Deciding where to go
 

My 1st anniversary is coming up in September and I'd like to celebrate on a caribbean island. I have never gone to the caribbean and am not sure which islands would be best in Sept. I would like to do Turks & Caicos, Curacao, or maybe one of the USVI. Can someone advise me on a locale? We really want to relax, have romantic dinners, and hang on the beach. Any Suggestions?

While I haven't been there yet (just decided on the trip for March), my goals were the same as yours (romantic, relaxing on the beach, not much else) and I decided on T&C from the opinions of others. St John USVI was my second pick for beaches, again based on the suggestions of others.

I chose T&C because there are places right on the beach for pretty reasonable prices even in winter, the water is apparently the most amazing in the Caribbean, and airfare from Philly or NYC can be cheap.

Also, if you worry about such things, keep in mind that water temperatures reach their peak in September in the Caribbean and Atlantic, making Sept the peak of hurricane season. Curacao/Aruba/Bonaire have a much lower risk of hurricanes than T&C or the USVI.

The Caribbean experience is a wonderful one. Curacao is a perfect vacation. You wake up there every morning with the choice of doing as much as you want or as little as possible. The USVI is an easy flight, green, lots of shopping on St. Thomas and lots of beaches to stretch out on. You will smile with either one of these choices, although the dining was better in Curacao and you would be out of the hurricane belt.

I've been to Curacao and Turks. I preferred Turks for its beautiful beaches and nice restaurants. Curacao beaches are nice also but clarity is better in Turks and the beaches are more spread out on the island. Curacao would be better to avoid hurricane risk in Sept. Curacao is a bigger island with lots of shopping etc. Both islands are dry and scrubby so no mountains etc. Curacao is more populated (we prefer smaller and quieter islands). I preferred Turks. St John in the USVI would be my choice if I was looking for lush/greenery/mountains scenic interior. The beaches are supposed to be very nice also.

Thanks! I will keep all suggestions in mind. I will probably book the end of this week or next. We also prefer quiet and romantic places so it will probably be St. John, Curacao, or T&C.

Check out St.Vincent and the Grenadines as well. Beautiful islands, different levels of accomodations to meet what ever your budget might be.

Check out St. John, one of the USVI. A majority of the island is national park and there are only a handful of resorts on the island. The downtown area has some nice restaurants and bars. The hotel we stayed in, the Westin, provided free and frequent shuttle services to the downtown area. The Westin was beautiful (with a great pool and a beautiful beach) and the services was great.

To get there, we flew into St. Thomas and took a ferry over to St. John. It was very easy and definately one of the most relaxing vacas that we have taken.

How about sailing around Virgin Islands on a laxury yacht? Surprisingly it's cheaper than booking hotel for the same period! We are looking for another couple to share expenses... see my post below
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...amp;dirtyBit=1

For me it's very romantic - sailing in the most beautiful part of the world, visiting deserted white sand beaches, blue lagoons, small and big islands, different restourants and people every day... Instead of sitting on the same spot on the beach all the time, every day, surrounded by 200 noisy kids whose parents don't care what they do...