Caribbean - what island

First, I am not into scuba diving, etc., but like the beach/sand/heat, etc.

If you were to recommend to someone your favourite island/port in the Caribbean, what would it be, and why? Is there anything special on this island that is a must see or do, that does not cost too much to see or do?

Roatan!!! Little French Key(check out their website). The place is Paradise! Also, if you want a ship excursion, Tabyana Beach. You can just walk into the ocean for the most wonderful snorkeling. The zip line at the port is terrific. There is a drink that you can only get here called a Monkey La La ! My very favorite drink ever!

St. Thomas cokie (sp) beach. Super clear water and bring dog treats the Sargent majors love them. You can stand in waist deep water and feed the fish or snorkel out deeper and see lots of different things. Powdery white sand and just beautiful

Roatan!!! Little French Key(check out their website). The place is Paradise! Also, if you want a ship excursion, Tabyana Beach. You can just walk into the ocean for the most wonderful snorkeling. The zip line at the port is terrific. There is a drink that you can only get here called a Monkey La La ! My very favorite drink ever!

I totally agree! Little French Key is one of my favorites. Also love St Lucia.

Half Moon Cay. Private island, just a beautiful beach. You don't have to spend any extra there. The ship provides BBQ lunch. It's absolutely beautiful.

My wife and I always like Grand Turk.

She loves the water and the beach. It free and right off the pier.

I am not much into water and beach, but could sit in the shade of the trees and watch the water.

A nice little shopping area right off the pier with a Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville restaurant http://www.margaritavillecaribbean.com/locations/grand-turk/ if you have to eat ($$$$). There is also Jacks Shack a little farther (a couple hundred yards) down the beach for refreshments.

Best part about area around Margaritaville is the free pool. Just take your beach towel from the ship, find a chair by the pool and enjoy the day. There is also a FlowRider http://www.grandturkcc.com/shore-excursions/grand-turk-flowrider.aspx for a fee. Like stand up stationary surfing.

Half Moon Cay. Private island, just a beautiful beach. You don't have to spend any extra there. The ship provides BBQ lunch. It's absolutely beautiful.

I totally agree. Close second would be Grand Turk. They have beach with lounge chairs by the port. You could go back to ship for lunch if you don't want to spend money for lunch.

St. Thomas cokie (sp) beach. Super clear water and bring dog treats the Sargent majors love them. You can stand in waist deep water and feed the fish or snorkel out deeper and see lots of different things. Powdery white sand and just beautiful

Plus you can smoke weed with the locals.

There is definitely that...

I loved Virgin Gorda, BVI. WE went to The Baths. It was beautiful.

St. Thomas cokie (sp) beach. Super clear water and bring dog treats the Sargent majors love them. You can stand in waist deep water and feed the fish or snorkel out deeper and see lots of different things. Powdery white sand and just beautiful

Ok, at the risk of sounding like a prosecutor have you ever spent a few weeks (not just a port day) on St Thomas? And are you aware that the only US cruise passenger to be shot and killed, in recent years, was a 14 year old girl (cruise passenger) (her name was Lizmarie Perez Chaparro) killed right outside Coki Beach by a druggie? St Thomas has a major crime problem, has ongoing drug wars, etc etc. But most cruise passengers are unaware of this because neither the cruise lines or the government are going to broadcast this fact. In addition, have you ever tried driving through Charlotte Amalie during rush hour?

You want a nice island? Perhaps you go to St Barts or Anguilla where there are rarely any cruise ships. On those island you could leave your wallet on a beach and nobody would take it. Or you could go to a place like Aruba, which although it does have some crime, is much safer then the USVI..not to mention being outside the normal hurricane zone. And we do agree with the poster who mentioned the British VI, which also has some gorgeous islands without traffic congestion, much crime, traffic jams, or pollution.

On some days the island of St Thomas there has over 15,000 cruise ship passengers....crammed onto an island with a normal population of less than 52,000! This is paradise? The truth is that the island has been ruined by a huge influx of cruise passengers. Once cute shops in Charlotte Amalie have been forced out by the usual Diamonds International, Tanzanite International, etc. This used to be a great city to buy linens, but now most of those shops have been replaced by T-shirt shops, jewelers (many selling overpriced junk), etc. You want to snorkel? Go to a place like Bonaire. You want to eat good food? Go to Grand Case on the island of St Maarten or perhaps to St Barts (great French restaurants at high prices).

But if you want lots of cruise passengers by all means visit St Thomas.

