My husband and I would like to travel to the caribbean with our two sons, ages 3 and 7, over Thanksgiving holiday. We are limiting ourselves to Puerto Rico, Jamaica, St. Thomas and Aruba as they are the only islands with direct flights from New York. Checked into Provo but only have direct flights on Saturdays from NY. Checked out Harbour Island...it looks beautiful and relaxing but a bit difficult to get to. We spent last Thanksgiving at the Westin Rio Mar. It was a nice hotel, but we were very disappointed in the condition of the beach as it was dirty (cigarette butts etc...). We are not interested in any of the Beaches type resorts. We would like a nice resort on a clean white sand beach. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Fly to St. Thomas. Stay at The Ritz Carlton, St. Thomas. The resort is great, beautiful, nice, and the food is great. The beach is small but nice. Don't worry about eating out, eat at The Ritz. I tried the best restaurants on the island and The Ritz is better. Go to town shopping for a day or two but it's the same as other islands. There's plenty of gold and silver. The Ritz is nice. Try to get a room close to the lobby. The hotel is strung out on a beach some rooms are a good ways from the lobby, restaurant and beach. Take a day trip to St. John on a ferry if you can. It's nice too. Have fun but don't venture away from The Ritz, it's great and there's not much else on St. Thomas.

Mom,

Actually Harbour Island is pretty easy to get to these days out of NYC, you can take the early am flight on Delta out of LaGuardia and take the early pm ferry over or the Bahamas Air flight over. Both are about the same price, so you can fly one way and take the ferry back.

Pink Sands or Coral Sands would both be good choices they are right on the water and both have a nice pool area.

There will also be children vacationing over Christmas so they should be able to make some friends as well. The island is VERY safe, and welcoming.

Hope this helps just a bit and have a great time wherever you decide to go.

Mom, you mentioned Aruba aas a possible island,

check out the Hyatt Regency. The lobby, grounds and pool area are amazing, think talking parrots, flowers, swans and waterfalls

Email me if you have any ?
Ruby
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just had to post: i agree the ritz is really ritzy. however the shopping in Charlotte Amalie is unbelievable, the outdoor market towards the west end of town is loads of fun. the mall up near cruise ship docks is good too. and there are some swell things to do especially w/ kids. don't miss coral world. consider a snorkel excursion on a catamaran. from red hook you can take a cigarette boat day trip to 4 other islands - major fun for boys - the boat reeeeally clips along. just my opinion but thinking the ritz might be a smidge stuffy for your boys. i have only been to 'secret harbour' on st.t. but loved it, and they have a delightful restaurant. (much smaller than ritz and no where near as fancy but outstanding beach w/snorkel right off beach. restaurants abound! blue moon is super, there is a tiny but excellent Ital. right near coral world entrance, the ritz is way$$$. 75.00/per for sunday brunch, but they have an exquisite pool. have a great trip!

Aruba is a great choice. The Hyatt is really beautiful and so is the Radisson. You can't go wrong with either one.

Second the recommendation of Aruba, and of the Hyatt or Radisson. Aruba is clean, safe, friendly and has beautiful beaches. Enjoy!

Jamaica is famous for the 7 mile beach (Negril). I stayed at Swept Away and it was great. You can walk (or jog) thru all the resort beaches. Swept Away had 3 classes of rooms. Beach front, mid-garden and the cheapest category. Go at least for the middle category or if you can, the beach front. The cheapest category is too close to the road and parking.

St. John is accessible by ferry from St. Thomas. I found this a much better place to stay than anything on St. Thomas. and it is quite interesting to stay at Caneel Bay which has a very desirable location on the isalnd. It is also a quiet little place with stunning island views and beaches. You can rent a car at some agencies when you get off the plane in St. Thomas at the airport and drive it on the ferry to St. John, kind of a cool thing to do...and also check out the villas, b/c if you like to cook the villas give you some stunning options and privacy, with sometimes your won pool etc...

I am traveiling to St John in October and have a flight on hold with AA to St. Thomas. But it is not direct. I couldn't find one from NY to STT...what airlines are you flying? Thanks for the help
BTW, we are staying at Caneel Bay and I hear it is quite beautiful.

To beachlover 50, I myself am also going to Caneel Bay in October. We are flying from Newark to St. Thomas direct through Continental airlines. However, we are returning on a Friday and Continental no longer offers non-stop service on Fridays (I think its only on Saturdays) so we have to make a stop in San Juan on the way back. Hope this helps! -Susan