Where to go in Caribean, 3 couples in late 20th?

Old Nov 30th, 2004, 01:30 PM
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Where to go in Caribean, 3 couples in late 20th?

Hi,

We are trying to decide where to go in Caribean 2/19/05-2/26/05.

We are 3 couples in our late 20th. We could consider hotel or renting villa or timeshare but we need bedroom for each couple. Our budget is around $3500 per trip per couple.

We are looking for an island with the following criterias:
1. Staying on the beach with calm/clear water good for snorkeling.
2. Have good restaurants
3. Have decent nightlife (not a must but nice to have)
4. Rent a car and visit different beaches and explore island

I was thinking about Aruba but couldn't find any good deals.

I would appreciate your recommendations.

Thanks,
Timeoff.



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Old Nov 30th, 2004, 04:03 PM
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Anguilla fits your criteria.
1) The beaches are beautiful. The three big beaches are Shoal Bay East, Meads Bay, and RendezVous Bay. If you want to walk out and snorkel, Shoal Bay is the best option. However, there are even better snorkel spots if you will take a boat to Prickly Pear, Sandy Island, or Little Bay.
I've stayed on Meads Bay at Malliouhana (expensive) and Carimar Beach Club (units with kitchens). I've stayed on Rendez Vous Bay at Cuisinart (a little less than Malliouhana) and Anguilla Great House. During high season, you may not want to stay at the most expensive hotels to stay within a budget. One I like during high season is Blue Waters on Shoal Bay West.
2) There are so many great restaurants it's always difficult to fit in all the "Must-Do's. I usually expect to spend about $100+/day per person on food. Go to www.menus.ai to see links to restaurant web sites.
3) There are several places where you can go for music and dancing at night. Johnno's and the Pump House are two favorites.
4) Car rentals are easy to do. Island Car Rental is one good one. There are at least half a dozen more with comparable rates and cars/jeeps. You drive on the left side of the road, but the steering wheel is still on the left side of the car, so it's an easy adjustment.
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Old Nov 30th, 2004, 04:29 PM
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Check out villas on St.John USVI. Even though it's the "high" season you could find a 3 bdrm villa for a good price for 3 couples. Bayview,Aria and (Creolla/Creole?)at vivacations.com are some I came across in my search for a villa. All 3 are located nearer to Coral Bay in the Ajax Peak area. Does the budget you mention include everything; airfare,lodging,food,car rental etc., or is that just for accomodations?
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Old Dec 1st, 2004, 05:35 AM
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Thanks for advices,

$3500 is total we planning to spend per couple. I realize it may be tough since we are going during high season and was thinking that sharing villa may save us some money. Also, we wouldn't mind doing some shopping at supermarket and cooking ourselves for 2-3 evenings.

We just came back from St. Martin/St.Barts and loved it a lot (especially St. Barts) We already visited St. Jonh and would be interested in different island.

I will look into staying at Anguilla, is there any villas available?

Also, we may consider going end of January if it will help to stay within the budget.
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Old Dec 13th, 2004, 08:41 AM
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hi timeoff, turks and caicos has limited night life (some gambling,couple night spots)it does have great restaurants and alot of great beaches. a villa there should be doable for your group. all the following start with www. and end with com: seafeathers, finevillas, caribbaway, turksandcaicosrental, marketplacevillas,plus www.vacationparadise.tc, or www.tcivillas.tc
OR i've just been researching villas on the west coast of Costa Rica and was able to find a couple dozen houses ON the beach for like 1000 to 2000 and up per week. a steal compared w/3500 and up for 3Br on provo.but def a more adventurous trip...happy travels
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Old Dec 13th, 2004, 10:44 AM
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Here's a somewhat off-the-wall suggestions: how about a crewed yacht charter in the British Virgin Islands? I did my first crewed yacht charter, with another couple, when we were in our late 20s. We each had our own cabin and head, plus the crew was a captain and chef.

Aside from the unconventional accomodations, a charter can meet all of your specified needs.
- You can't stay any closer to calm/clear water -- you'll be on it, anchored off some of the loveliest beaches around.
- Your chef will make amazing meals for you, designed to satisfy your wishes (they will ask you in advance what your likes and dislikes are). Anytime you don't want to eat on board, they can sail you to great restaurants.
- Nightlife: you can make your own on board, or you can choose anchorages with bars with low-key action and live music. Some of the most legendary beach bars in all of the Caribbean are in the BVI: the Willie T, Foxy's, the Soggy Dollar, Bomba's, etc.
- As for exploration, you go from island to island, picking and choosing your activities. It's a great way to taste the varied British Virgins.

Your budget could accomodate such a vacation, especially since the charter yacht is basically "all-inclusive" (i.e. food and liquor is part of the freight). However, if you have any interest at all, you should find a charter broker ASAP, as your high season dates are probably filling up fast.
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