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-   -   St. Lucia or St. John for honeymoon??? (https://www.fodors.com/community/caribbean-islands/st-lucia-or-st-john-for-honeymoon-521880/)

mlb722 Apr 17th, 2005 08:35 AM

St. Lucia or St. John for honeymoon???
 
My fiance and I are deciding where to honeymoon in July. It's our first time to the Caribbean. We heard great things about St. Lucia and St. John. We are interested in St. Lucia because we heard it is so lush and beautiful. We heard St. John is beautiful with a lot to do. Any recommendations?

zachsarbean1 Apr 17th, 2005 09:27 AM

My husband and I are both 25 and we love St.John. We are going back for our fourth time. It is a small quiet island. Town is small enough that you can walk through it easily, but big enough to have some cute shops and great restaurants. When we went on our honeymoon 2 years ago, we went to St.John, but many other young couples were going to St.Lucia. I have also heard that St.L is very lush....but so is St.J! Also, with St.John, traveling to other spots is fairly easy. You can do day trips to other islands like St.Thomas for shopping or Virgin Gorda for great snorkeling. We recommend Gallows Point (gallowspointresort.com - if I remember correctly!) for a great place to stay without lots of children running around! The suites are huge with nice kitchens if you feel like staying in to cook. It is definately walking distance into town and it has a little shop right there for beach stuff, renting movies, and buying food. The suites also have alot of the stuff you'll need like beach chairs, coolers, etc. Good Luck and have fun where ever you decide!

Knowing Apr 17th, 2005 10:50 AM

You will discover that STJ is beautiful. It's also easy to get to. We didn't like St. Lucia.
My future sister-in-law and her friend just returned from there and they hopped over to the BVI and loved that, as well.

brenandg Apr 17th, 2005 12:23 PM

We have been to St Lucia twice and loved it. Our next trip will be St John. I have some information about St Lucia that may help you make your decision.
St Lucia IS lush, tropical, mountainous, and beautiful. The South part of the island where Soufriere and the Pitons are is quite rustic and little to no nightlife. The north part of the island, Rodney Bay area is more lively with restaurants and bars but not typical "nightlife". The beaches are not the sugary white sand often associated with the Caribbean due to the volcanic nature of the island. It also takes a while to get from point A to B in most parts of the island due to mountainous roads. The upside is that it is a beautiful place with plenty of varied things to do and explore. If you a looking for picture perfect beaches, this is not the place. Other than the fact that they speak English and accept US currency, it is really not "Americanized" Hope I don't get accosted too much for that statement. I'm not trying to discourage you from STL, just trying to give you an idea of what it is like there. Check out stlucia.org for more information.
One thing to consider about St John is that is is not likely your hotel or villa will be on the beach. You will either have to rent a car or take a taxi. After reading many posts and also at the advice of zachsarbean1, we are going to stay at Gallows Point. We like the walking distance to town and restaurants. There are also a multitude of villas that you can rent at reasonable rates. We plan on a couple of day trips to the BVI's while there.

mlb722 Apr 17th, 2005 05:13 PM

Thanks for all of the advice. It's very helpful!!!

beachpup Apr 18th, 2005 05:02 AM

Having visited both islands, my recommendation of the two for a Caribbean first timer is St. John. I found both islands share a lot of similarities, but StJ is easier to access, and the culture shock some people experience travelling to the Caribbean is less than at St Lucia.
Either island offers many opportunities to explore beautiful natural and historical elements. StL (in the Rodney Bay area) offers more nighlife than StJ. StJ excels with its beaches. Two very good Caribbean choices - I would return to either island without reservation.

ejcrowe Apr 18th, 2005 05:28 AM

Just to provide a different perspective, my very first visit to the Caribbean was to St. Lucia and one of the things I loved about it was its "otherness". It has since been the destination against which all subsequent islands have been measured and found lacking, in terms of natural beauty -- for reference, these are Jamaica, the BVI, Antigua, Nevis, and Barbados.

It really depends on what you're looking for in a honeymoon. But in my opinion for sheer romance, nothing beats a view looking out over or between the Pitons on St. Lucia. You'll find tons of devotees for each island, so just continue reading here for more information--you'll soon be able to tell which posters are more similar to you in terms of what you're looking for and therefore whose opinions you can trust more than the others to help you find the perfect honeymoon.

Traveler863 Apr 23rd, 2005 02:35 PM

Both are great, I think you'd be happy with either.

brenandg Apr 23rd, 2005 03:48 PM

Might want to think twice about Coconut Bay Resort at the present time. It just opened the end of March. Check out trip advisors St Lucia forum if you are considering this hotel. While the concensus seems to be that this indeed will be a very nice resort in time, it simply is not finished yet, so all of the amenities are not available. Unsure how much progress they will make by July. It is near the airport, reportedly about 5 minutes, but that also puts it an hour plus away from Castries and Soufriere which is where the main attractions are. Although, I'm sure there are some off the beaten path ares to check out around there. For your honeymoon, I would pick a place that is more established. It is also on the Atlantic side of the island which means rougher water.


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