I think the following would get the most votes for this criteria: (not necessarily a complete list)

-Anguilla
-British Virgin Islands
- Caymans
- St. Barths (for safety; not sure about friendliness- some say it's 'snobby')
- Saba (tiny island, no beaches or entertainment to speak of. For hiking, biking and relaxing)

2nd-Place list:

-Aruba
-Barbados

I forgot one of Saba's main attractions: diving! (snorkelling too?)

I also think a lot of people might add some of the really tiny islands such as St. Kitts and Nevis, Mustique, Bequia, the Grenadines, etc., etc.

The Cayman Islands are clean and safe...the bahamas is nasty at least Nassua was when I was there a few years ago...

Hi
I think St Bart is good for your criteria
If you want a good adress for a cottage rental contact me directly.
regards

Grand Cayman is definetely a very safe island, and the people are extremely friendly!! You'll find NO vendors on the beach trying to sell you things. And you won't find the poverty that you see on some Caribbean islands.

Any other comments on Anguilla, Nevis, or dare I say, St. Lucia?

Cayman Islands & Aruba are extremely safe and clean islands.

Neither suffer from the unemployment that dooms other islands, like Jamaica, Grand Bahama and St. Martin/Maarten (all of which should be avoided if you're concerned about safety issues).

I would not include St. Lucia.
Agree with all the others!!

Another vote for Saba.

No crime to speak of....I stayed in a house and we kept the door unlocked when going out for short periods...people are VERY friendly (one of the best things about the island).

Gilbert, I have e-mailed you regarding your cottage in St. Barth. Please respond ASAP.

In my opinion, Anguilla & St. Barth are very safe islands.

The Netherlands Antilles

Aruba hands down!

Barbados..... I rented a house by myself in the northwest region. I lived for 2 weeks 3 years in a row among villagers. They were the friendliest people I have encountered in my travels. Couldn't do enough for me. I never worried about safety. Drove around the whole island myself several times - got lost alot and always stopped on the road and asked strangers for directions. Never had a fear.... felt so safe...

I cannot say that I felt unsafe at any point on any of the islands where I traveled but some do have lower crime statistics than others and none, I suspect, are crime free! The higher standard of living and affluent islands report less crime and I think that those islands that promote a/i are often the ones with more safety issues as they visitors can stay in compounds and are not out and about the island but this may not necessarily be true of all of them. It would be hard to come up with an island that had genuinely friendlier and more welcoming people than Anguilla and it does boast of a "low/no crime" reputation. The safety and the people combined with the magnificant beaches and wonderful dining makes it pretty close to Paradise for me! I find the Islands of the BVI very welcoming also.

Curacao is a very safe island and very beautiful, although there is a strong trade wind and the beaches can be tough to lay on close by the water. Swimming can also be difficult as the bottom requires swimming shoes. Very relaxing.

Turks & Caicos! Very friendly people and beautiful beaches.

Dont listen to James.
St. Martin has no big crime problem.
These people that want "Safe" islands that gurentee that every person on the island is a nice freindly person ready to serve you!!
Get real people.

Barbados had quards with M16 at each end of Sandy Lane about 8 yrs. ago. Private houses had chain link fences and guard dogs. Ditto fences and guard dogs in St. Martin-yet I felt comfortable and maintained my street smarts on both islands. Other islands have better reputations.

DO LISTEN about St. Martin: Our concierge told us not to walk on the beach at night due to the danger of crime. Can you imagine, not being able to walk on the moonlit beach at night?!? Plus we saw many a unsavory character lurking about the touristy areas. Just not a comfortable place.

Good god - after what happened on 9/11, people still expect the Caribbean to be some magical mystical place where crime is banished completely? Where one can walk amongst only savoury looking characters, or where one can wander aimlessly in dark and isolated places and not be possibly subjected to harm?
Does anyone ever bother reading that little, but oh so informative, section at the front of all travel guidebooks called Security and Safety while travelling? Guess what folks, this same valuable information applies no matter where you are travelling anywhere in this world.
I don't usually get all cranky on this board but questions like this are really inane when I'm sure that the unlucky people in the WTC or Pentagon would be happy with just being on an island right now..any island.

Oh please let's not make this about the World Trade Center disaster. As a resident of Manhattan, I'm sick & tired of people like Debbie.

Safety is important, especially for families traveling with teenagers. The fact is, some islands are safer than others. I'm comfortable with my teens wandering around Grand Cayman, Aruba, and most of the BVI at all hours, but I certainly wouldn't want them carousing around St Maarten, the USVI or most of Jamaica.

