girlfriend weekend getaway
 

my best friend lost her husband a little over a year ago. she is now ready to perhaps begin her life again and would like to take a long weekend with me...we've been freinds for over thirty five years and we experienced our first caribbean trip when we were teenagers ! we are flying out of new york and dont have a set "time" for this to happen, but she would like to go within the next six months. she prefers all inclusive, i dont, but this is her "party" so i am willing to go with what ever way will make her happy. what are pals for? of course the usual apply...safety, cleanliness, and a beautiful beach....night life not so important... the few resorts that i thought were great were either on bermuda (not too many all inclusives there) or antigua (friendly beautiful island) or compass point in nassau which unfortunately is not an all inclusive but does look perfect for girlfriends to re-connect and relax.

any ideas....thanks so much.

alison

It would help if you told us what you and your friend were looking for in terms of the AI (you've mentioned you want safety, cleanliness and good beach, which can be found on nearly every island): cost is most important, but also size, clientele, activities offered. I assume you're not looking to meet other singles and such for this trip...how do you feel about the presence of children or a place with predominantly couples?

Which resorts did you specifically like on Bermuda and Antigua?

And would places that offer a full meal plan or an all-inclusive option without being full fledged AIs work for you? I see that you mentioned Compass Point...

hi and thanks for the reply..

kids do not bother us at all....a modified plan would be fine as well...a few resorts that i looked at are halfmoon in montego bay, lots to do and close to the airport.....compass point because of its proximity to nassau and the atlantis (she likes to gamble) and the fact that it looks perfect for two girls, smaller resorts are fine, but size actually doesnt matter....

i personally love antigua but not sure where to go for a good all inclusive...and bermuda is where we went when we were younger, i like elbow beach......price-wise i think it might be too much, but i do know that we would have a blast in bermuda, who wouldnt?

one of the out islands in the bahamas?

thanks for any help, im all over the place with this...sometimes reading TOO MUCH can make matters worse, lol.

thanks
alison

Though it closed after hurricane Ivan, La Source on Grenada should be re-opening soon if it has not already. It's an all inclusive that also includes selected daily spa treatments in its rates, so it's great for women traveling together. It used to be on the higher end for AI pricing but not stratospheric and they may offer some good introductory price rates upon reopening. It's adults only (I think older teens, either 16 or 18 or older are allowed), but there are both couples and singles and friends traveling together.

Grenada is a beautiful and safe island for travel. Lovely beaches, great restaurants, excellent infrastructure in terms of roads and rental cars so that it's easy to get out and explore on one's own.

The sister hotel of LeSport on St. Lucia might also be a good choice. Like Grenada, St. Lucia is stunningly pretty, but it's a little harder to get out on your own because of road conditions there.

A place like the Long Bay Hotel on Antigua, which offers the MAP in its daily rates, might be good for the two of you. It's a small, low-key family-owned and run hotel on the east coast of Antigua. Beautiful small beach with good snorkeling offshore. www.longbayhotel.com

I would think that Jamaica Inn on the north coast of Jamaica would also be a good choice for you. They offer an AI rate as well as various meal plans. www.jamaicainn.com

Other places to consider would be Nisbet on Nevis, Long Bay Resort on Tortola, private Guana Island in the BVI, Curtain Bluff on Antigua, Cuisinart on Anguilla--these offer a variety of experiences, price ranges, and resort ameneties and avoid some of the more "couples-dominated" places on those islands.

I also was thinking that LeSport in St. Lucia might be a good choice, but depending on how many days you are planning for your "long weekend", the travel time to St. Lucia and some of the other islands ejcrowe mentioned may cut into too much of your vacation. I think that the out islands of Bahamas might lack AIs and also require more travel time. If you are going for three nights or even four, I would suggest you focus on islands that can be reached non-stop or direct from NY.

beachdreams, you're quite right. i didn't notice that the op was looking for a long weekend getaway! many of those islands wouldn't be suitable with that time restriction.

thanks so much for the replys. we are looking into jamaica inn. one of the resorts is closed for the summer,i believe its long bay in antigua....so we are also looking at curtain bluff. i have a feeling she wants to spend much less than these resorts, but i have my limits...lol...

thanks so much...

Try taking a look at websites like www.luxurylink.com, where the Jamaica Inn is regularly featured. If you and your friend don't mind sharing a room (you can arrange for a room with two twin beds instead of one king), you might find the packages very reasonable. That would just leave you to find airfare, which is less expensive to Jamaica than just about anywhere else in the Caribbeam.

Good luck with your planning. Given that you and your friend seem to have different ideas about what you want and are willing to pay, an AI is probably a good choice, assuming you can find something that meets both of your standards. That way, if she knows the total cost upfront, she may be more comfortable with the initial outlay.

It can be hard to travel with friends when you don't have the same priorities. I'm by no means obsessed with upscale dining every meal, but I like to have a couple of nice dinners on vacation, and I know it would be an issue to go out to nicer restaurants with some of my friends, even though these same people wouldn't mind paying $50 - 100 daily for drinks at the pool and at bars at night. I guess that's why I'm traveling solo more frequently now!

beachdreams....im impressed !! very well put because that describes us to the teee !!

im sure we will come up with a plan...another thing to keep in mind i guess is it is memorial day weekend, which she just sprung on me....we can either add days before the weekend or after....im sure many others have the same plan so i guess i should pick something pronto.

thanks very much for the ideas..and yes we will be sharing a room...its part of the fun !! i have been dreaming of traveling alone lately, i guess because im the mom of two teens and a young lady who is engaged, her party is next weekend....ive never taken a vacation alone but i must say it sounds wonderful...

