can someone please help me with a big dilemna i have having regarding my honeymoon vacation at the end of september? seems as though the places i want to go in anguilla or st. barts are closed during this time. is there any point going to these places this time of year or does anyone have a suggestion on where we might go that is extremely nice? a place where there are beautiful beaches/hotels where i can lounge away in a tiki hut bar and explore like i hear anguilla and st. barts have? thanks for any help.

The problem is hurricane season. To improve the odds, places like Belize and Aruba are considered "out of" the hurricane belt.

September and October is the height of hurricane season in the Caribbean which is why you are finding a lot of places on Anguilla and St. Barts are closed. The same will hold true for the USVI's, the BVI's and any other island north of St. Vincent. Try looking at Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, Trinade & Tabago, Grenada, St. Lucia and Barbados. These islands are either out of the hurricane belt entirely or are lees frequented by the tropical storms so more places remain open.

thanks for the advice. just my damned luck? anyone have a suggestion other than caribbean then? heard bora bora is great but i'm not too excited about an 18 hour plane flight.

You might look into Belize. We knew very little about it until some people mentioned it to us. The 2nd largest barrier reef in the world runs along it. The most visited island is Ambergris Caye. Though we were going for the water sports, we had a tremendous time inland as well. Jungle resorts, with caving and river rafting, was great fun. Getting there is fairly easy, direct flights from several US cities.

What about Hawaii? You might be able to get good deals in September, as I believe that is the beginning of low season there and no hurricane worries. Maui has great food, resorts, beaches, snorkelling, hiking, etc.

Belize is definitely NOT out of the Hurricane Belt... Hurricane Mitch did appalling damage to Honduras a few years ago......right next door to Belize.

There are "no hurricane worries in Hawaii"??
Whoa!
Incorrectomundo on that one. Remember hurricane Iniki (1992)?
The official huuricane season for the central Pacific is the same as for the Caribbean, June 1-November 30, but unlike the Caribbean, 'tropical cyclones' as they're officially called, can occur in any month in the Pacific.
Hawaii is not hit nearly as often as the Caribbean islands because it's small relative to the area and the water in the area is generally cool which blunts storm force. But strong tropical storms and hurricanes still strike Hawaii.

Thanks TravLeis! I stand corrected. I'm just an Easterner who dreams of going back to Maui. We're bombarded here in D.C. with all the news of tropical storms and hurricanes in the Caribbean, but we don't really hear about Pacific weather very often.

Definitely Aruba. We had terrific weather when we went in September.