undecidedbeachbums

Active family with athletic, energetic 9 & 10 yr olds trying to decide between T & C (Royal West Indies) vs USVI St Thomas (Secret Harbor) with day trip to BVI. Will be going Oct 20-27, 2006. We are not "touristy" just want a location with great beaches (wavy or calm), warm water, and good snorkeling opportunities. Plan on renting car. Have been to USVI 15 yrs ago..wondered about increasing crime issue now? Was also considering Curacao or Barbados but its a longer trip and thought it may be more pricey. Been to Caymans but did not like 7 mile beach--too touristy--, cruised to St Marten, St Lucia, Antigua and Barbados and been to Kauai. We are concerned about whether the water may be cooler in T & C at the end of Oct...

kfusto

If you thought Cayman was touristy, St. Thomas will turn your stomach (it does mine). I do care for the USVI at all, but St John is the best of that bunch. I am a runner and would not run alone in St. Thomas. It is the only island in the Caribbean (I have been to most at least once, some many times) where I would not be comfortable visiting alone.

Now the BVI is a different story. Not overrun yet by tourism and will lots of natural beauty. I also love St. Lucia, enjoy Antigua and think St. Maarten is great though more touristy than the other two.

Riveria Maya in MX might be worth exploring as an option as well.

Carrybean

Oh, PLEASE! I've LIVED alone in St. Thomas since 1989. Not one bad thing has happened to me here. I even go to work without a security guard. What nonsense.

Carrybean

I should also state I lived in Sint Maarten for 7 years prior to moving here. There I was robbed several times, beaten up & raped. Do I like Sint Maarten/St. Martin? Yes, I do & also recommend it as long as people are aware the crime happens everywhere & some places are better able to hid it from their main industry - tourism.

Crime happens everywhere

barginhunter

undecided, We went to St. Croix with our children of similar ages last year. We loved it many things to see and do quite beaches, good snorkeling. No problem with crime and we drove all over the island searched out every nook and cranny had a ball. Don't miss Buck Island. This year we are going to Provo. Royal West Indies gets great reviews you can't go wrong staying there. Can't wait to see that beautiful blue water. We are very excited about our upcomming trip. Please let us know what you decide.

Tuxedocat

Our friends honeymooned in T&C and liked it very much. They loved visiting us in St. John but it really depends on what you want. We love watersports and the possibilities are endless. We are also quite aware that crime happens even on laid-back St. John, and we go to St. Thomas all the time for shopping and its excellent beaches. We're city folk so we always have that third eye open and have not had any bad experiences. Knock on wood. There is increasing crime absolutely everywhere. Carrybean: Yeeesh! Best wishes for continuing peace on St. Thomas.

vpj

I would strongly suggest T&C for a family vacation. There isn't much night life there, so you won't find a lot of the party crowd. But there's a lot of snorkling and fun family activities. What I love about T&C is you don't feel a strong need to do a lot of sightseeing. We return often to T&C, and we have no desire to return to St. Thomas. You can visit T&C and not spend a fortune but still stay at a nice resort.