I hope I don't get flack for this but anyway We have never been to St. John and know it sounds wonderful but I am wondering how caribbean it feels. It sounds as if alot of americans are living there( lucky them) and own a lot of the business and homes there and that is wonderful but I have a yearning for a tropical scene with lots of steel drums tropical music, tropical drinks and so forth I know it sounds touristy but this trip that's what I want Will I find it there?

Probably not.

I've never heard a single steel drum on STJ.

You might consider someplace further south - Grenada, St. Vincent & the Grenadines or some of the other leward islands. There is a more pronounced west indian culture on these islands in my experience.

I think they would be more in tune with your expectations.

Nope you won't.

St. Lucia is a good place for what you're looking for.

You've gotten good advice.

We would not return to STJ because of the noticeable lack of West Indian culture/music there.

I just returned from Grenada/Grenadines, and had many opportunities to enjoy live Caribbean music - steel drum, reggae, sha shak, string band, etc.

Best of all, you can many times find this music in smaller, local venues that are not a manufactured tourist experience.

I highly recommend those islands, and St Lucia is a good choice also.

I'll be posting a trip report shortly - after the jet lag and yearning for a 10 a.m. rum-punch-on-the-beach wears off.

Diana: Looking forward to your report, and Dominica too, right?

Yay! Diana's back! I've been referencing you several times during the weeks you've been gone, along the lines of "Diana is down there right now, but she could give you excellent advice on Isla Mujeres/Grenada/pick an island."

I'm at the height of finalizing small details like restaurants and tours for my Bequia/St. VIncent/Grenada trip, so I'm looking forward to your trip report more than usual. Glad you're back safely--and may you return sooner than you think.

Welcome back Diana..your good advice has been missed by many !!

You must have some rum in the house Mix up something tropical and get thee to thy computer ;-)

Marion

We'll be on St. John during Carnival. Might there be some "Caribbean" music then? Thanks.
-Bill

Yes, you can find Calypso and reggae music on St. John. It's not around every corner, but if you look in the local news there's usually somebody making Caribbean music. There's plenty of tropical drinks for sure! And yes, there will be more "Caribbean" music during Carnivale including fun costumes and yummy food.

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for the kind words! It takes some of the sting out of having to return.

But, as I loved hearing from several people, "you have to go to come back."

Yes, caribtraveler, Dominica too - it was amazing!

ej, you are in for a GREAT time. I will really look forward to hearing your report when you get back as we did not make it to St Vincent or Bequia due to logistics.

Hi Marion! Actually, I'll never know how it made it through customs, but Miss Joy at our favorite hangout on C'cou sent us home with a Johnny Walker Red bottle FULL of her special rum punch. (I think one of the ingredients is rocket fuel.) It will be hard to stay out of until Friday.

I'll get busy this weekend and post (hopefully BEFORE getting into the "special" punch).

I agree with the others that St. John doesn't really have a ton of that stereotypical Caribbean flavor.

I do think that Anguilla has a lot of that, however.

Also, as others have said, St. Lucia is about as West Indian as it gets.

thanks for all your replies . We are now considering Negril because it is closer, we are in Seattle and we really wanted to go to Grenada after reading your compents but it is a 17 hour trip at best. We thought about bahamas but really didn't see any place we loved . Negril is about a 10 hr trip . I know they have fun music and food. We haven't been but once and that was 10 yrs ago I know it gets mixed reviews as far as saftey but I feel pretty good about it. But welcome any input or ideals for other places. In the mean time I will be going to Puerto Vallarta in 2 weeks for a trip with my old high school girlfriends so it will help tide me over!