Can't decide where to go. Been to Grenada (liked it), been to St. Croix (okay), Barbados (loved it), Aruba (loved it), Looking for adventure, scenery, some peace & quiet, DEFINITELY beachtime, not too expensive. These are the two i've narrowed my next trip down to. Any suggestions for either one?

for beachtime, go to St. lucia. Curacao does not have great beaches. Aruba does. not much to do in Curacao except shop. it is flat and dry.. St.lucia is beautiful.

Was in Aruba and Curacao last January (granted it was on a cruise so we weren't there for an extended time)...Not having been to St. Lucia, I can tell you that Curacao was my least favorite stop of all on the entire cruise. I would agree that from what we saw...not great beaches..and shopping was the main stay.

<BR> <BR>Curacao is not flat at all especially if you have not explored the whole island. This time of the year Aruba, Bonarie and Curacao are much more lush because of the rainy season. I must agree Curacao does not have nicer beaches than Aruba but they do have bays which serve as beaches. Curacao is rich in history more so than St. Lucia. The capital of Curacao Willemstad is on the UNESCO list of world heritage cities. Many of the buildings located in the capital were built in the late 19th century and are being restored. <BR> <BR>The Capital of Curacao has many museaums the most popular one being "Cura Hulanda" which informs you about the black holicaust on the island. <BR> <BR>St. Lucia has a much more exotic nature with its pitons being the landmark of it all. The biggest differance between these to islands is that Curacao has an higher standard of living, it may appeared more industrialized and less touristy while St. Lucia is all the opposite. Both islands are not Americanized at all. As a matter fact Curacao is much more Europeanized and it is often called the little Amsterdam of the Caribbean. <BR> <BR>The economy of Curacao is in a recession and unemployment is high and thus its citizens are currently facing bad times.

I agree with you, Arubasun, on everything except Curacao not being flat. you got to be kidding. LOL <BR>

St. Lucia is beautiful, but getting around is pretty difficult. The roads are terrible! Curacao is not as lovely as St. Lucia, being arid and (yes) somewhat flat -- especially in ocmparison with mountainous, verdant St. Lucia. I wasn't all that impressed with the beaches in St. Lucia. <BR> <BR>Why not St. John? If beaches are your thing, you could go to a different amazingly beautiful beach every day! The scenery simply cannot be improved upon, and it's a lot closer than either of your other two choices. If you haven't been to St. John, do yourself a favor. GO! It's better in St. John!

<BR> <BR>Sharon, <BR> <BR>I hope you know better that not because an island is arid it is ugly. This time of the year the ABC islands are green, I have they have received some heavy showers last thursday. Our view of paradise is lush and green scenery unfortunately those are not elements of paradise.