Of course, I agree 100% with JJJ's response, naturally! Caneel Bay is nothing more than an "upscale" SUMMER CAMP for adults and vastly overpriced for what you get -- which is to say, NOTHING!!

kauai, hands down...unlesss all you want to do is snorkel...kauai is gorgeous, lots of nature things to do, helicopter ride, waterfalls, hidden beaches...ill never forget it.....

I've never been to Kauai, but I have been to St. Johns and Oahu. For those who posted that SJU is "not beautiful", I couldn't disagree more. It is a truly beautiful island, and its beaches are second only to the South Pacific and some in Hawaii. As for crime, that's a chance we all take in any locale, but I personally didn't have any problems. As in St. Thomas, there are some very poor people in St. John and you do have to be careful, as you would anywhere. Kauai is an incredible place, and I'm not suggesting SJU is better - only that it doesn't deserve the negative rap it's given in some of these postings. Good luck and congrats.

I have never been to St. John but I have been to Kauai and I would say definitely go to St. John. Kauai is very beautiful, but very boring. Once you get over the ooo's and ahh's of the scenery you'll be bored silly. The water's too rough, not as blue as the Caribbean, and not particularly good for swimming. The beach sand is more the consistency of dirt. There is virtually no nightlife to speak of, or very little of one. You do not get a tropical feel at all and the people are not particularly friendly or accommodating. St. John may not have cliffs but everything else about it will be better, from the food, to the water, to the nightlife to the whole tropical vibe. Your hotel will make you feel welcome and go out of their way to make sure you have a great time, as they always try to do in the Caribbean. Unfortunately I can't say the same for Kauai. On Kauai the word you'll hear most won't be 'aloha', it'll be 'timeshare'.

I have to agree with above. Kauai is beautiful but there IS NO NIGHTLIFE. That doesn't bother me but you should be aware. I didn't think the restaurants were anything special on Kauai. Again, just be aware. And, I agree about the swimming - much better in the Carribean. The Princeville is spectacular - the view is incredible. But, when I went in early June it seemed very quiet there. The Hyatt is fun and much busier - lots of kids in that pool though.

If you and your bride are active people who love to hike, swim, snorkle and explore, you'll thoroughly enjoy St. John. It is a beautiful, undeveloped island with secluded beaches. Several times, we had a beach entirely to ourselves.

Have a wonderful honeymoon and best wishes to you.

I have not been to St.John, I find it too hard not to keep returning to Kauai. I have been about 7-8 times now. Probably true about the night life if you consider night life bar hopping, that is never anything that I miss. Although there are some watering holes on Kauai if this is your thing just not an obnoxious strip.

In terms of non-swimming beaches this is usually a time of year question ; on the North Shore swimming in Summer, non swimming beach in winter. Winter you marvel at high surf and would drive to calmer waters. Some beaches are non-swimming on the east coast year round but the most beautiful part of the island is the North Shore so I don't venture to the budget hotel strip of the coconut coast. Poipu eeehhhh.... a lot of people swear by it because it is the sunniest part of the island it also puts you in closer proximaty to West Coast hiking at Waimea Canyon, Alakai Swamp(look up before you laugh), Kahala trail and others but for me Kokee beach is Shangri-La even on an overcast day where double rainbows are common.

Food: off the top of my head you have several award winning restaurants 2-3 at the Princeville Sheraton(one with national recognition), Paradise Cafe (also National recognized in Lihue? (or near), and others. For more casual dining I like Zelos in Hanalei.

Yep...Kauai has no nightlife

Yep....Kauai is pretty boring, nothing to do after you've been there for a few days.

Yep...restaurants aren't really that good either.

Yep....33 more day until I fall asleep on Kauai around 9 p.m., pooped out from doin' all that nothin', and stuffed. /;^D
Mahalo,
Kal

Hello Kal-

If it's not too much trouble, I wanted to ask you about Kauai. I am planning my honeymoon trip for this April 2002. I am thinking about staying on the east Kauai coast. Have you heard of the Wailua Bayview condos or the Aston Beach
Villas? I found those from the "Ultimate Kauai Guidebook". Do you suggest any good websites, guidebooks, or travel agenices to book my trip? I'm
looking for a nice condo by the beach with air conditioning. Thanks for your help.

If you enjoy driving through slummy and run down neighborhoods you will LOVE St. John (DON'T deny it, all of you St. John fanatics--it's just a smaller version of St. Thomas!)! Otherwise, Kauai is THE place for you!!

When there's no scenery, driving around Kauai is no nicer than driving in Vermont or the Poconos. I vote for St. John for your honeymoon. Anywhere in the Caribbean beats Hawaii hands down. You'll have a much better time.

