Where or Where in the Caribbean can we find what we want???

Barbados should have direct from UK; lots of Brits travel there. The island has everything. A class act on the island is Coral Reef Club. This beachfront hotel is low rise, plantation style, family owned for nearly 60 years (and the caring shows), fine restaurant. See www.barbados.org and www.coralreefbarbados.com

Yes, Coral Reef Club would be a great choice; just make sure that it is open in November. The resort often closes for its annual refurbishing over the summer, and I can't recall the actual month of reopening.

Another choice would be St. Lucia. There are several resorts that might meet your needs there. You could look at The Landings, for example, with about 60 units, or Discovery at Marigot with a similar number of units. But be aware that it's about 60 to 90 minutes to the resort area at the north end of the island from the airport.

Finally, Antigua might be an option for you. There are several smaller upscale places (Curtain Bluff, for example).

Since you are coming in low season, you may find a good deal, though many of the nicer small properties close until the end of hurricane season.

congratulations on 25 years and welcome to fodors.
i looked hard and as far as i can tell for non stop your options are:
kingston jamaica (KIN)on brit air, virgin or air jamaica, bridgetown barbados (BGI) british air or virgin,
antigua (ANU) on british air.

you can get to trinidad (POS) on caribbean airlines in 11 1/2 hrs with stop at BGI
or st. marteen (SXM) in 11 3/4 hrs or martinique in 11 1/2 hrs through paris on air france.

try not to book during american thanksgiving as rates will be much higher - week of 22nd thru 29th.

i'm assuming you are british citizens - you can travel to cuba. i can't even search air for non stop but you could. it might be a wonderful place for your trip. try using kayak.com

once you choose an island we can be more helpful. also a more specific budget - your splurge might be a pittance to some & a fortune to others.

xknex, Thanks for some direction. I checked out your suggestion, your right it looks beautiful put perhaps a little pricey. So, taking your suggestion, I looked at others...what do you think of Little Good Harbor?

Doug, thanks for for your input and suggestions. I check weather sites it does not seem to be hurricane season during this time, right? I love the idea of a discount. When I narrow it down, should I inquire with the hotel if they offer them?

My, Virginia you are efficient- Love it! First, my wife is a US citizen and we Will go to Cuba one day. And, we will leave London on November 30, 2009. Thanks, for your help and when I narrow it down I would love to take you up on your offer. Ain't that the truth- your splurge might be a pittance to some & a fortune to others.

Although not Caribbean, you can fly directly to Bahamas, Turks & Caicos or Bermuda (daily flight)- not sure about the temps in November though. Bermuda is gorgeous.
You can fly to Havana directly on a Wed & Sun on Virgin, Tobago&Grenada on Thursday also with Virgin (there are great properties on Grenada) & also to Montego Bay but you can check which days of the week they fly. They are also flying direct to San Juan once a week in the winter although personally I do not like PR but it is a convenient place to change planes and go on to somewhere else.

From Antigua you can take connections to Anguilla, which has perfect beaches and beautiful hotels.

Otherwise another destination eg Seychelles or Mauritius.

I don't think Barbados will fulfill the hiking requirement but St Lucia will.

luvdirt,
Little Good Harbour gets good reviews, but the cottages are across the narrow (but busy) west coast road from the beach.
A lower-priced alternative to Coral Reef Club, but ON the beach with grounds is Settlers Beach Hotel. www.settlersbeachhotel.com
Ken
ps There is hiking on Barbados, just not the higher mountainous kind. There are even organized hikes on Sundays.

I can recommend The Royal Plantation in Ocho Rios Jamaica, check my Trip Report on it. They just were entered into the prestigious "Leading Small Hotels of the world". Food and Service are great, you should be able to get everything you want except maybe hiking, which you can get just not on the resort but an excursion. Dunns River Falls would be a must do Excursion, which is basically Hiking up a Waterfall, really neat.

Ocho Rios is on the edge of some Mountains, you can take a trip to Diablo Mountain were Bob Marley grew up and is buried, honestly though you may not want to leave the resort. Mystic Mountain is new and alot of fun(Ski Lift up mountain while looking at the Ocean next to you, Bobsled rides and Zip Line).

As for the resort, private beach with a great staff, can go Kayaking whenever you want, Sailing, Snorkeling or Scuba.

Also may want to check out Jamaica Inn next door to it as another option. Best 2 resorts in Ocho Rios I beleive. Drive from Montego Bay Airport is about 1:30 hours, which if you book at these resorts should be Private, roads are good.

You could also do a Blue Mountain Tour, I know they had one where they take you up and you can either White Water Raft down, or do a Mountain Bike down I beleive. sure there are some regular Hiking options. Nice area with the mountains and hills and cliffs

barbados the place of choice every day flight from Britain

If Barbados is the most convenient and you like the looks of the island overall, consider looking at a Luxury Link package for Cobblers Cove. It's on the pricey side, but with the good auction rates it becomes more affordable. www.luxurylink.com is the main site, and they usually have a package on offer for Cobblers.

If you like the looks of Antigua better, and if Curtain Bluff is too expensive, take a look at Blue Waters, which is a very pleasant place on the north shore.

If you don't mind taking a local airline from either Barbados or Antigua, you have a lot more options open up. Limiting yourself only to those islands to which you can fly nonstop from London is a little, well, limiting.

Thank You All So Much for your links, time and thoughts! I'm so impressed with your generiosity.
I do agree that perhaps I should not be concerned about a direct flight. I just don't want to be taking more then 2 flights. I'm sorry since I did not to get too wordy I did not mention that we will be leaving our anniversary celebration to America. We live in America and will be going to England for our annual visit.
It would be really great if we could walk out our hotel door and explore - does not have to be hard core mountain climbing, could be anything as long as it's nature.
I think that $400 a night will be my budget.

