Which tropical islands and ports have you been to and which 3 are your favorites?

[paulandfran]

Which tropical islands and ports have you visited and which 3 are your favorites? And why are they your favorites?

 

I'll start...

 

Aruba

Montego Bay

Ocho Rios

San Juan

St. John USVI

St. Thomas USVI

Tortola BVI

Virgin Gorda BVI

Cozumel

Playa del Carmen

St. Lucia

Grand Cayman

Labadee

Nassau

Freeport

Coco Cay

Half Moon Cay

Grand Turk

Oahu

Kauai

Maui

Big Island of Hawaii

Niihau

 

My top three are:

 

St. Lucia - Jalousie Beach, nestled between the twin Pitons, is the most gorgeous place I've ever been. It felt so secluded, it reminds me of that show Fantasy Island from when I was a kid.

 

Virgin Gorda - the Baths are so unique and pristine.

 

St. Thomas - I love the snorkeling and beautiful beaches and the great ferry system to go over to St. John.

[nothomeonacruise]

Yay, a pleasant and positive post today!! I hope it stays for a little while.

 

St. Thomas

Half Moon Cay

Puerto Rico

 

I like Cozumel (Pancho's Backyard restaurant), too.

 

Almost all the coast of Florida, including Key West..LOL

 

Cruise locations:

Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Panama, Jamiaca, Cozumel, Grand Turk, Grand Cayman, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Half Moon Cay, Labadee, and I'm probably missing a few..

[ChefSusan]

Maui

Oahu

Grand Cayman Island

Cozumel

Belize

Roatan

San Juan

St. Thomas

Antigua

Tortola/Virgin Gorda

Nassau

Freeport

Ocho Rios

Key West

 

Top 3:

Cozumel (Nachi Cocum) for the scenery

Roatan for the scenery and friendly people

Virgin Gorda for the uniqueness and crystal clear water

[bankerbabe]

I'll play :)

 

Hope I can remember them all . . . . I'm blonde. I'll include Mexican Riviera ports too and tropical destinations we've visited on land, just because.

 

Princess Cays

Grand Cayman (x2)

Cozumel (x2)

Costa Maya

Acapulco

Zihuatenejo

Puerto Vallarta - on cruise

Puerto Vallarta - land vacation

Cabo San Lucas

Ensenada

Grand Turk

Tortola

St. Maarten

St. Thomas

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Montego Bay

Cancun - land vacation

Isla Mujeres - land vacation

 

It's hard to pick a favorite.

 

Tortola was fantastic - a trip over to The Baths and dinner at a marina near the port made that day pretty darn good.

 

St. Maarten. We spent the day at Orient Beach (beautiful!) soaking up the sun. Nice.

 

Isla Mujeres. We ferried over from Cancun for 45 pesos each, rented a golf cart for the day, and just drove around. The island is so small that you can easily drive from one end to the other in a little golf cart in a relatively short time and it's VERY laid back. We stopped at beaches, restaurants, and finally landed at North Beach where we rented loungers and did some swimming. Then we returned the golf cart and did some shopping.

[zqvol]

Here you go, all islands with swimable beaches

 

St. Thomas

Puerto Rico

Half Moon Cay

Bahamas

Grand Turk

St. John

Jost van Dyke

Norman Island

Peter Island

Virgin Gorda

Tortola

St. Maarten

St. Barths

Nevis

St. Kitts

Saba

Antigua

Iles des Saintes

 

Oahu

Maui

Hawaii

Kauai

Molokai

 

Grand Cayman

Roatan

Cozumel

 

Key West

 

Paros

Sifnos

Santorini

Delos

Mykonos

Lesvos

 

 

Favorite? How can you pick even three? The Med is incredible but the water is cool. The Eastern Caribbean is exotic, Hawaii? Who needs to say more? Western caribbean, well you can have it except for Roatan.

[paulandfran]

 

Almost all the coast of Florida, including Key West..LOL

 

 

I forgot about Florida! Sanibel Island is my favorite there.

[paulandfran]

 

 

 

Favorite? How can you pick even three?

 

I know, it's hard, isn't it??

 

Santorini is at the top of my wish list.

[5o'clocksomewhere]

Oahu, north shore by far our favorite.

 

St. John, because it reminds me of the north shore

 

Roatan, West bay beach.....also reminds me somewhat of the north shore..instead of a small surfer town.......small dive town:D

 

While not tropical or on your list.....Cabo....love the desert feel.....

