Elizabeth

My husband,3 sons(14,10,6), and I are taking a vacation to the Caribbean during April 12-23. We are flying into San Juan and plan to do a 2-3 day tour of the city. From the 20-23 of April we will be finishing off our vacation in luxury at the El Conquistador! I really want to experience a different island feel and I figured we were already down in the Caribbean; so where could we go during that middle part of the vacation? We're not loaded, but I want this to be a great experience as we probably will never be able to do this type of vacation again! I've checked into roundtrip flights out of San Juan to other islands-namely, USVI, BVI, and Antigua. I'm looking more towards St. Croix, Tortola, or Antigua. Now I know we would only have about 4-5 days, but I hope to make the most of it. I don't want all inclusive as I don't want to be spending all day at resort/hotel. Same reason I don't need a kitchen in our unit. Though I have looked into Club St. Croix-2bdrm/2bath unit for $169. Seemed pretty reasonable by Caribbean standards. Any experience at that place would be helpful should we choose that island. We enjoy interesting sightseeing, but also want a little R&R/tan. Possible easy/interesting sidetrips from islands would be a definite plus as I know how easy it seems to be between the USVI. The above mentioned islands seem to fit the bill the best unless someone has another experience. I would also love to have the hotel ON the beach, a swimming pool, and a informal cafe and/or pool/beach bar would pretty much be perfection. Sorry I have been so long-winded, but I wanted to put in certain facts in order to get the pertinent information in return. One more thing-yes, we will be going to El Yunque, and am thinking about day trip to either Viesques(sp?) or Ponce. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding in reading this and any info/experience that you can provide me. WHEW!

Mariarosa

Elizabeth, it sounds like you're planning a GREAT trip! <BR> <BR>In '99 we stayed a few days in Puerto Rico and then spent a few days in St. John, USVI. It was a great trip. Because you are already in San Juan, you will be able to easily take a morning puddle jumper to St. Thomas, (nice views from the plane) then take a taxi to Red Hook Ferry and ferry across to St. John. St. John is really small and has nice beaches and good snorkeling - perfect for 4-5 days. We stayed at the Westin - which was OK, but for a family, it would probably be best to rent a villa. <BR> <BR>El Yunque is a great day-trip...it is about 45 minutes from San Juan, probably less from El Conquistador. Make sure to take the easy hike that ends in the waterfall. I really recommend you do this day-trip. Ponce is about 1 -1.5 hours south of San Juan. It is a charming, colonial city with various sights (an old mansion called the Castillo de Serralles, an old town square, an art museum, a boardwalk with fresh fish joints, etc). The drive from San Juan to Ponce is very nice -it crosses the lush interior mountains. I like Ponce, but considering that you will only have 2-3 days in San Juan and 3 days at the Conquistador, I would save Ponce for another trip. Regarding Vieques - it is a beautiful place, with empty beautiful beaches and an amazing bioluminiscent bay at night. However, the US Navy controls 70% of Vieques and has been bombing it for practice and a local was killed. I think the Navy has closed access to tourists to its lands - so I would ask at the COnquistador what the deal is with Vieques before going there. It is a highly unfortunate situation that a beautiful island is being treated the way that it is being treated. There are snorkeling trips from El Conquistador that stop in cays around Fajardo - we took one of these trips and it was very enjoyable. You could also go to Culebra for a day-trip from Fajardo. It also has gorgeous beaches.

beth

Ocho Rios Jamaica is great side trip if you can find a reasonable airfare. The falls at Dunns River are incredible and this would give you a totally different feel and culture from that of Puerto Rico. This area of Jamaica is nice enough and much less crime than montego Bay area you would not have to stay at an all inclus. though some have good packages which include tours of the falls.

Elizabeth

Thanks to Mariarosa and Beth for your input! I thought of Jamaica as a side trip, but distance is too great-airfare was as much as our roundtrip from Milwaukee to San Juan. Still debating as to which island for side trip. We are hoping to do a glassbottom boat trip, visit a town, ferry to neighboring islands, and still enjoy ourselves with at least a little R&R. Maybe I'm expecting to do too much in too little time. Just want to get to experience as much as possible as long as we're down there without getting too exhausted to enjoy ourselves. That's why I thought this forum might provide me with some good feedback. Am going to check ahead of time to see if tourists are allowed back on Vieques, so I can plan accordingly. Thanks for the tip! Keep 'em coming as I'm ready to get on with the planning and finalize the details. A bit long-winded again! Oh, well...

kurt

My vote is for St. John. Have yet to meet someone who didn't love the island