Lisa

I am trying to decide between visiting St. Lucia and splitting the stay between Ladera and Jalousie Hilton, or splitting a week between St. John and Virgin Gorda and staying at Caneel Bay and Little Dix Bay. What do you think? Please share any info that can help me make up my mind. <BR> <BR>Thanks everyone!

joan

Lisa, Snorkeling is much better on St. John and Virgin Gorda. I've stayed on both St. John and St. Lucia. The waters off St. Lucia are deeper and darker and the sand is dark volcanic sand. It is very beautiful, and except for Anse Chastanet beach, there just wasn't the visibility and variety of creatures on St. Lucia that there is all over the Virgin Islands. Park your jeep at any beach and you will find good to great snorkeling in the VI.

Noodle

<BR>For snorkeling, choose the USVI. For romance, choose St. Lucia. ;-)

Karen

The St. John/Virgin Gorda route is no slacker in the romance catagory either!! But do make sure that your rooms will not be near the Kids' Clubs! Great snorkling from a multitude of beaches on St. John including some of the 7 wonderful ones at Caneel! Lovango and Congo Cays are excellent right off St. John! Private picnic lunches on a "deserted" island from LDB are wonderful! Both have beachfront rooms - the only way to do the Caribb, imho!

penny

Hi Lisa-We went to St. Lucia in 1995 as hurricane Luis closed many of the hotels. We stayed at the Jalousie Hilton. It is a beautiful hotel but I missed the blue hues of the water. I also felt very confined as St. Lucia has winding narrow roads. The Ladera Hotel is perched above the Hilton and the only difference would be the open air rooms etc. Ladera uses the Hiltons beach. The lush palms and pitons are beautiful. We did not snorkel at that time, but we hardly saw any fish on the hotels glass bottom boat. <BR>Now, the next year we did LDB and Caneel, we loved it. LDB and Virgin Gorda have the clear blue water that made me fall in love with the caribbean. We prefered the food and ambience at LDB, the Sugarmill restaurant is almost on the sand. The ferry over to Caneel is a nice part of the split. <BR>Caneel is similar to LDB and yet very different. It is spread out over 179 acres and has 7 beaches. The main beach Caneel has the main pavilon and can be very busy, as this is open to all. <BR>However,the rest of the hotel is very quiet and lovely. We prefer Scott beach, Hawksnest is nice too. We like to dine in Cruz Bay, it has some nice dining spots. <BR> The snokeling from the beach at Caneel is wonderful, I have seen turtles many times. Lots of rays, and sometimes Paradise Beach and the Point are full of fish. I love to watch the Pelicans scoop up the little fry on the sand! <BR>My vote is LDB and Caneel! <BR>

Addie

Just got back from both places. I agree with the other post - VIs for snorkeling, St. Lucia for Romance. <BR> <BR>St. Lucia is other-worldly. It's jungl-like, tropical and the Pitons are breathtaking. Could lie in the Jalousie pool and stare at the scenery for hours. It's VERY secluded, no night life (although there's not much on St. John either), and the villa cottages are charming and have AC and plunge pools and it just feels very exotic. <BR> <BR>There is some snorkeling, but the pitons are volcanic mountains that shoot straight out of the sea, so he water off the beaches gets very deep very quickly so the reefs are small and currents are strong. <BR> <BR>ST. John and Virgin Gorda have beatiful beaches and crystal clear waters and lots of calm areas to snorkel in. But they are also much busier and you won't find much privacy unless maybe you could get a water taxi to drop you on an uninhabited beach area and pick you up a few hours later. Most of ST. John is national park, so I don't know if that's allowed. <BR> <BR>Decide what's most important to you. If it's romance and secluded relaxation, Go to Jalousie on ST. Lucia (or open-air Ladera in cooler months). <BR> <BR>If you want crystal blue water & white beaches for snorkeling, then go to the VIs. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>