What islands in the Caribbean for a honeymoon?
 

I am looking for help with some decisions on an island for a honeymoon. I have been to Bermuda, Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts/Nevis and Anguilla. Anguilla has been the favorite so far. I had wondered about St. Vincents and the Grenadines. We are not into that much night life. Just beautiful beaches, snorkeling, great food and a nice place to stay. Not crazy about the cruise ship islands/casino action. I have a pretty big budget and would appreciate any hotel recommendations as well. I am looking at the end of August-early Sept. time frame. I read this site often and really learn a lot from everyone that posts. Thanks for your help!

In the Grenadines, Petit St. Vincent is a private island resort with private beachfront cottages and wade-in snorkeling. See www.psvresort.com and www.scubamom.com If you want to do some sightseeing on a wonderful island, check out Barbados. The class act there is Coral reef Club with an excellent restaurant and great dining elsewhere on the island. See www.coralreefbarbados.com and www.barbados.org
Both Islands are far enough south for hurricanes to be rare. If you want to take your chances with hurricanes, Caneel Bay resort on St.John is incredibly romantic, with 171 rooms on 170 acres within a National Park, on 7 tree shaded white sand beaches all with wade-in snorkeling. See www.caneelbay.com

The description of what you want sounds exactly like St. John - and if you have a big budget I would stay beachfront at Caneel.

I say look into Palm Island in the Grenadines:
http://www.palmislandresortgrenadines.com/

or Caneel in St. John as mentioned above.
http://www.caneelbay.com/

If you have any interest in Hawaii, my favorite place of all is the Princeville Resort on the north shore of Kauai. Gorgeous.
http://www.princeville.com/

Make sure you get trip insurance just in case you run into bad weather. It's hurricane season. good luck and congrats!

We were disappointed with our stay on Petite St. Vincent - owners were a bit standoffish, staff just so so, food was just average. Things might have changed since original owner haze Richardson died about a year or so ago.

Conside going to Virgin Gorda and staying at Little Dix Bay. It's one of our favorite resorts in the Caribbean, been there multiple times and never been disappointed. Also look at Peter island (in the BVI's) - this private island resorts has everything you are seeking.

We LOVE Sandy Lane in Barbados!

www.sandylane.com

Congratulations on your upcoming marriage!

The Grenadines are Paradise! We love Palm Island. It is a private-island resort. An ideal tropical place for a honeymoon. Stunning beauty and the clearest waters! They have an extraordinary beach that is perfect for lounging around.

You will find no cruise ships down there. The food is well prepared and the nightlife is more of a relaxed atmosphere. I think you'd be very happy there.

Thanks to all for your input. We had planned on going to Bora Bora, but we are coming from the east coast and the thought of a 13-14 hour flight just seems too much for me right now. Thanks Kellybeaches for the Hawaii suggestion as I had thought about that as well. I have never been there either and have never really checked anything as I love the Caribbean so much and it is so close. The hurricane season does put a damper on it. I also plan on being down there for a couple of weeks so could possibly change islands as well. We are in our early 40's but tend to be somewhat lazy when it comes to repacking and changing islands. I had also read about Peter Island but had forgotten about it. I will definitely check out your suggestions. Thanks.

We're pretty lazy when it comes to our island vacations, but we split a two week vacation into a week on Anguilla and a week on Nevis. You really only "waste" a few hours, but then I like flying on small planes! :)

Bora Bora is gorgeous, but completely understand the reservations about flying for so many hours. Oh, and I think Princeville is closed for renovations (or it may reopen as a St. Regis).

I would recommend Biras Creek on VG. They've got a quiet beach and you can take their Boston Whalers to visit other secluded beaches. Great food, too. Of course, you're going down in hurricane season, so you may want to look farther south as the others have said. Good luck...decisions, decisions, decisions...

DavefromCA-I could not find a Princeville on Bora Bora but do know there is a St. Regis as well as the Four Seasons. I would love to go there but the only flights I can find on the way back don't leave until 10 or 11pm and fly all night and then of course the trek from LA to DC. UGH! I don't know anything about Virgin Gorda so will check it out. How did you like Anguilla? We are tempted to go back there too. We stayed at Cuisinart last time and loved it. I liked it better than Nevis. I was not that impressed with the beach in Nevis, although the island is very beautiful. Thanks for your input.

I live on the East Coast, my honeymoon was Bora Bora. It's completely different from anything in the Caribbean, and the scenery is stunning, but quite frankly, there is nothing to do. It made a great honeymoon as we were exhausted, and I would love to go back some day. Hawaii is just as far, so if you're considering Hawaii, I'd go to Bora Bora instead.

