Hcg5

My fiancé and I are trying to plan a honeymoon for August and originally thought about going to St.Lucia. I contacted a travel agent and she suggested looking into two resorts in Jamaica (Secrets & Couples). Has anyone been to St. Lucia and Jamaica and can give feedback on which would be a better place to go in early August for a honeymoon?

Weadles

We've been to Jamaica in August and would never do it again unless we had a really good reason. The weather was miserably hot, no wind, and lots of bugs! Best time for Jamaica is really March and April.

KVR

We've been to St. Lucia in a November and Jamaica in a November and a December.

Been to Mexico many times in August. First, Weadles is right it HOT and HUMID during that time of year. Second, it's the start of hurricane season. There were many times we waited to see if our vacation was going to be cancelled due to weather or we arrived right after a hurricane hit and the area hadn't quite recovered yet. We don't go in August/September anymore.

Between the two Islands, the topogrpahy is about the same. The beaches in St. Lucia are a dark coarse brown sand and the water a sapphire blue. Jamaica is easier to get to from the US and less expensive than St. Lucia.

We chose Barbados for our August vacation this year. What exactly are you looking for in your honeymoon/vacation?

Hcg5

One of the activities we really want to do is scuba diving. We completed a certification course in college and haven't been able to really use it yet. We'll be spending a lot of time on the beach (as long as the storms stay away), but we would also like to do some sort of hiking or zip lining excursion as well.

Kristin_Tobierre

St.Lucia has hikes through the rainforest, and climbs to the top of our Gros Piton mountain, as well as two different zip line excursions through different parts of the island.

http://www.adventuretourstlucia.com/
http://karenberger.suite101.com/zip-...forest-a150278

Kristin_Tobierre

http://www.scubastlucia.com/

travel4425

Just went to St. Lucia in August and stayed at sandals. Went to Jamaica in August of 2003 and also stayed at a sandals. They are both great. However i think that St. Lucia is more "exotic" and picturesque. However in my experience Jamaica was WAY cheaper!! And easier to access. If you fly to st'.Lucia and land in the southern airport (95% of people do) there is a 1 1/2 to 2 hour drive through really windy roads. I think that St. Lucia has more sights to see. I like to so to places that has world famous sites. Jamaica does not have the PITONS, which are worth the trip themselves! Either way you'll have fun!

qwovadis

jademountain.com Best in Carib for me private plunge pools
awesome views beatsthe pants off Jamaica
Almondresorts.com Morgan for AI
La Casa Que Canta and Capeela Pedregal Mexican Pacific romantic nice a bit cooler less rain humidity in August.

Congrats!

Knowing

I think I would plan a trip elsewhere in August. Your honeymoon trip will stay with you forever and you don't want the hot weather and hurricanes to contend with. We were never able to get into the water in St Lucia due to the rough seas, although it was in the winter and I'm not sure what it is like in the summer. We do really like Jamaica though.
For our ten year anniversary (which fell on Labor Day), we went to Bermuda. It's not the Caribbean, but the trip forever chnaged our lives as it was so different than the Caribbean. Is Bermuda a place that you would consider?

travel4425

Knowing,
GEEZ, I see you’re trying to sway another person away from St. Lucia. This person was doing this in another post. Man, St. Lucia must have screwed you over something awful to get this bitter!!! If you read the posts on St. Lucia it is clear that the MAJORITY of the people that have been there have loved it. You are defiantly in the lower 1%. It is obvious that nobody should take your opinion of St. Lucia, since you have such a jaded outlook on it. I don’t think that one person’s mishap should isolate a whole county for many people. You should start your own HATE ST. LUCIA forum instead of infecting these.



qwovadis,
Your right, St. Lucia does beat the pants off of Jamaica!!

Weadles

Jade Mountain looks spectacular, but how can anyone afford those daily rates?!

travel4425

Weadles,
You got that right. I wanted to say there, however after seeing the prices we opted for sandlas and had a great time at 3/4 the price!

KVR

I just want to add whatever Island you choose, I would not recommend a Sandals resort. We stayed at the Grande in St. Lucia and it was not worth the money. Totally over rated. The food was very disappointing compared to our stay at the Sandals Royal Bahamian in Nassau.

We just returned in December from the Jewell Dunn's River in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Loved it. The resort is small and intimate, the pools fabulous and the beach very nice. It used to be a Sandals and I could tell by the room decor and size. Too bad the Jewell, couldn't "fix" that, but other than the rooms we really enjoyed our stay.

Though we did like St. Lucia, I don't think we would ever return. The prices are too high and the beaches are not as nice. Something to think about for a future anniversary. We were married in a July. Hindsight, I so wished we would have married in May or November just due to taking anniversary trips. We rarely ever celebrate our anniversary because traveling in July it's too hot, humid and too many families.

Knowing

Travel 4425 -
You seem to have an endless problem with anyone who offers a different opinion than yours. It doesn't matter if you discover that I am the ONLY one on Fodor's that doesn't like St. Lucia. This forum is about opinions. Maybe the question here is: Why do you feel the need to push people into St Lucia?????

travel4425

Knowing,
Why do you feel the need to push people away?

Hcg5

Thank you everyone for all of your input! We finally decided on St. Lucia. I'm still a little nervous about it being during hurricane season, so we went ahead and purchased traveler's insurance, just in case.

One more question to put out there - we definitely want to go Scuba diving, and possibly zip lining. Is there another activity that is a "must do" while visiting St. Lucia?

KVR

We really enjoyed the Land and Sea tour and the Jeep Tour. We really wanted to do the neighboring Island tour to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, but ran out of time and $$$.

Check out Sunlinktours.com for additional things to see and do.

suze

I don't know a thing about St. Lucia and I love Negril Jamaica. But no way would I go there in August. My last trip was in July and it was intensely hot, humid, with some rain.

travel4425

Hcg5,
Yes, there is a tour called "JOE KNOWS TOUR” We did it while staying at a sandals resort in St. Lucia. It kind of has everything rolled up into one. You get to see the pitons, go to the drive in volcano and get in the mud baths. You get to snorkel and see Marigot bay. Really good trip, that took about 6 hours and i think it was $100 per person.

I went to Jamaica and St, Lucia both during hurricane season (August). I would rather go during Hurricane season than flu season! We just missed Hurricane Irene this past August. However we met a couple that was from Jersey and had all flights cancelled so had to drive from NJ to Atlanta to catch their flight. Hurricane season is a risk, however, I am 2 for 2!!!
!!!

BellaClaire

I've been to St. Lucia a number of times...stayed at the Sandals Grande right after Sandals purchased it.....I understand they've made some improvements since then. As for must dos.....if you fly into the airport 1 1/2 hours away.....You might consider taking a helicopter to the other airport. We did and it was awesome! You fly near the water -feels like between the pitons, over the hot springs, etc! It was very cool! Also, I would take a catamaran tour to see the pitons, they are spectacular...the ride over is fun and informative. Marigot Bay is Beautiful! In addition, you might take a taxi/tour over to Ladera and have lunch. If you like fine dining, you will LOVE lunch here...the views to die for! Have a great time.