maybe i was gathering too much info at once this morning but i couldnt find lesport in st lucia on tripadvisor...some of the reviews there give me a better idea, some just confuse the heck out of me...i find it amazing that two horrible reviews will follow two wonderful ones.

the last vacation my girlfriend took was with some friends from work around two years ago...she stayed at the radisson in freeport? or nassau? im not a gigantic fan of resorts like that so we are trying to come up with a happy medium. we did this in the fall and wound up going nowhere, so now she is really needing an escape.

thanks very much from everyone....still looking !

have a great weekend. its sunny and bright in new york this weekend, but cold so it feels nice planning a beach getaway with such a close chum !

alison

I was at LeSport (solo) in December 2006, and my review (under "beachdreams2") is on the TripAdvisor website. If you still are considering LeSport, and have any addtional questions, please feel free to send me a private message on TA. I researched LeSport extensively before my trip and also was concerned with the bad reviews, but in the end, I felt pretty confident that I had read between the lines enough to know what to expect. I think there are a few reasons for the bad reviews 1) LeSport is pretty expensive IMO if you pay full price, especially if you do not take advantage of many of the included features 2) Some people go in expecting a five star resort, Ritz-Carlton type experience, which LeSport does not provide, 3) Some of the rooms apparently were getting pretty shabby, but I think that they are working through renovating the rest of the rooms that had not been renovated in the last few years, 4)I think there are some people posting who have something against the resort. TA has a feature that allows people to rate reviews. For most hotels, reviews that are clearly written, detailed, and neutral or positive get a high percentage of other readers finding the reviews "helpful". It is exactly the opposite for LeSport, so my personal theory is that there are a small group of people who may be writing unfairly negative reviews and criticizing reviews of people who liked the resort.

Anyway, I agree with you wholeheartedly that being lucky enough to have life-long friends makes up for the compromises that you have to make to travel together!

What a great friend. Based on your post I realize you and your friend want to go to the Caribbean. The problem I see is the time you will waste traveling to some of the suggested destinations with only having a limited amount of time to actually spend on the island you choose. Airfare and connections to St. Lucia and Grenada depending where you are flying from can be difficult at best. Consider this before making your arrangements. I love both of those islands but depending on your flights you can spend a day or longer intransit. Doesn't leave as much time to enjoy. The Bahamas, Puerto Rico, USVI, BVIs are all a little easier to reach for a long weekend. Have you done a web search for destinations you may be interested in visiting? caribbeantravelforum.com is an excellent resource for links to all the islands including accommodations. You may want to consider a travel agent whom specializes in the Caribbean to assist.
Another suggestion of two places I spend time every year. St. Augustine FL and south western FL specifically the area between St. Pete's/Clearwater and Ft. Myers. There are some beautiful resorts on the islands off the coast. Boca Grande, Sanibel are two that come to mind from that area. In St. Augustine there are numerous accommodations both in town and on Anastasia Island. Some of the beaches are very much like ones I've visited in the Caribbean. Above all else you and your friend will have a great time no matter your choice. ENJOY and celebrate life.

Sorry about the link I posted. I just checked it and for some reason it takes you to an advertisement for vacation rentals. This is not where it is supposed to go. Try a google for all sites Caribbean. Good luck.

Hi albee622,

I bet this trip together will be very special.

Not sure if youve settled on a destination yet but just wanted to suggest Sivory in punta cana.

http://www.sivorypuntacana.com/

Meets your criteria of safe clean beautiful and all inclusive.

My time there was the most relaxed Ive ever been in my life. Spend the day at the spa, under your palapa on the beach, poolside, in the ocean, at your personal plunge pool, whatever.

Its very secluded at the end of the beach. No other resorts in sight though you can walk a bit along the beach to the neighboring hotel.

Nightlife: small bar on premises otherwise the shuttle will take you out.

Enjoy your time together ((f))

Thanks very much...since this was posted originally in 2007 =) we've gotten around!

The out islands for us is perfect...we've been to San Salvador, Staniel Cay..to which we are returning, Bermuda, Antigua.....and we will be traveling to Harbour Island very soon...we really do have the opportunity to go anywhere and we continue to be drawn back to the Out Islands....! Friendships like this are a blessing and the ability to travel together is truly a dream we've had since our first excursion to Europe in our late teens...making a "pact" that we would continue as long as we can!

Thanks again,
Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Oh snap I didnt even notice! I was clicking on names from our hummingbird thread and when I saw your caribbean post I thought to myself, "Hmm, I might actually have some helpful travel-related input!"

The message you wrote above was just lovely albee622. Friendships like that are hard to come by.

albee- your thread caught my eye as well because I thought I remembered your name from the Staniel Cay posts- I didn't look at the dates either! I suppose, then, that this is the girlfriend who went with you to SCYC? I think I remember reading your trip report and that you had a good time. We also love the out islands and have made many trips there; however, after recently reading about another SC lover's trip reports to Roatan, Honduras I am ready to head there next. If you loved SC, you might want to take a look! I am looking into Barefoot Cay (you can get an AI deal) but there are many interesting places to look at- check out Anthony's Key (his is Key instead of Cay), too. Happy travels. Have fun in HI.

Thanks! Yes she's the one and I have this crazy ability to get her to do things she probably wouldn't have done....prop plane...crazy golf cart runs....island hopping.....two trips planned to the out islands this year! I did look into Roatan....looks beautiful!

Naturegirl...thanks very much....how is our hummingbird? You know my TA has been telling me that we would love Punta Cana but lately I am just smitten with that laid-back-out island feel...!

Albee

take a look at cape santa maria beach resort and stella maris on long island bahamas. both ai but very low key.