caribbean islands disliked
 

Which islands in the caribbean have you been to that you disliked and why?

St. Lucia. It rained every day, I spent the entire vacation itching all the bites I received, the flags were out every day not to enter the water, the food wasn't good, it was more expensive than the other islands, including GC, and the airport staff was clueless.

Between my husband and me, we've been to about a dozen islands, jointly or individually. And there's not a single place that we didn't enjoy. Maybe we're too easily pleased. Maybe we just like the fun of the travel and being away from our ordinary lives. But from the cast-away aspect of Jost van Dyke to the private island paradise of Guana Island, to the Americanized Aruba, to the chic St. Barths, we've always had a wonderful time. I hope our travels continue to please us in this vein!

I'm like ejcrowe. I've been to several and can't think of one that I disliked. There are certain things that may make an island nicer in my mind than others but that's just because of personal preferences. For example, I love crystal-clear waters so islands that have that will be higher on my list.

Have to agree with the first poster. We have been to at least 6 different islands in the Caribbean. Enjoyed all of them except St. Lucia. It's beautiful, but the people were very unfriendly. Don't think it's us, as we found the people on other islands to be perfectly nice.

I've yet to have gone to an island I've disliked, luckily. I always just try to make the best of a bad situation if needed & enjoy the moment.

Didn't stay there but based on our bief first impression from the airport to the ferry (and friends comments) I don't think I would want to go to St. Martin. Very crowded and dirty looking. Plus the people weren't very friendly.

My favs so far are Anguilla and Aruba..

I did not care for St. Martin - too much on 'the beaten track' for me. The upside, however, was lots of excellent restaurants to to choose from.

I know many people love Jamaica but I would never return. It was my first experiece in the Caribbean and I did not like the aggressive people who refused to take no for an answer and were rude when you said no thanks. It's a gorgous island but I like to get out and roam and it's not a place to do that comfortably. I enjoy all the other islands I've visited but I would never return to Jamaica.

I know this might surprise some people but I did not like Barbados at all. I found the people to be aloof and unfriendly. There were way too many vendors in the St. Lawrence Gap area and overall I found the island to be bland. St. Lucia is also down on the list.

to vkb2...

Maybe I'm just being *contrary* today...but I'd like to know what your point was with this post.

It seems to have provided some people the opportunity to *bash* an island and its' people.

Different islands, different cultures and the people we meet there are perceived in different ways...obviously.

A more positive approach would be to ask specific questions about specific destinations.

The song playing in my head has a verse ...."accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative".

Every travel experience is subjective...and unless you personally know the person responding, pretty much at your own risk as to the validity.

Off soapbox ;-)

Marion

Gerry and I have travelled the Caribbean for 15 years and have been to the BVI (4X), Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua (2X), Anguilla, Barbados, and Jamaica. Every island has a unique culture and it is important to do your homework regarding the weather. The Caribbean offers very different experiences, this is not America - that is why we enjoy it so much!

Well I knew from experience that SOMEONE would post MarionCK's response.
That's why I skipped answering this post the first time I ran across it.
While I agree that 'island bashing' is not productive, I will say that sometimes I learn more from people's negative comments than the positive ones...at least to a point.
Most people rave about their vacations. So when someone writes about a bad experience, that really stands out to me as a red flag, something I want to keep in mind for future reference.

Of course no island is ALL bad, so it's far too simplistic to say "I disliked island X, it's a bad island, avoid it".
The best reviews tell WHY someone liked and disliked various aspects.

Almost every island I've visited has left me with some (or many) fond memories. I didn't care too much for St.Martin/Maarten overall, though I visited a couple very nice beaches there, and it does have some good restaurants.
I found Aruba bland for my taste, but I doubt many people actually DISlike Aruba. The natives are so friendly, and it's a very carefree, relaxing, safe place to visit. And I love the predictability of the weather there.

I'm quite confident that Jamaica is not my kind of island, so I'll likely never visit. I know my likes/dislikes well, and there are simply too many places worldwide I haven't yet visited which intrigue me to bother with places I'm quite sure won't be my style. But I'm all for exploration.

I have visited 13 islands and my least favorite - not meaning that it was a total write off as there were some fabulous aspects but still least fave - St. Croix. It was too Americanized for me...which I know seems obvious as it is one of the USVI's but I was really struck by the absolute lack of Caribbean flavour - for me....but Grenada is my absolute favorite so maybe that explains something about what I am looking for in an island....Barbados was also one of my least fave however, I had a good time there...but was struck by the aloofness of the people and the extraordinary cost of things....I also felt the class and race division was terribly evident and I did not enjoy that either...

Carib_bean,
If you did not like St Croix, you may want to avoid St John.
People on here rave about it, but I would not return for the reasons you mentioned about St Croix.
I also loved Grenada - we are going back in October.
If you have not yet been to Nevis, you might like it also. The people are SO friendly - we got invited to so many parties while we were there we lost count. We've been twice and can't wait to go back.

I have been to St.Kitts and loved the people as well - similar to Grenadians... are those from Nevis the same?? I have to tell you the plane from St. Kitts to Nevis always made me a bit fearful and the boats can be more of a quesy experience - which did you take? Is there anywhere affordable on the island as I know it was a fave of Princess Di. so I also assumed it would be well out of my league - thanks for the info re: St.Johns I had heard some reviews about it that left me thinking that maybe not for me...for example - "Great Shopping" and "Great amenities"...but it is good to get confirmation!! I am pleased you also loved Grenada - it is one of those places you want everyone to experience and yet you are worried that if that happens all that you love about it will be lost?!?!

Carib_bean (love the name!)

Yes, the people from St Kitts and Nevis (same island federation) are the same and some of the nicest we've encountered.

We've flown direct from to/from St Martin, and took the Four Seasons launch from St Kitts once, and flown back to St Kitts (due to bad weather, we could not take the launch so Four Seasons put us on a small plane - whew!) once.

There are lots of affordable as well as luxury places - Di stayed at Montpelier. We even split our last stay between two villas and Oualie, and all averaged a little over $100 per night.

What I love about Nevis and Grenada is that they are hard to get to, and that keeps them from getting too popular. We went to Nevis in 1997 and again in 2001, and very little had changed.

I love the off the beaten track places. We are going to try Carriacou this time for a week along with Grenada, and maye go over to Union Island and Bequia for day trips.

If you are looking for something different but still in the Caribbean, you should check out Isla Mujeres on the Caribbean coast of Mexico: easy to get to; nice choice of hotels in all price ranges; cheap flights to Cancun; super friendly people and a funky laid back international vibe all wrapped up on one of the most GORGEOUS beaches I've ever seen - Playa Norte.

Been to: DR, PR, Jamaica x 3, Bahamas x 2, Aruba, Curacao, GC, Martinique, St. Thomas, St. John, Barbados. Liked them all. However I would avoid the area we stayed in the DR (Boca Chica) and instead try Punta Cana or La Romana.

I've travelled to 9 different Caribbean islands, and found each to be unique. The ones I would not return to would be Barbados and St. Martin.
I didn't care for the south coast of Barbados and there defintely was a "chill" in the air. Could have something to do with the war in Iraq starting while we were there.
St. Martin, I have only been to the Dutch side, and couldn't get over how persistent the vendors were. Usually a "no thanks" gets the point across, but they followed us for blocks, and then cursed us out when hubby finally said back off. I would like to try the french side and compare.

Wagonwheel, the French side of SXM is quite different than the Dutch. You don't have the persistent vendors in Marigot that you have in Phillipsburg, and the overall feel of the French side is much more Mediterranean. I think you would like it much better.