susan1

Thank you for the replies.<BR><BR>Looking for that tropical paradise.

ahrodriguez

After traveling the carribbean numerous times, I found the bluest water in Aruba, even though the island is not that &quot;tropical&quot;. Mexico's waters (Playa del Carmen) were also beautiful. I visited there on a cruise, and we parked in 40 feet of water with a perfect view straight down to the bottom. Again, even though these places have the clearest water and nicest beaches, they lack the &quot;tropical&quot; atmosphere.

Scott66

I mean no disrespect to the previous poster, but there are several islands that make Aruba's &amp; Mexico's water look like a sewer. And before anyone jumps down my throat, I'm (NOT) saying Aruba &amp; Mexico are bad destinations, just not what I'd consider prime places for the prettiest water.<BR><BR>Islands that come to mind for the amazing water are St. John, Anguilla, Turks &amp; Caicos, BVIs, Caymans, etc. Susan, Do a little research on this subject, and you'll quickly find out what I'm talking about. Good luck.

cd

Susan<BR>Not the Caribbean, but the most beautiful place I have been is Bora Bora in French Polynesia. The waters so blue and crystal clear with atolls full of huge, tall palm trees.

Penpen825

We have been to many islands and the clearest and bluest water we have experienced is Provo, Turks and Caicos. <BR><BR>You can literally walk for miles on completely empty beaches- no highrises, no garbage, no vendors or crowds. Jsut paradise. The sand is white and soft and the water is so clear and calm that is boosts some of the best snorkeling and scuba in the islands.

HowardC

I second Provo (Providenciales) in the Turks and Caicos. Grace Bay beach is consistently rated #1 or 2nd best beach in the Caribbean by Conde Nast Traveler and Caribbean Travel and Life. The ever changing color of the water is amazing and the beach, about 7 miles long where the resorts are, is fantastic

diann

I also like T&amp;C but I also like many others. I think it depends on several factors, including the sky, how many clouds, the coral and rocks underneath. I spent a week in T&amp;C several years ago. I also like Cancun, but I was very impressed with Barbados, and Antigua. I think I just love them all!

sxmguru

I would say St. Maarten and Anguilla, all shades of blue

MaryBeth

I would vote for Anguilla. The island is flat and somewhat scrubby but the resorts and restaurants are absolutely marvelous. The Anguillan people are friendly and gracious. <BR>But my favorite part of Anguilla are the beaches and the crystal clear aquamarine water. There's nothing like it anywhere!

JMM

Just one comment: perfect beautiful water clarity and lovely beaches are generally NOT compatible with gorgeous scenery. Why: Rain forest type islands have soil run-off every time it rains - this affects the water clarity. What I am trying to say is you can not have a lush tropical paradise and perfect water clarity. The islands with the most amazing beaches and clear gorgeous water (Provo and Anguilla for example) are desert islands. The lushest, most tropical islands ( St Lucia and Dominica for example) have gorgeous tropical scenery but the water clarity and beauty does not compare to the desert islands. The best island I have been to for gorgeous,clear incredibly blue water is Provo, followed by the BVI.

denette

Best we have found are Turks/Caicos, St. John, Virgin Gorda, and Peter Island. It is so hard to beat the Virgin Islands, but Provo was absolutely a piece of heaven, and Chalk Sound is unlike any place I have ever, ever seen as far as variances in water color, so much that I kept taking my sunglasses off to appreciate what my natural eye could/would see. Absolutely worth the drive out if you ever go to Provo.

Knowing

GC's water is as clear as the water in any swimming pool. However, it is not a conventional tropical paradise. Very americanized and I suspect that's not what you are looking for.

conch

The T&amp;C and GC waters are nice. My vote is 4 Eleuthera gin like waters without the crowds.

jayded1

Give Bermuda a thought, 200sq mile coral reef over 400 shipwrecks, clear, clean, pristine water, pink sand beaches.

cd1979

This is great information. I was wondering as well after a flight from Curacao to Charlotte NC. During the flight on Insel Air, we saw some amazing water near several small islands. We never asked on the plane which islands they were. I was thinking perhaps Turks and Caicos based on the travel time and distance. It was an amazing sight though and I would definitely consider a destination that looks like what we saw out of the plane window.

mnag

Traveled to many islands and my list of fav beaches would be as follows - Exuma (tropic of cancer beach - unreal), Long island (Cape santa maria beach), Anguilla (many beaches but the cap jaluca beach is up there on my list followed by meads bay beach), Eleuthera (literally littered with beaches on the calmer caribbean side and beautiful atlantic side. Pink Sand beach on Harbour island is also unique), Provo (grace bay is beautiful but am not a fan of the hotels lining up the beach. Sorry I know a lot of provo fans...pls forgive me), Virgin Gorda (Baths are unique, Savannah bay beach), Abacos (Tahiti beach on elbow cay, Nippers beach on great guana cay). Grand Cayman (7 mile beach). Although there are other lovely beaches on other islands the above mentioned top my list.

mnag

ohh one more worth mentioning White bay on Jost Van Dyke.

travelcon

Antigua,Turks,Grand Cayman. Not Aruba-snorkeling was not good here at all.

Bassguy66

My guess is that the OP is long gone due to the fact that this thread is 10 years old!! LOL

Mangoskin

Check out Long Island, The Bahamas you can find more information here at www.thelongislandrunnernews.com

Happy travels!