laid back with golf ? help !
 

i'm a bvi lover.... what would be perfect is if i could find an island as laid back as the bvi's but has a golf course or two to keep my husband happy ! usually when i travel with him for golf i find the places a bit "stuffy" for me !! i don't want/need to dress for dinner etc. we do enough stateside, on vacation i like to just relax, lay back in a friendly, safe place. do i ask too much ?? help !!

Hi - Anguilla - golf at Temenos (pricey at $300+), Nevis - golf at Four Seasons but stay elsewhere, island is laid back and we are going to Turks & Caicos staying at Turks and Caicos Club - golf at Provo Golf Club - 3 rounds for $125 each. Everything I read is that T&C is very laid back.

tess - We're going to the Buccaneer on St. Croix in the spring. It looks very laid back and has a course.

When are you going? If in the spring, what about Bermuda? We stayed at The Fairmont Southampton last May, which has a gorgeous golf course and beach just below the hotel. THe hotel offers several golf packages, and it's an easy plane ride from many East Coast destinations.

I'll also second the vote for the Four Seasons golf course in Nevis, although I also agree with the suggestion NOT to stay there. We found it pretty stuffy.

thanks for suggestions but i'm still at a loss to find the VERY casual lifestyle i enjoy in the bvi;s esp. Jost/Tortola/Anegada and have the golf nearby. for some reason Weadles... i can't imagine Bermuda is as laid back as Jost ! thanks anyway ! Kool Aid ..i am looking into Nevis , i hear/read that it's an island i could get comfortable with...of course Four Seasons won't be where i rest my head...hubby could golf there but i think Oualie Beach Hotel would be more my style !??? sounds like a perfect island hotel/on the beach/friendly/casual ?? any one stayed here ??

Tess, although we did not stay at Oualie Beach, my wife and daughter dove there almost every day (Dive shop on premises). So we would have breakfast there, I would use there free wi-fi at the bar, we would have lunch, and also had a couple of dinners. Food reasonably priced and good. This was Easter break in 2007. Not many people around the Oualie Beach. If you like the very laid back, go have dinner at the airport (5 minute ride), there is very small building at the beginning of the runway, turn left just before you get to runway. Very enjoyable lobster, see a few planes land, and relax.

Kool Aid ... so where did you stay while on Nevis this past spring ??

Four Seasons. Too much "resort" type for me. Picked it because we had not been to Nevis before, wanted golf, and fitness room - their's is excellent. Restaurants are pricey with lots of people, but so was resort. Just too many bodies in one place for me. Have been to Cap Juluca, Bitter End Yacht Club, Peter Island, Anse Chastenet - St Lucia, Barbados - Almond Resort - terrible AI, St Martin with 16 people at 8 bedroom villa on French side which was a lot of fun. We liked Nevis, Anguilla - Cap Juluca mostly because when traveling a large part of the excitement for us is finding a new "local" restaurant to try to the local feasts. Nevis and Anguilla were very good at that. Bitter End probably had the best meals by far for a AI w/o alcohol.

Tess, also avoid Bitter End during Easter holiday. They get many many visitors who arrive by sea (large motor boats - 40' +, during that time making it crowded in the harbor as well as in the resort.

I've been to the bvi. Love VG and Jost. Also celerbated our 10 yr anniversary at Bermuda. We usually prefer laid back/quiet islands. If golf is a priority, then Bermuda is your place. Bermuda is definately not as laid back as the BVI but an enjoyable experience none the less. Very pretty island, with great people who are very proud to their little nation. Dining was more formal but not stuffy. One suggestion I had was Exuma. You could rent a villa and your husband could enjoy the golf course at Four Seasons. Other than the four seasons the place is considered to be very laid back.

tess53,

We also prefer more laid back vacations, and have been to many of the Caribbean Islands. Bermuda, although it's not in the Caribbean, definitely surprised us and wasn't stuffy at all. On top of that, the food was almost always much better than most of what we're used to having in the Caribbean. The island is a "friendly, safe place", with plenty of golf, so maybe you should check it out!

thank you all for your suggestions. i guess i'll have to bite the bullet and stay somewhere that somewhat combines the golf world and my beach/bar/adventure vacation ! we've stayed on st. john many times and have rented villas.nice way to vacation. i was just trying to keep us both happy...trust me my hubby plays enough golf at home/ also does his annual myrtle beach trip. we are at a time in our lives that we could stay at any resort and not consider price...it's just i love sitting on a beach or bar in the bvi's and one never has a clue what the person next to you has in the bank..all are either sailing or beachin...barefoot and happy ! our life here is demanding enough without having to go to dinner on a caribbean island , haveing to "dress" for dinner. i'm also sure food in bermuda is a bit above the bvi's but for me the meal is not the priority, it's the company. we can get 5 star food where we live anytime. i'd rather kick back with Ivan or Seddy on Jost any night with a BBq and a few painkillers than a 4 course meal with table linens. so...... i'll keep looking..think we should take 2 trips this year ...1 golf resort and go bareboating around the... gee... the BVI's !? or stay at Sandcastles...heaven !

My last attempt.... We've been going to Negril, Jamaica for 25 years, and if you want someplace where you can go to dinner in your bathing suit ( I often do!) and hang out with "Doc" at Chicken Lavish and lots of wonderful people at a tiny lobster place named "Three Dives," then this is the place for you. The beach is spectacular- almost 7 miles of white sand- and there are now some really upscale resorts to stay at. THE CAVES on the cliffs, where you can sometimes catch a view in the spring of the dolphins is a very luxurious place. A step down from that, but still gorgeous sunsets and real privacy is ROCKHOUSE, which has separate cottages all with ladders down to the sea. Neither of these are on the beach, but if you need that, check out MOON DANCE VILLAS or IDLE AWHILE, both on one of the prettiest beaches I've ever seen, and yes, I've been to St. John!!