First time in the Caribbean. Which island?
 

We are planning a vacation with my family in the Caribbean. All together we will be 4 couples with 3 children and were wondering which island is best for us. We don't really care about shopping/casinos/nightlife. We do want good restaurants, pristine beaches and snorkeling/diving options. Something like Maui.
The only island I've found from browsing in the forum, which seems to meet these "requirements", is Turks and Caicos. The only dowside is that it seems that besdies beaches that are no other activities, like hiking or interesting small towns to explore.

Does anyone have other islands in mind?

Anguilla

Virgin Gorda - great combination of beaches, dining options, dive & snorkeling sites, hiking trails, watersports, etc.

Rent a villa on St. John. It is lush, has great snorkeling and good restuarants. You can also island hop [to St. Thomas to shop, or the British Virgin Islands to explore and snorkel.

also St. John, usvi ...hiking, snorkeling,diving ,dining,and some stunning beaches !!!

Thanks for the st. john suggestion. Which time of year is better there November/Early-December or April/May (we want to avoid the high season). I read some comments that in April the island is somewhat dry and brown so perhaps early December is nicer.

Also, can someone compare st john to Turks and Caicos, in terms of how crowded is the island, how expensive etc.

I vote for Anguilla. Stay on Shoal Bay East and get a couple rental cars.

Hi Joshpal,
I can't compare to T&C, but my husband and I went to St. John for our honeymoon in Jan '08 and loved it. We stayed at the Estate Lindholm, a small inn just outside of Cruz Bay, because we wanted to be able to talk to other people about what to do on the island. Now that we have been there, I would probably recommend staying at a Villa and renting a Jeep for the trip. We spent a lot of unnecessary money on shuttles.
The beaches on St. John are all a short drive or hike away...and offer great off-beach snorkeling. We had a great time exploring several of the beaches and saw many other people with small children.
Keep in mind that there really is very little else to do on St. John, other than hike and go to the beach...you might want to break up the trip with a fun powerboat cruise or water taxi to one of the BVI's...the Baths at Virgin Gorda are huge rock formations/caves that kids would have a blast in. We went with New Horizons and really enjoyed them...it also took us to Jost Van Dyke (Soggy Dollar Bar)--really fun (although no kids were on the boat...not sure about that).
Prices.....quite expensive. All food and drinks are fairly pricy...especially at the grocery store. Probably three times what you might pay in the U.S. Keep in mind, every time you add a round of drinks it's $12-14 more. We averaged $50 for lunch and $100 for dinners....

Good luck!

Thanks for the replies. I have one more question: Grand Cayman also seems like a nice island with good snorkelling. Can someone compare it to st john?

No comparison between Grand Cayman and St. John other than they are both islands in the Caribbean.

St. John - hilly, semi-lush, lots of vegetation, numerous smaller cove-like golden sand beaches, very good to excellent walk-in snorkeling, numerous dive sites, numerous islands and cays in surrounding waters, lots of rental villas, only a few resorts/hotels, small town (Cruz Bay), little night life, quiet and laid back atmosphere, 2/3's of the island is preserved as a National Park.

Grand Cayman - flat, arid, scrubby, long strands of white sand beaches (most famous is 7 Mile Beach), active nightlife, many restaurants, somewhat crowded, lots of hotels and resorts, very good to excellent diving, good to very good snorkeling around the island.

My vote goes to Anguilla. However, with kids Grand Cayman may be a good option. It is more commercial, but it's still beautiful-especially on 7 mile beach. There are plenty of activities and good restaurants. There are some great condos right on 7 mile beach.