, too! Never been there, though.

jackiehammond

one more thing to think about...when i was researching where i wanted to go for my 30th, i started out wanting to go to belize. i kind of got turned off because of what my husband read about crime (i know crime is everywhere, but i felt safer on st john than i thought i would in belize). see link and scroll down to "crime" section:

http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/c.../cis_1055.html

belize was definitely cheaper than any other place i was looking into though (i was also researching turks and caicos, anguilla, and antigua).

you mentioned coming from seattle...have you thought about the south pacific?

Angler973

Turks & Caicos imo has the best beach and snorkeling. Our favorite place in the Caribbean is Coral Gardens Beach Resort on Provo. It is an all-suite resort right on a flour-soft, glistening white sand beach. Best of all, right in front of the resort, starting only about 20 feet off shore, is a spectacular National Park coral reef in great condition. Just to the left of the reef are large turtle grass beds, which attract huge hawksbill turtles (we saw 7 on one outing.) Because it is in a protected bay, the water is almost always very calm and clear. Temp in the fall is perfect. The resort has arguably the best restaurant on the island, and the beach grill is fine for lunch or a casual dinner. We always have breakfast served on our balcony overlooking the beach. Paradise!!! Unfortunately, no ruins or archaelogical sites. The best place for these, plus snorkeling, is in Belize. We've just come back from there. The Mayan sites are very interesting and the snorkeling, which must be done from a boat, is excellent. However, the beaches, are not the same as in the islands, and far inferior to T&C.

IPMsMom

Good point! I live in the Pacific Northwest as well, and I'd be heading to Fiji. Much more economical even with the greater distance. I hear it's beautiful and very warm and friendly. And our fall is their spring so the weather could be ideal. Look at www.bulafiji.com.

Angler973

Fiji is great! Perhaps has everything you are looking for: wonderful beaches, incredible snorkeling, interesting visits to local villages. We loved it there, but it is EXPENSIVE! Check out Yasawa Island resort. It is really a wonderful place, and if you can handle the prices, I highly recommend it.

wantsomesun

You might look into Eleuthera in the Bahamas. Miles and MILES of deserted beaches, and some great snorkling right from the beach. There is a wonderful dive site, of interest in the area, a civil war train, which was on it's way to a plantation in Cuba and was sunk on a barge by a very bad storm. It makes for an amazing dive site over 100 years later. Lots of other interesting wrecks in the area as well.

You might look at CocodiMama which is a lovely resort right on the water, great food and lovely atmosphere. The website is www.cocodimama.com

Have a grea time.

ScottB

If you are considering Belize, you need to really research what to expect there.

Crime is not an issue on Ambergris Caye. We found the friendliest people we've ever come across there. The people were truely one of the highlights of our trip there.

In your original post, you mentioned the "Best Beach" and "Great Snorkeling". Well, you will NOT find great beaches, or good snorkeling from shore in Belize. The reef that is about a 1/2 mile out is incredible. It's the 2nd largest barrier reef in the world. The problem is that you can only enjoy via a boat. There is VERY limited snorkeling from shore. Yes, the reef is amazing snorkeling. The beaches are the other issue. I would rate them as a "C-/D+" at best. If you are looking for blinding white sand beaches, Belize is not the place.

Don't get me wrong, it is a nice place to visit, and has an amazing amount of charm. But you will be very disapointed in the beaches & snorkeling if that's your priority.