Please help us try to narrow down our 30th anniversary destination...St. John's or Turks & Caicos. Saw Gallows Point Resort website (St. John) and it looked awesome. Looking for a snorkeling destination, don't need tons of activities but some nice restaurants, beaches. Any specific recommendations as far as accommodations, snorkeling beaches would be much appreciated! Thanks, Diane

For what it is worth, there's a lot more "off-beach" snorkeling available on St. John than there is on Providenciales which is where most people going to the T&C's stay.

I went to Turks & Caicos two years ago for my honeymoon. We are going to St. John and staying at Caneel this summer. Turks & Caicos had excellent snorkeling, and is known as one of the best sites in the Caribbean for it. St. John gets really high marks for snorkeling, too. I will let you know how it compares/contrasts to T&C in that department after we visit. However, I know there are a number of posters who have been to both and can help you out.

Re: restaurants, I was impressed with Turks & Caicos. People talk about how expensive the island is, but I didn't really think it was that pricey. At the nice restaurants, the entrees were in the $20-30 range, which is the prices at nice restaurants where we live in the New Orleans area. If you click on my screen name, you will find my trip report from May 2005. I listed restaurants in greater detail.

We stayed at the Sands at Grace Bay as a function of recently graduating law school. It was okay, but there were some service issues. If I were going again for romance, beach, etc., I would look at Point Grace. Somerset is a new place that opened after we visited and also seems to get high marks.

Without a doubt----go to st. John.
GW

hi diane. both islands are nice. st. john is lush and hilly. provo is flat and scrubby. provo is known to have outstanding dining, and grace bay beach is listed as one of most beautiful in caribbean. st. john known for having tons of beaches to explore. there have been reports of coral bleaching in the usvi/bvi though. have fun choosing!

Have been to both. St John wins hands down. Turks and Caicos has virtually no great off-beach snorkeling (though if one takes a boat out, it's ok in some places); St John has tons (despite coral bleaching). Water color is wonderful around both islands Topography much more handsome on St John. Food somewhat better on T&C. Happy 30th!

tough call:
I love both, both are completely different from each other.

Scenery, it's hard to beat St. John, hilly, gorgeous views at every turn. Gallows Point does not really have a beach, so you have to depend on taxi/car to get to the gorgeous beaches. Cool shopping, nice Caribbean colorful vibe. Great day trips to surrounding islands, especially Jost Van Dyke, and the Baths in Virgin Gorda are do not misses. Restaurants are not bad, but not great. I've always said St. John is the best "a little bit of everything intro to Caribbean" island. There are cool beach bars, great snorkeling, beautiful views.

T&C is flat dry and scrubby. But ahhh the beaches! Some of the best in the world, the stuff postcards and Corona commercials are made of. Stunning turqouise colors. Great restaurants (better than St. John) great snorkeling. Not much shopping (although that's starting to change) There is construction in some areas, but with Grace Bay Beach being 12 miles long, you can always find a quiet spot. Great water excursions, and great cay getaways. Settings at the restaurants are out of this world.

So in brief (my opinions of course ;-) )
Best Beaches: T&C
Best Scenery: St. John
Best snorkeling: tie, with actually the edge to T&C
Best shopping: St. John
Best restaurants: T&C
best Caribbean vibe: St. John
Easiest to get to: T&C (nice big jets, St. John requires going to St. Thomas, then taking a ferry)
Best excursions: tie

As to giving accommadation suggestions, give us a budget and what type of traveller you are, that helps.

Wow, thanks for the info--I love this forum!! I'll share the info with my husband. We've been to Aruba and loved it but am leaning a little towards St. John's for the lushness.
We usually split our time at two places. For example in Aruba, we stayed at the Radisson on Palm Beach for half the time and at the Bucuti on Eagle Beach for the other half. Totally different but loved both.

Thinking Gallows Point Resort for ease of access to Cruz Bay but is there any place else (other than Caneel)that would have closer access to the beach that we could stay for 4 or 5 nights?

Thanks!! Diane

Oops forgot to add--$250/night is about tops for budgeting. Thanks.

Look at Estate Lindholm (estatelindholm.com) for a place to stay on St. John within that budget. It gets very positive reviews on tripadvisor.