My husband and I have the opportunity to stay free in Aruba - I would like to add on another week at another location - looking for a luxury resort - all-inclusive & casual preferred. Looking to indulge - around 500.00 night - I have never stayed in the Caribbean and would appreciate ideal recommendations. Thanks

Do you want to stay close to Aruba, or venture out? That info would be helpful. I don't do AI, so I can't comment on that....St. Kitts, St. Martin, Anguilla might be nice choices since Aruba is a dry island.

How nice that you have a free trip to Aruba and that you want to add on another experience. Can you give us an idea of what you're looking for in a vacation? For example, if I were to spend time in Aruba and then another place, I would probably want to choose an island with a very different feel. Aruba is very Americanized, very flat, very arid, and has wonderful beaches and nightlife. I would probably want to move to an island with a more mountainous and thus more lush interior, knowing that I would sacrifice the beach quality somewhat.

Now, I have no idea about the logistics of traveling from Aruba to other parts of the Caribbean, as it is very isolated from the Eastern Caribbean chain that I know best. You might want to check with airline schedules to see what islands won't take a full day of travel to get to from Aruba. But all other things being equal, I would probably look at St. Lucia, Nevis, St. Kitts, and Grenada.

Like iw, I am not a fan of all inclusives, and to find a truly luxurious one for $500/night might be a challenge, depending on what time of year you plan to travel. Take a look at Jalousie Plantation on St. Lucia, which offers an AI option. Or Nisbet or Montpelier Inns on Nevis, which offer full meal plans. Maybe Ottley's on St. Kitts, which also offers a full meal plan. Or the GOlden Lemon on St. Kitts, which offers an AI option.

How important are gorgeous, white sand beaches that stretch for miles, keeping in mind that you'll have just experienced that in Aruba? How important is nightlife? Good shopping? Romantic atmosphere? Privacy? Water sports availability? How important is it to have television or air conditioning in the room? Do you require a spa on site? Are you foodies? Or are you more concerned with getting a good amount of decent food without being picky about high quality? How casual do you want? Do you want to find a place where men are not required to wear pants & collared shirts in the evenings? Or do you just mean an atmosphere that is relaxed and not stuffy? Do you want to stay put at the resort? Go out and explore? Do you like cultural sites? Historical sites? Musuems? Live music?

Give us some more information and be as specific as possible and we'll give you loads of suggestions.

Thanks for all the questions - I have realized since my posting that 500.00 doesn't go very far in the Caribbean - I'm use to smaller towns in mexico - we could increase that to about 700-800.00 if necessary - I'll try to sum up some answers to your questions and appreicate your help.

We are in our late 30's and are looking for fun but not dancing on tables into the middle of the night fun - a great bar with some live music would be great but not super touristy and/or crowded - we would like to do some sightseeing/water activities and love taking part of the local culture but also love to lie beach/poolside and take in a good book - My husband would love to golf - we prefer casual and laid back, my husbands not real excited about wearing pants in the middle of summer, we would like spa options (massages etc.) but it doesn't have to have a full spa offering. We will be travelling in July. I really appreciate your suggestions - I was looking at Young Island - they have a posting on Luxurylink that includes 5 nights at the resort and 2 nights sailing - have you heard anything about this resort??

We stayed at Young Island in 2004 and enjoyed it very much. Food was very good, snorkeling right off beach. Over all very nice but not fancy by any means. Not much to do in St. Vincent though, one day tour will cover all must see's. Not much entertainment at resort. Beach small but nice.