A friend and I were planning on going to Puerto Rico in late April. However, the lack of public transportation [we live in NYC] and a lot of other suggestions are making us look elsewhere. Can anyone suggest an island -that would be worth to spend three days at, nice beaches, good walking places [if that makes sense], see some historic sites [we were really interested in the rainforest in Puerto Rico], and relax? WE are both young women, travel a lot but never have been to the carribean. We want a nice weekend/getaway. Thanks so much.

Hi Micki922<BR><BR>If you are looking for a historic place, Puerto Rico would suit you both well. I'm sure you will be fine as long as you don't venture out at night.<BR><BR>Otherwise, another possibility could be Bermuda, it would be a straight shot from NYC, probably only an 1.5 hour flight.<BR><BR>Or if you are looking for cheap...try Cancun or Florida.<BR><BR>Happy planning!

Are you willing to reconsider PR? It really will fit the bill, and you'll get there in about 3-4 hours, which is pretty important for a weekend getaway. <BR><BR>Yes, the public transportation stinks, but there are plenty of cabs. The rainforest (El Yunque) is spectacular! I used to live just 10 minutes from there. If you decide to go, feel free to email me at my screen name @ hotmail.com for any questions you may have.

fly non-stop to St. Maarten, stay at the Maho Beach hotel, alot is in walking distance, and cabs are everywhere. We do a long weekend almost every year, plus a few weeks during the year. Great place.

I went to PR on a girls' trip and recently returned from Aruba with my husband. <BR><BR>I thought Aruba was very safe - you should stay downtown (we stayed at the Renaissance, which is right downtown but has a water taxi that comes into the hotel lobby and takes you to a beautiful private island) - this way you can walk to a lot of restaurants/bars/shops, but also can get to the beach whenever you want. The service is great, the people are very friendly. The weather is consistently beautiful. There isn't a whole lot to see, but you're not there for long.<BR><BR>PR - there's old San Juan, which will keep you busy for a day but can be dangerous at night. I stayed at the Coronado Marriott which was very nice, and pretty affordable. The water was warmer than in Aruba. Yes, there's the rainforest, but it's 40 miles away from San Juan, and I heard it wasn't that great. <BR><BR>The thing is that PR is probably better for singles, Aruba was more of a honeymoon/couples spot.<BR><BR>Good luck wherever you go!

Check with JetBlue. They started flying into PR this year and their prices are always good. We love flying JetBlue.<BR><BR>Have a great time.