Need help narrowing down islands...quickly!
 

Hi, I am new here and planning a trip for May with a bunch of friends/ couples. We are between 28-40 and looking for good beaches, good food, nightlife enough to do during the days should we leave the beach or the bar.
Currently, I think we have it narrowed down to St. Martin/ Maarten, St Kitts, turk & Caicos and Antiqua.

does anyone have some thoughts to compare these based on the criteria above? I could certainly use the help.

Thanks.

Bob

For food you can't beat Sint Maarten/St. Martin. Good beaches there plus you can take the short ferry ride to Anguilla for what are IMO the best beaches in the Caribbean.

As much as my wife & I love T & C, my vote goes to St. Martin/ Maarten as they have everything that you are looking for.

For what you are seeking, my vote goes to St. Maarten/St. Martin, as well.

My vote is for St. Kitts. Friendly locals, breathtaking scenery, uncrowded beaches, sister island of Nevis, fun beach bars, variety of restaurants (upscale to casual, casino, golf and so much more!!

A website you might find helpful is www.discover-stkitts-nevis-beaches.com

You can view my pictures at www.msnusers.com/st-kittsgroup

Although everyone is ecstatic about St. Martin, I felt it was too much driving. We stayed on the Dutch side and had to pack up and drive to the beach, get ready and drive to the French side for restaurants. I'd rather have a local where we can snorkel nearby and walk to a few good bars/restaurants.

If nightlife is important, I wouldn't go to Turks and Caicos. It's very quiet there at night with not a lot of night action. Aruba would seem to fit your requirements much better.

I too thought Aruba would have also been a good choice but that was not on RWINTERER list of islands.

Why not Barbados?Great beaches, excellent dining, better hotels and more tropical and lush, lots to do or not...

turks is much calmer then st martin as is anguilla

st martin has great easily accessbile beaches.

the quiter part of the st martin dutch side might work

simpson beach and the cupecoy area have great beaches, casinos, nightlife and reasonable prices.

you are a cab ride away from tne great restaurants in grand case-rouge beach and the french side which is much quieter.

another option is the flamboyan on the border of the dutch-french side. not a greatest beach but a shutle to the good beaches and phillipsburg. also a cab or car ride away from the great restaurants of gran d case

there is more to do in st marting then just sun and fun-that is why we went there-if you get a sunburn, you can still have fun

happy to answer any st marting ???s

karan

We loved St. Kitts and I have posted a recent trip report. However, St. Kitts is a little short on night-life. There wasn't any live music or dancing at the places I thought we would find it.

St Martin is very busy . I love Nevis and St Kitts . It is not a big night life but if you are with freinda you can always find Music at one of the bars at night . THE TWO ISLANDS HAVE A LOT MORE OF a Caribbean feel to them .

Anguilla would be perfect for what you are looking for as well

Thanks to all for your input! I noticed some things about Aruba and we did not include that because we have been there. We loved it and would go back, but looking to try something new.

I have been away traveling without Internet access so I am just getting back to this. We are leaning toward St Martin/ Sint Maarten and now need to find somewhere to stay if I don't get persuaded to go to a different island!

Thanks again!

I would not recommend Aruba....very dry, Americanized and arid for many folks. I would have to say St. Kitts/Nevis for a great trip. We are returning to St. Martin...the french side..for the 3rd time this summer, so I can't comment on that island as it has been several years since I have been there. Good luck!

rwinterer; for you and all the other Caribbean enthusiasts, the National Weather Service operates a Hurricane Prediction Center online. They have a Tropical Cyclone Advisory Mailing service, and emails to you hurricane information for the specific area in the Caribbean you may be traveling to. The hurricane season is from June 1st. to November 30th for the Atlantic region and May 15th through November 30th for the Eastern Pacific region. By submitting you e-mail address to them, you will be sent hurricane and tropical storm forecasts for the Atlantic region, a public advisory, a discussion site, probabilities of hurricanes in the Atlantic region, position estimates, tropical disturbance estimates, and tropical weather outlooks for the Atlantic region 4 times a day. A great site to gain "real time" knowledge about tropical storms and hurricanes as your vacation date approaches. Robert

Opps! But the above post on the wrong post. I re-posted it. So sorry. Robert