Please!

I got back 2 days ago, walked on beach all 10 nights.
You ever think your hotel maybe just does not want to get sued?

Terry, what do you mean "le your teens wander"?
You let them wander around the whole damn island? What if they can't drive.
We stayed near Maho in sxm, which is treated like a warzone by donkeys like you, and let our teens (15) wander around the Casino area.
If your interested in SXM, go to TTOL, and dont listen to people like Terry and hannah. Everybody tells that "they told us not to walk around the beach junk", she probably never even went!

Yes, if you're reading this post and interested in St. Martin, go to traveltalkonline for plenty of censored propaganda from your friendly nudist moderator, "Eric." Just don't let him or his wife know that you're a "textile."

But, heaven forbid you want unbiased information from real travelers, stay right here on Fodor's.

Y'all are acting like a bunch of babies. The SXM bashers are either religious fanatics, closet homos or just plain white trash. God forbid some couple sunbathes nude and YOU SEE IT!! Guard your eyes!!!

What a bunch of immature pinheads.

You miss my point, "Truth Hurts." I don't have a problem with au natural sunbathing -- it's fine with me. I DO have a problem with biased information generated by morons with little travel experience beyond one or two destinations. Censorship of negative posts is also wrong, IMHO.

Fodor's is a great forum because it includes ALL Caribbean islands -- specific island sites tend to attract only cheerleaders for that particular island. With this forum, people with questions usually get a wide variety of responses, both positive and negative. That's a good thing, I think.

Lets put it this way: I've been to SXM. Before the trip I read this forum and I read TTOL. Based on what I saw in SXM, TTOL is much more accurate than Fodors. No comparison. The pro-bias on TTOL is much smaller than the negative-bias here. Nothing wrong with negative posts if they're accurate but much of the stuff on Fodors are nothing but outright lies and nudie bashing. Fine if you're in the 6th grade but it's something most of us outgrow.

I'm 62 years old, a retired physician. Since my first visit to the Yucatan in 1960, I've been travelling to the Caribbean for vacations - I've visited just about every island at least once, and never from a cruise coffin, I mean, cruise ship.

The original question asked about safety. The fact is, some islands are safer than others, primarily due to unemployment, infrastructure, the prevalence of hurricanes, etc. St M/M is at the bottom of the safety list, for the reasons listed.

Look, I'm not going to candy coat it and say SXM is totally safe, because it's not. The restaurant area in Grand Case gets a little hairy around closing time and it's important not to leave anything you cherish in your rental car. But I saw no criminal activity at all while I was there and for the most part felt as safe as I would on any street in America. I prefer to focus on the positives rather than worry about every unsavory-looking character I see, much of which is home spun racial profiling.

All things aside, including Eric's inapproprite behavor on other boards, censoring or deleting, getting personal - why if someone doesn't like a particular spot is it personal and the posse comes out? There are as many answers to this question as there are posters. Hopefully read lots of information from lots of sources and make an intelligent guess and then HOPE that you don't have a problem where ever you travel by being alert and aware. Can't believe this isn't a troll post anyway expecting the half crazed to go off and they did! Have to admit it makes better reading than the funny papers and about as accurate too!

OK, what is SXM, and what is this about being a religious fanatic or white trash simply because I wouldn't want to see nude sunbathers? Believe me, I'm neither nor am I a prude but let's face it, most people's nude bodies are in no shape to be displayed to the world. It's more that I would be embarassed for THEM. I've been to some nude beaches and have a message, cover up people, it's not a pretty sight! Trust me when I say, the naked body is NOT a beautiful thing for 99.99% of the population!

Welcome, "newhere."

SXM is code for St. Martin/Maarten, and you're absolutely right that 99.99% of the population should keep their clothes on. Of course, that makes you an evil textile who must be a fanatic or white trash. Get used to it -- SXM has an active tourist board that protects its reputation and hides the truth about crime and litter.
Welcome to Paradise!?!?

SXM is indeed a code, but not a secret one or anything. It's the airport code. If R. James doesn't know that much (pretty basic) he really can't be trusted for much else.

Yea, welcome to paradise.
Theres hardly any litter on the island now.
But if you go somewhere like Provo, which I went to in July, which is highly Reccomended here at fodors, there is a ton of litter. You go to a nice site on provo and there are 2000 Heinaken bottles laying there. Its the way the caribbean is, not SXM.