I love Anguilla too.

If you want a "hilly" island for honeymoon, I'd recommend a split between Little Dix Bay in Virgin Gorda and Caneel Bay in St. John. They are sister properties, so the transfers are included in the package. There is excellent snorkeling, easy day trip island hopping, gorgeous scenery.

If you don't mind "rustic" luxury, you may also want to consider Palm Island in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Similar to Virgin Islands, but a little more off the beaten path. The views from Palm Island looking at Union Island are like a little Bora Bora. Tobago Cays are stunning, and there's a little sand bar with an umbrella in the middle, picnics there will make you giddy. You may want to consider Petit St. Vincent or Raffles Canaoun for the honeymoon--all have access to each other, and you still get the mini Bora Bora views from Palm Island.

I adore Anguilla, love Bermuda, enjoyed Barbados,enjoyed Virgin Gorda split Little Dix and Caneel in St. John years ago, ended up staying at Caneel a few times, love Jumby Bay Antigua (scheduled to reopen in the fall), glad we went to Jalousie in St. Lucia,not a big fan of St. Lucia and did not really enjoy Tortola.
Its all about the beach, nice dining and no crowds for us.

So needless to say we go back and back to Anguilla, and
Bermuda, and Jumby Bay. On Anguilla Cap Juluca has had a renovation,looks stunning, and in now open year round, you might want to split CJ and Caneel. Liat flys there.
Friends of mind just did Anguilla and St. Barts.

I might add that Sandy Lane looks wonderful, and their
beach is one of the nicest on the gold coast (is that what
they call it). Its been years since we went to Barbados,
its a very pretty island, nice dining, lots more to see and
do, IMHO the best sunsets in the caribbean.

Lots of great ideas on this forum.

Traditionally, nearly all of the restaurants and resorts in Anguilla begin shutting down in August and remain shuttered until November 1. This year, Cap Juluca has decided to try to remain open during September & October; which restaurants will follow suit remains to be seen. Many restaurant owners had personal, family or renovation plans for the "down time" so making a quick shift won't be easy for some. Just offered for your consideration.

MaryD has a really good point. Same goes for St. John. We were there in Sept and almost all of the restaurants were closed for hurricane season. However if you were to stay at Caneel their restaurant stays open.

I love Caneel Bay on St. John. I think I read that it is closing for September/October this year though.

Thanks to all for your input. I absolutely loved Anguilla. We were there in 2007. It was my fiance's first Caribbean trip and he is a huge beach person. We are lazy and don't like there to be a lot of people, so Penny, I hear you on the no crowds and beaches part. I have always stayed away from the Virgin Islands, as I fear the cruise ships we always try to go in very late spring and the summer months. However, I have been looking at LDB and it seems nice. Blamona, what does "rustic" mean for the Palm Island? I looked at the web site and it looks dark to me. I prefer a lighter more beachy type of room, so maybe that is what you mean by rustic. Thanks-I will check out your other suggestions.

We've been to several islands - Grand Cayman (twice), St. John, Virgin Gorda, Tortola, Aruba, and Curacao. Out of these islands, for a honeymoon I would consider GC, SJ, or VG the best choices. We personally love GC for many reasons, but if you want the true Caribbean feel, I'd go for SJ or VG. On St. John, I'd skip the hotel and definitely rent a private villa with pool (think skinny dipping!). We rented a villa and it was a wonderful experience and what I'd consider to be perfect for a honeymoon. Then, rent a Jeep and explore/snorkel all the great beaches. There are some wonderful restaurants on SJ. You can take the ferry over to St. Thomas for shopping.

If your budget permits, you can even take a day trip over to Virgin Gorda and snorkel The Baths. There's a small bar called Mad Dogs at the top of The Baths that serves the absolute BEST pina coladas we've ever tasted. If you've never heard of The Baths, look it up on the Internet.

For an even more "rustic" experience is actually staying on Virgin Gorda. We stayed at The Bitter End Yacht Club. Fabulous hillside villa overlooking the water with a true island feel to it. Almost like you are living outside but with all the amenities. Only issue with BEYC is that is is water-locked, so you have to travel by boat to get to other places on the island and you also will need to eat most of your meals at BEYC. Water sports is included in your stay and you can take out Boston Whalers, etc. Someone ahead of me mentioned Biras Creek, which I hear is a very nice place and worth checking out.

We love Grand Cayman and it is the most accessible, but it is less "Caribbean" and scenic than going to the USVI or BVI. Still, I happen to love it and think it is a great place. It is very clean, has no poverty, many great restaurants, etc. Stingray City is a "must" if you ever go to GC.

Whatever you decide, have a great time!