I know this is pretty general, but we are planning a very special trip for a mjor milestone birhtday for my wife in March.
Want to go to the Caribbean, but have never been and know little about it.
So what do you experienced Caribbean travellers think is the BEST destination in the Caribbean?

jimmoi: For the benefit of the posters, tell us what you are looking for in an island vacation spot. What do you like to do? What kind of hotel do you want? What part of the country do you live in (for puposes of figuring connections)? How much can you afford to spend (this might be the most crucial thing)?

The one thing I'd say is that if you are looking for a truly special place, there are many of these in the Caribbean, but they are all different places.

I agree with Doug, it's hard to help without a few specifics.

What is (most) important to you?
-Great Beaches?
-Nightlife?
-Watersports?
-Shopping?
-Restaurants?
-Quiet & Remote?
-Built up & Americanized?
-Luxury or Budget?

Remember, No one island has it all. So it's important that you try and pick what will suit your style the most. From there, I'm sure you'll get a good response.

Sorry, guess I should have been a bit more specific.
What we are looking for is a place that has good beaches and opportunity for water sports, especially snorkeling,with a cosmopolitan side
( good restaurants, some shopping,some nightlife etc.),but at the same time not TOO built up (definately dont want the Honolulu/Waikiki beach kind of scene).
Would love to find a place with these qualities and unique culture, we love exploring local customs/history etc.
Also we sure dont want to have to worry about drinking the water, eating the food, or getting robbed/mugged/ murdered or having to worry about finding decent health care if one does have an accident or get sick.
thanks in advance

Alot of islands will fit that bill, but you might look into some of the outislands of the Bahamas. Harbour Island, was the #1 destination as per the Travel Channel last year. It is small, no large hotels, beautiful beach 3 miles of pink sand, has several excellent resorts and restaurants, a bit of shopping and some night life.

try a few of these websites:

www.therockhousebahamas.com
www.coralsands.com
www.romorabay.com
www.myharbourisland.com

Abaco is also small, with a few lovely resorts and amazing beaches and snorkle spots.

www.coconuttelegraph.com

On Eleuthera, which is 110 miles long, there is a lovely resort called CocodiMama. Someone stayed there recently from this board and said they loved it and had a great taime.

www.cocodimama.com

Have a great time wherever you end up going.

Aruba has white sandy beaches,green waters, great restaurants, water drinkable out of the tap(this is a must for me too), and is very safe. It is built up, but not like Honolulu!! There are some very nice resorts-Hyatt, Radisson, Marriott, Bucuti. There is gambling and some nightlife. Shopping is so-so. We enjoyed the snorkeling, but we are amatuers and others say that it is not good. There was a ton of watersports available. My husband likes all of that. Aruba is a dry (not alot of rain here) and scrubby. But all of the resorts have lush landscaping and nice pools.You are also sitting on some very nice beaches. It has most of what you are looking for. Aruba is an americanized type island. But it caters to the americans that come. We had very friendly happy people to deal with. The island felt safe and the food is excellent.
Another place is St.John for safety, great beaches and snorkeling. A ferry to St. thomas for shopping. No nightlife.
Anguilla has great beaches and food and is a ferry ride to St. Martin for shopping.
Hope this helps.

jimmoi,
Two places I can recommend based on your criteria.

Barbados you will find upscale, cosmopolitan, great beaches, water sports, restaurants, good shopping. It is a bit more built up and populated than many Caribbean islands but not like Waikiki. But like any of the more populated Caribbean islands Barbados does have its share of crime, though mostly just concerns for theft. You will also find on Barbados a good bit of history and other interesting sites to explore other than beach activities, such as the caves.

You might want to also consider St. Barts. Very upscale and priced accordingly, very expensive. Great beaches, slower paced and excellent restaurants with a french flair. Adequate shopping and good water sports.

From what you said was important to you, I'd consider Grand Cayman.

