I am currently undecided between going to the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands. The 2 of us will be going for our 7 day honeymoon. In the Bahamas, it will cost $3000 total for Club Med Paradise Island (total all-inclusive). The Westin in the Cayman Islands will cost $2800, but meals will not be included. Btw, we will be travelling in mid September 2003.

Any thoughts, advice would be appreciated.

In addition, the prices above include airfare.

Bahamas is very much like visiting Florida. Pretty but nothing magnificent. Cayman is delightful, relaxing and totally beautiful waters! Not much to do but a great place to cuddle with you wife or husband!!

Thank you for your reply. We are both moderately active. We plan to snorkel 3-4 times, visit a couple sights, go into the city once, and spend the rest of the time on the beach or swimming.

The Westin in GC is really dumpy...The pool area and beach are nice, but the rooms are like HOJO's or worse..I paid a lot of money for an oceanview room and was looking at a rooftop and the room stunk of smoke...And GC also felt like you could have been in Florida, no culture feel at all...I recommend going elsewhere..If you must do GC, do the beachside suites at the Hyatt...they looked gorgeous

If you do choose Grand Cayman make absolutely SURE you do the Stingray City tour. Absolutely amazing. We did it on our cruise in April and were totally enthralled with those beautiful creatures.

Danny

Yes, the beachside suites at the Hyatt ARE gorgeous. But they start at around $1000 per night, too.

We would like to have a nice, clean hotel room. It doesn't have to be huge or decked out as we will not spend too much time in it. Our main purpose is to relax on the beach, do some swimming, and see some of the sights on the island.

I understand that the rooms may not be worth it, but is $200 reasonable for Westin Cayman?

Nursery Director,

"Not much to do"???? Are you kidding???

Here's a short list of things to do in GC: diving, snorkeling, swimming, beach walking, wave runners, para-sailing, sailing, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, sighting seeing/exploring, hiking, biking, shopping, enjoy amazing restaurants, charter a boat, just hang on the beach, enjoy the beach bars, and of course quality time with your loved one. If you can't find things to do in Grand Cayman, you didn't look very hard!!!

As far as the Westin goes, it seems to get very mixed reviews. Some seem to think it's the best hotel on the island, others seem very disatisfied. Maybe the unhappy folks got an average hotel room for an ridiculous price, which is easy to do on GC. Without a doubt, the best deal in GC is to get a condo. You can find nice condos for the same price as a hotel room, and you get so much more....a no-brainer in my opinion.

One thing you need to keep in mind, is that food & drinks are VERY expensive on GC. The reason I bring this up is the fact that you mentioned that meals weren't part of your package for GC. You can expect meals to cost $100 (without wine) at the upper end places, which shouldn't be missed. There are of course other options that are far less expensive. The condo will allow you to buy breakfast & lunch items, so you can enjoy dinners out.

Hope this helps, and your trip is a good one.

I have not been to Cayman yet. We are leaving in the morning. I have been to the Bahamas and agree it was nothing spectacular. We are going to Cayman for our anniversary and I have done a lot of research for this trip. One of the things I found out is that the condo is the way to go. There are a lot of nice condos. We picked Aqua Bay Club because all I read were positive reviews, no negative reviews. The condos are all oceanfront. I'll write more when we return.

I have to laugh at all the people who dismiss the Bahamas as being "just like Florida" and "nothing special" after a visit to Nassau or Paradise Island or Freeport. There are 700 Bahamian islands, and the vast majority of them couldn't be more different from Nassau, etc. One look at a pink sand beach without another soul for miles; or a sand bar studded with sand dollars and surrounded by crystalline waters; or a candy-striped lighthouse set in a town of pastel painted cottages that is most decidedly NOT Disney, and the words "nothing special" just don't come into one's mind. Perhaps its just as well -- those of us in the know about the Out Islands will have them for ourselves...

Callaloo is correct.
Saying that the Bahamas are just like Florida is like saying all cars are pretty much the same.
Most people are implying that Freeport and Paradise Island/Nassau are a lot like Florida.
But the Bahamas are much more than those two areas.

The advantage of the Bahama's is that it is closer. However, I think GC has more of what you are looking for. However, I have to strongly advise you against the Westin. Yes, you may not be spending much time in the bedroom, but I wouldn't spend money on any hotel just because it had a stunning view. The entire pool area often gets taken over by convention people. If you stayed elsewhere, you may be even closer in walking distance to dining and shops. We also didn't spend time in our room at the Westin, but there were other factors, as well. Remember that this is your honeymoon!

I've been to the Bahamas twice. The first time we went 10 years ago, there wasn't anything to rave about. However, we went last year again on a cruise and went and toured Paradise Island Resort and we absolutely loved it. I heard it's pretty expensive to stay there, though.

We also went to Grand Cayman this year (also on a cruise), and we only got a chance to go to one of the smaller resorts at 7 Mile Beach. The water is very nice and sand is nice as well. I just expected it to be a big long and wide beach, but then the sand area was short.

Between Bahamas and the Caribbean, I liked the Caribbean better. Definitely not like Florida, although I heard the beaches at Destin or Panama City is very nice as well.

My husband and I just returned from GC and we loved it. It was very expensive but we may never get to go back. There are many activities (snorkeling, diving, parasailing, stingray tour, evening cruises, etc.) We also enjoyed some great waterfront dining.
We have also been to the Bahamas many times. They have some of the same activities. They also have gambling which makes it a place with much more nightlife. GC makes more sense for a honeymoon. Also, I have been to the Club Med in PI. Nice, but I always enjoy going to different places for dinner and going all around the island for different activities.