I am visiting Caribbean in November and need your help making my final decision. These are my finalists: <BR> <BR>US Virgin Islands (excluding St. Thomas because I have heard it's too built up)Cayman Islands <BR>St. Lucia <BR> <BR>I am looking for great diving and water sports, white sand/turquoise water beaches, and nice scenery. Please recommend accomodations at any of these islands. <BR> <BR>Also, in the USVI, is it easy to travel from island to island without flying? <BR>

Trust me --- with your criteria, you want Cayman. If diving is your main event, I would suggest you might want to stay at Treasure Island and dive with Bob Soto. <BR> <BR>In my opinion, St. Lucia has absolutely nothing to offer unless you are looking to have an "Indiana Jones" type vacation. I would NEVER return there. <BR> <BR>I have not been to USVI but they are not known for their diving. <BR> <BR>You might want to consider Bonaire also.

I agree with the previous poster. ST. Lucia will not offer you beautiful white sand and turquoise water. Caymans will offer you that. St. John is the USVI also has gorgeous beaches and beautiful blue water and great diving. YOu could also ferry to other USVI from there.

North coast of Puert Rico the town of Isabela- Dive into the caves from the shore. South WEst - Town Parguera Wall diving. Northwest - Off the town of Aguadilla is Desecheo Island - water so clear and deep water, corals and fishes. <BR>East Town: Fajardo: Sea Gypsy Dive Charters ask for Hector 787-383-8066 He is an top ranked Padi Instructor. I have a friend in San Juan who is a tour guide she could answer your questions [email protected] Look into www.prtourism.com I used to dive in PR. They have the hiperbolic tanks ready for any diving accidents. Have fun.

Barbarina, <BR>Grand Cayman fits everything your looking for! The most beautiful beaches, breathtaking water, and the best diving around. Check out www.gotocayman.com for accomodations. There are many great deals right now!You'll love Grand Cayman!! <BR>Sandy

Barbarina, as the previous posters said, cross St. Lucia off your list. There's only one dive site that I know of (at the Anse Chastanet hotel). I love St. Lucia, however the beaches are volcanic black sand, and the water is not that blue-blue you will find in USVI and Caymans. Have a great time! <BR> <BR>P.S. As for scenery, the USVI (St. John) surpasses Caymans IMO.

St. John would be my pick since you have excluded St. Thomas. You will have great diving not only in the USVI but in the BVI nearby which is easily accessable by day trips. Travel between the USVI islands St. Thomas and St. John only by ferry until December when the St. Thomas/St. Criox ferry starts again and the BVI islands is easy with frequent ferry service. On St. John, you choice would be Caneel Bay or the Westin (not my preference but suspect they may have some pretty good prices now) or one of the condo complexes or a villa most of which are not directly on the water. If you go to www.stjohnlinks.com, www.vinow.com and www.caneelbay.com you will find lots of resources at your disposal for further information. Can't compare to the Caymans (altho I hear very good things about the diving and some wonderful secluded spots away from the "tourist" areas/islands). Neither St. Lucia nor the Caymans has appealed and I haven't tried either - altho the Caymans have been tempting at times and I would definitely choose them over St. Lucia if it were those two!

Karen is right. Aside from its excellent reputation, one very cool thing about St John is the very easy access to other islands (USVI or BVI). You have the opportunity to experience several places on one trip.