Favorite Carribbean Island
 

A friend and I are wanting to go to one of the Carribbean islands but...we don't know anything about which one we should choose. I have been communicating with someone who has been and her selection for us would be St. John...Cruz Bay Villas. Any and all info would be appreciated. We really have no clue. :(

Oops! Forgot to say we are in our fifties and really don't know what to tell other than we are seeking beautiful views and...

Forgive me if I am punchy...but the beautiful views has me thinking of St. Martin...french side at Orient Beach. (We just returned tonight, thanks to an extra day layover in Miami. Watch for my trip reports.) By beautiful views, I am thinking the clothing optional ones. Ha Ha... No, I really do know what you mean as far as views go. We love the views from the beach up into St. Martin and Nevis since you can see mountains and lush areas, but I am not sure the nightlife is what you want.....Had to post, I have missed my computer sooo much. Good luck!

Thanks for posting so promptly...I always am anxious to hear from a post. :)

If you post, did you mean that there was no nightlife?

hi, i think jw meant that st. john has very little night life and st. martin quite a bit more.
some of the things that will help us help you are -
do you want a lush, hilly island or is dry and flat ok? dry,flat usually means better snorkeling and diving.
do you want to dine out? often? pricey meals? or burgers?
will you want to go out at night to socialize or gamble? or spend evenings in the condo/villa with a book?
are you interested in activities like sailing or power excursions? do you snorkel? do you want to shop? do you want to go see historical buildings and places or go see every beach on an island?
some vague idea of your budget for accomodations? when will you travel?

everybody has their favorite island but that does not mean it would be your perfect destination.... so any little detail of what you have pictured in your mind is helpful.

Thanks, Virginia
We really don't know what we want other than the views. We are price-conscious but like luxury, you know how that goes. I don't even have a clue as to the cost. Not a gambler or bar hopper, but do like wine here and there. Snorkling would be fun, never have done it so why not. Beaches are good. Mainly we want the experience of being surrounded by the beauty and walking the beaches...nothing in particular. Sorry this doesn't give you a lot to work with but I really don't know what to expect. The Cruz Bay Villas were mentioned to me and is this something similar to condos inset into the Carribbean atmosphere? I could almost be happy just within the views and visiting the beaches occasionally. Shopping would be good but not for long. Love entertainment! Medium to light range in the restaurant area. Hope this is enough info to go on. If not, please ask me any questions. I have to start somewhere. Thanks so much for your thoughts. :)

Surprisingly in St. Martin, there was no nightlife at Orient Beach, passed 10:30 when the restaurant closed. I believe that the beach bars stay open longer in the off-season. I know that there is nightlife in Grand Case, but we were too full from dinner to experience it. We went back and had drinks and read on the porch.

For views and great beaches look into Grand Cayman. There is a famous stretch of beach about 7 miles long, you can actually feed and pet sting rays and it is laid back. The food is pricey but GC is very nice.

By staying on St. John, you always have the option of taking the ferry over to St. Thomas for shopping as well. Additionally, you can visit the BVI'S. That way you get more than just one island. They have some nice catamaran excursions if that interests you.

Catamaran excursions sound great. How pricey are they? This really makes it sound more like what I would like. Views from the villa, beaches, shopping on St. Thomas. Now, explain the Cruz Bay. Is this a beach, waterfront, group of villas or? I am definitely a novice but I do want to learn. Thanks so much.

Cruz Bay is the town where you will ferry in to. It is the busiest area, but cannot be called a city! It is very tiny. Has most of the shopping, restaurants, post office, bank,etc. It is not on a beach (well there is nice white shoreling in front of the beach bar, but you do not want to swim there with all the boat traffic. You can wade in a bit.

Ok...We would need to fly into STT, taxi to Red Hook, and ferry to our villa? I have been reading posts here and that is what I have picked out of it. May be completely wrong, mind you, but I am catching on a bit with envy! :(

You are right. You may also take the ferry from Charlotte Amalie, it takes longer and is a few dollars more, but you save the taxi ride. We always prefer to go to Redhook, love that old Bomba! And it is only a 20 minute ride.

What about staying on STT and ferrying to STJ? What are the pros and cons?

Also, what are the pluses for staying in a villa versus a hotel?