VIB: I remember spending my Sunday's at Rainbow Beach, then heading back towards F'sted and stopping at a place (the name escapes me) for Painkillers while watching some of the most beautiful sunsets! The West is nice....beaches are tops! I was always drawn to the East end for some reason. Issac's and Jack's Bay beaches accessible by 4WD only were two of my favorites.

Diana,
I would classify St. Thomas as an "Americanized" island also. I believe I even saw a K-Mart. Crime is crime whether you are in the U.S., an Americanized vacation locale, or the most remote of all places. So I guess you could considered me "white-washed". You say Aruba and Grand Cayman offer some of the "least-authentic-island-experience". What is exactly an authentic island experience? Aruba is an island, so you can't mean that. Is there an island that does Aruba better than Aruba? Maybe Aruba is the island experience I and many others want and that would make it very authentic to me. Lastly, regarding the following comment : "several knowledgeable people who have been there for more than one day on a cruise gave their informed opinions on STT's safety level." I have actually spent 3 days there. Again, I know its not many days compared to others. Only time I have been there is with a cruise, and I have seen enough to know that the only time I would want to fly into STT would be to get to St. John. That is not a knock against St. Thomas. There are just many islands I would rather spend a week in. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy St. Thomas, I just wasn't as relaxed as I was on other islands.

Just wanted to let everyone know I finally picked Exuma FS. I hope its a good choice. I read the snorkeling is great and I've stayed at the FS before so I'm hoping its as good as the others.Im not offically booking until next week so any comments are welcome