The best Island destinations in the Caribbean

[Jib]

Where is the best location in the Caribbean to spend a vacation and why?

[boogator]

three years ago 10 of us flew to st. thomas then got a ferry to road town tortola and rented a 51 ft sail boat [we had our captain] and spent 7 days sailing around the isl. of tortola and to all of the old pirate hangouts.lot of cool beaches,ONE LOVE, IVANS, soggy dollar, foxy's, bitter end ,sophers hole.drank mucho rhum, caught fish and lobsters. neighbor just got back last week from basicly the same trip, said it was the best trip they ever had. last nite we were talking about going again. also spent 3 days at moho bay ST. JOHNS, tent cabins on side of mountain overlooking awsom careening lagoon [MAHO BAY ST. JOHNS]most of the beaches and places are on the internet. have been on quite a few cruise ships in bahammas and carribean, too biga ships too many people, like being on a cattle ship. on tv tonite saw 4 days in bahammas including cruise $170 per pers. dbl. occ. seams cheap,...with good friends it's all good....boogator

[seabaroness]

Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic has the prettiest beaches I've ever seen.

I liked Grand Bahama Island. Once outside the Freeport area, the island still has a wild feel to it. I would stay away from Nassau. Too overdeveloped, too commercialized, and the highly touted straw market is a joke.

[Capn Bloody Sam Rackham]

Where is the best location in the Caribbean to spend a vacation and why?

Either St. Thomas or St. Maarten.

Both places are beautiful. Snorkeling in Shipwreck Cove off of St. Maarten, ye can see masts and cannon at th' bottom.

Blackbeard's Castle is a must see in St. Tomas. Don't ferget Maegan's Bay. Pristine white coral beach. Clear water.

Absolutely beautiful!

[theM.A.dDogge]

not sure yet...but I am heading to Grand Cayman durring the "Pirate Week"....will let ya know in Nov...

[Mission]

three years ago 10 of us flew to st. thomas then got a ferry to road town tortola and rented a 51 ft sail boat [we had our captain] and spent 7 days sailing around the isl. of tortola and to all of the old pirate hangouts.lot of cool beaches,ONE LOVE, IVANS, soggy dollar, foxy's, bitter end ,sophers hole.drank mucho rhum, caught fish and lobsters. neighbor just got back last week from basicly the same trip, said it was the best trip they ever had. last nite we were talking about going again. also spent 3 days at moho bay ST. JOHNS, tent cabins on side of mountain overlooking awsom careening lagoon [MAHO BAY ST. JOHNS]

Wow, that sounds cool. I had a friend who went to St. Johns on her honeymoon and she reported that I would probably love the place. That was over 10 years ago but I've never gone. After a short burst of Caribbean trips, I decided they were too expensive if you didn't want to stay in the (boring) resorts. (This from someone who's made nearly 20 trips to Key West. My true favorite Caribbean island. )

Snorkeling in Shipwreck Cove off of St. Maarten, ye can see masts and cannon at th' bottom.

As in wood masts? If so, I doubt they're original. Lumber rots fairly quickly in the warm Caribbean.

I've only been to four Caribbean islands, but of them my favorite was Nevis, West Indies. It was the least trafficked and thus had the fewest crowds. As boogater noted, it was as much because of my travel companion as the island. He was most gregarious and found a taxi driver that he really liked and we hung around with him for much of the week. Our driver even brought us a bottle of rum that had been smuggled in by an American pilot to share with us. For the most part, the four islands I've visited seemed pretty similar to me in the main, other than as I recall on Jamaica there were places we were advised not to go. It boils down to resorts, Caribbean food in interesting restaurants, kitschy shopping, eco-tours, snorkling/diving, forts and museums, tropical drinks and a curious love/hate regard from the locals.

[Dutchman]

abacos islands. friendly people, slightly off the beaten path so less tourist. might not have the happening night life, but great all the same.

-oh... entirely possible to see wrecked masts, and lots of other things if you know what to look for, mostly they will be caked in coral though.

[capn'rob]

Graneda was awesome in the early 70s. St. Marteen is beautiful and my preference is the Dutch side of the island. I don't care for the USVI except for commercial air access. I would have to say that my fondest memory of a Great Time in the Caribbean was 2002. For Mom's 90st Birthday I took her on a cruise on the m/s Maasdam, Holland America Line. At Grand Cayman Mom and I got from the ship to a launch with a good sea rolling, from the launch to a dock, to a bus, to a semi-submersable for a cruise out on the reef! While watching what appeared to be a tropical fish tank outside the ports, I asked mom if she'd ever seen anything like it. Mom said, "only on TV!"

