First trip to the Caribbean
Aug 23rd, 2004, 11:34 AM
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First trip to the Caribbean
Hello! My husband and I are planning to take our first ever tropical vacation. Until now, we have mainly vacationed by tent camping in the woods in the northern states. In addition, this will be our last vacation before we adopt a baby - so this has to be a good one!!
We are thinking of going to the Caribbean and are looking for recommendations for "must go to" destinations. Usually when we camp we do a fair bit of hiking, swimming and my husband is an avid bird watcher. But this time, we want to focus more on relaxing, spacing out, trying snorkeling?, swimming, napping, eating great but not terribly expensive food, and sleeping. We will certainly want to hike around and check out island nature but that will not be our sole purpose.
Money is not abundant, so we can't stay in deluxe resorts. A place where we can make some meals would be great. I envision a nice little bungalow on the beach, but that might be unrealistic??
Thanks for any ideas!! If you have ideas for places that are not in the Caribbean, feel free to send those too!
We are thinking of going to the Caribbean and are looking for recommendations for "must go to" destinations. Usually when we camp we do a fair bit of hiking, swimming and my husband is an avid bird watcher. But this time, we want to focus more on relaxing, spacing out, trying snorkeling?, swimming, napping, eating great but not terribly expensive food, and sleeping. We will certainly want to hike around and check out island nature but that will not be our sole purpose.
Money is not abundant, so we can't stay in deluxe resorts. A place where we can make some meals would be great. I envision a nice little bungalow on the beach, but that might be unrealistic??
Thanks for any ideas!! If you have ideas for places that are not in the Caribbean, feel free to send those too!
Aug 23rd, 2004, 12:43 PM
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While not impossible, you will probably will have great difficulty finding a budget priced little bungalow on the beach in the Caribbean as most beachfront houses are large $million villas that rent for several thousand dollars and up per week. But all is not lost if you set your sights a bit more realistically.
You might want to look into staying at Maho Bay on St. John (USVI). They have moderatly priced "permanent" camping facilities. St. John has great beaches (many with fantastic snorkeling right from the beach), a variety of good restaurants in all price ranges, and about 2/3's of the island is a national park with excellent hiking trails. Use the search feature above (type in Maho Bay - St. John) and you'll find dozens of posts about the island itself and facilities at this unique campground.
Other areas to consider are the All Inclusive resorts in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Cancun and Playa Del Carmen. These areas have some of the least expensive resorts in the Caribbean. Many times you can get mderatly priced package deals that includes air fare, hotels, meals and an occasional excursion or two.
You might want to look into staying at Maho Bay on St. John (USVI). They have moderatly priced "permanent" camping facilities. St. John has great beaches (many with fantastic snorkeling right from the beach), a variety of good restaurants in all price ranges, and about 2/3's of the island is a national park with excellent hiking trails. Use the search feature above (type in Maho Bay - St. John) and you'll find dozens of posts about the island itself and facilities at this unique campground.
Other areas to consider are the All Inclusive resorts in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Cancun and Playa Del Carmen. These areas have some of the least expensive resorts in the Caribbean. Many times you can get mderatly priced package deals that includes air fare, hotels, meals and an occasional excursion or two.
Aug 23rd, 2004, 12:53 PM
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Hi - I just sent a reply that also suggested Maho Bay Camp & Harmony but it wouldn't go through. Anyhow - rates are reasonable and someone I work with goes every year and loves it. The website is maho.org. It looks beautiful!
Aug 24th, 2004, 10:57 AM
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We went to St John for our first Caribbean vacation and loved the off the beach snorkeling it offers, and tons of different beaches, all with something unique. We too heard that Maho bay campground is a great place. We know we loved Maho Beach, we saw turtles and tons of sea life.
