My husband and I are planning a trip for April. I want to go to Aruba but find that the airfare is a little high (flying out of Philly). Does anyone recommend another island similar? I would appreciate any help.

What exactly are you looking for in an island?

Aruba is a pretty busy island with lots of hotels, shopping, restaurants, ok snorkeling but not the greatest. To me similar islands are St. Thomas and the Bahamas.

Grand Cayman would be similar in some respects. But to me, I would compare them as... it is like staying at a Hyatt (GC) vs a Hampton Inn (Aruba). No offense meant to anyone who loves Aruba.

What about St Maarten? Would have a similar Dutch flavour and pretty easy to get to.

Thanks LySun. I would like a beautiful beach, nightlife, and not too crowded. Where in the Bahamas?

Aruba is very dry and Americanized, in my opinion and very busy. I have to say that besides Nassau, Bahamas, it is my least favorite island. In all fairness, a newbie to the caribbean at work just returned from Aruba and really loved it, so to each his/her own.

St. Martin is very busy and is more lush, yet you can get a great french feel or dutch. I have only stayed on the french side, 3 times, and did like it. We have stayed at Orient Beach, most recently at Esmeralda, but I hear that La Alamanda is nicer. There is night life closer to the dutch side, with casinos (as taxi rides there from Orient will be $25 each way). The dutch side was even busier! The island does have a certain charm to it and the food is great. We went in June (off season) and were surprised by the traffic.

I have only been to Nassau in the Bahamas, but there are lots of islands to explore in the Bahamas, so you could type
Bahamas in the search box and receive a bunch of information.

I am afraid that the islands that I have been to, otherwise, might be too far for you and somewhat quiet: Guadeloupe, St. Kitts/Nevis (going on 3X) and St. Barth (1st time coming up).

Good luck!

Have only stayed at the Atlantis in the Bahamas. We loved the Atlantis - lots of fun things to do on the gounds. You can also take day trips to the outer islands -- many are owned by the day tour companies. Our favorite day tour was on a high powered "cigar" boat to an island with good snorkeling then a stop at an island thick with huge iguanas on the way back.

You should find plenty of nightlife in the Bahamas. We did a snorkel/booze cruise -- that was funny!

I prefer more remote quiet islands however did really like the Atlantis. When we were there, most people hung out at the pool areas -- while these areas were pretty full, the place is so spread out it did not feel crowded. Some days we hung out at the beach and there was hardly anyone there.