Anyone been to these islands in Sep/Oct?
 

Anyone been to St. John, Antigua, St. Lucia, or Aguilla is September? These are our top choices for our honeymoon (last week of september into first week of october)

We know it is hurricane season and plan on buying trip insurance just in case. Our main concern is that the majority of the islands will be closed. We want to go on catamaran cruises, hiking, try snorkeling, relax on a great beach, love to eat great food and enjoy fun beach bars!

We know that all of these things can be met at these islands during the peak seasons, but we are worried that in the off season we will be bored and that everything will be closed.

Anyone been during Sep/Oct? Any advice?


Thanks!!

Some resorts, restaurants and tour operators on all of those islands will be closed on all of those islands in September/October but you should still be able to find enough that are open/operating to keep you busy/entertained no matter which island you choose. You just have to realize that at that time of year your choices are going to be somewhat limited.

Now, St. John will have the best snorkeling, great hiking and some very picturesque beaches but its a small island so you'll find the highest percentage of "seasonal closings" on that island.

St. Lucia is the largest island so you'll have the largest selection of "open" resorts/restaurants/activities and the most hiking however you'll find that island has the least snorkeling and much darker sand beaches of the islands on your list.

Antigua has the most beaches (some 365) of the islands on your list, not too much snorkeling and will have some seasonable closures but you should still have plenty of restaurants, beach bars, resorts and excursions to choose from. There's some but not a lot of hiking.

Anguilla has the best beaches of the islands on your list and 80+ restaurants, a number of which will be open although some of the more gourmet places will be closed or operating with reduced schedules. The island has some limited snorkeling and very little in the way of hiking.

I've been to all these islands. Although Anguilla is my favorite, St John is right up there. (I will be going to both next month!)

Based on what you would enjoy, I recommend St John. Captain Joe has an awesome catamaran (brings it over from St Thomas to pick you up), prepares a great lunch, is lots of fun and finds great snorkeling spots. He no longer takes his passengers to Jost Van Dyke which is one of my favorite things about sailing when near St John. Hiking is awesome on St John as well as the many quiet highly photographed beaches.

Now I can't wait to be there again in May!

No, but I've been to Mexico a couple of times and the Bahamas once during that time frame. It's not worth the risk to us anymore, so we don't go during those months anymore.

Can you wait until the first or second week of November or December? The weather is usually better. We've been going during those times for the past several years. We had more weather issues in the US trying to get out and come back in with snow and storms than any issues in the Caribbean with weather.

The first and only time I have been to St. John was September, 2012 and we luckily had perfect weather! We stayed at The Westin and loved it! Some restarants were closed, but had fabulous meals and some favorites were Asolare, Morgan's Mango and Waterfront Bistro! We took a snorkel trip that left right from the hotel's dock (convenient) and snorkeled many locations, including stopping for lunch at Jost Van Dyke's Soggy Dollar! These islands are some of the most beautiful I have been to! Favorite beach for beauty is Trunk Bay!

Listen to RoamsAround.;-)The USVI will be quiet. Yes, you may not have all the restaurants, but you will not starve. There will be some boat trips available. The biggest difference is that beaches will be less crowded than in season. But do get trip insurance for that teeny chance of a storm- no matter where you go.

I've been to bth St. John (1x) and Anguilla (3x) in early October and had a great time on each island. We had extraordinary good luck in terms of weather for all four trips, but I'd still advise taking out travel insurance in case your honeymoon destination gets stormed out.

While we did have to deal with restaurant closures on each island, the payoff of having nearly-empty beaches more than makes up for it--we like the quiet life, privacy, and tranquility of not having to share our stretch of sand with more than a few people, and none at all whenever possible.

I will say that going to St. John over Columbus Day weekend was far more crowded than I'd expected, but my version of crowded is more than 20 people on a beach. We just got back from a trip to Anguilla about two weeks ago and it was empty. Just the way we like it. You can see my trip report for this trip and others to Anguilla and to St. John here by clicking on my user name.