Caribbean Vacation - need help

Old Jan 31st, 2008, 06:12 AM
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Caribbean Vacation - need help

Hi guys,

My boyfriend and I are in the initial stages of planning a vacation, possibly to the Caribbean. We are planning to go for 6-7 days/nights. Obviously there are a lot of options, but since we are going for a decent amount of time, we want a good mix of relaxation as well as some sightseeing.

To add some context, we're planning on going mid-March (and would like to avoid the spring-break crowd), we're both 25, and would be flying from New York.

What islands/itineraries would you suggest?

Thanks for your help in advance.
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Old Jan 31st, 2008, 06:58 AM
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St. John, USVI. Nothing to do but relax on a different beach each day. On the St. John the best sightseeing is underwater! They have some great trails to hike as well. No spring breakers either.
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Old Jan 31st, 2008, 07:04 AM
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Thank you Pulley. We definitely want to relax, but I know we'd like to do more than that for a week. Any islands, that have interesting sightseeing?

What are everyone's thoughts on Anitgua or Aguilla?

I guess what I'm trying to say, if this makes sense, is that we want to be travelers, not tourists.
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Old Jan 31st, 2008, 10:30 AM
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Antigua has nice resorts and beaches, but is kind of scary--stay in your resort.

Anguilla has gorgeous beaches,is kind of scrubby in the interior, Johnno's beach bar is fun, but not much sightseeing(still, it's one of our favorites).Shoal Bay West is a great beach with some beach bars and restaurants with beautiful sand.

Barbados might be a good place for you, gorgeous beaches on the west coast, and lots to do.

Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas if you want big, glitzy, casino, gorgeous beaches, big waterpark.

St. Bart's, if you have lot's of money and like the French(another one of our favorites).

All of these will not have spring breakers(except maybe families with kids at Atlantis) because of the cost--they go for the cheap all-inclusives.
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Old Jan 31st, 2008, 07:04 PM
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Thanks TPAYT, I did some reading on Barbados, and that actually looks like a great option! Definitely along the lines of what we'd want to do. Any suggestions for where to stay and what to do?

Thanks for everyone's suggestions so far!
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Old Feb 1st, 2008, 04:00 AM
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We've been to Antigua 3 times and never felt that it was scary to venture out of our resort. We drove around the island, visited different beaches, and went out and about in St. Johns. Are there spots where one shouldn't venture out to? Of course, just like anywhere. But if you keep your wits and take the usual precautions, you should be fine.

For islands with a more Caribbean feel, St. Kitts and Nevis might fit the bill.
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Old Feb 1st, 2008, 05:13 AM
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I would agree with St. Kitts and Nevis. They are undeveloped compared to many of the other islands. The Marriott is the only big resort on St. Kitts and the Four Seasons is the only larger resort on Nevis. There are a number of inns to stay on on both islands. You can hike the volcano on St. Kitts, walk the rain forest, see the monkyes, take an island tour, visit empty beaches, eat casually at beach bars, eat well at former plantations, visit Fort Brimstone and take a catamran excursion.

I oouldn't rule out St. John because it has beautiful beaches and good snorkeling. The nice thing about St. John is that you can island hop to the Briitish Virgin Islands - Soggy Dollar Bar, the Baths on Virgion Gorda, lunch at Marina Cay,... Teh Vigin Islands are very beautiful but St. John can be expensive.
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Old Feb 1st, 2008, 05:44 AM
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We're not on a shoe string budget, but we also don't want to be spending a ton of money for meals and entertainment.

From your posts, I've narrowed it down to Barbados and St. Lucia. Any picks between the two? I know March is high season, and we're cutting it really close with booking this trip!
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Old Feb 1st, 2008, 05:58 AM
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I'm not a big Barbados fan. While the beaches are nice - the snorkeling, etc is not - the land just drops off not very far out. If you want to pick between Barbados and St Lucia - I'd go with St Lucia, but I would also reconsider St Johns (you can visit St Thomas, and the BVIs)....
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Old Feb 1st, 2008, 06:10 AM
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But other posters have said St. Johns is quite expensive. Since we are spending 6-7 nights, we'd want to find a nice hotel that's $150-$200/night. Is that possible?
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Old Feb 1st, 2008, 07:05 AM
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I've been to Barbados and St. Lucia and done some research about St. John but have not visited yet.

