My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon, and are thinking about buying a timeshare. We have never considered timeshares - have always been hesitant of these - but thought since we'll be spending at least $5,000 on our honeymoon, it may be worth buying a timeshare for around the same amount of money, and have the ability to use it in the future. <BR>If we do go down this path, are there many timeshare opportunities in St. Thomas/St. John? Thanks!

You might want to check out the timeshare users group (I think it is www.tug2.net) for more info. I am a timeshare owner at Hyatt Hacienda Del Mar in PR and as a result we can trade to all Interval timeshares as well as Hyatt Vacation Club. We felt it was an economical way to take our two children on vacation and be assured on getting accomodations with 2 bedrooms and a kitchen.<BR>

Sorry, my reply got cut off before I was finished. I don't know if I would recommend purchasing a timeshare for a honeymoon. You should find a home resort you really like and purchase one after you have stayed at that resort. The home resort is important because the more desirable the resort, the easier it is to trade. Also, you have limited flexibility, so to get a resort you want the week of your honeymoon may be difficult. In addition, once you have purchased the timeshare, you will have to pay maintenance fees every year. Most really nice resorts are more than $5,000 to purchase a week. But if you do decide to do this, make sure you purchase a highly-rated resort that is part of a major timeshare network (Interval or RCI). Lastly, I have not found many high-quality timeshares on St. Thomas and St. John. We only stay at Interval Resorts with the "Gold Crown" designation and have had great experiences thus far.

Please xxx before you do something like this, go over to the USA forum and pull up some of the posts about timeshares.<BR>Simply put, timeshares are not a wise use of money over time.<BR>I know, I know, lots of timeshare people will complain and say they love their set-up, blah, blah, blah.<BR><BR>But if you have the capacity to understand more than basic math and the concept of time value of money, you'll see why timeshares are a loser overall.<BR><BR>There's an interesting post from a gut who was formerly a timeshare salesman, who admits that his colleagues used to sit around in the back room and laugh at how they were bilking people blind...all the while their customers were thinking they were getting such great deals.<BR><BR>Do whatever you want to.<BR>But try to go in with your eyes open.

...that is supposed to be, of course, "a guy" not "a gut" who was a salesman.

To Eileen,<BR><BR>Your explaination was great.

I wouldn't want to buy a timeshare until I had visited both the island and the property.<BR><BR>There are lots of timeshares on St. Thomas and a few (more expensive) on St. John.<BR><BR>In comparing the $5,000 expenditures, keep in mind that even if you had a timeshare you would still need to pay for airfare, meals, drinks, car rental, excursions, etc.<BR><BR>As someone else mentioned, the management fees can be substantial, they only go up, and you have no control over them.<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>