Summer family vacation
 

Where is the best place and best summer month to go? We are a family of four with two teenage boys (13 and 15). Our boys have not experienced the Caribbean...only Florida islands. So want to experience snorkeling, the beach, etc. We usually rent a home with a pool for our summer vacations. Don't enjoy the resort scene. Enjoy cooking/eating at the house during the day and dinner out at night. Wondering how safe it is to rent a home in the Caribbean? Which island to go to? Best month to go...want to avoid Hurricane season!!

You tagged TCI, great choice! One of the best beaches in the world. Tons of villas with pools, decent off the beach snorkeling, great water activities, and some of the best restaurants in the Caribbean.

You save money if you don't mind being a couple of blocks from the beach, check out vrbo.com especially the Leeward area of Providenciales.

A couple for you to get started:

http://www.vrbo.com/3841675ha

http://www.vrbo.com/374967

http://www.vrbo.com/377589 (discloser, I own this one!)

On Sapodilla Bay:

http://www.vrbo.com/34817 (I highly recommend Crystal Sands, it's awesome!)

There are some on Taylor Bay too that are nice.

Another great island for vacation villas, St. John US Virgin Islands. Great snorkeling, gorgeous views, nice Caribbean vibe. There's a User on here, Kristen, she's rented a couple of villas there and loved it, I'll see if she can answer this post for some suggestions.

As for which month, June July and August are hot! June least chance of hurricanes, although not a huge chance anyway. I always find the water to be at it's prettiest, usually super calm and crystal clear (and extra turquoise!) at both destinations.

Thank you so much for the information. Is a Villa part of a resort or it's own private home? And is security an issue?

The villas I gave you links to are private and not with resorts. The majority in St. John are private also. (except for Westin Resort ones)

As for security, the links I gave you:

Leeward is a "gated" community at the end of the "hub." I put gated in quotes because it's manned and patrolled at night only. These villas have safes and security systems.

Crystal Sands has a guard that patrols the row of villas.

As for St. John, it's been a while since I've been, but I'm assuming most villas have safes and security systems.

Eleuthera, bahamas. I would rent a villa in the Governors harbor area (central). Eleuthera is littered with tons of stunning empty beaches. It is a perfect locale to rent reasonably priced beachfront homes. Very safe. No need to worry about safes/security etc.
I would also recommend St John as well if you dont care about having to drive to the beach. Quite safe.
Eleuthera is like how florida was probably 50 years ago.
St John is hilly/lush and has great snorkelling right off the beaches.