Ok- St. Lucia or Aruba?

[Bernadine]

Or better yet, can someone just plan this whole thing and surprise me?  Lol.  Again, we just want to be beach-bums, and we're looking for an AI.

[bonquiqui]

I don't think Aruba has many AI's, so I would say St. Lucia.  I don't think you can go wrong with either however.  

[eddy]

DotAndBuzz and @booby love Aruba. I don't think they do AIs though.

[shopgirl07]

Have you thought about the Dominican Republic? It's much close than St. Lucia and has tons of AIs.

[liverandonions]

We went to Sandals Regency La Toc in St. Lucia and only left the resort once It was lovely. When we did leave it was to go to the sulfur springs. It's like a really stinky mud bath. Problem was the showers decided to quit working-AFTER we had the stinky mud on us!

But, we had a local meal and tour of the island and learned about the Gran Piton and Petit Piton mountains. It was nice. They also have a golf course on the resort if you or J are in to that.

I'll try to post some pics!

[melodramatic26]

I was not as impressed with Aruba as I thought I should be. I would not recommend going AI there. The best things about the island were all the amazing places to eat.

St. Lucia is on my list of places I really want to visit, so I would say there.

(And I've not looked at the costs in St. Lucia, but Aruba is pretty damn expensive, IMHO.)

[megstoo]

I've done St Lucia - Sandals (Grande) and we LOVED it. The ride from the airport to the hotel is horrible though. It's only like 15 miles but it took well over 60 minutes because it's all curvy rds. I don't know the cost since it was a work trip but we ended up doing an ATV tour through the rainforest/plantain and then a catermeran trip to soufriee whiuch was awesome.

[eddy]

Another vote for Mexico, although does that stress you out adding another option lol.

Beaches are amazing and you get a great bang for your buck at AI.

We are going back for a third time in June.

[liverandonions]

A few pics of the island, and our snorkeling tour

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[toepick]

I also second Mexico - I went to an AI in Playa del Carmen on my honeymoon and it was awesome - Royal Hideaway Playacar. It was easy to get to and gorgeous.

[mrssandro]

I loved St Lucia just a little more than Aruba.

St Lucia is lush and tropical and has the Gros Piton's. It's absolutely amazing. It is true though that it's not for the faint of heart when it comes to getting around and the streets while nice have a ton of twist and turns and hairpins. But it is a interesting place and very beautiful.

Aruba has great beaches and some decent snorkeling but really it's a pancake and a little desert out in the middle of the ocean. Lots of cactus. It's beautiful though and I recommend it to those who are non adventurer travelers.

[eddy]

St Lucia is absolutely on my list of places to go. And Aruba too. I love beach locations.

The reason we keep going back to Mexico is you can get there so quickly. Maximize the vacation time. Cancun is am major airport and then you only have to maybe travel an hour to get to your resort. Many places are even 20 minutes away. We hire private transfer for like $100 round trip. The prices are nuts.

Plus the price is really good for what you get.

[lkoenig]

I've been to both, Aruba is the best all around, St. Lucia was sooo expensive and not worth it IMO

[lightbulbsun]

I stayed at the Occidental in Aruba for my honeymoon. It was great, we pretty much ate and slept the whole time. It's an AI, and it has a great selection of restaurants (I think 7 or 8).

[adlove]

Sugar Beach in St. Lucia. Amazing!! Formerly called Jalousie Plantation. Seriously gorgeous, it's right between the pitons.

[DotAndBuzz]

Aruba. Forever and always.

Our resort does offer AI, but we never use it because like other have said, there are SO many fantastic places to eat there. There's also a grocery store across the street from our resort, and all the rooms have kitchens and refrigerators, so we just walk to get breakfast and lunch snacks to keep in the room, then go out for dinner.

If you look into Aruba, look for something in the low rise hotel district, on or next to Eagle Beach. If you pick something like the Marriott or Holiday Inn in the high rise district, you're going to be with TONS of other people on a smaller beach having to reserve chairs and shade, and will basically feel like you're just hanging out at a fancy hotel in Florida. Totally Americanized in that area. No thanks.

[Deleted]

Feb 18, 2014 11:12:02 GMT -5 shopgirl07 said:

Have you thought about the Dominican Republic? It's much close than St. Lucia and has tons of AIs.

Not the OP, but I've visited about 15 Caribbean islands and this is on the bottom of my list for places we would recommend. It was ok, but I feel like there are so many nicer islands to visit.

I have friends who swear by it though

I vote St Lucia or Mexico

[mellymel]

ST. LUCIA!!

