http://www.conched-out.com/things.shtml

In terms of safety small planes come out top.

If your husband won't fly in small planes it will severely limit the number of smaller islands you'll be able reach given the travel "restrictions" you've set for yourselves. FYI - any island you can reach non-stop from NYC will be quite large and/or populated. Simply put, small islands have small airports (if they any airports at all) that can't handle the jets used by the major international airlines.

So, look into flying from NYC to St. Thomas then going by ferry or water taxi to St. John or some of the smaller BVI's like Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke or Guana Island.

Also look at flying into St. Martin, from there it's a short 20 minute ferry ride to Anguilla where you'll find a quiet laid back island with 35 spectacular white sand beaches and 80+ restaurants.

You can fly non-stop from JFK to St. Kitts and then ferry or water taxi to Nevis. It's a small island (only 36 sq. mi.) that may interest you.

Once you pick a destination or two that appeals to you give us some idea of your budget and contributors here will be able to make hotel/resort recommendations.

The Out Islands of The Bahamas

hi sue, i read your article. 2 islands come to mind that do not involve small planes.
you can very easily fly to cancun then take a ferry to isla mujeres. very, very small & laid back. good snorkeling, everyone uses golf carts to get around.
or fly to san juan. drive to east coast town of fajardo & take ferry to vieques or culebra. both small islands, not sure about culebra but vieques has good snorkeling, gorgeous deserted beaches & wild horses roaming about. you need to rent a jeep.

Don't forget Culebra, PR. The beaches are pristine and there are absolutely NO large resorts. If you are into hiking, there are many beaches that you can have all to yourself!

Grand Turk was great for diving but there wasn't really a town with restaurants. Very limited selections in terms of restaurants. It was sort of just a street, less a town -- I love small islands and had a good time but there wasn't enough eating options and I felt more bound to my hotel than usual.

Bonaire was wonderfully charming although there are no beaches, mostly iron rocky shoreline but the . (profile pic shows the water/shore behind me).

Caye Caulker might be another option -- no cars on island, only bikes and golf carts -- and you can ferry over from Belize City. Google images of the Split -- it's the only beachy area on the Caye as there aren't beaches here but long piers - you can walk out for a mile and still not be tly underwater. I think it's gorgeous. Sailboats out to snorkeling areas.

Anedaga, BVI.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g147362-Anegada_British_Virgin_Islands-Vacations.html

It helps that you can fly from NYC. But your husband not wanting to fly on a small plane hurts. As Dickie says, they really are the safest. It took me several years to talk my husband into getting on a small plane to go to a much better island. My husband refused to consider valium, but yours may agree to it. Ask him. My husband still doesn't love the small planes, but if you keep him talking during the flight or engage others in conversation, he does OK. I've had my best vaactions that way. If you're looking for a smaller resort on a smaller island without tons of activities all around you all the time, keep talking to him. Maybe a future trip?

Oh -- and United flies directly to Bonaire from NYC during parts of the year.

As anyone who flies on 8 seaters knows. If you have any problems, and the statistics of mechanical failure are probably similar to 300 seaters, you are far better gliding from 3000 ft in a small plane than from 35000 in a huge chunk of metal.

Sounds like St John to me. Best of everything. Easy to get to hard to leave. You will not be disappointed. Book a boat and take a tour of the BVI's be sure to hit up Foxy's and let him play you a tune.

I have been to some of the suggested (St. John, Anegada, Culebra, a good many of the out islands of the Bahamas) and have not been to some of the others (Bonaire, Anguilla, Vieques). I would second Culebra for sure. You might also take a look at Virgin Gorda in the BVI's- it is quieter and more laid back than St.John is now and gorgeous. You can fly to St. Thomas and ferry to Virgin Gorda. Anegada might be TOO far out there for you and while it is a small island there is no real "town" to speak of- it is a pretty long ferry ride from St. Thomas with a couple of ferry changes to get there. It was a gorgeous place and we enjoyed a few days there combined with days in Virgin Gorda but I am not sure I would spend my whole vacation time there on a first trip.

Hello everybody! Thank you. I am going to look into all the suggestions in detail. I forgot to mention that we will have a 9 month old with us when we travel so we need a place with some decent infrastructure (eg. Hospital ).

I'm curious about what everybody here thinks of St Bart's as a destination?

S

Well, if you need an island with a hospital then you probably don't want one of the more remote or as you put it unspoiled islands. Many of those will have only a very basic clinic.

St. John is probably as "remote" as you want to get if you are concerned about having easy access to a hospital.

St. Bart's is a very expensive and chic island - it won't meet your definition of "unspoiled".

How important is a hospital? Does your child have health issues? If so it could make a big difference on where you go. You probably will want to stick to one of the larger more populated islands if health concerns are an issue for you and your family.

Hi, no health issues but as first time parents we'd rest easier knowing that help is close ..

I meant to add, St. Bart's is not easy to get to - you have to first fly into St. Martin. From there it's either a short flight in a small plane or a ferry ride that crosses open water making the trip a little bumpy.

It would be best if you clarify your "hospital needs" so we can steer you in the right direction.

If, however, you are concerned about "hospitals" for just an unexpected emergency and are willing, in that instance, to take the ailing person to one of the nearby "larger islands" then you'll find most of the destinations mentioned in the prior posts will fill your needs and expectations.

I think Barbados is a great intro island for the Caribbean. It has the beautiful beaches that you expect and small towns, it's easy to get to and it is how you imagine a Caribbean island to be. It has an English feel as well. Although well discovered by tourism, it can be as lively or as quiet as you want it to be, you can go AI or not, you can shop high end or just at local markets. I would not dismiss some of the more well discovered islands eg Antigua. Tobago is a very quiet undeveloped island but I am unsure of flights ex NYC & whether you'd be happy there.

Islands such as Bonaire etc are rocky and mainly for snorkelling, diving etc, very charming and we loved it there but for a first time visit not sure.

Oh. A hospital? Not in anyplace unspoiled lol.

None of the Caribbean islands have cities the way we do in the US. And all have areas where you can get away from the more developed sections and most have gorgeous accessible beaches. Given that it sounds as if direct flights and medical facilities are your primary concerns, I don't think you should be starting your search based on which island to go to. I would recommend that you start by determining where you can get using your travel restrictions, than research which have the medical facilities that you are the most comfortable with. The more developed islands are the ones where you will find the best infrastructure. Once you come up with your short list start to look for remote areas of the islands. For example St Maarten has a larger town in Phillipsburg and down by the airport but the French side is more of a small town feel. If you want well developed medical facilities the truly unspoiled islands like Dominica and St Lucia are really not where you want to go.