What is your favourite Carribbean Island and why?

[retired dude]

#1 for us in manchebo beach in aruba...blessed to have visited over 20 of the islands and  this for us is the ultimate beach. Every thing on aruba is expensive but you get what you pay for....life is good

[Polly1922]

11 minutes ago, retired dude said:

#1 for us in manchebo beach in aruba...blessed to have visited over 20 of the islands and  this for us is the ultimate beach. Every thing on aruba is expensive but you get what you pay for....life is good

Thanks Aruba sounds nice and for you to compliment it's beaches so highly after visiting 20 different islands puts this on our to do list.

Edited March 8, 2020 by Polly1922

[ARandomTraveler]

8 hours ago, Polly1922 said:

I was recommended the ABC?islands which sounded awesome.

I’ve done both routes, but liked the other route better. They changed our ABC route for some reason and took out Bonaire, which is supposed to be the nicest place for scuba and snorkel, and why a lot of people like that route.
 

I did really like Aruba, so much so that I went back the following year for a land vacation. It has pretty water and a nice downtown area for eating out and shopping. It’s a bit more developed than some islands and it was easier to get around by bus and by walking than some of the other islands, which is why I liked it for a land vacation. They have a couple fun tours (try the Aruba trike tour) where you can see the whole island in a few hours and drive by several beaches so you can choose one for later. 
 

I was disappointed in Curacao. The beach we chose to go to (Mambo beach) was one of the ugliest man-made beaches I’ve ever been to, it was just a lake created from putting a concrete wall between the ocean and the land. It gets a lot of great reviews and now that I’ve been there I think it’s because the actual land part of the beach is very Americanized with lots of restaurants and shops, but the water part is awful, especially compared to so many other beaches you’ll find in the southern Caribbean. So it depends on what you like- read reviews carefully, the longer reviews with more detail will give you insight on why people do or don’t like something which might help you to figure out if you’d also like or dislike it. 
 

I LOVED the other southern route. St Lucia is one of the most beautiful islands because it’s one of the few that are luscious and green (rather than dessert), if you take a tour there (I like Cosol’s) you’ll get to take a boat across the water to a beach between the pitons which is beautiful to see. You’ll get to take a mud bath in volcano mud, visit a banana plantation and eat bananas right off the tree, and learn a lot about the island. You can buy virtually any spice on this island for dirt cheap because this is where a lot of them grow. We came home with big ziploc bags full of nutmeg and vanilla beans for $2 a bag. They had bags of every spice for $2. When you go to other islands and buy spices they’re more expensive because they all buy them from st Lucia, but on st Lucia it’s like buying them at a farmers market. I’m not sure how that island is without the tour because a lot of the stuff we saw was far from the ship. 
 

Barbados has the clearest water I’ve ever seen on 15 islands. It was pure bath water and so calm (unless you go to the islands on the less popular side of the island which are rough). 
 

Antigua has my favorite beach, valley church, because it’s also got crystal clear and calm water that’s fun to snorkel in all day. It’s a less developed beach with a beach bar that gets spotty if any Wi-Fi, but is very Caribbean, and if you stay until the end of the day when you have to head back to the ship, the water glistens like glitter because of where the sun hits it that time of day. 
 

St Kitts has a lot of things you can do. I’ve been to that island twice and did a tour once, and hiked the volcano the next time. There’s a place on st kitts where you can see where the Caribbean and Atlantic oceans come together, and it’s a gorgeous view. 
 

Basically everything on these islands is so much less developed, and more traditionally Caribbean, less spoiled (if not still unspoiled) and more green than anything you’ll see on the ABC route. And definitely more so that any eastern or western route. 
 

I’d do the longer route again, multiple times over, but I don’t see myself ever doing the ABC route again unless it was to snorkel or scuba in Bonaire. 
 

It depends what you like to do. But I think the ABC route gets recommended a lot because people like to say “ABC Islands” cause it sounds cool. Or because they like more developed islands where you can shop rather than be in nature or do activities. I’d take the ABC route over any eastern or western, but not over the other southern route. Just my opinion though. 

Edited March 8, 2020 by ARandomTraveler

[Drumstix40]

Love Curaçao, The floating bridge into town, with those vibrant pastel colors of the buildings. Its like a living post card.  Been there many times,  always enjoy going back.

The locals always friendly,  good food (if your willing to be adventurous) off the beaten path.  And those trade winds on the beach, sitting under the shade with my wife, and a tropical drink In hand.  PARADISE!!!