Ok, I haven't been to Aruba so I can't compare. But we went to St. Lucia in 2007 for our HM. It was gorgeous and awesome and I want to go back. I'm sure Aruba is amazing as well but I think St. Lucia is so lush and gorgeous with the Pitons.

We stayed at Ti Kaye which I would recommend over and over again for the experience. I think you can do an all inclusive plan there as well.

[DotAndBuzz]

Feb 18, 2014 11:17:13 GMT -5 @booby said:

ditto melo - the highlight of aruba is the restaurants. you would miss out on this if you were in an AI and didn't have a rental car.

I'd say though, that you don't need a rental car.  We've never gotten one and just have the hotel call for a taxi.  Never had a problem getting a taxi anywhere we needed to go, and we usually take the bus into town, then take a cab back.


And I sent you a PM Bernadine. 

[mrssandro]

I tried to do a Aruba without a rental car and it didn't work at all. Rentals are super cheap and the roads are so easy that having a rental car is the way to go.

St Lucia on the other hand...if you aren't good with curvy roads and hairpins then getting a taxi/guide is probably better for you.

[kate]

I stayed here on Aruba:
www.tamarijnaruba.com/

I loved that each room was directly on the beach, and the price wasn't too bad. Bonus is that the beach area isn't super crowded because the resort stretches out (again, all oceanfront) over a bunch of beach. This resort isn't in the high-rise popular beach area.

[DotAndBuzz]

Feb 18, 2014 13:02:27 GMT -5 @booby said:

Feb 18, 2014 12:59:06 GMT -5 DotAndBuzz said:

I'd say though, that you don't need a rental car.  We've never gotten one and just have the hotel call for a taxi.  Never had a problem getting a taxi anywhere we needed to go, and we usually take the bus into town, then take a cab back.


And I sent you a PM Bernadine. 

ah, but you always stay by the grocery store.  we found that between grocery/booze trips, and dinner out every night, we were spending a lot in cabs.  (we didn't really use the bus - though, it is an option, we just preferred the convenience of our own car). 

god, i can't WAIT to go back.  30-something more days....

Very true. If we couldn't walk to the store, cabs would add up. But I still think we'd do a cab for dinner so we could get our drink on.

[Deleted]

St. Lucia.

[Deleted]

Feb 18, 2014 12:38:30 GMT -5 DotAndBuzz said:

Aruba. Forever and always.

Our resort does offer AI, but we never use it because like other have said, there are SO many fantastic places to eat there. There's also a grocery store across the street from our resort, and all the rooms have kitchens and refrigerators, so we just walk to get breakfast and lunch snacks to keep in the room, then go out for dinner.

If you look into Aruba, look for something in the low rise hotel district, on or next to Eagle Beach. If you pick something like the Marriott or Holiday Inn in the high rise district, you're going to be with TONS of other people on a smaller beach having to reserve chairs and shade, and will basically feel like you're just hanging out at a fancy hotel in Florida. Totally Americanized in that area. No thanks.

Lurker chiming in!  We love Aruba too.  We were married there and we've been back every year since.  We stay in the low rise district and the hotel is beautiful but not an AI.  The high rise we call "Eden East" from the movie couples retreat.  We literally sit at the beach all day and bring more bathing suits than we do actual clothes.  Aruba for me always and forever too! 

[speckledfrog]

We went to Aruba on our honeymoon. It's very windy, so every so often you get sand blasted at the beach.

[Deleted]

Feb 18, 2014 14:07:25 GMT -5 @booby said:

Feb 18, 2014 13:27:27 GMT -5 @meehmeeh said:

Lurker chiming in!  We love Aruba too.  We were married there and we've been back every year since.  We stay in the low rise district and the hotel is beautiful but not an AI.  The high rise we call "Eden East" from the movie couples retreat.  We literally sit at the beach all day and bring more bathing suits than we do actual clothes.  Aruba for me always and forever too! 

oh yeah, this is a great point.  my H and i love going to aruba b/c it feels even more casual than most resort cities/countries (if that's possible, lol).  i love that you can go into the nicest restaurant wearing ripped jeans, a flowy top and sandals.  i have been places where people dressed like they were going clubbing every night.  i hate fashion shows at this age -- i'm lazy, dammit!

Yes me too!!!  The first year we packed all these nice clothes and wore NONE of them.  The past few times we've been, we loaded the suitcases with bathing suits, coverups, flip flops, tank tops and shorts. 

[DotAndBuzz]

Feb 18, 2014 14:03:55 GMT -5 speckledfrog said:

We went to Aruba on our honeymoon. It's very windy, so every so often you get sand blasted at the beach.

That's just a complementary exfoliation.