Narrowing it down to these 4 islands....best snorkeling? best beaches? best tropical feel?
thanks

I haven't been to the other 3, but you'd be hard-pressed to beat Anguilla for beaches and snorkeling or any other watersport. Also, it's a cheap, short ferry ride from St. Maarten/St. Martin, where there's plenty of great food, shopping, casinos and nightlife.

Tropical feel? None of them, really. These are arid islands.
Best beaches? Anguilla without a doubt.
Best snorkelling? Bonaire and Curacao.

Antigua has the most "West Indian" feel, if not tropical. Bonaire has the best snorkelling. Anguilla has the beach beaches. It all depends on what is important to you. But I really think you would enjoy any one of them.

Antigua is NOT an "arid" island. There are tons of palm trees and vegetation everywhere. I did not see a single cactus or joshua tree on the island! Not, it is not as luch as, say St. Lucia, due to the sugar plantations, but it does have a small rain forest up in the mountains.

Very beautiful beaches, and 365 of them to choose from!

To ChristieP: I'll have to disagree with you about Antigua's not being arid.
In fact, here's a quote from YahooTravel:

"Temperatures are usually warm in Antigua and Barbuda. Daytime readings range 75-80 F/25-30 C and nights about 10 F/5 C cooler. It's often sunny and arid with a pleasant breeze blowing. <<<The island is the driest in the eastern Caribbean, with an average annual rainfall of about 45 in/114 cm>>>>".

Of course up in the mountains there are rainy areas (since the elevations cause the clouds to build and dump their vapor), but around the beach areas where most tourists spend their time, Antigua's relatively dry compared with many of its neighbors. Barbuda is also much drier than Antigua.

You've chosen several good islands. Strictly based on what you are looking for, I think Antigua would be your best bet. It's a beautiful island, although not tropical in the sense of a tropical picture. You can easily do several snorkeling sessions and every day find a different beach. If you will allow me to, I'd also like to comment on the good food. I feel lucky to have been able to visit Antigua. It had everything I wanted and we had a great time.