We are planning a vacation for June, 2006 and would like to go to an island in the caribbean but are not sure which one. We have a 16 year old who loves beaches and marine life. My husband likes to fish and I like to sight see. Any suggestions?

That sounds delightful! Let me ask a couple of questions that might help us better advise you. How long will your vacation be and about how much do you plan to spend, including airfare?

We need much more information from you in order to make any meaningful suggestions. You'll find beaches, marine life and opportunities to fish and sightsee on just about every island. Try to be specific. What do you expect in an island? Do you want a flat, arid coral based island with little natural vegetation but long white sand beaches or do you prefer a volcanic based island with rain forests and small darker sand beaches lined with palms and other lush vegetayion? Is scuba diving a high priority? What about snorkeling - do you mind taking boat trips to the best spots or do you want snorkeling you can access from the beach? Are you interested in other watersports? If so, which ones? Do you want an island with lots of gourmet restaurants or do you want the comfort of Fast Food restaurants? Do you want an island with a decidedly American, European or Old World Caribbean feel? Do you require nightlfe or are you looking for seclusion (keep in mind seclusion means less people and that often results in less tourist amenities)? Do you mind taking 2 or 3 flights (often in very small planes) and/or ferry rides to reach your destination or do you want to get there non-stop? Do you want an island with large full amenity hotels or do you want something more private? Are you looking for All-inclusives or do you prefer to be out on your own as far as meals are concerned? Do you have a budget for airfare, accomodations and food? When you say your husband likes to fish do you mean directly from shore, using a small boat or Deep Sea fishing? What type of sights do you like to see?

Make a list of the 10 or 15 things you most want in your vacation then perhaps we can steer you in the right direction.

HI!

We are planning to use frequent flyer points for air travel. We want a beach that is white with blue water. We like to hang out and walk on the beach. We like to snorkel, none of us scuba dive, and my husband likes fishing from shore but he also enjoys deep-sea fishing. We want to stay in a nice hotel with amenities or a nice condo. We prefer a condo (more room plus we could eat breakfast at our leisure). We also want to be in place with nice and accomadating staff. We really don't need alot of nightlife (our teen is only 16). We like to eat in nice restaurants but would need a fast food place or two for our teen. We don't like to shop much but would enjoy seeing sights like old buildings, landmarks, aquariums, hiking, etc. We would prefer a non-stop flight. As far as budget, I am not sure, 2 to 3 thousand??? We may also have to go in July now instead of June. Our vacation will be 5-7 days depending on what is available.

A great option for us is Dominican Republic - the North Coast has a lot to offer families and youg 'adults'. Maybe Cabarete (kite0board capital of the Caribbean -if not world) - or futher along the coast on the Samana Peninsula - maybe Las Terrenas would offer much of what you look for - and beautiful scenery - and great snorkelling...though beaches are more gold than white - but much of the area still untouched and easily located sparseley populated beaches with a little effort. Inland DR is great too - very lush - snd varied. Many types of adventure activity offered - and genuienely friendly people - Helpful sources include: http://www.visiting-the-dominican-republic.com
Certainly worth a look - whatever other ideas folks suggest.

Look into Turks and Caicos, the island of Provo has much of what you are looking for and the Royal West Indies Resort has great deals on the VRBO.com site. Many non-stops from the States.Great bone fishing, and good snorkeling from shore. Also numerous excursions. Tripadvisor.com has great reviews of both the island and the resort.

As the above poster said the Samana area is beautiful in the DR. We stayed at El Portillo which is a very laid back all inclusive no hoping action here. Beautiful beach with snorkeling from the shore. Food was good, had a buffet and a rest. that required reservations both were great. Always had pizza and chicken for the kids. Horseback riding along the shore was inclusive could do it once a day. Lots a places to see and excursions to go on. Very friendly people. They have some Rooms available (cottages for a lack of description) on the beach. Beautiful , beautiful part of the country.

Thanks so much for the info. I will do some research on the suggestions. If you think of any thing else,please let me know.

I took my daughter to Negril when she was 14 and she absolutely loved it. We stayed at Coco LaPalm - great location. We walked a lot and had great food. The water was perfect. There are lots of sightseeing options and good tour operators to help plan. Snorkeling trips are easy to arrange.

Hi,

Wherever we travel my husband and 2 teen boys need to shore fish, there big fisherman, and my 16yo can fish all day!!
We go to the north shore of Grand Cayman and rent a house, there is the rum point condos there that get great reviews. We also have stayed in a home on the east side of St John( you can start shore fishing from the east end only. My son caught a 5 foot nurse shark from their one evening. Last christmas we went to Tankah bay in the Riviera Maya( first stop south from cancun you can shore fish) but the fishing and snorkeling are just okay. My 16yo wants to be a marine biologist, and I have a 800 gallon shark tank in my basement, so next trip we are going to the exumas where I think you can shore fish anywhere. But the snorkeling is wonderful in St John or Grand Cayman. You just have to really research the islands because many areas are protected.
Susan

You may want to check out the Barcelo Maya resorts in the Mayan Riviera. There is on site snorkeling on one of the best beaches in the area and I believe there are deep sea fishing trips from the hotel beach and when their pier is finiished I imagine your husband could fish there as well. Check out this website to get good information and to see lots of pictures.

http://www.unofficial-barcelo-maya.com/home.html 8-)

Susan,

From whom did you rent a house from? Is there a website that you can go to?

Hi Joiseygirl,

In cayman we rented from cayman villas, in st john we rented from st john properties. Most of the villas to rent in caymans are on the north side. My boys can walk to rum point which is there big entertainment. You can also go from rum point on red sail sports to stingray city or scuba.

thanks everybody!!!!! I really aprreciated all the information. But we may have to change our plans due to my husbands job.

We took our kids to Puerto Rico. It seems to have all that you are looking for. Powder white beaches, nice hotels, a good mix of upscale restaurants and fast food and tons of activities like hiking in rainforest, caving at Rio Camuy, kayaking a bioluminescent bay (or by glass bottom boat), snorkeling in shallow bays filled with marine life (try Vieques Island especially for this). Plus, American flys there directly from the states so you can use frequent flyer miles. Visit Puerto-Rico-Guide.com for more info.

The other one you might try is St. Thomas/St. John. With the close proximity of the two islands, you get two islands for the price of one. The ferry ride is under 1/2 hour, so you can do easy day trips between the two. St. Thomas is more built up with more restaurants and shopping and activities like Coral World Aquarium and Atlantis Submarine tours and St. John has some of the best snorkeling in the Caribbean. You should check out Travel With Kids Caribbean for some ideas on family travel to the area. You can get it at IslandTots.com or on Amazon.