I'd say that for $150 - 200 night in March, that will put you in a more of "budget" level hotel in Barbados (look on the South Coast). St. Lucia may be a little less expensive overall. Although it is a short walk from the beach, the Coco Palm in Rodney Bay area in St. Lucia is pretty new and is a good value. One of the things that has deterred me from St. John is that there are not a lot of hotel options - Caneel Bay and the Westin are much more expensive, and I don't think there are too many other hotels (there are villas, B&B, and camping accommodations, but I haven't done much reseach about these. Gallows Point is a condo resort that is cheaper than Caneel/Westin, but still more than $200/night.

In terms of preferences between St. Lucia and Barbados, it depends what you like. I like different things about each island (beaches - Barbados, shopping - Barbados, natural beauty - St. Lucia). I think either place would be a good destination for you because there is more to do than just sit on the beach.
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Old Feb 1st, 2008, 07:08 AM
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Hi -

We have just finished doing some research on places to stay in St. John. We have been once before and loved the island. But accomodations are a bit tougher than other islands.

There are only 2 major hotels - The Westin and Caneel Bay - both of which are really expensive.

The other options are villa or condo rentals. The downside is you will almost certainly need a rental car - which adds to the price. But the upside is that they are self-catering - meaning you can save money by cooking some meals in.

You may be able to find a cottage rental for the week
within your budget. Try this website for some preliminary listings http://www.stjohnisland.com/, or google st john villas/condo rentals. Calabash or Coconut Cottages look promising.

Or you can do a B&B
1. Garden by the Sea B&B - is in downtown Cruz Bay. Their rooms are about $275 a night. Unless you can postpone your trip until mid-April when the prices drop to $200.
http://www.gardenbythesea.com/bb.html

2. Estate Lindholm - is a B&B also in downtown Cruz Bay. It gets good reviews on tripadvisor. The room prices are $320 a night - but in mid-April drop to $220.
http://www.estatelindholm.com/

3. Sail View - this place is 30 minutes from the main town of Cruz Bay of St. John. It is 5 minutes from Coral Bay - which is a very quiet area. The rates are very good at only $150 a night. But keep in mind that it is not centrally located - so you would need a rental car.
http://www.sailviewstjohn.com/rates.htm

4. Hillcrest Guesthouse - they seem to be having a special right now in March for select dates 20% rooms (which are normally $240 a night).
http://www.hillcreststjohn.com/

5. St John Inn - more economical and less cushy than the previous, but located in downtown Cruz Bay. Prices are between $165-$215 a night. The reviews on tripadvisor are mixed though.
http://www.stjohninn.com/

Keep in mind on St. John you will probably want to rent a car to explore the island - for at least part of your stay. So factor between $60-$75 a day for a 4x4 rental into your budget.
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Old Feb 1st, 2008, 07:31 AM
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We were in Barbados in 2007 and are actually leaving Tuesday morning to spend a couple of days there again before we head over to Palm island. We love the ocean in Barbados. There are places that are very private if you want to be alone, but tons of things to see/do there. There is a nice wind that keeps you from getting too hot. Nice hotels, unique shopping, good nightlife, a feeling of being safe and wonderful restaurants. Barbados really does have it all.
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Old Feb 1st, 2008, 08:46 AM
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Great info guys.

I think we've narrowed it down to splitting our trip between Barbados and St. Lucia, so we get to see more than one island. That being said, where should we begin / end our trip? Right now it's looking like we'd fly out on 3/15 (a Saturday) and fly back the following Saturday (3/22). If we did that we'd have a weekend night on both islands.

