SouthKensington

I've narrowed my honeymoon location search down to 3: Anguilla, St. John's and Cozumel. We will be there in mid-Jan. My priorities are as follows: 1)BEACH - white sand, clear, warm water (and we would probably snorkel or sail at some point) 2)SECLUSION - not necessarily cut-off from the world but something more private (perhaps cabana) 3)VALUE - willing to pay up to $5000 for 7 night accom. - so long as the resort is worth the $$$ 4)SAFETY - we don't want to be constantly looking over our shoulder. Which would you choose?? Please POST any location and resort suggestions. Thanks!!!

Sunnyboy

If you are looking for safety, white sand beaches and seclusion your best bet is Anguilla followed by St, John. forget Cozemel as it is the most crowded of the three. As for resorts, on St. John check out Caneel Bay or the Westin. On Anguilla you have a lot more to choose from. Type "Anguilla" in the search feature above - you'll find hundreds of posts describing the amenities and general pricing of just about every resort on the island.

Diana

Best beach - Anguilla

Best seclusion - Anguilla or St John

Best value - Cozumel

Safety - Any of the three

Resorts: Anguilla: Cap Juluca, Frangipani, CuisinArt; St John: Gallows Point, Caneel; Cozumel; Presidente Intercontinental.

If beach most important, Anguilla. If seclusion most important, Anguilla or St John, if snorkeling or diving most important, Cozumel.

hockeyfan

Hands down for what you are looking for go to either Anguilla or St. John.

You will have a great time on either island. We stayed at Cuisinart on Anguilla. Hotel was ok, but I would try somewhere else on my next trip. Perhaps Cap Jaluca.

We always stay at Caneel Bay on St. John. Try to stay on Scott Beach. The rooms are very private, and everytime we have been to Caneel there are only a handful of people on the beach. For what it sounds like you are looking for, I would not consider the Westin. Friends have stayed at the Westin, and while the hotel was fine, it is a more active scene with more kids and families. The beach is also manmade, so that is a negative in my opinion. We have not rented a villa, but have heard good things about that option also; however, it likely requires a car and driving to the beach.

A couple of thoughts that might help with your decision. Anguilla is a flat, relatively arid island whereas St. John is hilly and more lush. Both islands have a very laid back vibe. For diving and snorkeling, St. John has much better diving and snorkeling. For restaurants, St. John has pretty good food (food at Caneel is average but cabs are easy to go out), but Anguilla has excellent restaurants. In my opinion the beaches are about equal. Ease of travel to both is about equal, too. In travelling to Anguilla, we took the ferry from St. Martin rather than flying into Anguilla. I would highly recommend flying into Anguilla (although you should check other posts b/c I understand the airport in Anguilla is closed for a period of time for runway work/expansion). The ferry ride is not that bad, it is just a hassle to get from the airport to the ferry, wait for the ferry, etc... Cost of the two islands is also about a push.

Have a great time.

Pumpy

While I've never been to Anguilla or St. Johns, I doubt Cozumel is what you'r looking for. I was married in Cozumel and have been a number of times. My main attraction to Cozumel is the diving/snorkeling. There are a few decent beaches but no mile long stretches that can be found on other islands. However, if you like to snorkel/dive, Cozumel is about as good as it gets. Good luck!

SouthKensington

thank you. your comments have been extremely helpful. snorkeling/diving will probably be a one-off adventure - so it is down to Anguilla or St. John's. Looks like we can't go wrong with either. My travel agent is currently pricing both.

Diana

btw just fyi... it's St John - no S.

I personally think Anguilla is more romantic and exotic than St John and better for a honeymoon.

Have a great time wherever you choose and congrats!

Europewithkids

Just got back from CuisinArt, which my wife and I LOVED. The resort has a stunning beach, a dramatic pool area and an extremely nice spa. It also has excellent food. Specifically to your point, we ended up chatting quite a bit with three honeymoon couples who were staying there and all three couples were thrilled with the place. In fact, one couple had stayed for several nights, flown to Virgin Gorda and come right back after two nights. They said that they missed CuisinArt so much and they did not want any regrets on their honeymoon, so they rearranged everything to return. Hockey Fan was not impressed with CuisinArt, which is fine, but I can tell you that everyone we ran into at the resort was gushing about it. Cap Juluca is beautiful too but you may find it a little less social than you might like (the couples we spoke with found plenty of privacy at CuisinArt, but they really seemed to enjoy meeting other folks as well). As for Anguilla, very safe and fantastic restaurants.

