Hello everyone, this is my first time navigating this website, so please bare with me.

Thinking about traveling to Harbour Island or St. John in late June. Which do you recommend?

Thanks

I see that you reposted this in Caribbean forum; youn should get some input there.

Welcome to fodors.

Trying looking at some older posts in the Caribbean forum, type each name in the search box.

I love St. John. I prefer it to Bahamas.

Those two destinations are so very different from each other - sort of like asking which is better pie or cake???

You'll get a lot more responses if you include some information about yourself and those in your party. Tell us what you what your interests are, what you expect from an isl;and vacation, when you are planning to travel, what your budget is for airfare, room and food (be specific in this - don't use terms like "affordable", "don't want to break the bank" or "reasonably priced" as these are meaningless without an actual dollar point of reference). Tell us about the type of island you want, your interest, if any, in nightlife, history, culture, etc. The more you tell us about what you want the easier it will be to steer you in the right direction.

Meanwhile as DebitNM says use the search feature and bring up recent posts about St. John and Harbour Island (there are a lot of them on this forum) - they will help you get a feel for the islands you are considering.

Sorry, I thought my reply above was posted on sue's post in US board.

Thanks for the good advice. I will delight in telling my daughter we should have added specifics. She said not to. My husband and I will take my daughter, her 2 friends (ages 17-18) and my son (20). We are not hiking buffs or sailing buffs. We want a relaxing trip, but at a place with character...fun locals who enjoy sharing their stories, quaint shops, beautiful water/beaches to relax in/on...a neat town to poke around in, but we don't want a touristy feel. Nightlife...good question. I don't want my kids running wild as they aren't the types to do that, but it would be fun if they could go to some bars or "hangouts" in the evening, get a Coke to drink and feel safe...just something fun to do...if that makes sense. Of course the kids would love it if there are other young people around, but since there are 4 of them...this is not much of an issue. Budget...I'm willing to blow some money as this is probably the last chance for a "family" vacation of this nature. I'm looking at houses on VRBO for a week in June on Harbour Island...ranging from $2000-4000 a week. I know the flight costs will be around $400 each. Food? No clue, but I'm willing to spend some money. I want great memories. Thanks for the thoughts.

It's always good to add specifics as the contributors here are not mind readers.

Harbour Island may be a bit quiet for the younger members of your group but I'm not an "expert" on that island so you'd have to rely on others to guide you. What I do know is the island is relatively flat, arid and scrubby but it does have some fantastic beaches with bright blue torquoise waters.

St. John, however, would be a good match for your entire group. There are lots of rental villas to choose from, plenty of wonderful golden sand beaches lined with palm tress and and other lush vegetation, a good selection of restaurants, a small town for shopping, no wild night life, and more of a "local vibe" rather than a touristy look. It has essentially everything you are looking for. It's also in close proximity to several other islands so you can easily island hop. 2/3's of the island is a National Park so you can always find some very secluded areas to spend your day.

There's hundreds of recent threads about St. John on this forum. Read a sampling of them to see if the island appeals to you.

I recommend Harbour Island as a perfect spot for your group. I acutally just posted a LONG response to your other post on US board.

Harbour Island is VERY safe, small and lots to do. Snorkle/dive/off island picnics, some shopping, amazing beach, GREAT dive spots and more. You will find the most welcoming people ever here, along with nice places to stay (houses and resorts), good to GREAT restaurants and Ma Ruby's for the BEST burgers you will EVER have. There are 2 grocery stores, a couple of bakeries, sandwich shops, straw market stands, 2 dive shops and more.

If you want more info, please let me know.