If you had a choice between St John & Cayman, which would you choose for tropical island? Looking for lush vegetation, great resorts/pools & great food.
Also quiet, walking beaches.

If you prefer any other Caribbean islands, that would be fine, too.

Have already been to Bahamas (which was OK), St. Lucia (great) & Bermuda (beautiful), so prefer new place.

We liked things about both places.

In Grand Cayman, the beach where we stayed was beautiful and wide. We were within walking distance to some very nice restaurants. The food is better than STJ's. The down side to GC is it's expensive if that's a consideration.

St. John is more isolated and not as commercial. But the restaurants aren't as good. Again, if money is a consideration, it's cheaper. If you've never been, St. John may be more of what you are looking for.

If you are wanting lush vegetation, Cayman is not for you.

St. John -- Cayman definitely does not have lush vegetation. Howeve, my recollection of St. John beaches is that they are not very long, so not sure how much walking you'll get in.

... but you can hike in the National Park!

Antigua is much more lush than Grand Cayman and has many small beaches you can explore with a car or jeep. But there's no contest when comparing St. John and Grand Cayman in terms of lushness and quiet beaches.

We just got back from Grand Cayman and have been to St. John twice.

We really enjoyed both islands, but St. John is still our favorite.

St. John is definitely much more lush and scenic than Grand Cayman. St. John is quite hilly with lots of vegetation (not as much as St. Lucia though). Grand Cayman is more of a flat scrubby island.

In Grand Cayman, the beach (7 mile beach) is long and wide--great for walking. There are other beaches to choose from around the island, but I thought 7 mile was the nicest.

In St. John the beaches are smaller, cove like--not really long enough for walking. But there are lots to choose from-- and sometimes we found ones where we were the only people or one of only a few people there.
We preferred the variety of the beaches in St. John.

I thought both islands had great restaurants--with the exchange rate, Grand Cayman restaurants were slightly more expensive.

As for resorts, there are many more beachfront resorts to choose from in Grand Cayman. We stayed at the Marriott, but if we go back we would stay at the Westin--it's on a very wide part of the beach and there is great snorkeling right there.

In St. John, there are really only two beach front resorts. The Westin has a great pool, but a manmade beach. Caneel has 7 gorgeous beaches, but not much of a pool. I haven't stayed at either of these, but have visited both. I would love to stay at Caneel, but don't think I would stay at the Westin there. When we went we stayed at a villa once, and at a b&b the other trip.

Grand Cayman is definitely more touristy than St. John--it's a major cruise ship stop, while only really small ships can dock in St. John (though you do get some day trippers from St. Thomas--they all seem to go to Trunk Bay, so you can avoid them by going to different beaches on cruise ship days).

Based on your criteria, it's a toss up, but if I were choosing I would choose St. John!

I hope that helps!

thanks - St Johns sounds great!

do you recommend 1 nt in St Thomas?

do you need a passport?

do you need reservation for ferry, & do you easily bring your luggage on board?

1. I do not recommend a night on St Thomas. The ferrys run frequently enough to get you there the same day.

2. You do not need a passport for St John. For right now you can day trip to the BVI's with a birth certificate but I am no longer up to date how long that will last.

3. You do not need a reservation for the ferry. Just show up. They don't start selling tickets until about 15 minute before. It is easy to take your luggage on board. It is $2 per bag and the porters load and unload it for you. You have to drag it to the boat youself or pay extra. The only time we take advantage of that is on the return home. We leave our bags with a porter for a tip at the ferry dock and do a few last minute things in town instead of sitting at the dock with our bags.

How far is your travel to SJ? Personally, I have learned to "decompress" along the way to maximize the trip. If you have a long flight to get to STT in the first place, then spend the night in STT somewhere like the Inn at Blackbeard's Castle- unwind, take a deep breath, sleep, get "on island time" and then hit the ferry- IF you have a day to spare and not deprive yourself of a day in St. John. My husband and I have started building a day in on the way to wherever we are going to wind down and it is so worth it! There is no comparison whatsoever between St. John and Cayman- you will love St. John. The person who said the food was not good in St. John ate at the wrong places. Have a lobster and some key lime pie for me at the Lime Inn and be sure to have a late afternoon swim at Francis Bay- heaven.

I didn't say the food wasn't good nor did I eat in the wrong places. I simply said the food was much better in the Cayman's. Which it is. We never found anything comparable in the VI to Athena's, Casanova's, Eat's, the Grand Old House, Ragazzi's, Smuggler's and many of the other top Cayman restaurants.

I have to agree with Knowing about the food. STJ has some very good restaurants, and we had some excellent meals. But some of the restaurants in GC are "Over the Top" good, and we consider them to be some of our most memerable meals anywhere.

For walking beaches, 7MB in GC wins hands down. But for some of the most beautiful desserted beaches in the caribbean, STJ is amazing. Our typical day on STJ was driving around to 2-3 different beaches every day, and snorkeling our brains out. So many times, we found ourselves on beaches that had hardly anybody on them....simply heaven.