[Froufie]

OHMYGOODNESS - I am sitting here at work filling out this HUGE document to renew my govt security clearance - and one of the questions is to list ALL the countries I have visited in the last 5 years!!! :D:D

 

So I am 'reminiscing' as I try to remember all the places I have been - of course they have only given me like 5 spaces on the form so I will have to 'attach' a VERY LONG sheet with all the additional information. Luckily I don't have to enter places in Canada, US or Mexico (so that will save me some time!). Hmmm - maybe I can just cut and paste one of your lists? :D:D

[paulandfran]

Yay, a pleasant and positive post today!! I hope it stays for a little while.

 

 

Thanks, me too! Ever since I figured out how to use the 'ignore' feature to block out the troublemakers it's gotten much more pleasant!

 

I forgot to list Bermuda. Love the pinkish colored sand and the pastel colored buildings with their white rooves. Although it wasn't very tropical feeling when we went in May one year. Brrrr... the water was cold in the Atlantic. :eek:

[divingmedic]

St Croix and Cozumel and Roatan , but I am a diver and diving there is great. Bahamas, while nice beaches, horrible diving.

[SMSACE6]

Those islands, listed from favorite to least favorite are;

 

Barbados

Cozumel

St Lucia

Grand Cayman

St John

St Martin/Maarten

St Thomas

Jamaica

 

My favorite island of all is Barbados, though I have never been there on a cruise, however spent 1 or 2 week vacations there from the mid 1970's to the mid 1990's. Cozumel, which I have only visited on a cruise is my next favorite island. ST Lucia, I was only there once 23 years ago for a 2 week holiday. It was a wonderful 2 weeks and unforgettable.

 

Grand Cayman, because it is clean and not much poverty, and there is no pressure to come into this store or not, also cant forget my one experience in the water with Stingrays! St John, probably the most beautiful of all, and only once saw it on my first cruise on the Norway.

 

St Martin. I love the contrast in the two parts of the island, French and Dutch. St Thomas, is also quite beautiful, but a little "busy" for my liking.

Jamaica; my first visit was on the Liberty last October, and I saw some very pretty sights, but it was too quick and I really didnt see enough to have much more of an opinion.

 

I know these next are not Caribbean, but I have been to the Bahamas, ( Nassau ) on many non cruise vacations and I have always enjoyed the place, ( though I havent been there in about 12 years ). I also love Bermuda. Very beautiful, but very expensive.

 

Have been on Trinidad ( very short and unscheduled stopover ) too long a story but didnt see much. Also a brief airport stopover in Antigua. Would sure like to get to Antigua and see something though.

 

That is it!:)

[Arlington VA]

Sparky8,

Yes! Stingray swim sounds great! We will be in Grand Cayman July 20 and plan to go to Stingray City. Do you recall which tour you did? I have seen these three recommended: Soto, Moby Dick, Captain Marvin. Price range varies. I prefer a private company because it's less expensive than the ship's tour. Thanks!:)

[kcroxyoursox]

Sparky8,

Yes! Stingray swim sounds great! We will be in Grand Cayman July 20 and plan to go to Stingray City. Do you recall which tour you did? I have seen these three recommended: Soto, Moby Dick, Captain Marvin. Price range varies. I prefer a private company because it's less expensive than the ship's tour. Thanks!:)

 

Can only speak for Marvin, but it was amazing and when we go back in November we'll be booking with them again!

 

 

And my favorites are Grand Cayman, Nassau and Cozumel. Have only been to Montego Bay and Progreso besides those, but hope to one day visit Roatan and Belize as well as all the "Saints."

[SMSACE6]

Sparky8,

Yes! Stingray swim sounds great! We will be in Grand Cayman July 20 and plan to go to Stingray City. Do you recall which tour you did? I have seen these three recommended: Soto, Moby Dick, Captain Marvin. Price range varies. I prefer a private company because it's less expensive than the ship's tour. Thanks!:)

 

Sorry I cant recommend any of those, as we did our tour through Carnival. Yes we probably paid too much, but we are only now starting to get savvy enough to do non cruise line excursions. Our tour was great though, and whichever you choose, Im sure will not forget the experience. I am a water "chicken" scared of anything that moves, but it was well worth it even for old chicken me.:D

[SB2788]

Puerto Rico

St. Thomas

Dominica

St. Lucia

Barbados

Antigua

Tampa (does that even count?)

Grand Cayman

Belize

Roatan, Honduras

Cozumel, Mexico

Trinidad

Tobago

 

 

My favorite ports were:

Antigua: the beaches are beautiful! The island is developing with amenities geared towards tourism.

