Which Caribbean island would suit our interests?
Jan 6th, 2003, 12:40 PM
#1
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Which Caribbean island would suit our interests?
Hello, my husband and I went to the Bahamas (Atlantis, Paradise Island) a couple of years ago. We were very impressed with the resort and beach, and had a great time. But we were disappointed with the island in general/outside the resort, mainly because of the poverty we saw. We wanted to take a tour around Nassau and of the rest island, and maybe do some shopping, but the ride to/from the airport/resort was enough for us.<BR><BR>Like I said, we did enjoy ourselves overall with the beach at the resort, and the food was excellent. So, we're considering possibly visiting another Caribbean island. Here's what we're looking for and where we're considering:<BR><BR>-interested in snorkeling, EXCELLENT food, clean beaches, top-notch hotels/resorts, high standard of living/clean/safe, gambling optional<BR>-we're located in southern CA; a short flight would be ideal, as I get airsick<BR><BR>-Hubby is Dutch, so we considered St. Martin, but I've been reading about the rising crime there on these boards.<BR>-Aruba or Curacao might be another possibility, but I don't know if it meets our requirements.<BR>-other possible islands - Cayman, USVI (which one(s)?), St. Barths<BR><BR>Thanks for your input.
Jan 6th, 2003, 01:25 PM
#2
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I think you would like either St. John,USVI or St Barts. Both lovely islands. Of the two, St. John is more laid back not so European influenced. St John has wonderful clean beaches and a lovely town with "fab " restaurants.<BR><BR>You won't go wrong with either island.
Jan 6th, 2003, 03:03 PM
#4
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I have to agree with Susan to a large degree.<BR>Since it sounds like you are not interested in Caribbean culture at all, and you liked Atlantis and the Bahamas, I would suggest Grand Cayman or Aruba. (Grand Cayman has excellent snorkeling and diving.)<BR>Most of Caribbean Mexico is extremely safe but does not meet your needs as far as the "no visible poverty" part goes.<BR><BR>
Jan 6th, 2003, 04:24 PM
#6
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From Southern California, NONE of these destinations are short flights. Have you considered the resort on the Baja? What about Cabo? Why not go to Hawaii?<BR><BR>If you want to go to the Caribbean and money is not object, St. Barths would fit the bill perfectly - very little crime, great beaches, fantastic French cuisine. chi chi resort. Maybe your doctor can give you something for the air sickness, because I am sure you will be flying for several hours to get to any Caribbean destination. The food on Aruba in good, but not excellent.
Jan 6th, 2003, 04:39 PM
#7
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Well, from your criteria I recommend:<BR>- Grand Cayman<BR>- St. John<BR>- St. Thomas<BR>(Aruba is a longer flight, but it would be within your wants).<BR><BR>I wouldn't rule out St. Martin altogether - staying on the French side is wonderful. Phillipsburg/the Dutch side can't compare.<BR><BR>I get air/car/sea/train sick, and the ONLY thing that EVER worked completely for me is Bonine - it's over-the-counter and is not like Dramamine or the Rx patch. Try it; taking maybe 1/2 or 1 to start.<BR><BR>I can understand your apprehensions; however, I wish for the future you'd reconsider your viewpoint, because altho the poverty issue is found in most of the islands, by limiting yourself you are also missing out on some wonderful travel that includes gorgeous scenery, history, and local flavor. (P.S. you are one of the very few I've heard who rave about Atlantis; a friend of ours just came back from there 2 weeks ago and hated it - the food, the lack of help by the staff for directions, the beach, etc.; she said the best thing was the aquariums).<BR><BR>One of my friends lives in Lk. Forest, and I was thinking if he and his family were to come to the Carib., the closest for traveling to the Carib. would be the islands listed above. Hope this helps.
Jan 6th, 2003, 04:49 PM
#8
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Curacao meets your requirements. They have a Marriott, Sheraton, Beaches, etc. They have a very high standard of living. There is a large Dutch (read: Caucasion) population on the island. Just about everyone speaks three or four languages (English, Dutch, Papamiento, and Spanish).<BR><BR>The beaches are fabulous, as is the snorkeling directly off the beach. We ate at several very good restaurants while there. There are several casinos. Decent shopping.<BR><BR>We never felt unsafe walking around the island, even at night. We rented a car for our stay and never had any problems driving around, even after dark.<BR><BR>While we enjoyed Curacao, it was not the kind of Caribbean vacation we like to take. We like small, non-commercialized islands, which Curacao definitely is not, but it sounds like what you are looking for. Curacao has a very metropolitan, European feel to it, rather than a Caribbean feel.<BR><BR>I don't think a short flight from CA to the Caribbean is at all realistic. We live outside Houston TX and we don't even have short flights. Our trip to Curacao was probably the shortest flight we had though, we flew Houston to Miami then Miami to Curacao. Thankfully, skipping Puerto Rico. We made it there by 2:00pm.<BR><BR>Good luck!
