My wife and I will be celebrating our 30th anniversary in Jan 05. For our 25th. we went to Aruba and fell in love with this island. We are looking for another island to visit before we go back to Aruba. We were AI in Aruba but feel that when visiting somewhere for the first time we would like to experience more of the island than our resort. I have done research on Grenada and I'm not sure this is the right place. We hear that Jamaicia is okay if you stay on or close to your resort but we like to go on our own to see the different places of interest. Thanks in advance for any suggestions. All are appreciated.
Mike

We visited Grenada in recently and just fell in love with it. I suppose it is subjective to what your personal taste and expectations are. It is much less touristy than Aruba and not nearly as developed, which is just what we liked about it. If you are looking for loads of planned activities, lots of shopping and nightlife this would not be a good choice. However, if you would like an island that has a magnificent varied terrain, a laid back feel and warm friendly people it would be a perfect choice. There is lots to do if you like exploring the countryside, visiting old plantations and rum distilleries, finding secluded beaches, visiting waterfalls, exploring old towns, etc. We never felt unsafe for a moment and from what I understand crime is almost nonexistent.If you search for Grenada on this forum you will see my other comments and lots of others.

Went to Anguilla for 30th . Stayed at CJ wonderful ! rented car went all over island . Spent one night ST Martin La Samanna Teriffic . You can do it all from nothing to shopping and the resturants on SM (french ) and Anguilla great Anguilla has the best beaches in the Caribbean . A little pricey but hey it is 30 and your not getting ...............

We were in Negril Jamaica in May (early 25th anniversary) & loved it. Never felt unsafe. You can stay at an AI resort or not. If you want a bit of pampering with an AI food deal but still feel like you're not at a "resort" then check out Moon Dance Villas. Our sis-in-law stayed there & said it was wonderful & about the same as a resort pricewise but 100% nicer. You get your own villa with staff (cook & bartender). They discuss what you'd like to eat & prepare it special for you. All meals are served with fresh flowers & tablecloth in your villa.

As for Negril... it was great. The people were friendly, the beach & water were gorgeous & we relaxed more than any other vacation. For tours of the area I suggest you check out Soloman & Sienna Kerr at Talk of the Town Tours. They are great & the prices were less than the hustlers on the beach wanted. They will do a custom tour just for you or you can see some of their regular ones on their website at www.talkofthetowntours.com.

Why don't you consider Barbados. It's a wonderful island with gorgeous scenery, beautiful beaches, fabulous gourmet restaurants with spectacular settings -- it really has it all. And, it's much less windy there than what you have in Aruba. There are gentle island breezes to cool you, but not the stronger winds you get in Aruba.

Barbados is a very safe island -- you can get out and explore the entire island on your own if you want and feel very safe. We always do this and thoroughly enjoy ourselves. We just completed our 19th trip there last month.

A villa might be something for you to consider. They have some fabulous ones on the island, but they really have something for every budget.

If you would like to write me for some lengthy trips I've put together for travelers, please do so at:
[email protected]

I think you'd find the information very helpful as you consider which island you will visit.

Regards,

Lois

When you do go back to Aruba, don't go AI -- Aruba has such wonderful restaurants!

We spent our 25th Anniversary at Sandals Golf & Spa Resort in St Lucia. We took a dinner cruise the night of our Anniversary and it was a very romantic night. Since then we spend all of our Anniversarys at Sandals, this year being our 29th.

In December of last year we vacationed in Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. We stayed at the quiet Sugar Mill, a romantic hotel located in lush surroudnngs where groups of rooms are situated from the bottom to the top of a hill. The views are absolutely beautiful of other islands. The award winning cuisine is excellent. There is a very small beach where swimming is good from the jetty but for a larger tropical beach you will need to drive. Renting a jeep will be necessary to drive thru some mountainous roads--what views from the road, some of which are steep!
Lots of sailing available and places to explore. We took a water taxi to Jost Van Dyke and stopped to enjoy a cold beer at Foxy's. The sand is so white--take a taxi to the other side of the island. You can also taxi / sail over to other islands such as Peter Island, Virgin Gorda, St. Thomas etc.
Nights tend to be quiet--Sunday good Caribbean music at Sebastians located a short drive away from the Sugar Mill at Little Apple Bay preferred by surfers. The rustic Bomba's Shack is walkable down the road for music some nights.
Not too far away at the West End is a very modern Marina where there are shops, boats and a bar with a place to eat.
More information is online about the Sugar Mill Hotel.