jerseygrl

Hello everyone! We have 6 nights and 7 days to vacation in March. My parents, my brother and wife along with my husband and I will be taking the trip together. My parents are very healthy and active. The other four of us are in our late 20's and early 30's. Our family vacation has ALWAYS been in the Bahamas at the Atlantis. We have stayed in every part of the resort, but recently since the Cove has opened that has been our spot. We have finally been able to get my parents to agree that change is good! We love the Bahamas but its time for a new island for this vacation. We have discussed Turks & Caicos, St Thomas (The Ritz Hotel because we can use points), and Grand Cayman (The Ritz because we can use points) We have AMEX & Marriott Pts.

Here's a little info about my family: Our island trips during the day are spent either lounging on the beach or at the pool, swimming, snorkeling & water sports, relaxing, little sightseeing, sipping island drinks.
We all LOVE visiting the spa for treatments and to use their facilities. We also LOVE to use the gym. So the spa/gym is important.
Before dinner we like to enjoy a few cocktails together, have great food at dinner, drinks and a little night life after. (This does not mean a dance club or crazy night time atmosphere) We are perfectly fine with grabbing a few cocktails at a hotel bar or a fun spot with live music.

We will be coming from the NYC area and would prefer to visit an island that requires just one nonstop flight. Out of the three islands I have named which would be a good option for us? Or do you have any other island vacation ideas for us to look into?
Thanks for all your help! My parents will also appreciate the help!

valturks

jerseygrl - sounds like you guys need to visit us here in the Turks & Caicos Islands - that's for sure! Grace Bay beach .... number 1 in the world..

Weadles

I loved Turks and Caicos, but it can be a very expensive island. What is your total budget? Also, there is not much to do in terms of sightseeing or nightlife, so you have to to be OK with that. The beach is absolutely spectacular- one of the prettiest and longest in the Caribbean. We stayed at The West Bay Club last fall, and are going back again in November. It's at the quieter end of Grace Bay Beach, but I don't think you could ask for better beachfront or room accommodations. Although it's not cheap, I found it a very good value for the island.

About your other choices: I've never stayed at The Ritz in Grand Cayman, but we used to visit the island all the time. The hotel has a wonderful reputation for service and rooms, but if you book there, make sure that you book a beachside room, rather than one across the street from Seven Mile Beach. It can be a hike to get back and forth otherwise. Also, like Turks, Grand Cayman has a reputation for being one of the more expensive Caribbean islands.

St. Thomas doesn't appeal to me at all. We've only gone through it on our way to St. John ( love St. John). It's one of the more commercial islands, although as I remember it, The Ritz is on a beach that overlooks St. John? Anyway, it's a stop for a lot of a cruise ships and has that overrun tourist feel that I don't like.

Good luck with your choice, and have fun!

jerseygrl

Weadles: Thanks so much for your response. My husband and I have cruised twice to Caribbean islands and fell in love with the water in Turks & Caicos. We only had a chance to go to Grand Turk for the day, but ive heard wonderful things about the island.

We also cruised to St Thomas and went to St John which is amazing! One of the reasons we were considering St Thomas is so we could stay at the Ritz and use points and be able to visit some of the other islands. We have heard they have a shuttle boat (for a price of course) or you can rent one for your family for the day.

We are kind of use to the "tourist" trap because we have spent many many many years at the Atlantis Bahamas going a few times a year even. I think as far as night time activity goes for us....we would love to have dinner/cocktails and maybe some live music or a fun bar a few times during our stay. Some nights we may want to just crash after dinner.

Thanks for helping!!!

Weadles

There are definitely more than a couple of fun bars on Turks! We went to SOMEWHERE cafe each day for lunch and sometimes at sunset, too for drinks. It's a very short walk from West Bay Club, and has decent Mexican food. I know there are other bars, ,too, one at The Gansevoort Hotel, which is just next door to West Bay. But after a day in the sun, we were slugs!. I'm sure some of the much more informed T&C experts will be able to help with the names.

BTW, I thought I was obsessed with the beach in Negril, Jamaica, until I saw Grace Bay! It's stunning!

blamona

I've been to all the above.
I love St John! But if you're going to VI you really need to stay there. Don't like St. Thomas at all, although the Ritz there itself is nice. You can take ferries to oth islands, if you pick this do not miss Virgin Gorda or Jost Van Dyke.

Caymans are really nice, tons to do, but they can have up to 7 big boats on port sharing vacations with you.

Atlantis is a blast! There is mo other resort like Atlantis in the Caribbean.

Which brings me to Provo (Turks and Caicos)

If you loved the water on Grand Turk, you'll love Provo. Grand Turk is sleepy, laid back, quiet, more about scuba. The beaches of Provo are far superior to Grand Turk! I know, hard to believe! Just pure scrumptiousness Mind boggling. All the resorts are new, upscale, luxurious, not a bad place to stay

West Bay Club for the money is amazing. Yu do need a car to get to better restaurants around the island, but the restaurants on Provo are some of the best in Caribbean with amazing settings. Easy to drive around, everything is only 5-10 minutes by car.

jerseygrl

Thanks for responding Blamona! I feel like it is such a hard choice, but I am leaning a little more towards Turks & Caicos. I'm so curious to see Provo now!! There are so many hotels to choose from! We would really love one on the beach, close to restaurants, and one that has a really nice spa and fitness center because we do spend a lot of time there. What are some of your suggestions to look into as far as hotels?? I will check out West Bay Club too!

TurtleTagger

Provo's Grace Bay Beach is a 10, Grand Cayman's Seven Mile Beach is a 9. If you are looking for a bit more to do than chill on the beach I'd also suggest you consider Grand Cayman. If all you want to do is beach it, then look no further than Provo.

Grand Cayman has many, many more sightseeing activities available, better dinning scene (IMO), no guest workers living in the bush, fewer stray dogs roaming about, actual nightclubs, but no casinos. It is more developed with the types of retail and services that remind one of a developed country like the States.

Cruise ships visitors flood George Town and the popular tourist attractions like Sting Ray City, Turtle Farm and the Captive Dolphin forced encounter centers. Easy enough to plan around them by checking the cruise ship schedule. If you are staying at the Ritz, or any accommodation along Seven Mile Beach, and are somehow impacted by cruise visitors you are doing something wrong.