Hank

Ok, at the risk of sounding like a prosecutor have you ever spent a few weeks (not just a port day) on St Thomas? And are you aware that the only US cruise passenger to be shot and killed, in recent years, was a 14 year old girl (cruise passenger) (her name was Lizmarie Perez Chaparro) killed right outside Coki Beach by a druggie? St Thomas has a major crime problem, has ongoing drug wars, etc etc. But most cruise passengers are unaware of this because neither the cruise lines or the government are going to broadcast this fact. In addition, have you ever tried driving through Charlotte Amalie during rush hour?

 

You want a nice island? Perhaps you go to St Barts or Anguilla where there are rarely any cruise ships. On those island you could leave your wallet on a beach and nobody would take it. Or you could go to a place like Aruba, which although it does have some crime, is much safer then the USVI..not to mention being outside the normal hurricane zone. And we do agree with the poster who mentioned the British VI, which also has some gorgeous islands without traffic congestion, much crime, traffic jams, or pollution.

 

On some days the island of St Thomas there has over 15,000 cruise ship passengers....crammed onto an island with a normal population of less than 52,000! This is paradise? The truth is that the island has been ruined by a huge influx of cruise passengers. Once cute shops in Charlotte Amalie have been forced out by the usual Diamonds International, Tanzanite International, etc. This used to be a great city to buy linens, but now most of those shops have been replaced by T-shirt shops, jewelers (many selling overpriced junk), etc. You want to snorkel? Go to a place like Bonaire. You want to eat good food? Go to Grand Case on the island of St Maarten or perhaps to St Barts (great French restaurants at high prices).

 

But if you want lots of cruise passengers by all means visit St Thomas.

 

Hank

Boy, You sure are a Debbie Downer.

I am generally all about the beach...

Curacao & Aruba are my favorites

That being said, we LOVE a beach on the other side of the island at St. Thomas--Paradise Beach. We have been twice & it was not crowded AT ALL (maybe 30 or so of us there)!

("And are you aware that the only US cruise passenger to be shot and killed, in recent years, was a 14 year old girl (cruise passenger) (her name was Lizmarie Perez Chaparro) killed right outside Coki Beach by a druggie?"--if that is the only US passenger to be killed if you consider the numbers in these tourist destinations, that really isn't bag--not to diminish the life of this young lady, RIP)

Cozumel--all inclusive Nachi Cochum for about $50/person & they limit it to 100 people/day (includes all you can drink, 4 course lunch, pool & lovely beach--amazing)

Grand Turk was nice, too.

Heading to Grand Cayman this trip & have heard good things.

Never found a nice beach at St. Maarten (it could be there...) or Jamaica (the only place we take an excursion due to safety concerns). I find the private islands to be very crowded; we have a good time, but far from our favorites.

You need to do your own research. Fodors and Frommers have excellent extensive books coming out every year or two.They also have websites. Check em out at your library. Also Tripadvisors.com. Islands do vary greatly.

Boy, You sure are a Debbie Downer.

Nah :) Just call me Rachel for short. :D

Curacao and Aruba are our favorite islands.

Curacao has small cove beaches which are good for snorkeling.

Willemstad is a good small walking city with lots of historic sites.

Cruisers can take the trolley train around and then walk around

this interesting city.

Aruba has some beautiful larger beaches, including Palm Beach.

It also is a good island to tour, as it is small enough to see much in a few

hours.

We love the beaches in Aruba without question. We have been there five times, three on a cruise ship and twice on land vacations.

We take the local "Arubus" (#10 bus runs every 20-30 minutes--$2.30 U.S. pp each way) to Eagle Beach. The bus terminal is across the street from the cruise port. You can rent chairs under palpas for $10 each. The sand is like powder and the water is clean, clear, very warm, and usually has a fairly gentle surf. The restaurant across the street (Tulip's) allows you to use their facilities and has great drinks.

St Thomas has a major crime problem, has ongoing drug wars, etc etc.

That absolutely is true. It's one of the reasons Bonaire has become my favorite island. It's not as developed as other cruise port islands and it is much, much safer.

We also love Bonaire! :)

We also like Bonaire. And spending a few hours on the Woodwind doing some drift snorkeling is a real treat.

Hank

Half Moon Cay. Private island, just a beautiful beach. You don't have to spend any extra there. The ship provides BBQ lunch. It's absolutely beautiful.

We're talking about Caribbean islands - Half Moon, while OK as a private island is in the Bahamas; it can be pretty chilly in winter, and really just has a beach and ship-provided food. Grand Turk really isn't Caribbean either.

St. Maarten is my favorite: beaches of all varieties around the island, great restaurants, casinos if interested.

I want to thank ALL of you for your great suggestions. Now all I have to do is "decide" which direction to go.

This just happens to be Thanksgiving Day, so I want to wish everyone of you a wondrful day.

Brenda - Kansas City