Need help choosing an island!
 

I'm planning a long weekend (4 - 5day) getaway for myself and two girlfriends in early March. We are looking for beautiful beaches, good restaurants and the option of some night life (we don't want dance clubs, but an island that stays up til midnight!).

Since we're trying to do a short trip, I'd prefer to be able to fly direct from New York City / Newark.

Turks & Caicos sounds beautiful but is it too quiet for 3 - 30-something girls?

thanks for any tips!

hi twiz, t&c is def too quiet. no nightlife. pretty much done by sunset except for dinner. gorgeous, but all about the beach.
you might look at puerto rico or st. thomas or possibly jamaica.
on st. thomas you might consider marriott morningstar or wyndham sugar bay. marriott is close to charlotte amalie (the town) sugar bay in not, but has much more going on and is all inclusive so might be a good choice for "the ladies".
if you are interested in jamaica repost with tiverton in the title. he is one of the fodor experts on this island.

I think the question of whether T&C is too quiet depends on what you and your girlfriends want. For me and a lot of my girlfriends (late 30s - early 40s), it would be a perfect beach vacation because after along day at the beach, it is nice to have time to shower and get ready and then have a later dinner. I have not been to T&C yet, but I have read about several several bar/restuarants (Calico Jacks, Danny Buoys, Sharkbite, etc.) that would provide options for drinks after dinner and live music on selected nights. In addition, there is a Club Med there, and even if you don't stay at Club Med, you can purchase evening passes.

Have to agree with Beachdreams3 about night life on the Turks. Danny Bouys is a great place to hang out Lots of 30 year olds hang out there they also have bands two or three times a week, also at Cailico Jacks on Friday nights is the place to go for some great Reggie live music with plenty of dancing and good times the whole island seems to be there.

Thanks for the info. The beach bars in TCI sound perfect for us.

Now, any suggestions on where to stay to be close to these spots?

Thanks again!

The Sands would be a perfect resort. You will be able to walk to most places mentioned.

I've been trying to pick a resort and figure out distances too. From what I've read, The Sands, RWI, Ocean Club/Ocean Club West, and the Alexandra are all similar types of resorts and within the same general price range. I've heard that the Sands and one or both of the Ocean Clubs attracts more families, so I have been leaning towards RWI or the Alexandra since I don't want to have tons of kids around. The Sands is more centrally located though.

I'm also including a link to a map. I'm not sure if it is to scale, but if it is, it looks like RWI is about the same distance from the Ports of Call/Salt Mills areas (where Calico Jacks and Danny Buoys are) as The Sands.

http://www.thegecko.tc/route.htm

Can anyone who has been to T&C confirm or correct this and/or indicate actual distances? Thanks!

I can not remember how far RWI is from Danny Buoys but I stayed at the Sibonne (next to the sands) and it was about a 10 minute stroll to the saltmills plaza( next to danny buoys). I believe that Bambooz is in the saltmills too and it has some nitelife too.

If I remember correctly Ports of Call is a bit further down the road coming from the Saltmills.

There are a ton of Provo lovers on this board, someone will be able to confirm the distances for you much better than i attempted too. ;)

The island is great and it is safe and the beach is to die for!!!

It definitely depends what you're looking for. I've been to T&C 3 times now. It's truly wonderful. My hubby & I weren't necessarily there for the night life, more R&R. We stayed at OCW all 3 times. The original Ocean Club is basically at the end of Grace Bay. I wouldn't recommend it because I always felt like it was far away from things. OCW has a good location in that it is within a quick walk to the Club Med, Ports of Call (where there are restaurants/shops). We actually checked out the Sands the last time we were down there because it also has a good location. If you enjoy snorkeling, the Sands is good because it's not too bad of a walk to Coral Gardens where you can snorkel right off the beach. Or you can just not worry about it and buy a gecko bus pass. We bought a family pass for about $70-80 that was good for the whole week. The bus goes to most restaurants/hotels/etc that you'd want to go to. It worked well for us... Hope that helps!

An island that certainly stays up past midnight is Puerto Rico and particularly Old San Juan, Condado and Isle Verde.

Direct flight via Spirit and Jet Blue to san Juan.

No passport needed. US Territory.