mexgirl

We are planning our summer, and I have 3 teenagers who love watersports, snorkling and other teens. Any suggestions?

sherrie

I'm interested in this as well. We're looking at Turks and Caicos for 2008 with our teenage son. Hope you get some replies with good suggestions.

bajangirl

Your choices are endless. St Lucia, Grenada, Antigua and St Maarten/St Martin fit all your requirements. St Lucia and Grenada have lots of other things to do as well as they are so mountainous and forested.
St Maarten has the added benefit of being very close to Anguilla, St Barths, Saba and St Eustatius - great for day trip diversions.
Grenada also has sister islands of Petite Martinique and Carriacou - the ferry crossing alone can be very "interesting".
You might find www.destinationcaribbean.net helpful as they have an overview of each island plus lists of available activities.

bkluvsNola

It's as simple as ABC: Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao.

They are all outside of the hurricane belt, which is definitely a plus. They have great sandy beaches and calm water on one side, with rocky beaches and surf on the other. They are all windy so windsurfing is very popular.

My wife and I had our honeymoon on Aruba and I can definitely say you can't go wrong.

murfus

Hi
I do think you should consider Barbados too. It has a lot of it's own culture and many many activities which would suite teens. An adventure tour, a day at the races, small museums and George Washington house which can be seen in a short "teen friendly" space of time and a very healthy nightlife scene. See the same destinationcaribbean.net website Barbados Activities section for photos and write up.
In the summer Barbados also have their "Kadooment" festivel where teens could join a "band" for a day and dress up and have a very different day. This may need a little planning ahead but could be big deal.
Sorry but I think Barbados is a lot more teen friendly than many of the other less "developed" islands, but I guess it depends on how long you were going to stay.
Good luck with your choise.
M

netzie0220

How about a cruise to various carribbean islands? We cruised with our 3 teen boys on Royal Carribbean - Voyager class ship, and they had the time of their lives! They did plenty of snorkeling, watersports, and were with other teens all the time.

For us, it's the only way to travel the carribbean...my boys would get bored on the same island for a week.

Check it out!

brewlew

We love St. John in the U>S> Virgins. Rented a house very reasonbly in summer and everyone had their own bedrooms. The house had a pool. The beaches on the island are gorgeous and the snorkeling is great. We also took a very fast boat cruise to Tortola in the British Virgins. Our teenagers thought it was paradise. But . . . if your kids want the company of other kids,I don't think you can beat Atlantis in the Bahamas.

lovethecape

I think brewlew has some good suggestions. Atlantis is huge but the teens will love the slides. I'm not sure if the new waterpark has opened.

St. John is beautiful. I'd love to go back and rent a villa but my kids love the Westin, where you'll find many other families and teens. We rented a timeshare which was more reasonable than renting from the resort directly. You'll have to rent a car to visit the beautiful beaches (great snorkeling) on the island since the Westin's beach really can't compare to other island beaches.

I haven't been but I would think Grand Cayman would be great for teens.

eandj

Grand Cayman has the best most exciting beach...7 mile beach. BEAUTIFUL trul white sand. Lots of activity. Great "downtown" with cool shopping and eateries. Also Stingray City is sooo fun for teens.

vinceygirl

Though Windjammer Barefoot cruises receive mixed reviews there is a Junior Jammer program and one for teens under 18. All the posts I have read are quite positive. Personally I wouldn't sail the Caribbean any other way than via WJ with the exception of a charter or bareboat. The large ships hold no interest for me. I took my niece who was 18 at the time and she loved it. Didn't matter that there were no other teenagers on board, she hung with the adults and had the time of her life. She was the youngest passenger, with the eldest being 79 or 80. Age differences didn't matter. These cruises are one of the few places I've visited where there is no pretension. Age, prejudices, income, race or religion have no place on the ship. Fast forward 9 years and my niece is now the mother of 2 daughters with another child on the way and talks about her next WJ cruise with the children when they are age appropriate.

girlonthego

Aruba has tons of watersports right in front of the hotels. Your teens would love it.
We are headed to Grand Cayman this summer and our kids are now teens as well. They have all sorts of watersports and excellent snorkeling right in front of the hotels.