Plannning for my honeymoon in this Feb 2014.St Lucia vs St john vs Barbodas
 

Hi Friends,
I am planning for a Honeymoon in this Feb. I did some reseerch on the Caribbean island and and now i am confused in choosing the best islands.
My wife and i am looking for some white sand beaches, and like to try scuba and snorkelle at the same time we also wanted to explore the island. I liked St lucia intially but read that there are no White sand Beaches.
Second i considered St johns .
My other options are barbodas or Cayman Islands.

This is my first visit to Caribbean. Please advise.

St Lucia is a beautiful island, but the beaches tend to be darker because the island is volcanic.

St John has lovely beaches, snorkeling, sailing and hiking. It is largely national park, so is less developed than your other choices.

Yes, St. Lucia lacks the white sand you are seeking.

Barbados is nice but snorkeling and diving pale in comparison to what you'll find on St. John or Grand Cayman.

So, if you want a hilly island with great snorkeling and diving choose St. John. If you want a flat island that has very good snorkeling & diving choose Grand Cayman.

By the way, it's St. John, not St. Johns - St. john's is the capital of Antigua.

Thank you eastenderusvi and RoamsAround.

I am leaning towards St john but not sure where to stay.
i am finding it as over priced.
I am planning for a Week. we are in mid 20's . Will we get bored on St john after 3 days.
we like to explore and love the Grrenary sceinic Drives as well.

which island offers best Scub?

Thanks

What's your budget - "overpriced" doesn't mean anything without a dollar point of reference.

Most islands, including St. John, are small so "scenic drives" will be relatively short. St. Lucia is an exception since it is a larger island. I wouldn't let the availability or lack of "scenic drives" be a major issue in picking an island. FYI - Lot's of hiking opportunities on St. John - 2/3's of the island is a National Park.

You'll find excellent scuba around St. John and Grand Cayman (one's not necessarily better than the other - just different). St. Lucia, not so much! Never dived around Barbados so can't comment on that but have read it's not as good as SJ or GC.

I am considering St john and surrounding BVI.
I am looking around $6k excluding flight tickets. I looked at caneel bay and felt it is over priced.
Which is better in gallows Point and he Westin or should i consider any villa.
Please send me a link where i can find the Villas.

Thanks

Caneel Bay would be my first choice and I choose Gallows Point over the Westin any day of the week. Gallows Point is nice, if you want to stay "near town" and not on the beach.

Lots of rental villas on St. John. Try going to the US Virgin Islands forum on TripAdvisor, then use the "Jump to more Specific Forum" link to select St. John, then use the "Vacation Rentals" drop down link to find reviews of over 225 rentals on the island. Also, try doing a google search for "Villa rentals, St. John" - you'll find scores of links. We've rental through WIMCO (www.wimco.com) several times with grew results. FYI - many of the rental villas are "multiple listed" so you'll find many of the same villas offered by several different management companies. Also check Vacation Rentals By owner (www.vrbo.com).

If you want to consider the BVI's look strongly at Virgin Gorda - it has some of the best snorkeling (both walk-in and boat access) and diving in the BVI's. For a resort, nothing beats Little Dix Bay. For rental villas look at those on Mahoe Bay. Small enclave of upscale villas (both beachfront and beach access) on 3/4 mile stretch of golden sand beach lapped by gin clear calm waters and a terrific snorkeling reef that runs the entire length of the beach just 100' or so off shore. Google "Mahoe Bay rental villas" for lots of links.

I'd do Grand Cayman if you want to scuba or snorkel. The water is fantastic, the beach is white powder and there is a little bit to do in town (shopping, dining, a few pubs). It is not super lush like St. Lucia. You can rent a condo on Seven Mile Beach or there are several resorts from which to choose. St. John is a beautiful little spot but you might get tired of it. That said, you can take the ferry to St. Thomas for the day if you want. There are things to do around there. Barbados is another great island with beautiful beaches and good water for snorkeling.