WHICH ISLAND? HELP!
 

My family and I are planning a Caribbean vacation, probably in February 2006. First, I need to know if this is a good time of year to be visiting. It will be me, my girlfriend, and my 16 year old daughter. We want to go to an island with:
1) GREAT BEAUTIFUL BEACHES. This is our top priority. We would like to go to a classic beach, with sunny skies, warm weather, palm trees, soft sand (not rocky), and bright blue green water.
2)Activities such as snorkeling
3)Some golf
4)Good shopping and restaurants

ADIVCES AND TIPS WOULD BE APPRECIATED!!! Thanks

February is the height of the season in the Caribbean & you'll probably definitely have great weather.

The Four Seasons in Nevis has golf. There's also Mahogany Run in St. Thomas. Be aware room rates are going to be higher then.

I don't know what the state of the golf course at Mullet Bay in Sint Maarten is.

troll?

Bill..who knows? ;)

I wouldn't say troll. I'd say yet another who seems not to have done any research.

To the OP, a little more info would be helpful for those who might be interested in helping.

We are a group of travellers here, who will happily give advice about our personal experiences...but we are not a travel *service*. You need to do some research before posing such a broad question.

Can you tell it's cold here ;-) !

Marion

To caribdreamer5 - There are literally hundreds of places that fit your very broad description. The first thing you should do is get a good Caribbean guide book and read about the various islands. Second, use the search feature on this forum to read more about those particular islands that interest you. The key is research - do a little bit before you post your questions.

caribdreamer5,
A good guide to the Caribbean is the book called "Caribbean For Dummies" by Frommers.

hi5, i'll start you out with a list i found of top 10 dandy caribbean golf courses: 1-10:
la romana , dominican republic
four seasons piney beach, nevis
royal westmorland, barbados
tierra del sol country club, aruba
dorado beach , puerto rico
tryall club, mobay, jamaica
carambola, st. croix
treasure cay golf club, abaco, bahamas
links at safe haven, grand cayman
provo golf club, providenciales, turks and caicos
i got this from a site called jerseygolf. so its just their opinion. of those - barbados, puerto rico, st.croix & jamaica meet your other criteria. as does st. thomas.
martinique also has robert trent course & superb french influence dining.
fodors has an excellent book to check out all islands. or start with above list and just type the island into your search engine and their official web sites will come up. you will see one or 2 that really appeal. thats when we can best help you out more with specific information. {which side of island, which beach, which restaurant, etc.} also some idea of what type lodging you prefer, where you will travel from, how long you can stay, and what your budget is. remember almost nobody comes back from any of the islands saying it was a bad trip. enjoy the planning. bet the 16 yr old would think it way cool to help with your computer search for the "best" place.

Hmmm....

Great Beach - Grand Cayman, Turks and Caicos (you can rent ocean/beachfront condos andsimply walk out your patio door to the beach an ocean). Grand Cayman has the incredible seven mile beach along with Smith's Cove, Spott's and Rum Point to name some of the best.

Snorkelling - Grand Cayman. Many, many spots to snorkel off shore (Cemetary's Reef, Paradise Reef, Eden Rock, Smith's Cove, Govenors Mansion and don't forgot stingray city in the centre of North Sound - snorkel and swim with the stingrays).


Golf - Grand Cayman - Links of Safehaven 18 hole course and the Hyatt's Executive Course. Not sure how the condition is since Ivan last year but you can check on that).

Restaurants - Grand Cayman - Cayman is known for their restaurants, second of course to the beach & water. Many expensive, moderate and inexpensive and fun places to eat. I can recommend a few if you choose Grand Cayman for a vacation.

Noticing a trend? I like Grand Cayman. It's very family freindly as well.

Enjoy.

Lori

Re Cayman, the Links at Safehaven is not open again since Ivan, but I think they had lots of Business Interruption insurance... the course looks great... drove past today, sprinklers runnings, looks superb... I think they will be opening for high season, so fine for Feb 2006.

I have played the Links many times, and it is great for all levels of golf, multiple tee boxes, and quite breezy to make the golf varied.

Other than the White Witch in Mo Bay, it is my favourite Caribbean course.

St John would be my choice. However you would have to ferry to St Thomas for golf. St John offers great beaches...great snorkeling...great/safe environment...shopping...great restaurants. I think it's a can't miss.

Glad you got some answers to your questions. Now you have a starting point for places to check out further. I don't think the OP is the troll here.

Carrybean, could you please explain "troll" as I've seen the term but am still not sure what it is or how it fits, especially when I see the writer of what seems a legitimate question referred to as a possible one.
Also, what does "OP" stand for? Other Person? Opining Person?
Thanks.
ps is Carry really your name, or just a fun take on "Caribbean"? It's cute.

A troll is someone who posts a questions that is designed to create controversy or one that, as suspected in this case, because of it's vagueness serves no real purpose. The Troll is not really looking for answers but trying to see how many responses the quest will get - something like "trolling (as in fishing) for answers.

OP = Other Poster

OP is actually "original poster" , no ?? As in the original poster of the thread was accused of being a troll .....?? Which I do not think he/she was .

A reference to "other poster" could be any one of us .

Thanks Sunny and Faithie for the explanations of both terms.
"Original poster"--that makes sense. When seeing it, I thought of that song a few yrs back about "O.P.P." and that defintely was NOT the meaning of the abbreviation in that song!
Caribdreamer, I've been to only one place for any length of time (St John) and the others too breiefly to have helpful opinions (MOntego Bay Jamaica, Cayman Is 7 mile beach, and Cozumel) for a day each off a cruise. St John would fit the bill for great beaches and snorkeling and shopping/restaurants, and my daughter, then 16, loved it (she loves shopping!) but as Brutus said, there's no golf course on the island.
ButI've no other island to compare it with. The idea for guidebooks to narrow down your interests is a good one. The "Dummies" series ARE great, even tho' I feel like one when I read them!! (-:

I use OP to mean original poster. Carrybean is just a play on Caribbean & I've lived down here since 1982.

OP is "original poster" and as this is aparently his 1st post to call it trolling is premature I think. I would give him the benefit of the doubt. That being said Aruba would also fit that description. There is a fairly new course designed by Robert Trent Jones jr., beaches as described, and a wonderful selection of shops and restaurants. So to the "OP" how about a reply? That would seal the deal. :S-

I stand corrected on the definition of "OP" -Original Poster makes more sense. Anyway the jury is still out about the OP being a troll. I note that even after comments pointing out the vagueness of the question OP hasn't come back with any clarifications or specific desires thus making it difficult for any of us to offer meaningful help. That, by the way, is another trait often demonstrated by trolls.