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Planning a December vacation -- need help choosing where to go

Planning a December vacation -- need help choosing where to go

Old Mar 31st, 2013, 07:54 AM
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Planning a December vacation -- need help choosing where to go

Family of four with two adult children ages 23 and 26. We want to take a relaxing beach vacation for about a week Christmas time. Never been to the Caribbean Islands before and very confused about where to go.

We would like something not "touristy" yet have good food (we like to eat well when we travel), good beaches, maybe take in a little history or touring but relaxation the key. We're happy to go "upscale" for the right choice.

Also, is it easy to go to two islands instead of just one for the week? We wouldn't want to move around too much but seems to me it can't be too challenging to visit two.

Any or all thoughts welcome. Many thanks.
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Old Mar 31st, 2013, 10:00 AM
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It always helps if you can give us an idea of your actual budget (give us a specific range not nebulous terms like "affordable", 'won't break the bank", etc.) for accommodations, airfare, food and activities. Tell us where you are flying from and how much you are willing to travel to reach your destination.

Now, the week between Christmas and New Years is going to be smack in the middle of "High Season" throughout the Caribbean so you are going to find some of the most expensive room rates of the year. Also, many resorts/hotels have minimum stay requirements during that periods so (depending on the hotel/resort) you might have to pay for anything between 7 and 14 days to vacation at that time of year.

Certain destinations make it fairly easy to visit more than one island but those "minimum stay requirements" I mentioned for that time of year may limit your options for anything other than a day visit. Destinations that allow for easy transportation to numerous island include:

1) Puerto Rico - visits to Culebra & Vieques
2) US Virgin Islands - easy to get between St. Thomas, St. John and several British Virgin Island
3) St. Martin - easy access to Anguilla and St. Barths
4) St. Kitts - easy to visit Nevis
5) Antigua & Barbuda
6) St. Vincent & the Grenadines


Avoid the Bahamas in December as they are pretty far north and could get cool weather. Turks & Caicos are sometimes iffy in December, as they too can be cool.

For starters look at the following resorts:

Caneel Bay - St. John, USVI's
Little Dix Bay - Virgin Gorda, BVI's
Cuisinart or Viceroy on Anguilla
Le Toiny or Eden Rock on St. Barths
Four Seasons, Nevis
Carlisle Bay, Jumby Bay or Curtain Bluff on Antigua.
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Old Mar 31st, 2013, 11:42 AM
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Thanks so much. We're in the Washington DC area. I usually don't set a budget for our travel. Pick a destination and then work backwards. We can always move the numbers up or down depending on where we stay. Your note is very helpful.
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Old Mar 31st, 2013, 03:16 PM
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As previously suggested, look at Four Seasons Nevis if you want R&R without the touristy feel. Traveling to Nevis from the East coast is a snap. You will be on the beach by 2:30P. The food at the resort is very good and there are several fabulous restaurants on the island.

If you are considering 2 islands in 1 week you can travel to St. Kitts and stay a few days and head over to Nevis (30 minute ferry ride) for the remainder of the week. Personally, I would spend the entire vacation on Nevis.

There is of course Jumby Bay which is in a class of it's own. Here you will find pristine beaches, incredible food and the ultimate relaxing vacation. A quick ferry ride to the island of Antigua will provide you with the opportunity to take in a little bit of history.

Choosing an island in the caribbean can be difficult as each island has something special to offer. I have traveled to most of the caribbean islands and have to say that Nevis ranks in the top 2 for me. It is one of the few islands that still offers a true caribbean experience IMO.
You will not find casino's and high rise mega resorts with chain fast food restaurants that you find at home. What you will find is peace and quiet, natural beauty and beautiful people,
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Old Apr 1st, 2013, 08:37 AM
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If you want a relaxing beach vacation, don't go at Christmas time. Resorts are overwhelmed with tourists, and the weather can be gray and cool in many of the islands. We've done a few of these trips with our adult kids, and never again. On top of everything else, you pay premium dollar for your room unless you rent an ultra expensive private condo or villa.

Is there any chance you can postpone until just after the holidays? You will find fewer tourists, better pricing, and have a much more relaxing holiday, unless you enjoy waiting in lines for towel huts and dinners.

BTW, I second roamsaround recommendations for Anguilla. I am not a fan of the Four Seasons Nevis, ( found it quite pretentious), although I loved the island.
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Old Apr 1st, 2013, 03:04 PM
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Anguilla is truly a lovely island with powdery white sand beaches and great restaurants. I prefer the convenience of being on the beach as early as possible on the first day. Anguilla will require a minimum of 3 flights or 2 flights and a ferry to get there from the east coast. You can plan on arriving early evening.

I respect other travelers opinions however I did not find FS Nevis to be pretentious in any way. Sure, there were a few fellow tourists that were a bit snobby but I have found this everywhere and anywhere I have travelled. Every staff member at FS were all extremely friendly, polite and helpful.

I agree that you may want to wait until after the holidays due to pricing however you won't find any waiting lines in Nevis during this time of year.
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Old Apr 6th, 2013, 04:40 PM
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Grand Cayman would be a good place to stay with your family. You can rent a condo on Seven Mile Beach and relax. Many excellent restaurants would try to go the week before or after Christmas as the rates are lower. You can also take a quick tr trip to the other Cayman Islands , Cayman Brac , Little Cayman, go to Cuba from Grand Cayman
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Old Apr 10th, 2013, 07:15 PM
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I haven't researched how to get to Anguilla from DC, but from NY, CT,NJ, and Florida you can 1) take flight to St Maarten (3 hr from JFK) then either a short boat ride or an 8 minute flight to Anguilla, or a flight to San Juan and another plane to Anguilla. Nevis was nice, but the beaches and the restaurants were no where as nice as Anguillla's.
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