[Polly1922]

40 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

I’ve done both routes, but liked the other route better. They changed our ABC route for some reason and took out Bonaire, which is supposed to be the nicest place for scuba and snorkel, and why a lot of people like that route.
 

I did really like Aruba, so much so that I went back the following year for a land vacation. It has pretty water and a nice downtown area for eating out and shopping. It’s a bit more developed than some islands and it was easier to get around by bus and by walking than some of the other islands, which is why I liked it for a land vacation. They have a couple fun tours (try the Aruba trike tour) where you can see the whole island in a few hours and drive by several beaches so you can choose one for later. 
 

I was disappointed in Curacao. The beach we chose to go to (Mambo beach) was one of the ugliest man-made beaches I’ve ever been to, it was just a lake created from putting a concrete wall between the ocean and the land. It gets a lot of great reviews and now that I’ve been there I think it’s because the actual land part of the beach is very Americanized with lots of restaurants and shops, but the water part is awful, especially compared to so many other beaches you’ll find in the southern Caribbean. So it depends on what you like- read reviews carefully, the longer reviews with more detail will give you insight on why people do or don’t like something which might help you to figure out if you’d also like or dislike it. 
 

I LOVED the other southern route. St Lucia is one of the most beautiful islands because it’s one of the few that are luscious and green (rather than dessert), if you take a tour there (I like Cosol’s) you’ll get to take a boat across the water to a beach between the pitons which is beautiful to see. You’ll get to take a mud bath in volcano mud, visit a banana plantation and eat bananas right off the tree, and learn a lot about the island. You can buy virtually any spice on this island for dirt cheap because this is where a lot of them grow. We came home with big ziploc bags full of nutmeg and vanilla beans for $2 a bag. They had bags of every spice for $2. When you go to other islands and buy spices they’re more expensive because they all buy them from st Lucia, but on st Lucia it’s like buying them at a farmers market. I’m not sure how that island is without the tour because a lot of the stuff we saw was far from the ship. 
 

Barbados has the clearest water I’ve ever seen on 15 islands. It was pure bath water and so calm (unless you go to the islands on the less popular side of the island which are rough). 
 

Antigua has my favorite beach, valley church, because it’s also got crystal clear and calm water that’s fun to snorkel in all day. It’s a less developed beach with a beach bar that gets spotty if any Wi-Fi, but is very Caribbean, and if you stay until the end of the day when you have to head back to the ship, the water glistens like glitter because of where the sun hits it that time of day. 
 

St Kitts has a lot of things you can do. I’ve been to that island twice and did a tour once, and hiked the volcano the next time. There’s a place on st kitts where you can see where the Caribbean and Atlantic oceans come together, and it’s a gorgeous view. 
 

Basically everything on these islands is so much less developed, and more traditionally Caribbean, less spoiled (if not still unspoiled) and more green than anything you’ll see on the ABC route. And definitely more so that any eastern or western route. 
 

I’d do the longer route again, multiple times over, but I don’t see myself ever doing the ABC route again unless it was to snorkel or scuba in Bonaire. 
 

It depends what you like to do. But I think the ABC route gets recommended a lot because people like to say “ABC Islands” cause it sounds cool. Or because they like more developed islands where you can shop rather than be in nature or do activities. I’d take the ABC route over any eastern or western, but not over the other southern route. Just my opinion though. 

Thank you for the fantastic information which is very helpful.

[2tall]

Dominica.  

 

It's so beautiful that Pirates of the Caribbean Part 2 was filmed there, in part.  It's unspoiled.  And champagne bay is amazing.  

 

Second runner up would be St. Lucia.

[George C]

Have done about 50 Caribbean cruises, currently favorite is St Marten , love orient beach, great shopping, nice bars and restaurants, also like StJohn and One of the few that like Jamaica. 

[Polly1922]

58 minutes ago, George C said:

Have done about 50 Caribbean cruises, currently favorite is St Marten , love orient beach, great shopping, nice bars and restaurants, also like StJohn and One of the few that like Jamaica. 

Wow that's a lot of Caribbean cruises.

St Maarten is our favourite to date.

[Polly1922]

1 hour ago, 2tall said:

Dominica.  

 

It's so beautiful that Pirates of the Caribbean Part 2 was filmed there, in part.  It's unspoiled.  And champagne bay is amazing.  

