Planning a surprise 40th anniversary getaway for November and trying to decide between Jamaica (Couples Nigril?) and a hotel in St. Lucia. Looking for a nice non-windy beach with good swimming, a quiet hotel, and at least breakfast and dinner at the hotel (or an all-inclusive). For those who have been to both Jamaica and St. Lucia, which did you prefer? Thanks.

Negril has the best beach out of anywhere we have been in Caribbean. We stayed at Sandals on St Lucia and the resort was nice, had a lot of pools but the beach was not nice at all. I would recomment Negril, if you want an very private quite resort try the Grand Lido, ask for a room on the first floor located on the side of the resort opposite of the pool.

Thanks, Fizzie. That was very helpful!

We stayed at Couples Negril, years ago, and it was anything but quiet. I can still remember the old Shaggy hit playing full blast all day long (...banging on the bathroom floor LOL). Have stayed at Anse Chastanet, and rented a private villa with three walls above the Pitons, in St. Lucia.

I vote St. Lucia - at Anse Chastanet you could stay in one of the charming "regular" rooms (ask for highest hillside) or go on up to Jade Mountain (new mortgage required) for the ultimate in luxury and romance. the beach was beautiful there - rugged and black sand with great beach restaurant, good snorkeling onsite. Word of warning: you must be able to negotiate quite a few steps (don't stay in the beachfront rooms), but worth every step.

That really is a hard choice. Both Islands have very similar topography and are beautiful.

We stayed at the RIU Tropical Bay (which I do not recommend). It's next door to Couples Negril and sits on Bloody Bay, not 7 Mile Beach. DH walked the beach one day to look at Couples Negril, as it was our first choice, but out of our budget, which is why we didn't stay there. We both wished we would have after we saw it.

We stayed at the Sandals Grande in St. Luica. Highly overrated, overpriced resort. Some of the worst AI food we've had anywhere. Their beach was pretty nice and it was within walking distance to Pidgeon Point. I understand they have now built a Beaches resort next to it.

Though we loved St. Luica, we really don't have a desire to return. It's hard to get to and airfare is quite high. However, there are easy day trips to St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Martinque, which we didn't do and now regret that we didn't.

Negril's beaches are nicer than St. Lucia's beaches, it's easier to get to and an overall package deal will cost less. We would like to return to Jamaice and stay in the Ocho Rios area next time.

If your interested, we have pictures of both Islands at:

http://community.webshots.com/user/kvrlvn

Traveled to St Lucia in 2000 and stayed at Ladera Resorts which was awesome in a luxury villa with private pool, and our vacation could not have been better. DaSheen (?) Ladera's restaurant was the best and the staff were very pleasant and more than accommodating.

We were also in Jamaica at Couples San Souci in Feb & July of 2006, and Feb by far was much better, more attentive staff, quiet atmosphere, and less crowded. We are staying at The Rockhouse in Negril in August and I'll post how that trip is.

Both are nice areas and I guess it depends on what you want from your vacation. Jamaica for uninhibited fun and letting your fears go; and St. Lucia for a quiet and romantic getaway to snuggle and have quality time.

hope this helps!

We have been to Jamaica and stayed at Sandals Negril and at Sandals Dunns River. The beach at Negril is stunning and one of the best we have ever been on. Sandals is Sandals, and will get mixed reviews. We had good experiences both times and had no complaints. They are expensive and do not offer the "bang for the buck" that other AIs do. Couples looks nice as does Grand Lido but we have not stayed there. We love the people in Jamaica and have always enjoyed our trips there.

We have been to St Lucia one time. We stayed at an AI that has since changed names. At the time it was St James's Club on Morgan Bay. It is now an Almond resort. While there we visited all three Sandals as well as Ladera, Anse Chansenet, what was the Hilton that sits between the Pitons, as well as the Windjammer Resort. We found St Lucia to be, in our opinion, a much cleaner island than Jamaica, with equally friendly and generally nice people. We used public transportation in St Lucia (the mini-vans that run around like Taxis and pack in about 8-10 people)and never felt unsafe or unwelcome. I am not sure if we would do that in Jamaica or not. The beaches in St Lucia are not the white sand like Jamaica but are still nice in their own way.

I agree with the other posts that Jamaica is easier to get to from the States and you will probably get a better overall deal. I would not discount Sandals but shop carefully and compare the pricing of them against others. Do your research on places like TripAdvisor.

I think you would enjoy either country. They are both unique.