Jan 7th, 2003, 02:22 PM
#9
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I would suggest either Curacao or GC. If the hotel is the most important, pick Curacao and then stay at the Marriott. It used to be a Sonesta and it's beautiful. The rooms are big as are the bathrooms. The pool area is very impressive. It reminded us a lot of Hawaii. There's a very nice beach bar that has music a couple of nights a week as well as Karaoke a couple of nights. Most of the food is very good and one night a week they do a big buffet with lots of choices of meat, fresh vegetables, etc. and the restaurants on the island are excellent. Additionally, with your husband being dutch, he would fit right in. <BR>GC doesn't have as nice of a hotel choice. However, the water gives a wonderful opportunity to snorkel, dive, and just enjoy the water. We still are talking about the food from February 2002 when we were there. My husband particularly liked Ragazzi's and their pizza.Because it is very americanized it may be exactly what you are looking for.
Jan 7th, 2003, 04:27 PM
#10
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Don't assume that Curacao is that safe. And by the way, most of native Curacaonans we meet were black or of mixed decent. Aruba had more mixed decent people.<BR><BR>Curacao is a wonderful island with very friendly people and has great diving which we love, but it is not crime free either. It is more of a windy desert isle as opposed to a lush tropical isle. When we rented a car, we were constantly warned not to go to desserted beaches and watch our valuables since car stealing was very prevalent. We had no problems, but just wanted to give you information so you can make an informed decision.
Jan 7th, 2003, 04:47 PM
#13
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To the original poster: If you were impressed by Atlantis (of all places!)then it seems that it does not take much to impress you. Trust me, there are places far more impressive than that in the Bahamas, pity you did not take the time to find out. It is also interesting that you would make mention of "the poverty you saw" in the Bahamas when it seems apparent from your note that the most you saw of the Bahamas was the ride from the airport to the resort and back. You see, most of the islands in the Caribbean (even GC and Bermuda, suprise, surprise) have some degree of visible poverty, some more than others, as is the case, I am sure, in your own backyard. Poverty is a fact of life as you well know. If you do not want to see it, you may not come out of your house. That said, based on the criterion you mention, I would suggest the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, St John, Nevis, Barbados or Anguilla. Of course, none of these places are a short plane ride from CA so you would need to visit your doc for medication to control your airsickness or otherwise look at Mexico or Hawaii - trust that there will be no sign of poverty in either of those locations.
Jan 7th, 2003, 05:08 PM
#15
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You would really enjoy the quiet northeastern end of St. Thomas with a beautiful ride over to St. Johns and then the BVI. Very nice places to eat, very good snorkeling, and affordable to have the extras (like going to the other islands for an excursion. I have a beautiful place for you if your interested. Just let me know and I will send you more information.<BR>Lisa
Jan 8th, 2003, 06:06 AM
#16
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Grand Cayman meets almost all of your criteria. From CA, it is one of the easiest flights compared to other caribbean islands. The beach & water is top notch, with world class snorkeling & diving. The restaurants are absolutely excellent. The locals are friendly as can be, and you will see very little poverty. The downside to GC is that it can be very expensive. If you do your homework, you'll find very nice accomodations for reasonable rates.
Jan 8th, 2003, 09:07 AM
#17
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I was a little frosted to read Travelers comments about Curacao. It is a very safe island. The only safer place I have ever been was GC. As far as a mixed descent, yes, they are very multi-cultural, but it is a DUTCH island. Again, with the exception of GC, there were less blacks than on other islands. I am amazed that someone who calls themselves "Traveler" would appear to be shocked that there might be some black people there. We are on a Caribbean forum, after all. We have rented cars in Curacao and never been warned about deserted beaches or car stealing. We were told that they have "petty" crimes which involve stealing items out of cars, thus, make sure the car is locked, but I would love to know what deserted island "Traveler" lives on that they have no crime in their own state. BTW, I think it's a little unfair to state that Aruba has more "Decent" people. By whose standards?
Jan 8th, 2003, 09:35 AM
#19
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Aruba might have what you're looking for - definitely no poverty there! And Dutch spoken and used there much more than on St. Maarten (we're Dutch, so I can tell). The island is certainly prosperous, we have never noticed any poverty there. Nice resorts, beautiful beaches esp. in the 'low-rise' hotel area, good food. Friendly, hospitable people, and generally the island feels very safe. On the down side, the island is a bit dry and scrubby, and looks somewhat 'Americanized' and sterile. Still, we like it a lot and have been back there many times.
