Hello,<BR><BR>2 years ago my husband an I went to St. Lucia. How does Jamaica and St Lucia compare in terms of :<BR><BR>lush island<BR>food<BR>haggling (sp?)<BR>crime<BR>poverty <BR>roads<BR>resorts<BR><BR>We are considering a trip to Jamaica and the variety of opinions are so extreme. I was hoping that using a frame of reference I was familiar with would help me with my expectations<BR><BR>Thanks<BR>Ruby

I would not advise you to compare islands Ruby because each island is unique in its own way. Do some research on Jamaica - there are lots of sights on the web with info (Fodors distinations page is a good place to start) and then make up your own mind as to whether it has what you are looking for in a vacation. For my part, both islands are lovely. St Lucia is one of my all time favourite islands - I usually go for the jazz festival in May, meet up with my friends and we have a ball!! I love the food, the people, their Creole lingo, Gros Islet on a Friday night, the drive down south to see the rugged but beautiful Pitons etc. I also love Jamaica - I have been no less than 6 times, have stayed everywhere from Kingston to MoBay and have visited all over including Negril and Ocho Rios, Port Antonio etc. I LOVE the food (would be fat if I lived there), have lots of great Jamaican friends who I hang with when I visit and they are truly among the most hospitable of people I have ever met!), have seen alot of the beauty of the countryside of Jamaica. True, Jamaica has its share of poverty and crime but I have never felt threatened by anything during my visits and trust me, I never limited myself to the hotels where I stayed or my friends' houses - I got around!! To me, it is all about common sense and respect...exercise the same sort of common sense regarding your safety as you would at home and RESPECT the people and you would have no problem as far as my experience has shown me.

Claudia,<BR><BR>The information you gave me is the reason I am asking for "comparisons" <BR><BR>Because we both had experiecnces at St. Lucia I can get an appreciation for what you like/dislike/appreciate. So your opinion of Jamaica can be put into prespective for me... thanks!

Ruby, There are good resorts in both Jamaica and St. Lucia. The roads are pretty much the same in both areas. altho St. Lucia is doing more in maintenance and paving than Jamaica.<BR><BR>We found that altho we honeymooned and went other times to a villa in Jamaica, we found these comparisons:<BR><BR>- Jamaica DOES have more folks haggling for money, selling trinkets and selling ganja. Have not found that to be the case in St. Lucia, yet (was there 2x already, going again).<BR><BR>- Jamaica is lush in some areas, especially near Ocho Rios / Dunns River Falls. However, St. Lucia's Piton Mtn. range / geography is more lush and from that mtn. area it gently slopes into the lowland / Caribbean Sea.<BR><BR>- There's more top notch resorts IN the mtn. area of St. Lucia, i.e., Ladera, Jalousie Hilton, etc. compared to Jamaica, as well at the northernmost area of St. Lucia, i.e., Sandals St. Lucian Spa and LeSport (our FAV). Negril in Jamaica has the typical Breezes, etc. resorts.<BR><BR>- The sea is not as calm in the north of St. Lucia than where we were in Jamaica, but just as inviting and clear and pretty.<BR><BR>- We found the food to be better in St. Lucia than Jamaican food, altho we like paties, and other known specialties (i.e., sweet / sour sop, acki(sp?) jerk chicken, pepperpot soup, etc.). However, the resorts, i.e., Ritz Carlton, cater to the American tastes moreso than the Jamaican.<BR><BR>- Crime is everywhere; can't avoid this of course. From the USVI to St. Martin, doing a query on any search engine you can find murders, rapes, etc. in the Caribbean. What WE'VE found is that the resort's Security makes all the difference in this regard. It seems that when Security is VERY visible, altho it's possible that theft, etc., can still occur, seeing Security around does make it a less stressful experience. Most of the problems occur at night, tho, where ever one goes. St. Martin's Dutch side has crime that has been escalating faster than most islands.<BR><BR>- Poverty, again, is another issue that cannot be avoided, you see it getting right off the plane in most Caribbean locations. Jamaica does has alot of poverty, I know for a fact (have Jamaican friends that agree). I have to say, tho, we were very impressed with the folks in Barbados, who, altho live in poor house structures with tin roofs even, make sure that their home is painted and decorated in tropical colors, with flower pots and such around. We believe it's because the British influence still lingers there, especially since High Tea is still observed.<BR><BR>If we were going back to Jamaica to visit, I'd probably wind up staying at the Ritz Carlton. We're not a 'toga party, PJ party' kinda couple.<BR><BR>Hope this helps in some way.