 

Cozumel: People there were so friendly! The merchants were always willing to

negotiate with you. I also loved the idea of exploring the Mayan ruins and seeing the pyramids. I love ancient culture and Cozumel was literally a sensory overload for me! I was overwhelmed with all of the interesting things to do/ see there.

 

Tobago: Loved the beaches! We took a private tour to Goat Island where we got to tour a mansion on a private island. There were 360 degree views of the ocean. It was like a movie scene. I also had this local dish called, "Shark 'n' Bake." It was comforting to have a shark for dinner and not have it be the opposite!

[5o'clocksomewhere]

Sparky8,

Yes! Stingray swim sounds great! We will be in Grand Cayman July 20 and plan to go to Stingray City. Do you recall which tour you did? I have seen these three recommended: Soto, Moby Dick, Captain Marvin. Price range varies. I prefer a private company because it's less expensive than the ship's tour. Thanks!:)

 

I highly recommend booking with Stingray Sailing. We have done the Carnival tour and this one. And Stingray Sailing beats Carnival's hands down. When we were there in May....Carnival cancelled their tour because of a little rain:rolleyes: We went and had a great time!

I believe the max on this catamaran is 27.........unlike Carnivals....

 

 

http://www.stingraysailing.com/

[kjunea]

Ports/Islands I have visited...

 

Bermuda (lived there 3 years)

Nassau

Half Moon Cay

Castaway Cay

Grand Turk

St. Thomas

San Juan

St. Maarten/St. Martin

Antigua

Barbados

Martinique

Labadee

Grand Cayman

Cozumel

Belize

Costa Maya

Big Island of Hawa'ai

Maui

Oahu

 

Favorites include Bermuda, Half Moon Cay and St. Maarten/St. Martin. Beautiful beaches, and very friendly people1

[yogimax]

None can compare with Hawaii.

 

Other than that, favorite three...

 

Puetro Vallarta

Cozumel

St. Juan

 

Least Favorite three...

Freeport

Nassau

Montego Bay

[saw1953]

Too many to list but my favorites are Aruba, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. Can you tell I like the beach. My least favorites are the Bahamas and St. Thomas.

[tgr2387]

Freeport

Nassau

Grand Cayman

Ocho Rios

Costa Maya

Cozumel

Belize City

Roatan

San Juan, PR

St Thomas

St Martin

Antigua

Tortola

Virgin Gorda

Playa Del Carmen

 

 

3 Favorites:

Tortola

Virgin Gorda

St Thomas

 

HM:Grand Cayman

[CHOPPERTESTER]

Islands where spent some time, some $$, some awe

 

Antigua

Aruba

Bahamas (Coco Cay)

Bahamas (Nassau)

Bahamas (Princess Cay)

Barbados

Bermuda

Cayman Islands

Mexico (Cozumel)

Cuba (Holguin)

Curacao

Jamaica (Ocho Rios)

Haiti (Labadee)

Martinque

Puerto Rico

St Kitts

St Lucia

St Marrten

St Martin

US Virgin Islands (St Thomas)

US Virgin Islands (St Croix)

 

Top5:

 

1. Aruba – Renaissance Island – Free range flamingos need I say more.

2. Bermuda – Tobacco Bay – Squid, Cuttle Fish, parrot fish

3. Curacao – Kontiki Beach – Great snorkeling, protected area

4. Cuba – Playa Esmeralda – White sand beaches, coral reef at low tide

5. US Virgin Islands – St Thomas Coki Beach – Two words – Dog biscuits

[Fergus]

Nassau

Freeport

Jamaica

Cozumel

Cancun

Grand Cayman

St. Maarten

St. Thomas

St. John

Grand Turk

Puerto Rico

Belize

Roatan

I think I'm missing some....??

 

Favorites:

Most beautiful beaches: St. Maarten

Most relaxing AND beautiful: St. John

Had the most fun: Cozumel

[MrPete]

My three favorites:

 

Bermuda

 

Kauai

 

Aruba

 

Alternates:

 

St. John

 

Grand Cayman

[chachi]

1. Oahu

2. Costa Rica

3. HMC

 

I have been to Hawaii several times on land vacations. I would love to try it on a cruise. I might have to just bite the bullet and try NCL. Costa Rica was also a land vacation, but I absolutely loved it. The only port that made it on my list is Half Moon Cay. Probably the prettiest beach I have ever seen.

It is probably biased that my top 2 were land vacations. You get to explore a lot more.