But if we can save more money, we might fly out on 3/14, a Sunday and we would get only one weekend night. Which island do you think is better to spend the weekend in?

Thanks for all the great info you guys. I could not narrowed it down w/o you all!
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Old Feb 1st, 2008, 09:01 AM
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In Barbados we've stayed at "Tamarind Cove" and "Accra Beach"(for a few days before getting on a sailboat), and also checked out "Colony Club"(beautiful, but a bit stuffy) and "Crystal Cove"(seemed quite nice). "Tamarind Cove" (and "Crystal Cove"--one of her sister resorts) are great for the moderate price range because they are on the West Coast with calmer water. You should probably upgrade on the room, as the lower priced rooms are, of course, in less desireable locations. "Tamarind" must be O.K. because Nelly Furtado was staying at our hotel with her band and we got invited to her concert. That was great fun.

The South Coast resorts(Accra, etc. are nice and have nice pools and beaches, but the water is big waves. Waves are fun, but not as nice for swimming.

Tamarind has alot of water sports(jet ski,catamaran boats, banana boats, etc. right on their beach. Also, you can walk up the beach to 8-10 other properties(even the most expensive on the island--"Sandy Lane") and have lunch or whatever.

If you go out on a boat, "Cool Runnings" is very good.
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Old Feb 1st, 2008, 09:26 AM
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I forgot to add---my husband loved the golf on Barbados!

"Sandy Lane" is extremely expensive, but there are several others that were reasonable and very nice--your hotel will have some discount coupons for the courses.
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Old Feb 1st, 2008, 09:32 AM
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I think I would choose one island or the other.
1 week does not seem like enough time to do both islands - you will spend an awful lot of the time travelling and moving your stuff from place to place.

I think either St Lucia or Barbados would keep you entertained for a week - while also providing enough time to relax a bit.

If you are looking for something more action-packed consider a trip to Costa Rica. You could spend 1/2 the time at the beach and the other half touring the rainforest/mountains.
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Old Feb 1st, 2008, 10:35 AM
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Ok final questions before we book.
We're going to do Sunday to Sunday, 3/16-3/23. It saves a ton of money!

Should we do St Lucia, then Barbados, or the other way around?

We have 7 nights. If we do 3 nights in one place and 4 in the other, how should we split the time. Which place has more to do?

Thanks!
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Old Feb 1st, 2008, 11:03 AM
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It is really hard to answer questions about how to split time or which island has more to do without your providing a lot more information about what you want to do on each island.

I will offer some information that may help from a logistical perspective, however. St. Lucia has two airports, SLU near Castries (north), and UVF near Soufriere (south). If you fly from BDS to St. Lucia, your flight will be into SLU. If you fly from the US to St. Lucia, all the flights except those on American that connect to American Eagle in SJU (and are on prop planes) will be into UVF, while AA flies into SLU (and UVF through MIA and maybe nonstop from NY). Anyway, driving time between the north and south parts of the island is considerable (1.5 - 2 hrs), so think about that when deciding which airport(s) you fly into and out of and where you stay. It also is important in St. Lucia to think about what you want to do before making air/hotel arrangements. If you want some nightlife and restaurants in walking distance, stay in the Rodney Bay. If you plan to spend most of your time exploring/hiking in the south part of the island, stay around Soufriere. For a mix, I'd probably choose to stay near Rodney Bay because of its proximity to beaches (Reduit Beach is in Rodney Bay), SLU airport (15 minutes away), Castries (20 - 30 minutes away), and availability of day trips to the south.

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Old Feb 1st, 2008, 11:15 AM
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Hi beachdreams3, we are flying into SLU, non-stop for NY on the 16th. Which is good, because I take it we will leave from that airport to go to Barbados?

So I'm thinking we have the 16th (half day), 17th, and 18th in St. Lucia to explore. Should we leave on the 19th morning to fly to Barbados. We would have all day on the 19th then, thru the 22nd. Does that seem like an uneven split? Should we leave St. Lucia on the 20th instead?

We want to relax and sightsee on both islands.
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