Family trip to Cayman Islands, St. Maarten, or St. John or Hawaii?
 

We have points for Starwood Property and miles for flights. We have kids age 12-23 and there are 7 of us total. We've been to Hawaii a few times-love it-been to Grand Bahama Island. We are leaning toward Grand Cayman (Westin Casaurina), St. Maarten Westin Dawn Beach, or St. John Westin. The trip is the end of this June. Please advise on which is best resort and island. We snorkel a little, love water but also interested in seeing new culture, places.

Worried about rain, mosquitos, crime. Also don't want older kids (18-23) to get bored! We live in the NW and are tired of rain!

Or we could go to Tahiti but it is a really long flight from Portland, OR and maybe not for family?

Of the four places you8ve mentioned, I've been to only two: Cayman Westin Casuarina, and Westin St John. No contest: St John MUCH better. Westin on a beautiufl beacho n Gr Cayman, but in general. IMHO, that area and island are dull compared to St John. As for culture--MUCH more interesting, and Carib feel, on St John.
Again, just my opinion.
St John is a small island and even if you stay at Westin, a few miles /minutes drive will take you to some of tje most specatacualr beaches (sand, clear wter, snorkeling) in the WORLD.
From Portalnd, however, it is quite an adventure getting to St J. You'd have to get a flight to Atlanta or Miami or IAD or NY for ex, then a flight to STT (St Thomas) then a ferry to St JOhn. The Westin willpick you up on its own ferry, if you want.

Maybe Hawaii would be an easier trip with so many people? to one of the islands you've not yet visited? And Starwood has hotels on all the islands.

However you plan, there is loads of great advice on Fodors forums.

The older kids will love any of these places. No one will be bored, even if you choose Grand Cayman. However, given how slow the tourism scene is in Hawaii right now and how much more convenient it is for you, I think that's the best solution. I suspect you'll find some great deals on both airfare and condos (and that's what I'd strongly recommend over a hotel since there are so many of you).

Tahiti might actually be a great location for the family, but the expensive would be easily double that of Hawaii. It's very expensive to eat in Tahiti, and while there are good inexpensive accommodations, the idea of that meny people going that far is daunting. Fiji would be a better alternative, in my opinion, if you want to go to the South Pacific. There are a lot of beach resorts within easy ferry reach of Nadi, where the main airport is. (You might have to fight with the older kids to keep them from getting tattoos.)

Late June is usually a good time to go to the Caribbean. Although the hurricane season starts on June 1, the weather in that month is often the best of the year. Not yet too hot, and with little or not rain. An early-season hurricane is a possibility, and you have to plan for that contingency by buying insurance, but I'd definitely make that gamble.

But here's my main piece of advice. Regardless of which Caribbean or Hawaiian destination you choose, you definitely do NOT want to stay in a hotel. Not with that many people and not with the huge in-resort meal and drink costs. Rent a condo or villa (definitely a villa on St. John or Grand Cayman).

If you choose Hawaii, there's a good transportation system on Oahu so the older kids can basically get anywhere they want easily. Grand Cayman has a great bus system that can get them almost anywhere they might want to go, and it's safe for them to go out at night, and they could even walk a lot of places if you stay on Seven Mile Beach. St. John is harder since it has little transit and expensive taxis, plus it's expensive or sometimes even impossible to rent a car for a driver under 25. That's why I'd lean more to Grand Cayman.

The problem with St. Maarten (which I love, despite the petty crime issues) is that the best beaches and restaurants aren't where the best hotels are, and you really need to be able to drive around to get there and to restaurants. With that many people you're talking 2 cars, and that's not really feasible. If you go to St. Maarten, then I'd recommend basing yourself in Grand Case. There's a condo-style Grand Case Beach Club right there, and some of the best restaurants are within walking distance. It's not the best beach, but it's a convenient place, and you can easily jump over to the new Radisson or even Orient Beach for a change of pace.

Thank you so much for your input. I have considered Fiji--the Starwood properties are only at Denarau Island and I had read some not so great things about the beach there so we'd have to enjoy the beach off site. The reason we're staying in Starwood properties is we can stay almost the whole week all 7 of us with our points-husband travels for work a lot!
Hawaii only has Starwood on Maui, Kauai, and Oahu-which we've been too.
It seems that Caymans are most convenient to get to-maybe less to site see. St John sounds great, but further and St Maarten is quite a bargain at the Westin points-wise, but is probably last on the list?

Goodwinfam; You are correct the kids will be bored in St. Martin in 2 days considering there is no snorkeling and little sightseeing of interest for that age group. GC has several good places that in most cases you need a tour boat to get to for the better waters,plus 2-3 sightseeing places for them and expensive restaurants that are o.k. St.John has lots of snorkel spots pretty close together even though it is worth taking a sail-snorkel trip at least once. Sightseeing is limited unless they like hiking but you can take the ferry for a 5-6 hrs. in St. Thomas with a rental car going up in the hills. It would be St. John first or GC as a second choice.

he snorkeling and 2-3 sightseeing places

I just returned from my 11th trip to St John a couple weeks ago. I have a timeshare at the Westin. The Westin is a beautiful property, but the real St John is on the beaches and reefs which are very close to shore. The are also some very nice hiking trails if you are into that. A good resource for info is:

http://virgin-islands-on-line.com/fo...wforum.php?f=1

2/3 of the island is national park. No traffic lights, very laid back.

I do not understand why someone would say the kids would be bored in st. Maarten. There is so much to do on the island.
St. Maarten is far from being a boring island. and there are other nearby islands to visit for the day too.
Lots of choices on St.Maarten for people of all ages.

The reason I said St. martin might be boring for teens was when we went in our 30's and agin in our 50's after visiting the 5 good art galleries, the ostrich farm (not very interesting in our opinion) and strolling the strip of restaurants and clubs on the French side with a great dinner at La vi en Rose all we did was lie in the sun and eat good expensive food. If the boys are into getting sunburned and lounging on the beach then it is not such a bore but St. John has all that St. Martin has except for the art galleries and not as fancy dining except maybe Caneel Bay Resort but much more for hiking, snorkeling, parasailing over more beatiful colored waters. I am done.

We just went to GC and there are tons of watersports for the kids available right in front of the hotel. The kids can walk to stores and it was a very safe and friendly island. That would be my first choice in the caribbean. StMarten does have a reputation for crime and i wouldn't want the 23 year old wandering off there. I have not been to st. john and have heard it is beautiful. The island is quieter than GC.
GC would be my first choice.
We loved Hawaii too and would go back in a heartbeat. With a chance to go to Fiji, I am not sure if I wouldn't give that a try? :) Have fun choosing.

stan
we don't have an ostrich farm on sxm.

oh,sorry. I just realized what you were talking about.
a man had a small plot of land where he raised a few ostriches. it was his private property and was by no means a tourist attraction or anything commercial. It was just his little piece of land. that was quite a few years ago as he has been dead now for a good while.

To the OP, I think you have settled on a destination other than st maarten which is fine. If you should want more info about st maarten though, please let me know.
there are many activities activities here for teens and young adults, such as the zip lines at Loterie Farm, the rhino riders, the America's Cup boat races, etc.