Since our last 2 trips have been to Europe and our next three planned trips are Charleston, NYC, and Portland/Seattle, DH and I decided that we are in need of a quick beach vacation. We're in FL, so many Caribbean destinations are easy to get to. With that said, it can't be too remote (require multiple ferries or island hopping), as it will probably only be a 4 night trip. Small chance we could do 5, but definitely 4. This will be late May. We've recently been to Puerto Rico, so that's the only location that's out.
Requirements are 1) Better than average snorkeling (good snorkeling is DH's only request). I would love it if the island also has something else of interest. It doesn't have to be forests and waterfalls, but maybe not pancake flat...or at least a coast that has some variety (cliffs, coves, etc). I am, however, flexible on that request. 2) Food and town beyond resorts. It doesn't have to be fancy. Actually, we would much prefer beach huts/casual places where we can get a beer and fresh fish/fruit/food, etc., but we're open to anything. We won't be out late partying, but we don't want to be in a place where everything shuts down when the sun sets. We'd like to interact with more than just tourists.
What is NOT important (which you probably gathered from #2) is all-inclusives. We like to explore and we'll get bored spending every meal and night at a resort. TIA!
The only island I've been to recently was St. Martin/St.Marteen. We had a blast exploring the French and Dutch sides the different foods and different beaches. We also took a Catamaran trip one day to snorkel on Anguilla. 4 days would be plenty of time to get out and explore.
St Kitts and Nevis might fit what you are looking for. A bunch of the restaurants are literally shacks on the beach. I am not a snorkeler but I know they had snorkeling boat trips. The island is not super touristy. As far as other sightseeing - there is a fort with awesome views, we took a tour of the Carib brewery, some more remote beaches.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. Mark Twain
Thanks, everyone! I actually had Rockhouse and St Martin pulled up when I was typing the OP. LOL I guess I'm on the right track. I was also looking at Curaçao.
What about St Croix? Oddly enough, that seems to have the best flights. (Schedule/time wise.)
Post by sunshinedaydreams on Mar 4, 2015 19:43:19 GMT -5
Another vote for Curacao! We were there in December and it was amazing. The beaches and water are beautiful. You can snorkel from the beach on essentially the entire western side of the island - several places have turtles, cliffs, ledges, colorful fish.
There's not a ton to do in Willemstad, but it's worth it to at least see the pontoon bridge and the colorful downtown area. And there are some good restaurants there.
We were there for five nights. We did 3 in Westpunt and 2 in Willemstad. It only takes about 30 minutes to drive between the two, and there are dozens of beaches between. Westpunt is much quieter and more relaxing at night once the day trippers go home.
Look up Kenepa Beach. We were the only people on that entire beach all day one of the days we went. Fantastic snorkeling and beautiful, blue water.
Thanks, everyone! I actually had Rockhouse and St Martin pulled up when I was typing the OP. LOL I guess I'm on the right track. I was also looking at Curaçao.
What about St Croix? Oddly enough, that seems to have the best flights. (Schedule/time wise.)
I'm not trying to sell you on my cardo or anything but St. Croix has great snorkeling. The Buck island trail is part of federally protected areas and is voted one of the world's most beautiful. I was born and raised there if you have questions.
You can't go wrong with the Virgin Islands, either British or US.
If you are looking for great snorkeling, great food, and beach bars, the Virgin Islands will take care of you every need. We like the BVI a little more than the US as it is seems more laid back and less busy to us. The locals are great and very welcoming. You can do day trips to other islands, hike to a isolated beach, or kickback at a local beach bar.
If you choose, the BVI let me know and I can give you additional information.
I recommend Grand Cayman....excellent snorkeling. Plus you can go feed stingrays a mile off shore on a sand bar. I felt pretty safe there, not so much in Jamaica. Saint Martin/Maarten was nice, but I recommend the French side, it's a little less sketchy then the Dutch side.