 

Second runner up would be St. Lucia.

That's interesting,Dominica is now on our list to do.

Is there any tours to see where the film was made?.

[grapau27]

On 3/8/2020 at 5:29 PM, ARandomTraveler said:

I’ve done both routes, but liked the other route better. They changed our ABC route for some reason and took out Bonaire, which is supposed to be the nicest place for scuba and snorkel, and why a lot of people like that route.
 

I did really like Aruba, so much so that I went back the following year for a land vacation. It has pretty water and a nice downtown area for eating out and shopping. It’s a bit more developed than some islands and it was easier to get around by bus and by walking than some of the other islands, which is why I liked it for a land vacation. They have a couple fun tours (try the Aruba trike tour) where you can see the whole island in a few hours and drive by several beaches so you can choose one for later. 
 

I was disappointed in Curacao. The beach we chose to go to (Mambo beach) was one of the ugliest man-made beaches I’ve ever been to, it was just a lake created from putting a concrete wall between the ocean and the land. It gets a lot of great reviews and now that I’ve been there I think it’s because the actual land part of the beach is very Americanized with lots of restaurants and shops, but the water part is awful, especially compared to so many other beaches you’ll find in the southern Caribbean. So it depends on what you like- read reviews carefully, the longer reviews with more detail will give you insight on why people do or don’t like something which might help you to figure out if you’d also like or dislike it. 
 

I LOVED the other southern route. St Lucia is one of the most beautiful islands because it’s one of the few that are luscious and green (rather than dessert), if you take a tour there (I like Cosol’s) you’ll get to take a boat across the water to a beach between the pitons which is beautiful to see. You’ll get to take a mud bath in volcano mud, visit a banana plantation and eat bananas right off the tree, and learn a lot about the island. You can buy virtually any spice on this island for dirt cheap because this is where a lot of them grow. We came home with big ziploc bags full of nutmeg and vanilla beans for $2 a bag. They had bags of every spice for $2. When you go to other islands and buy spices they’re more expensive because they all buy them from st Lucia, but on st Lucia it’s like buying them at a farmers market. I’m not sure how that island is without the tour because a lot of the stuff we saw was far from the ship. 
 

Barbados has the clearest water I’ve ever seen on 15 islands. It was pure bath water and so calm (unless you go to the islands on the less popular side of the island which are rough). 
 

Antigua has my favorite beach, valley church, because it’s also got crystal clear and calm water that’s fun to snorkel in all day. It’s a less developed beach with a beach bar that gets spotty if any Wi-Fi, but is very Caribbean, and if you stay until the end of the day when you have to head back to the ship, the water glistens like glitter because of where the sun hits it that time of day. 
 

St Kitts has a lot of things you can do. I’ve been to that island twice and did a tour once, and hiked the volcano the next time. There’s a place on st kitts where you can see where the Caribbean and Atlantic oceans come together, and it’s a gorgeous view. 
 

Basically everything on these islands is so much less developed, and more traditionally Caribbean, less spoiled (if not still unspoiled) and more green than anything you’ll see on the ABC route. And definitely more so that any eastern or western route. 
 

I’d do the longer route again, multiple times over, but I don’t see myself ever doing the ABC route again unless it was to snorkel or scuba in Bonaire. 
 

It depends what you like to do. But I think the ABC route gets recommended a lot because people like to say “ABC Islands” cause it sounds cool. Or because they like more developed islands where you can shop rather than be in nature or do activities. I’d take the ABC route over any eastern or western, but not over the other southern route. Just my opinion though. 

Nice summary of several islands,thank you for sharing.

[fla gang]

Columbus Cove at Labadee, Haiti

[NateUpNorth]

On 3/8/2020 at 4:59 AM, Polly1922 said:

I was recommended the ABC?islands which sounded awesome.

 

Aruba/Bonaire/Curacao - hands down the best itinerary we've been on.

 

Aruba - beaches that are among the best in Caribbean

Bonaire - world class snorkel site

Curacao - walkable downtown with heavy cultural experience

 

[Polly1922]

2 hours ago, NateUpNorth said:

 

Aruba/Bonaire/Curacao - hands down the best itinerary we've been on.

 

Aruba - beaches that are among the best in Caribbean

Bonaire - world class snorkel site

Curacao - walkable downtown with heavy cultural experience

 

I can't swim but I love to shop and love white sand beaches.