Ruby, There are good resorts in both Jamaica and St. Lucia. The roads are pretty much the same in both areas; altho St. Lucia is doing more in maintenance and paving than Jamaica.<BR><BR>We found that altho we honeymooned and went other times to a villa in Jamaica, we found these comparisons:<BR><BR>- Jamaica DOES have more folks haggling for money, selling trinkets and selling ganja. Have not found that to be the case in St. Lucia, yet (was there 2x already, going again).<BR><BR>- Jamaica is lush in some areas, especially near Ocho Rios / Dunns River Falls. However, St. Lucia's Piton Mtn. range / geography is more lush and from that mtn. area it gently slopes into the lowland / Caribbean Sea.<BR><BR>- There's more top notch resorts IN the mtn. area of St. Lucia, i.e., Ladera, Jalousie Hilton, etc. compared to Jamaica, as well at the northernmost area of St. Lucia, i.e., Sandals St. Lucian Spa and LeSport (our FAV). Negril in Jamaica has the typical Breezes, etc. resorts.<BR><BR>- The sea is not as calm in the north of St. Lucia than where we were in Jamaica, but just as inviting and clear and pretty.<BR><BR>- We found the food to be better in St. Lucia than Jamaican food, altho we like paties, and other known specialties (i.e., sweet / sour sop, acki(sp?) jerk chicken, pepperpot soup, etc.). However, the resorts, i.e., Ritz Carlton, cater to the American tastes moreso than the Jamaican.<BR><BR>- Crime is everywhere; can't avoid this of course. From the USVI to St. Martin, doing a query on any search engine you can find murders, rapes, etc. in the Caribbean. What WE'VE found is that the resort's Security makes all the difference in this regard. It seems that when Security is VERY visible, altho it's possible that theft, etc., can still occur, seeing Security around does make it a less stressful experience. Most of the problems occur at night, tho, where ever one goes. St. Martin's Dutch side has crime that has been escalating faster than most islands.<BR><BR>- Poverty, again, is another issue that cannot be avoided, you see it getting right off the plane in most Caribbean locations. Jamaica does has alot of poverty, I know for a fact (have Jamaican friends that agree). I have to say, tho, we were very impressed with the folks in Barbados, who, altho live in poor house structures with tin roofs even, make sure that their home is painted and decorated in tropical colors, with flower pots and such around. We believe it's because the British influence still lingers there, especially since High Tea is still observed.<BR><BR>If we were going back to Jamaica to visit, I'd probably wind up staying at the Ritz Carlton. We're not a 'toga party, PJ party' kinda couple.<BR><BR>Hope this helps in some way.

Pitting Jamaica and St Lucia against each other makes no sense - it is like comparing chalk and cheese. St Lucia is pint sized compared to JA and has a pop of not more than 100,00 whereas JA has over 2,000,000 people! This is just one aspect. There are so few similarities and so many differences. If you are going to compare, then it makes sense to compare St Lucia with a place like Dominica or Grenada in terms of what they have to offer to a visitor. At the end of the day, alot depends on what you are looking for, you would like one and not the other - or you may like both but for different reasons. <BR><BR>GM's observations are for the most part way to general to depend on. The issues of poverty/crime have been discussed ad nauseum on this forum. These are realities in the islands as much as they are, if not worst, in other countries. Last time I checked there was crime and poverty in Miami, in New York, in London, in Toronto etc - that has not stopped me from visiting any of these places when I have to.<BR><BR>

Thanks GM! fyi When we were in St. Lucia we were approached SEVERAL times to by trinkets ect...Once when we went on a snorkeling tripthey came over to us in canoes selling coconuts and necklaces<BR><BR>Mary, just your opinion that the two islands cannot be compared means something to me<BR><BR>Ruby