My wife and I are looking for a carribean vacation in late Jan or early Feb, with the main criteria being fine dining (a la carte preferred), good entertainment, and preferably a casino but this is not mandatory. We seem to think Aruba or Antigua would be good choices, but are open to anything really. Price-wise, we are trying to be somewhere in the middle - not a cheapy but not a Sandals either. Any advice, referrals or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. <BR> <BR>Thank you, <BR>Chris (Windsor, Ontario) <BR>

Chris, I've not been to Antigua, so I can not speak about that island. However, I have been to Aruba and absolutely loved it! Although I stayed at an all-inclusive, I have heard that the restaurants on the island are outstanding. The weather can be counted on to be lovely and the beaches are very pretty. I don't think you could go wrong in choosing Aruba. <BR> <BR>Feel free to e-mail me if you have further questions. <BR> <BR>Laura (Toronto, Ontario)

Hi! We've been to both islands but on all inclusive basis. However, the pricing for the all-inclusive at Holiday Inn in Aruba for this winter is still such an excellent deal that you can splash out an eat off the resort every now and then! Plus at the Holiday Inn you are one of the best beaches on the island and within walking distance (so you save on taxi fares!) restaurants, casinos and entertainment all along the Palm Beach hotel strip. Yes, it's a Holiday Inn but your rooms are very large and very clean and again, better location on the beach than the other all incl Bushiri Beach and Tamarijn, and way, way, way less than the at the Allegro (which used to be the Americana which has now gone all inclusive). <BR>As for Antigua, we were there before the weather got iffy what with all the volcano ash dust and fallout from Monserrat. However, we stayed at Club Antigua (the cheap rooms were no hell so upgrade, upgrade, upgrade) but the nightly entertainment was great and the food was varied and plentiful at the buffet restaurant (plus there is an al a carte restaurant on the premises). We never bothered eating off the resort. <BR>Do Aruba first but be forewarned that with our dollar and everything in Aruba in U.S. dollars, you'll find it pretty expensive off the resort. Write me if you need more info. <BR>

I have lived in Antigua for many years, and in fact own and manage a small hotel here, however I have never been to Aruba therefore I will not attempt to make a comparison. I was rather surprised at Debbie's remark about Antigua's weather becoming "iffy" due to fall-out and dust from the Montserrat volcano. 95% of the time the wind blows from Antigua towards Montserrat. For the volcano to affect Antigua it would have to blow during the very occasional periods the wind is blowing the other way. In the entire time the volcano has been acting up, this has only happened, to my best recollection, about 4 or 5 days. Even then it did not necessarily affect all of Antigua. At this time we have had NO dust for at least a year!

My husband and I honeymooned 5 years ago at Pineapple Beach Club in Antigua and had an extraordinary time. It's an all-inclusive with some of the best food we ever had. It is a quiet resort where we never felt pressured to do anything. There were some families there - mostly European - but the kids were so well behaved we barely noticed them. We had a beautiful, spacious garden view room. However, we were just a few feet from the beach. The island itself is not a plush, gorgeous one. However, the friendliness of the people and the beautiful beaches more than made up for it. I highly recommend Antigua. Email me if you have any questions.

I stayed at La Cabana last year with my husband and three children. I would not go back to Aruba again. Most of the activities advertised for the kids at La Cabana did not take place even though the hotel was full. The beachfront was fairly attractive but the hundreds of cigarette butts in the sand detracted from it. The island itself was not attractive, mainly dusty desert and the roads were unkempt. Travelling around needs to be by jeep as many of the roads on the map turn out to be dirt tracks which were full of pot-holes. We found the restaurants overpriced and the food quality poor. Tipping was added automatically(15%) which may have been why the service was so poor. The "natives" were unfriendly. My children were actually chased off by native children when they tried to play with them on one of the beaches. The snorkelling was excellent and the horseback riding on the beaches were worthwhile activities. However, our overall impression was that it was unattractive, expensive, and not very friendly. As Europeans(living in the US) it was our first trip to the Caribean, and I'm afraid it was a disappointing trip.

to Brian - sorry about that, it's just that we'd heard news from a woman who has relatives in Antigua that there had been volcanic dust falling on St. John's. Anyhow, glad to hear the weather is still gorgeous as ever there. However, I must ask, what's the visibility like for scuba/snorkelling. When we were there in nov. 96, my other half was very disappointed in the scuba diving because the waters were very murky and the visibility poor (he went with the dive people who operate off the beach at Club A.). <BR>

Hi Chris, <BR> <BR>I hope this message isn't reaching you to late. My family is from Antigua and I just returned from a 2 month vacation there. I love Antigua as a vacation spot there are beautiful hotels, beaches and King's Casino in downtown St. Johns. One thing you can count on is that the people of the island are very helpful and friendly. Antigua has a diverse community and you can have a touch of caribbean, latin/caribbean and middle eastern/caribbean cultures. Just to let you know that the winter in Antigua is during the same period as Canada's so be aware that while the weather will still be hotter overall it is a cooler time of the year. Good luck and I hope that I have helped in some way. <BR> <BR>Leanne <BR>