I just came across this board and have very similar questions as clseale. We are Aruba lovers. I've been going since 1977 growing up...been going with my wife for the 20 years and kids for the last 15. Looking for another Caribbean getaway for early June with the wife and kids (11 and 15.) St Maarten looks great on paper....we also live in FL, 1 hour south of Tampa. What are the pros/cons of St Maarten vs. St Martin? How's the food in each? Beach? Looking for some R+R, but a little exploring is okay, too. Is the water safe to drink on both the French and Dutch sides? Any recs on resorts there? Looking for a 2 bed/2 bath unit wherever we go or whichever island in the Caribbean we end up on! I welcome any and all replies- not only about St Martin/Maarten, but other islands as well! Thank you!
You can't go wrong with the Virgin Islands, either British or US.
If you are looking for great snorkeling, great food, and beach bars, the Virgin Islands will take care of you every need. We like the BVI a little more than the US as it is seems more laid back and less busy to us. The locals are great and very welcoming. You can do day trips to other islands, hike to a isolated beach, or kickback at a local beach bar.
If you choose, the BVI let me know and I can give you additional information.
I keep coming back to the BVIs in my search. The islands & snorkeling are just jaw dropping. How difficult is it to get to them? I'm assuming you fly into St Thomas & take the ferry? Which island do you stay on? Resort or vacation rental? Any info would be great!
Grand Cayman. Diving there is fantastic so I'd assume snorkeling would be great as well. There are lots of activities to do, restaurants/bars to go to. Only downside is it's pretty expensive in comparison to some other Caribbean islands. At least it was years ago when we went.
I'd also recommend Nevis but it has less to do outside of the resorts. Beautiful and relaxing but not as many activities.
You can't go wrong with the Virgin Islands, either British or US.
If you are looking for great snorkeling, great food, and beach bars, the Virgin Islands will take care of you every need. We like the BVI a little more than the US as it is seems more laid back and less busy to us. The locals are great and very welcoming. You can do day trips to other islands, hike to a isolated beach, or kickback at a local beach bar.
If you choose, the BVI let me know and I can give you additional information.
I keep coming back to the BVIs in my search. The islands & snorkeling are just jaw dropping. How difficult is it to get to them? I'm assuming you fly into St Thomas & take the ferry? Which island do you stay on? Resort or vacation rental? Any info would be great!
Yes, the islands and the snorkeling will amaze you. We traveled to St John for many trips venturing to the BVIs for day trips at first. Then, the last three trips we have just stayed exclusively in the BVIs. The two main ways into the BVIs are through St Thomas or San Juan. From St Thomas, you can take a ferry from either Charlotte Amalie or Red Hook to the BVI. We prefer the St Thomas/Charolette Amalie route from a get me on the island and to vacation quickest mode. From San Juan, you can fly into Beef Island, Tortola, BVI.
We have stayed on Tortola and Jost Van Dyke in the BVI. Tortola is a great island to make a home base at and do day trips to other islands or enjoy their great beaches and beach bars. Jost is more laid back and quiet. Tortola has higher end resorts, but nothing like what you would call a higher end resort here in the USA. We stayed at the Sugar Mill in October on Tortola. We have stayed at a rental villa on Jost within the Sandy Ground Estates. <------that trip was so relaxing and quiet. Jost is mainly a day tripper island, so when you stay there it is a party all day and quite in the evenings. Jost does not have any "fancy" dining options, but that doesn't mean the food isn't island wonderful.
We are headed back to Tortola on Tuesday morning for 8 days. Hoping to complete my dive certification with JVD Scuba. Other than that, this trip will be about sunsets, cocktails, snorkeling with the turtles, hiking, and relaxing. I so need to escape the rat race I have been living in.
Happy Planning. Don't hesitate to let me know if you have any more questions.
Attachment Deleted A little eye candy from Jost Van Dyke, looking towards Foxy's Taboo and the new B-Line Bar (on Little Jost)
Thank you for all of your help, seabitch. I really appreciate it! I'm looking at rentals and hotels on Tortola...there a few right on the harbor in Road Town. The other places are on the west end over near Long Bay. Which area would you suggest? Also, if we're planning on being there for 5 nights, should we plan on having a car?