7 Mile beach is gorgeous, and has a variety of places to stay. 10 shades of turquoise, and miles to walk...You can choose to stay in the middle of the action, or head north on the beach for more isolated resorts/condos.

Diving & snorkeling are both top notch, with many different choices.

Restaurants are excellent, many to pick from.

Considered one of the safest islands.
Locals are very friendly.

St.Lucia or Jamaica gets my vote. We prefer Jamaica.

The USVI is fairly easy to get to and good for a birthday. Lots of restaurants, charming, beautiful views, interesting scenery, lots of shopping on STT.

My first thouht was Aruba! It will meet all you expectations.

Agree with the previous poster, your post has Aruba written all over it. We have also been to Anguilla several times and love it, but it seems to me like that would be a bit too quiet for your taste. Virtually no shopping, for instance. Aruba does have shopping, also the nice beaches and great restaurants, and is very safe.
Also, I think the climate is the nicest in the Caribbean - very little rain and low humidity. Good luck with your trip!
And oh yes, before I forget: a nice place for couples in Aruba is the Bucuti Beach Hotel.

Of all the islands we have visited,and meet YOUR criteria, and are absoulutely gorgeous, those would be St. John, Turks and Caicos,outer islands of Bahamas-Elbow Cay and Great Guana Cay- Cant go wrong with any of these,celebrated my 50th birthday with total of 15 of us, adults and children last July 2004 On Elbow Cay and Great Guana Cay and we cant stop talking about it still. Of the week we were there we rented two boats for three consecutive days and went where we wanted, when we wanted and stayed as long as we wanted. Truly a piece of heaven here on earth.

My vote goes to Anguilla !!!!!!

Look into St John as I see that you want someplace not too built up!!Good luck

You've got a lot of good recommendations here, but mine would be either Barbados or Curacao. Both are relatively safe, have real culture (as opposed to Aruba, which has no real culture, in my opinion and is also really built-up to boot), and good shopping. You'll find excellent resorts of all kind in Barbados and excellent small resorts in Curacao.

Only those who have never been to St Barts would recommend something else. St Barts is all you could ever want in a Caribbean island -- mountains, incredible beaches, good shopping, good nightlife, best restaurants in all the Caribbean, pretty scenery, and a wide choice of accommodations from beachside to mountaintop. This all in a small island with all positives and no negatives -- except that prices run higher than other places. But careful searching for a good bargain will pay off.

I love St Barths, it is wonderful. In fact, I am returning for Thanksgiving for 2 weeks this year. I have been there many, many times. However, it is not the ONLY place that is wonderful in the Caribbean, you have gotten a lot of good suggestions here. I think many of the islands that have been suggested you would love. Barbados, Curacao, St John, are all wonderful. I do not agree that only someone who has never been to St Barths would suggest something else, it really depends on what you are looking for.

Wow- thanks for all the great tips. I love this website. I guess now I will make a list of all those places recommended and check out everything I can about them and decide.
thanks again

Well, MIM04, I suppose you are technically correct. It all depends on what a person is looking for. If the lowest price beach experience is the objective, it ain't St Barths. If you don't like going to an island where French is the official language (but lots of English and other languages spoken everywhere) then it isn't for you.

But honestly, given the price differential, I still think St Barths offers more in a Caribbean island than any other place. Specific objectives could make that statement invalid, however; if you want a big rain forest adventure, it ain't on St Barths. If you want to see lots of Afro-Caribbeans on the beach selling worthless trinkets, St Barths ain't for you.

But if you'd rather go into one of the little island villages and chat with little old ladies in French while they weave you a straw hat on the spot, or if you like a view of one of the prettiest harbors in the Caribbean, or if you just like exploring some of the less-populated corners of an island while feeling perfectly safe, or if you want some varied eating experiences at some of the best restaurants you'll ever find, or if you just want a quiet corner on a quiet beach, then St Barths is for you. (People call it St Barths or St Barts; proper name is St Barthelemy. It is officially a part of France, equivalent to a state in the U.S.)