My husband and I are looking to go to the Carribbean over the Christmas holiday using Marriott rewards points. We have been looking at both Cayman and St. Kitts as we have been to St.Thomas before. Any insight as to which island/hotel from folks who have been to both. We love the beach, are very avid Hawaii fans but also loved St. Thomas and Aruba...any help is appreciated. With new Spirit airfare it may be easier and cheaper to get the Cayman from Dallas area.

You are looking at 2 very different islands. Grand Cayman is a flat coral based island that is very aird with little natural vegetation. The main beach, where the Marriott is located, is 7 miles long, hence the name Seven Mile Beach, with blinding white sand and calm bright turquoise blue waters. The island is definitely upscale and very pricey with a decidedly British feel to it. There's ample watersports very good to excellent snorkeling and world class diving.

St. Kitts, on the other hand, is volcanic in nature, with lush rain forests, old forts, sugar plantation ruins, smaller darker sand beaches (although several on the islands south penninsula are lighter in color) that are lapped by deeper steel blue waters. The island has a decidedly "Old World" Caribbean feel to it, it is much less populated and no where near as upscale as Grand Caymen. You won't find nearly as many watersports as on Grand Cayman, the snorkeling around the island is below average (the best area is at Shitten Bay and is accessible only by boat) nor and there's very little diving to speak of. The Marriott on St. Kitts is quite large (over 300 rooms) and looks a little out of place on an island with many small hotels and Plantation Inns. It is also located on the Atlantic side of the island and although there is a man-made breakwater several hundred yards off shore the water can be rough at times.

Hope this helps.

Neither has a lot of nightlife. I think the people in St. Kitts are friendlier, although if you enjoy playing in the water, Cayman may be a better choice for you. We just returned from Nevis last week and visited St. Kitts. As Traveler said, St. Kitts has more of an "Old World" caribbean feel to it. We found a lot more natural beauty down there and although dining is good in Cayman, it was also good in St Kitts - Nevis and with more charm.

A website you might find helpful is www.discover-stkitts-nevis-beaches.com