clynn

I need advice on what island to pick for a honeymoon. Right now at the top of my list is St. Lucia and Anguilla, but would love other suggestions as well. I know they are 2 totally different islands. Travel will be in mid-August for approximately 1 week. Here is what I would like to see/do:

Beautiful beaches
Amazing Food/Drinks
A smaller town with charm
Some nightlife
Beach Bars
Nothing too commercial
At least some tropical foliage

I do not want an all-inclusive and deciding on a place before a budget.

genio67

Anguilla does not have a small town with charm or tropical foliage as it's a dry and scrubby island. It does however meet your other requirements. St. Bart's is expensive but has a lot of what you are seeking. You could also check out the French side of St. Martin. The towns there have a certain kind of charm even if they are a little rough around the edges (Marigot and Grand Case). You could also consider basing yourself in St. Martin and taking day trips to Anguilla and/or St. Bart's.

Bassguy66

I think you'll have to give up some of your wishlist. If you want beautiful beaches, St Lucia is the wrong choice. If you want a small town, nightlife, tropical foliage, cross Anguilla off your list as well.

The best beaches = flat scrubby islands
Tropical rainforest/foliage - usually hilly islands where the beaches are just okay.

One Island that comes to mind that has most of what your wishlist calls for............St John.

Odin

Grenada, Barbados & Antigua have everything on the wishlist. St Lucia does have beautiful beaches, in the north, there is Reduit Beach near Rodney Bay which has alot of restaurants etc. The dark sand volcanic beaches are in the south, some don't like it but they are stunning, especially around Anse Chastanet or Tikaye but it is a bit isolated and I would not be keen on walking around some of the small towns in that area. Mid August is right in the middle of the hurricane season though & it can be rainy at that time in the Caribbean. Not sure if I would risk that for something as important as a honeymoon.

suze

August is the thing that jumped out at me on this post. Doesn't matter how nice the beaches are if there are storms, rain, hurricane.

genio67

August can be a gamble regarding hurricanes, storm etc. You could have wonderful weather or a hurricane, although you are much more likely to have great weather. I have been to the Caribbean at least 5 times in August and never had a problem, but that's not a guarantee obviously.

Last year when we decided to go to the Caribbean for our August vacation we chose Aruba as the ABC islands are much less likely to get affected by a hurricane. During our 7 day stay, it rained for about 5 minutes one morning. However, Aruba is very commercial, with many American chains, and there is not much tropical foliage. If you rent a car you can explore the island and find less commercial areas that are away from the hotels.

The island is dry and wind swept but that actually creates for some interesting landscape in it's own way. Eagle Beach is gorgeous and there are some smaller hotels located there. Aruba has some great restaurants and some nightlife. The main town of Oranjestad has some attractive buildings, but the town is mainly a shopping destination for the cruise ship crowd, not ugly but not really charming IMO.

blamona

They are expecting a less than average hurricane season this year (bigger chance of aiming the East Coast US beaches, and doesn't seem to stop travelers from going)

Forgive me, but Aruba can and has had hurricanes, and had flooding and washout rain weeks just like everywhere else

Past weather behavior doesn't predict future behavior anywhere in the world, all it takes is 1 hurricane going to 1 island to matter

August has postcard perfect water in all the islands if no hurricane-- usually at it's crystal clear brightest turquoise when no hurricane

August is usually half the price of peak season

I have gone December, February, etc to many islands when they have been weather washouts-- chilly, extremely windy

Yet I've gone every month (not every year but through my life) to different islands and had great weather too

So I say go! Get hurricane insurance just in case (in winter peak season get weather insurance too as flights get canceled due to winter storms too)

So just pick an island and go!

Again, forgive me for the lecture, if I could predict weather I'd tell everyone to go, but don't not go because something could or might not happen or you'll never go!

genio67

I didn't say Aruba doesn't have bad weather or hurricanes, I said it's less likely to be affected. This is not my opinion, I am basing it on historical weather information. Aruba has had many fewer direct hits by hurricanes than most other Caribbean islands. You could pick the week it gets hit but if one looks at the statistics and the law of averages, your chances are better in Aruba than most islands. Some people pick the island they like and go which is great if they are comfortable with it, others like a little more information about hurricane frequency. Below is a ranking if you are interested.

http://stormcarib.com/climatology/freq.htm

genio67

Regarding the rankings I attached above, I just want to add that I have been to the Bahamas, St. Martin and St. Barth's in August. All of them are close to the top of the list and I have had perfect weather at each island. I also traveled to Thailand in Monsoon season and had a wonderful weather.

So, even though I look at the rankings, it doesn't necessarily affect my decision of where to go. The choice of Aruba last summer was to appease our friends who were traveling with us.

mnag

Thats quite an intersting chart. Thanks for sharing. Amazing to see that Abacos in the Bahamas get the most hits but Exuma which is in the same chain of islands is much less affected.