We went on the s/s"Norway" for Mom's 91st and about six months later, we went again.

I have a great love of the Bahamian Out Islands. The further South, the better. Living in Fort Lauderdale it was less than 50 miles to Bimini so if you wanted to get away to an island, it didn't take much. Much of my sailing in the Caribbean was delivering boats so it was point "A" to St. Somewhere.

I have certainly seen a change in the atmosphere in the Islands since I first started sailing there in the early 70s. Though nothing stays the same for long. Bermuda has been consistant and is beautiful and has Pink Sand Beaches, Caves and is made up of a great number of small islands all together. Though Bermuda isn't in the Caribbean.

[Jib]

These are all excellent locations! If you remember the exact names of places feel free to post them. Also include your take of the locals, how friendly, how aggressive are the beggars/ pan-handlers, rough ideas of cost etc...

[hurricane]

I used to say Grand Cayman, only because I hadn't been anywhere else. And that was 30 years ago before the bumper to bumper traffic. It was just a place divers mostly went to back then and one or two cruise ships.

Jamaica is still my favorite - the history, the variety of things to do and see, the friendly people (just don't ever bother with Kingston). Would go back in an instant.

Enjoyed a bunch of others for various reasons. So many come to mind. St. Thomas was really nice, but I don't really like to vacation in what amounts to the U.S. on an island. Puerto Rico is much the same for me. Liked Curacao and Martinique, but I'd have to brush up on my French next time.

The Abacos are nice, if you just want to do absolutely nothing. Nice people there, just not a lot to do. If I were to go again, I would island hop on the mailboat as it makes its calls around the Abacos.

Still, Moorea in French Polynesia is my absolute favorite. There's absolutely nothing U.S. there. And I will always fondly remember the fresh baguettes in the mailboxes each morning along the roads and, of course, the Tahitian girls. I know, it's not the Caribbean, but I haven't found anything in these waters to match Tahiti and Moorea.

-- Hurricane

[Capn Bob]

I *will* be going to Nassau in October (assuming the Gods have no other plans for me...), but I'm also planning on avoiding the Straw Market. No good with the haggling, me...

Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic has the prettiest beaches I've ever seen.

I liked Grand Bahama Island. Once outside the Freeport area, the island still has a wild feel to it. I would stay away from Nassau. Too overdeveloped, too commercialized, and the highly touted straw market is a joke.

[hurricane]

Love Nassau. The fort is a great place to tour, as is the Pirate Museum there. Also, the aquarium at Atlantis is very nice. Another great spot to visit.

-- Hurricane

[Dutchman]

my grandparents used to live on Bermuda and I spent alternating Christmas and summer vacations there. It was beautiful, they had a house across from Hamilton right on the harbor- you could just see Kings Wharf. Lots of friendly people and good things for young cousins to go get into trouble doing together. The island is only 26 miles long, so you could only wander so far. I went back on a cruise two years ago and was really disappointed. It was still a friendly island, but it didn't seem as clean and welcoming- more commercial than I recall. My grandparent had been off island for atleast 15 years and amazingly our cabby remembered them. It was great hearing stories about their time on the island from someone outside the family. I'd still go back and would put it on a to do list for someone looking for an adventure.

[Diosa De Cancion]

Are you sailing or flying?

I too love Green Turtle Cay in the Abacos for a VERY relaxed time of 'escaping the world' I also many areas of Jamaica. Depends on what you are after... want typical tourist areas? montego bay and ocho rios are waiting for you. Want nature? There are caves, blue holes, rainforests, etc etc. Like history? Port Royal is full of pirate history as are Flamstead and other areas of the island where Henry Morgan was. If you like Ruins, Belize is great and also has FANTASTIC Reefs.

At all of these places the people are very kind and welcoming.. just stay away from the big cities i.e. Belize City and Kingston, Jamaica.

If you are sailing... the Virgin Islands are great for the SMALLER islands. You can stock up on what you need at the big islands, but then head to the smaller islands like Norman Island where you can take a hike up the island and get a wonderful feel for what it would be like to have been a pirate, watching up and down the channel for a ship to hit! The exception to this is that there is only one establishment on the island, which is a bar...and then Willy T's bar is in the harbor, which is literally on a broken down boat :)

Diosa

[Capn Bob]

Oh yes, the Pirates of Nassau Museum is high on my list. #1, actually. I also want to stop into their library, since I work in one, and I've heard theirs is in a late 18th century gaol. also planning on looking for some banana ketchup...

Love Nassau. The fort is a great place to tour, as is the Pirate Museum there. Also, the aquarium at Atlantis is very nice. Another great spot to visit.

-- Hurricane

[Jib]

How about cost?