My husband and I are looking at going somewhere in the Carribian early next year. We need some help in trying to figure out where to go. We are looking at Aruba, St Thomas/St John, St Martin, Bahamas - and open to ideas. We have ruled out Jamaica
We tried to list what is important to us:
1. Nice beaches to walk - clear water.
2. Shopping
3. Sight seeing - historical stuff/wildlife
4. Nice restaurants - we like seafood/steaks
5. Nice place to stay - clean and fresh, somewhat upscale, AC, TV in room.

We don't want an all inclusive place.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Karen

Hello Karen! I would recommend Anguilla to you after reading what you are looking for. Anguilla is surrounded by AWESOME beaches andthat is why they call it the island wrapped in blue. In Anguilla I would absolutely recommend staying at the MADEARIMAN BEACH CLUB. It sits right on Shoal Bay East which is my favorite beach on the island. while you are in Anguilla you should eat at a place called LE BEACH. It is a great little place with good food right one the sand. Anguilla has tons of wonderful beaches and restaurants. Go to Madeariman.com to check out the resort. You will save a huge amount of money staying there and it is a wonderful place. Everything is close in Anguilla. If you need to take a cab the farthest distance will not run you more than $10 or $20 at the most. St. John is wonderful also but for what you are looking for I beleive if you stay at the Madeariman Beach club in Anguilla you will be very happy with that choice and also with Anguilla.

Just a thought, but - have you considered Nevis? It seems to meet all your criteria. We stayed there some time ago and loved it. The beaches are not as beautiful as on Anguilla (where we have also been many times!), but you should be aware that apart from fantastic beaches, there is not much else on Anguilla.
Nevis also has a very nice rainforest with several hiking trails. There is a nice 'eco-hotel' called Golden Rock close to the rainforest. We ourselves stayed at the Nisbet Plantation - one of the few resorts on Nevis that are on the beach. Very, very much recommended. Excellent food, and the best service we ever experienced. Very friendly people. On the whole, we found the people on Nevis to be the friendliest we encountered in the Caribbean.

Thanks for the quick responses!! We will look into Anguilla and Nevis. As I have been reading through the posts, I have noticed the issues of cruise ships dropping of customers at a beach or a resort for the day and causing some overcrowding. How can one make sure that won't be an issue? I have never taken a cruise (yet) and I realize the cruise people should also get to use the beaches etc., but it you are paying to stay at a resort or hotel, it doesn't seem fair that it would become overcrowded by additional day people.

karen_mitch,

Public beaches are just what they are "public" and available for all to enjoy. One of your enquiries might be to check with each hotel regarding whether or not private beachfront is one of their amenities. Even if there isn't, I've seen portions of public beaches with chairs and umbrellas only available to the patrons of a specific hotel. Most cruise passengers are respectful of keeping their distance and those that aren't are usually spotted by whom ever takes care of that part of the beach for the resort and asked to remove themselves from the chairs.
I avoid resorts. Not my cup of tea preferring to venture out into the community and stay in smaller establishments with local owners.
Nevis is a beautiful island. Much to see and do. Your other option is the Sister island of St. Kitts, larger and probably more options available. Remember Nevis and St.Kitts are volcanic in origin. Volcanic islands tend to have smaller beaches and the sand will not be powder white. This doesn't make them any less beautiful only different. Actually this type of island would be my choice.
If you are looking for upscale do a google on St.Barts. Can't get anymore upscale. Excellent restaurants, beaches, and shopping. Scenary is great too.
Another option came to mind while typing what about renting a villa or guest house on one of the islands. Some are beachfront, or have plunge pools etc. Just a thought.
Sandy

No cruise ships allowed on Anguilla (so far!), and I don't think they come to Nevis either - anyway, we've never seen one.

Carolla22,
Cruise ships do visit Anquilla and Nevis. I know for a fact Windjammer does, and I think Windstar. I visited Anquilla and Nevis a few times via Windjammer on the Polynesia. Poly holds around 110 passengers so little or no impact on the islands. If you see any tall ships in port or off the coast of either island chances are it's a Windjammmer. Windstar is the more modern appearing ship, and a totally different cruise line.

Hello Karen again! Haveyou considered Grand Cayman? Cant go wrong there.

To vinceygirl - yes, you must be right! What I meant was that I have never seen one of those really HUGE ships there, of the type I've seen on St. Maarten or Aruba.

carolla22, hopefully they will continue to stay away. There is a story that a large cruise ship visited Saba many yrs back. The island was completely overwhelmed, not enough taxi's, to many people for the restaurants etc. I have been in Philipsburg,St.Maarten when more than one ship has been in port. Not a nice day, too many people all at the same time descending on Front Street. Not that they shouldn't be able to. Maybe someone could do some research regarding how to control the effects on all the islands. Cruise ships are the bread and butter to most of the islands so becomes a Catch 22.

Hello again Karen! Have you considered Grand Cayman? You cant go wrong going there!! You will love 7 mile beach!!!

Vinceygirl - yes, but on the other hand I don't see cruise ship passengers really doing all that much for the economy of the island. I mean, they don't stay in hotels or have dinner on the island, so the hotels and restaurants don't profit. The only ones to profit are the (often tacky) little tourist shops where they buy stuff.

Good point. Sad part is the passengers on the mega liners think they have been to a particular island when in reality all they really did was stop by. Often the time spent is less than a few hrs. That's why I travel on Windjammer. I'm able to make the most of time spent.