ETA: I was also looking at Virgin Gorda, but do you think we'd be better off staying in Tortola and just island hopping over to check out the Baths?
Thank you for all of your help, seabitch. I really appreciate it! I'm looking at rentals and hotels on Tortola...there a few right on the harbor in Road Town. The other places are on the west end over near Long Bay. Which area would you suggest? Also, if we're planning on being there for 5 nights, should we plan on having a car?
ETA: I was also looking at Virgin Gorda, but do you think we'd be better off staying in Tortola and just island hopping over to check out the Baths?
We have never stayed in Road Town, rather we have stayed on the opposite side of the island at Sugar Mill and next week at Heritage Inn. The sunsets are spectacular from both of the hotels I have listed. Long Bay is a really nice area with Smugglers Cove (really great beach and usually not crowded) is near there. Road Town is one of the major towns on the island so it is a busy place. No matter where you stay, I would rent a car while on Tortola. The island is not large, but you will want to explore and taxis can get expensive. The ferry system comes into Road Town and the West End from St Thomas, so if you plan to base out of one of those areas you will avoid long drives (on winding switchback roads). The West End area is our favorite area thus far. Plenty of beaches and great places to eat. Full Moon parties are always fun if your dates match up!
I have not stayed or been to Virgin Gorda yet, so I can't comment, but I understand it is beautiful. You can do a day trip to get there either via the ferry or a day long snorkel/sail or powerboat charter. If you stay on the West End, all of the day charters tend to leave out of the Soper's Hole. There is so much beauty to take in down there, it is easy to get wrapped up in go go go, make sure you plan for some down time, vs seeing everything the first trip. I guarantee, you will be back!
We just went to Grand Cayman in November and it is gorgeous! Snorkeling is amazing and there are lots of great spots on the island to go. Stingray city is a very unique place where you get to feed and interact with the stingrays. We also went to the turtle farm, which is fun. There are some great restaurants there, but I second the expensive part. We did get a great deal on flights and the condo, however. We stayed at a condo complex called Sunset Cove which was awesome. Right in front of the condo complex is a protected cove that you can snorkel around. We also chose GC because of the shorter flight from Denver (we were traveling with kids).
Belize(not technically caribbean) has the best scuba we have done. We have been to all the places listed except Nevis or Virgin Gorda and Belize was by far our favorite.
We loved Antigua & took a catamaran/snorkel day excursion and it was amazing. The sea life was beautiful! And also, the food was awesome.
I almost emailed you, because I know you guys have done a lot of Caribbean trips. Happy to hear you've done Tortola! I think that's our decision. I'm watching flights, but right now they are doing the typical $50-$100 higher because it's the weekend thing. I'll wait & check again on Monday or Tuesday. I think I've sold DH on Tortola (though he's pretty easy & happy to just sit back & let me plan.) I'll probably still email or text you.
Thanks for all of the suggestions everyone! I've added them to my growing travel list.
seabitch, will you let me know how you like Heritage Inn? We were looking at it last night. We're also looking at some 1 bdrm villas in the Log Bay area. Have a great trip!
I would highly recommend Belize for a future trip if your DH likes snorkeling. We were there in July and the snorkeling off Ambergris Caye was amazing. Best we have done in the Caribbean. We actually did lots of snorkeling videos with our GoPro if you or your DH is interested in seeing what kind of snorkeling you could expect:
seabitch, will you let me know how you like Heritage Inn? We were looking at it last night. We're also looking at some 1 bdrm villas in the Log Bay area. Have a great trip!
Will do. I may or might not be bouncing off the proverbial walls at work today. Leaving tomorrow!!!!
clseale, the Heritage Inn was good. The rooms were older and not remarkable, but we were only there to sleep so it was fine. The view was amazing from our balcony. Sunsets divine!
The onsite restaurant, bar, and pool we utilized and thoroughly enjoyed. The parking was tight especially in the early evenings when the bar/restaurant was open. During the day, the place was so quiet and peaceful.
If you have any specific questions let me know. Happy planning!