Now, I see why it takes me wife so long to plan a trip - my head is spinning.

If you are flying into Kingston(not MoBay), may want to look at Port Antonio area of Jamaica, where there ritzy people go in Jamaica from what I understand. Check reviews on resorts/villas at Tripadvisor.

I think the Jamaica portions of the movie Cocktail were shot there, and it has the famous Blue Lagoon, plus its right there at the Blue Mountains.

In case anyone happened to notice I did not respond under my screen name LuvDirt (off-road racing) and was on my wife's computer (impacked) and did not realize I needed to re-sign using my name.

But, the reason I mentioned we are flying home to America was because although it sounds wonderful Seychelles or Mauritius won't work.
I can see I have a weekend busy with research. Thanks Again!
Cheers!

A trip to either Barbados or Antigua sends my imagination spinning. Both are wonderful places to visit.
We discovered Barbados a few years ago, have been there twice, and dream about our next trip as we enjoy the island so much.
Antigua has the powdery white sand shores, warm waters and soft breezes that are so welcoming. We've spent a couple of relaxing vacations there as well, most recently in March/April 2009.
You really can't go wrong either way ...

Hi
Congratulations on your Silver Anniversary. We celebrated our Ruby Wedding in June & went for one week in Antigua at Curtain Bluff. Our son got married there halfway through the week & it was wonderful. Somewhere a little cheaper is Galley Bay , where we have stayed three times, adults only & great food! Our second week was spent at Cobblers Cove Barbados & which we really enjoyed & where you have a sitting room & kitchenette, which was useful for making lunches. I definitely prefer Antigua, but everyone has their own preferences. If you want a good agent in the Uk, please send a PM & I would love to recommend her, as always gets the best rates!

YOu might look at www.islandoutpost.com as they have several lovely resorts in the Bahamas and around the carribean. The #1 spot last year was Pink Sands on Harbour Island in the Bahamas. It has everything on your list except the direct flight. You would fly into Nassau and either take a short 15 minute flight on Bahamas Air or there is a a fast ferry over that goes daily.

There are several really nice places to stay and none of the resorts on island are large hotels.

www.coralsands.com
www.runawayhill.com (my favorite)
www.rockhousebahamas.com
www.thelanding.com
and Valentine's (sorry don't know the webisite) with a wellknown diveshop.
Dunsmore Beach Club
www.myharbourisland.com

There are several nice restaurants and a cute down a bit of shopping and some fun nitelife.

Have a wonderful trip.

Man, you guys are super! I really appreciate all your help and suggestions.

It all looks wonderful to me and know my wife would love almost any of these spots! But, here is the problem. We are leaving LAX on Nov. 22 for a family party (Mum's 90th birthday) 10 Hour Flight. On November 30th we drive 5 hours from Cornwall to England and fly ?. Almost all the flights to the Caribbean are at least 10 hours , ok. And then we leave 5 days later and another minimum 10 hours back to LAX. I had hoped that the flights to LAX would be alot less time. Not too bright, am I?

When we get home we have a very full calender for the month of Dec.

We have been to Jamaica and although we did enjoy it, I'd like us to go somewhere new. So far, Bermuda and Bahamas look like my answer. If, I could just get some flights where we could be put in a time capsule.

Try Negril Jamaica. You the sun, beach, cliff to jump and the right food to complete your vacation. check this site out it have alot of info about negril. www.travel2negril.com

Be careful with November weather in Barbados. We love the island, but had a total week of rain over a Thanksgiving trip.
This is their rainy season.

The Caribbean has no rainy season. Rain is pretty constant year-round. However, November is still hurricane season (it runs officially until November 30), so there is always the chance of a hurricane or tropical storm.

However, tropical fronts can form anytime during the year. St. Maarten has had torrential rains throughout the high season in certain years, as have other islands. Barbados is relatively dry, but as randipellmar points out, you can get a bad week (though that's not a November problem ... it's just a tropical fact of life).

Mrknowall,
Would be interested in hearing more about where you stayed and how you felt the overall experience was?
Thanks/Sherri

St. Barth!

luvdirt,

I'm a little confused, but since you seem to be in and out LAX during that period, have you thought about Mexico instead? It would be a lot simpler,especially for such a relatively short ( five day) trip.

Also- hate to disagree with some of the other posters, but we have been to the Caribbean a few times in November/early December and the weather was NOT very good( lots of clouds/drizzle/rain) in Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Cayman. And since Bermuda is north of all those islands, I wouldn't recommend going there at that time, either, unless you don't mind cooler temps and possible bouts of rain. Although it's far from my favorite island, Aruba at that time of year is one of the safest bets for decent weather.

Good luck!

St. John, USVI....check it out...beautiful beaches..2/3 of the island is national park, so you don't have all the hotels, condo, etc...I'd rent a villa...there are so many villas that fit every price range...beautiful beaches and also hiking trails...there are also excursions to St. Thomas,and other islands from there...It's just so lovely of an island...
Bermudais gorgeous but extremely pricey....You can't go wrong with St. John, USVI...

I just read more of the above replies and may agree with the person above who suggested Mexico...Cabo San Lucas is wonderful and a much shorter flight than going to the Caribbean..Also agree..although Bermuda is stunning..it may be very cool in November..it's only 600 miles from North Carolina...so it will definely be cooler...

Cabo San Lucas has some of the most gorgeous hotels I've ever seen...and lovely beaches....has a lot to offer..

Check out Moon San Villa at the Blue Lagoon, Port Antonio, Jamaica
www.moonsanvilla.com

Greg