You won't find any lushness on GC except the garden areas of the resorts, LOL. It's flat, dry & scrubby. Water/Beach is gorgeous, but the land is not. It also is very built up & busy along 7MB, and this conjestion can certainly take away from the "Island Experience". It almost looks like Florida along the main drag of hotels & resorts. Once you're on the beach it won't matter, but it doesn't appeal to my eyes.

STJ is incredible at every turn of the road. Fantastic green hills, 20 shades of turquoise water, and beaches that belong on a postcard.

We really loved both places, but if I had to choose, it would be STJ. Have a great time.

St.John!but if u want fantastic rest's minus the lush rolling hills of STJ but has Beaches that make up for it than try our other fave ANGUILLA!

Lush vegetation? St. John's -
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...n_Islands.html

Long Beaches Grand Cayman -
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34931596

Scottb: where were your favorite off-beach snorkeling spots in STJ? My husband and I went to GC last May, which was our first trip outside the U.S. and our first REAL experience with snorkeling, and we were blown away! We stayed at Turtle Nest Inn, and the snorkeling right outside the inn was fantastic, though a little unnerving for us because of the slightly strong current, which at one time washed my husband over the coral, giving him a nasty scrape on his leg. But the marine life was fantastic! We want to find that same snorkeling experience but with nicer landscape (GC is kind of scrubby)and it seems like STJ might fit the bill. Also considering Akumal on Mexican Riviera, Belize, Tobago Cays, and Bonaire. Price unfortunately will play a deciding factor as well. Any comments?

Been to the Bahamas (OK, no need to go back - Nassau is nothing to talk about, and my experience was that the people weren't friendly at all)…
Been to Bermuda (OK - more beautiful than Bahamas with slightly friendlier people…but a little more rich and snobby, very short flight from NYC area, ultra-boring at night, ultra-expensive dining for everything)…
Never been to the Caymans…
WHY?
Because we went to the USVI first & now know there's only one place to go…St. John! St. Thomas? No need, really…we stayed on Water Island last time, and St. Thomas (unless you absolutely have to go shopping) has nothing on it that makes it special. Go to St. John, bring sunscreen, bathing suit(s), snorkel gear, a good camera & your wallet…this is where you want to go over and over again - but, that being said, if you are not into a physical vacation, i.e. hiking, snorkeling, driving, etc., then maybe you should just buy a St John's picture book, because with it's terrain, the best time will be enjoyed by the active traveler!
Have fun either way!

My favorite snorkeling spot on St John would be a toss up between Waterlemon or Salt Pond. Both require a lengthy swim out. I do not recommend either for someone who is out of shape and tires easily. Both can have strong currents, but for a strong swimmer, it's no problem.

At Waterlemon, you have about a 10 minute hike around the bay, then you'll swim about 100-150 yards out to the small island. There will be all kinds of coral and marine life around the island itself.

At Salt Pond, the walk down to the beach is about 5 minutes or so. When you get there, you'll see some rocks sticking up offshore, (about 200 yards out), it's a long swim, but you'll find some great coral heads out there, along with great sea-life.

Couple things to remember about STJ, always bring as much water as you can carry. And when it comes to the long swims out & back, pace yourself, and try to use the currents to your advantage.

For snorkeling closer to shore, although not as spectacular, try Francis, Maho, Gibney, Salomon. Concentrate near the rocky areas usually found at the ends of the beach areas. Look for dark spots offshore, sometimes these will be nice reefs.

Hope this helps.

Chellyroo: In response to your question on snorkeling and where to go next - if you are considering your budget I think you can get a bargain trip to Akumal and experience great snorkeling there. I was in Akumal in January 2007 and loved the snorkeling there. Much of the coral has been damaged due to hurricanes however there is still alot of coral all through the bay. Lots of marine life - we saw spotted rays, squid, baracudas of all sizes including over 4 ft long, turtles, parrot fish, and the list goes on and on. Easy access - just walk in to great snorkeling, no boat trips needed ever. We stayed at Akumal Beach Resort (booked through locogringo.com) which is an all-inclusive at very very reasonable prices however there are lots of condos on Akumal Beach and Halfmoon Bay - again take a look at locogringo.com for reviews and booking specials, etc. I am going to Bonaire in April because I have heard it has the best snorkeling anywhere in the Caribbean but I can tell you it is costing more than a trip to Akumal.

Scottb-- Thanks so much for the in depth info! I have copied and pasted your comments in my "ST JOHN" file (doing one for each destination being considered). Sounds great!

Bethml- thank you as well for your comments. Seems like what we are beginning to put together here is that Akumal and surrounding areas has fantastic off beach snorkeling with large size specimens (found a nice post about the HUGE parrot fish) and turtles are a big attraction for us as well (only saw one while snorkeling in GC and it was lovely). PLEASE post about your trip to Bonaire after you go!

Chellyroo: We saw turtles EVERY time we snorkeled - there is a certain area that has turtle grass and we would see one or two every time we passed through that area. I will post about Bonaire when I get back - if you are looking for more details on Bonaire travel check out bonairetalk.com. Lots of info there.