This James moron has never been to SXM.
Crime and Litter?
And that other moron Jt. The 60 year old. What makes you think SXm is at the bottom of the list? What list? Wheres your proof? Is it a list you made? Show it to us, please!

Definitely the BVI's

Better check the beacon on line for the recent problems in the BVI. No place is completely crime free especially with the downturn in the economy and tourists staying home combined with the increased drug problems throughout the world. BTW, The Turks and Caicos aren't in the Caribbean!

Funny, I just encountered a nudist on another forum who was at least as rude and obnoxious.

Did it turn you on?

Yes the Turks is in the caribbean. Maybe not the sea, but the region.

Dear "Truth Hurts" -- I think you've got it all wrong! The WHITE TRASH are all the nudists on Orient Beach, et al., on St. Martin!!!

You can definitely rule out the US Virgin Islands since the St. Thomas Source just reported that the USVI has a "chronic high rate of violent crime", with a homicide rate 5 times higher than the US. The rate in St. Thomas itself is 7 times the national average, and approaches Jamaica's murder rate. Don't take my word for it, read it at
http://www.onepaper.com/stthomasvi/?v=d&i=&s=News%3ALocal&p=46435

You want safe? You want clean? 2 words:
GRAND CAYMAN

I guarantee you won't find piles of Heineken bottles piled up here!! By far the safest island we have been to yet, and by far the friendliest.

We went to Grand Cayman in May and rented a jeep that had no windows, roof, locks or the like. We toured the entire island visiting all the snorkeling areas. We left ALL of our valuables in the jeep while we went out snorkeling and had NO problems or worries...it is definitely safe there!!

All that shows is
1. GC is safe
2. Your stupid

Jeremy,

First grow up, then you might be able to figure out how to gain a bit of class.

Grand Cayman is probably the safest island I've ever visited in the Caribbean (haven't been to St. Barts yet). Their standard of living is the main reason behind that. I've frequently seen women jogging alone on Seven Mile Beach at night, and people leave their stuff unattended on the beach all the time, although no one recommends that. However that does not mean that other islands are cesspools of crime just because they don't have that same level of safety. I've travelled to places like Jamaica and St. Thomas and never had a problem by just using common sense and learning where to avoid. I don't really have one particular island I would rate as friendlest, but overall I'd say the peoples of the Caribbean are very friendly and easygoing.

When I told my travel agent about St. martin crime, she said I was the first one to mention it in 15 years of sending people there.

Its true, why would you deliberatly leave valubles unattended.

Speaking from the great north--south of alaska, all the carribean isl can be safe and dangeous for all. We have lost travellor's down there like other country's including people falling of a horse. It's not all crime. Be Smart.
My Rating:
Cancun Riveria Maya (Close to Carribean)Ruins are unreal
BVI (expensive but have to see)
Bridgetown BB Crowded buses but great people
Casries, SL. Lots of things to see don't go into parts of town that tourist wouldn't belong.
PP. Dr Windy beach lots of guards in Santo Dominco-- but i'll give it a break with the new development's on Carrb side which must be less windy. This is where the flight was delayed to load the casket with the person from western canada who fell off the donkey.

I would recommend Aruba. I traveled there by myself a couple of years ago, and had no problems at all. I walked around both day and night and would return there in a heartbeat. Grand Cayman also gets good reviews all around, but if I recall correctly, Aruba was less expensive than Grand Cayman.

My votes for safest islands:
Anguilla, St.Barts, British Virgin Islands, Grand Cayman, Turks and Caicos,
Marie-Galante, Terre de Haut (Les Saintes), Saba, and Nevis.

"Friendly" is not so easy to define. How you are treated on ANY island partially depends on....you - how you treat the people who live and work there. You can get very friendly treatment on ANY island, and very rude treatment on ANY island. There are no guarantees, but you yourself can make the odds a lot better or a lot worse with your own behavior and attitude.

B e r m u d a

You are the weakest link. Bermuda is Atlantic as is the Turks and Caicos. But then the whole Caribbean Sea is in the Atlantic but Bermuda, Bahamas and Turks are all wanna be's.

St. Bart's is safe and friendly (never found it to be snobby).

Bermuda (I know it's not in the Caribbean) is also safe, friendly, has great beaches, warm summer weather, and is big enough to really explore.

I agree with Paul, your attitude and behavior can dictate the type of treatment you receive. I've found islands that aren' typically considered "friendly" like Jamaica or St. Thomas to be very friendly.

hello, does anyone know anything about Palm Island??? Thanks