TC

Just did an island tour of Anguilla - we were sailing from island to island last week. While the resorts are spectacular, I thought the rest of the island was a real let down. Outside the resorts the island is quite unattractive. There isn't any place to go - no little town of any interest. The roads were awful and the poverty is pretty evident. I found the island itself to be quite depressing if one wanders away from the extremely high priced resorts. The one restaurant we tried - Straw Hat - cost over $300 USD for dinner for four (salad, entre, one bottle of inexpensive wine, desert, no coffee). It is considered a good, mid-range restaurant. There were no tablecloths, and the food was O.K., but nothing to linger over. I would not recommend Anguilla as a value.

Of the three you mentioned, I should think St. John's the best bet.

OT

St. Johns is rainforest lush, hilly and green.

Anguilla is a coral island, flat and arid. There is no poverty, it may appear people are poor as lots of the houses looks unfinished with rods poking up thru concrete and unpainted walls. That is only because they are working and saving to the next stage of building their home.
And it is safe, nowhere is 100%. The Anguillian people are very friendly and you will not feel unsafe outside the resort.

There are many more places to stay on Anguilla than Cap Juluca and CuisinArt. Post your question on caribbean-on-line.com Anguilla board or anguillaforum.com , you will lots of replies.

I also recommend highly to rent a car and explore, and get to know a wonderful island and its people.

Diana

I was certainly never "depressed" on Anguilla! With some of the most stunning beaches in the entire Caribbean, how could I find the place to be a "let down"?

It's obvious TC knows little about the people of the Caribbean if she said "poverty is pretty evident."

People there are way too smart to saddle themselves with a huge mortgage to hang over their heads. As OT said, they build their houses in stages, as they can afford to, and don't overbuild more than they need or worry about keeping up with the Joneses.

The people of Anguilla were some of the friendliest I have ever encountered, and the extensive restaurant and resort choices in all price ranges, as well as the day trip possibilities, made for one very enjoyable trip.

A day trip does not an expert on an island make...

KXR

TC may have been island touring one of Anguilla many offshores quays which can very deserted. As you would notice, lots of construction are going on in Anguilla. Of the many islands, I have visited, this island appears to be the only one where locals put concrete roofing on their residences. SO work can look unfinished but certainly, I don't see poverty abliss there.
I suggest SouthKensington try Anguilla or St. John. If cost is not an issue, I would go for Altamer on the island of Anguilla. You can take a look at their website. Great for honeymooners. Just go to www.altamer.com

TC

I won't argue with those of you who love Anguilla. Everyone has there own opinion and criteria. There are many beautiful beaches and vistas. I will say that our driver (and, yes, we were on the main island of Anguilla) was a lovely elderly gentleman who had spent his entire life on the island. He spoke to us quite openly about the economics and politics of the island and poverty was an issue. Especially the way in which the vacation trade is driving up the price of land and construction out of reach of most locals. Or the fact that his children needed to leave the island to pursue vocations other than the hotel trade.

I will stand by my assessment that we didn't see much to do on the island outside of the resorts and beaches. If the luxury resorts are your desire, then Anguilla is wonderful. As far as a local atomosphere, the highlights quickly included the local dentist's office. Nice, but not exactly what I expected. Shopping was concentrated in the resorts rather than in a small town like it is on St. Barts. I prefer an area where one might dine in one of several restaurants and walk around after dinner to windowshop or sightsee. There just wasn't any place that we saw on Anguilla like that.

We charter a sailboat every year out of St. Martin and sail to Anguilla, St. Barts, Saba, etc. so I'm not a novice to the area. I've also spent a lot of time in other Carribbean locales. It is my personal desire to have more to do outside of a walled resort than Anguilla provides. We all have our own preferences.

Diana

Odd I've never seen a post from you on this board TC unless it pertained to Cozumel.

Since you have spent so much time in the region, I'm sure people asking for info on the Caribbean (only one "r" in the word by the way) would find your info useful.

TC

Thanks Diana, I knew you'd see that all points of view have a place on this board - whether one's spelling is perfect or not.

ctkathy

Hi,

I have been to the three destinations you mention. Cozumel is likely not a honeymoon destination.

My favorite is Anguilla, but the snorkeling is far superior off the St. John beaches. Restuarants are superior on Anguilla. On Anguilla we had a small villa just for my husband and I and we loved it, in spite of the more scrubby appearance of the island. The big difference on Anguilla is the local people that you will meet.

We stayed at Canneel Bay on St. John which was just OK. Big point here is the 7 beaches and most of them are private. All are wonderful and have good/great snorkeling right off the beach. The rooms are rather plain, no phones, air- conditioning. I am disappointed to report that service is almost surly. Nearby St. Thomas is absolutely surly. For this alone, I would choose Anguilla. If you would like more commentary you may email me at [email protected].

Kathy