Restaurants are better on SJ? No way.
Very few decent restaurants. The sheer number of good resort restaurants on Kauai dwarfs what's on SJ.

Hotel will make you feel "more welcome" on SJ? Not the Westin where we stayed. They were rude and unhelpful.

Bad attitude and slums also ruin the 'tropical vibe' on SJ.

definitely go to Kauai. I was there last summer and it was absolutely beuatiful! Stay at the Kauai Marriot, it's great and they usually have some knid of deal going on.

We have never been to St. John but have been to Kauai 3x since 1995 and we love it. The people were very friendly and there is much to see and do for a variety of lifestyles. Our first trip was spent in Kaapa, on the east shore. Good central location, but not as spectacular as the north or south shores. On our second trip we spent the entire 10 days at the Hanalei Colony Resort on the north shore. And our last trip we split it between Poipu on the south side and Princeville on the north end of the island. This island is no where near as developed as Maui and Oahu. But there are plenty of choices for lodging. The beaches are incredible. Recommendation: realize that much of this island is not signed.
We know of many people who came back wondering: "where was that beach?" We recommend that travelers browse the internet for info. We also like a great guide book called the Ultimate Guidebook of Kauai by Andrew Doughty, published by Wizard Publications. Much of the info contained in this book is now on an incredible website: wizardpub.com. But when you get down to it the people just knocked us out. We love the Hawaiian culture. Having read the comments about St John, we are canning that idea for Kauai.

Hapened to stumble onthis, I cannot believe anyone would even consider Kauai and St. John in the same league. We made the mistake of staying in St. Thomas a few years ago on our way back from an event in the BVIs. WHAT A DUMP. We changed boats in St. John and were not impressed. I love the Carribbean but not the US virgin Islands. Kuai is beautiful and we would go back in a minute although our favorite is Maui. I prefer the Hyatt over the Princeville and Captain Andis boat ride was great

In teh BVIs we loved the Peter Island Resort

But Lori, aren't the BVIs similar looking to St. John which I, too, HATED with a passion (ditto St. Thomas)?!?

HATE St. John? That's pretty strong terminology. What's to HATE about St. John? The crystal clear, turquoise water? The views from high hilltops into sailboat dotted bays? The exotic vegetation? Topography? The fact that 50% of it is Nat'l Park, including an underwater one? The tucked away beaches you can have to yourself? How about the climate with near perfect year round temperatures? You're a tough bunch of hombres. And why on earth would you feel qualified to comment on the caliber of an island if you merely "changed boats" there, so saw no more than Cruz Bay? "I was not impressed", indeed! Give me a break!!

There are plenty of places/things I might list in the "hate" category, (think #1. Vegas, #2. Las Vegas, #3. LV) and though St. John might not be perfection, it is NOT one of them.

I certainly disagree with the posters who said that the swimming and snorkeling are poor on Kauai. Our family spent hours every day in the water! The temperature of the water is perfect and the beaches are NOT the consistency of dirt - they are wonderful, golden sand beaches.
That said - I would like to know about the snorkeling on St. John. Is it walk-in, from the beach snorkeling? Or must you boat out to the reef? Are the fish as varied and as colorful as Kauai?

Marsha,

There is excellent snorkeling in St. John in as little as knee deep water. Haven't been to Kauai so can't compare it with that, but we snorkeled off a catamaran in Maui, and St. John was much better--larger variety of fish with equal brilliance, and better coral. We snorkeled all over St. John, but my least favorite area was the underwater Nat'l Park--both too crowded and too contrived. Much prefer some out of the way beach, hunting down the good coral on my own, rather than having it all spelled out as it was in the park.

Grand Cayman, too, offers great snorkeling of course, and much of it was walk-in as well, but the interior of that island can't compare in beauty to St. John, where you have it all.

As far as beautiful islands with good snorkeling go, forget all these and head to Bermuda. It's an entirely different sort of beauty than HI, but my favorite of any island we've visited. We've yet to find a slum and billboards are unheard of--(something which greatly surprised me about Maui--never pictured HI having the same blight we have here). The island is pristinely clean, and beautiful from one end to the other. Every view is a postcard view, and nearly every tile roofed cottage worthy of the same. Its only readily apparent drawback is the expense.

Caneel a dump? St John a slum? Gimme a break!! Kauai is awesome, I agree. Loved the Marriott. But, St. John was amazing in it's own way as well. The beaches at Caneel (all *7* of them) were fantastic. Snorkeling was to die for! There was very little night life, agreed. Some people are ok with that. We actually went into town one night and saw a local band at a little reggae bar and had an amazing evening. Don't get me wrong, I L O V E Hawaii (especially the Big Island & the Mauna Kea!!), but I just had to respond to the St John comments.....