Travel advice for 60 ish year old couple
 

My husband and I have traveled to the Caribbean, but not very recently or often. We have not cruised, and have stayed at both inclusive and non-inclusive hotels/resorts. We have stayed at Club Meds on Martinique and Guadeloupe ( years ago) as well as Turks and Cancun more recently. We like the social aspect of the Club, as well as the all inclusive. My husband wind-surfs and sails and we both snorkel, preferable off the beach at the hotel. We prefer islands that are more lush ecologically and ones that also have some touring options available. My husband speaks French, Spanish, and Italien, and loves the abilty to speak languages when we travel. Two years ago, we stayed with our 2 grown children at a wonderful AI in Belize and loved it- it was beautiful with gorgeous rooms had interesting guests, wonderful food, activities, and excursions. It was also environmentally friendly. And expensive, I might add.

OK, fellow Fodorites- we'd love some help from those of you who travel to the Caribbean regularly. We are looking to travel in January and wonder where you would go. Would you recommend Club Med or another all-inclusive? What islands do you prefer? Are some islands or hotels more "appropriate" for folks in our age bracket? Are there new hotels/resorts that we might never have heard of?

We have used the forum for our European travel and have been delighted by people's generous contributions. We'd love any help you could give us on this trip.

Thanks,
Margret

Margaret,
I can only help with selection of place....I'm not a hotel person nor AI. I typically rent private villas throughout...some are AI but I think you want to be on the beach and if you do that with private villas they are very expensive though some places not so much....we generally drive to beach. Ok for places, for lush try Tobago, St. Lucia, Bequia, Dominica, St. John, Tortola, Virgin Gorda. The best of those for snorkeling are Tobago, St. John and Virgin Gorda....sorry not sure about windsurfing. You might also wish to consider the west coast of Costa Rica....I do know a great resort there though not AI but get a villa with private pool....off season about $250/night....and they do have room service and its cheap!

Thanks, Traveler863,

Actually, we have thought about Costa Rica, so any suggestions would be appreciated. I actually think that maybe posting on the Latin America site would be helpful, but havn't as of yet.

Any other suggestions out there?

Thanks again.

My wife and I (60ish) have had good snorkling at St. John (Caneel Bay) and Bonaire (Capt Don). Both had some touring available. Also consider Martinique.

Have you done AIs with Club ABC or Apple? They are good. ((C))

For lush can not beat St Lucia. My wife and I (mid - late 50s) were just there and loved it. Snorkeling from beach is best at Hilton Jalousie at base of Pitons. Otherwise we found it best from boats. There is lots of wind surfing on south east coast of island but I do not know about level of hotels/resorts there. We stayed in Castries area which is north. Lots of lodging options available. Lots of AI and lots of non-AI. We used St James Club which is AI and we enjopyed. Sandals has three properties. For real lushness check out Ladera and Anse Chastanet by Pitons both built on hillsides.

Margaret,
A great hotel in Tamarindo, Costa Rica is the Cala Luna. Their website is www.calaluna.com
Tamarindo is a surfing town...though I wouldn't say snorkeling is all that great there, although in other areas nearby. Cala Luna is not on the beach but a 5 minute walk, the best thing about this hotel are their villas each with private pool....service is excellent.

TORTOLA. We stayed in Tortola BVI last year at the Sugar Mill Hotel, a small romantic place with gorgeous views and very good dining. You can take a water taxi, ferry or sail to several other islands--Jost Van Dyke, Norman Island, Peter Island etc. Another good choice is the Villas at Fort Recovery near the West End Marina. You will need to rent a jeep to get around the hills. At Cane Garden Bay there is a long gorgeous beach.
JAMAICA: We have also enjoyed Jamaica at Super Clubs Grand Lido Braco at Runaway Bay. It's about a 40 minute transfer from the airport in Montego Bay. We met a couple in your age group and they loved it--even went kayaking in the ocean. We took a full day tour of Southern Jamaica with stops at YS Falls, a cruise down the Black River (alligators) etc.
PUERTO RICO. We have traveled to Puerto Rico a large island with a rain forest and beautiful beach at Luqillo (except weekends!). You can tour around the island, visit a coffee plantation, watch the surfers at Rincon etc. Copamarina Hotel, Horned Dorset Primavera--plenty of choices.