# Compare Hawaii to Carabian Island...



## gidat1 (Jan 10, 2007)

Following question was put on a hawaii board by a guest.  Most the respondent favored Hawaii over Carabian Island.

I recentaly went to Big Island and Kauai, and looking for a Carabian Island for next vacation.

Any comments here.

How does the Caribbean compare to Hawaii 

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[*I]We absolutely love Hawaii. We go there once and sometimes twice a year and still can’t get enough. I keep thinking that maybe we ought to try out the Caribbean but I'm afraid I’ll get there and think “this is nice but it’s not Hawaii.” 

I’m posting this on the Hawaii page because I want to find out what lovers of Hawaii think about the Caribbean. In Hawaii we usually do Oahu and the Big Island or Oahu and Maui. We like the hustle and bustle of Waikiki and being able to walk around at night. We also love just everything about the Big Island. We stay at the Bay Club in Waikoloa and Hilton Hawaiian Village on Oahu. Is there a need for me to check out the Caribbean? (I’ve been mulling over this question for several years now.)[/I]*


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## Kal (Jan 10, 2007)

We vacationed in Hawaii every year for about 10 years.  Then we went to the Caribbean for the first time.

Since then we go to the Caribbean every year and haven't been back to Hawaii since.  Hawaii just doesn't compare.


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## Cathy in Boston (Jan 10, 2007)

Instead of retyping, here is a copy and paste of my post on the Hawaii thread........

_*We've been to Oahu and the Big Island twice, and we own a TS in Aruba and go every year. Such totally different experiences...I love all three places - probably Oahu least of the three.

Oahu - Big city experience, but with Waikiki Beach, which we love. Great but extremely expensive restaurants. Lots of good (but again, expensive) shopping. If you rent a car, you can get to some truly beautiful places, and of course there is Pearl Harbor, which everyone should see once.

Big Island - Vast and varied, you have desert, rain forest and tropical beauty all on one island. Hard to beat seeing a live volcano. Absolutely beautiful beaches that are usually uncrowded. Again, great restaurants (i.e., Merriman's) which are, again, very expensive.

Aruba - Can not even begin to compare to HI in beauty or the quality of the beaches. So why do we own here and not in HI? Lots of reasons - very easy to get here for us (we're in Boston - getting to HI is about a day-long experience at minimum - we can be in Aruba in time for lunch). We love the people - yes, the people in HI are wonderful, but there is something about the Aruban people...hard to explain to anyone who hasn't been there... they are just truly special. Palm Beach is similar in some ways to Waikiki - crowded, great people watching - but the waves are nothing compared to Waikiki, and we do miss that. We love the restaurants in Aruba - they aren't fancy (at least our favorites aren't) but the food is really good, the service is wonderful, and the cost is reasonable. And for us, the capper to the whole experience is, after the beach, after sitting at the pool, after our wonderful meal at Madame Janette or El Gaucho, we can spend a couple of hours at the casino. Not a big deal to someone who doesn't gamble, but we love to gamble, and it just kind of completes the whole experience for us.

So in a nutshell, the sightseeing is 1000 times better in Hawaii, the beauty is not even comparable, far outweighs anything in Aruba, but the cost, the convenience of the flights, the dining options, the people, and the availablility of casino gambling make Aruba our favorite vacation destination. Also, because the sightseeing is so limited, we truly relax in Aruba, whereas in Hawaii, we were on the go almost all the time, hiking, exploring, etc. etc. etc. You can't really compare the two experiences, I don't think.

Now, this post is probably just going to confuse the issue. Hopefully there is something in here that strikes a cord one way or the other for you.*_


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## lawren2 (Jan 10, 2007)

gidat1 said:


> Following question was put on a hawaii board by a guest.  Most the respondent favored Hawaii over Carabian Island.
> 
> I recentaly went to Big Island and Kauai, and looking for a Carabian Island for next vacation.
> 
> ...



It will be a MUCH shorter flight for you at probably a much more reasonable costs.

The caribbean water is much warmer and much prettier than Hawaii's pacific.

Each island has a different flavor. The Franch and Dutch Island of St Maarten/ St Martin has absolutely gorgeous beaches and many timeshares. Fine dining and duty free shopping. A few casinos as well. It might be a good place to start.

Aruba is a more difficult trade and is very arid. Bigger hotels and fancier casinos. Not much for sightseeing though it has lovely beaches. Plenty of great restaurants and duty free shopping.

St Thomas and St John are lovely ( St John is drop dead gorgeous but you will probably never timeshare there.) St Thomas is pretty comercialized with American chain stores ( and why not it is an american posession) where St John is 2/3 national park. There are a couple / few timeshares on St Thomas.
and of course fine dining and duty free shopping 

Grand Cayman is a pricey place to go but it is a favorite for the easy snorkeling. A British flavor to that one. I'm happy to sit on the beach. There was also shopping but I don't recall any great deals. There are a few timeshares there as well and if you plan far enough ahead you can go that route.

We enjoyed our trip to Hawaii but like the caribbean more and are always looking to travel to a different island.


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## Loriannf (Jan 10, 2007)

*A Second to St John*

The Caribbean is certainly alot closer than Hawaii for those of us in the Midwest or on the East Coast.  We visited Honolulu and Maui in 1998 and were thrilled with Maui; came back thinking about timeshares, but the 11 hour flight was off putting.  By chance, we vacationed on St John in 1999 and immediately bought our timeshare at the Westin St John (we've since bought another week there).  St John is incredibly beautiful, has 39 beaches, hiking trails, and is largely undeveloped.  In contrast, Maui seemed crowded.  

 The Westin is expanding their timeshare operations with completions scheduled for later this year.  I think trade opportunities might be available for early 2008, unless they sell out quickly.  Depending on what you own, you might also be able to arrange a direct trade with a Westin owner or find one for rent.  Be advised, though, that exchanging is almost impossible as even owners have difficulty finding weeks other than their own.  We've been trying for two years, at least, to trade one of our 3 bedroom April/May weeks for a June week with no luck.  

A great source of info on the US Virgin Islands is VINOW.com.  It's a wonderful website with alot of informed, helpful people on the message boards.  

Lori


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## gidat1 (Jan 11, 2007)

*Have to make a decission between Aruba MAR and St. Maarten*

Thanks for the info. 

It is realy nice to get a wealth of info from people  who are very knowledgable.

I have  put a St. Maarten Oyster Bay Beach Resort on hold till 10 tonite. I need to make a choice between that and Mar Aruba Surf Club.

We like lots of trees and mountions, with hiking. Do not care much about Gambling.

Any input here...

PHILP


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## JudyH (Jan 11, 2007)

Oyster Bay is sort of isolated from the rest of St. Martin, in my opinion.  Yes you are near mountains, I don't know about hiking, I tend to stay away from isolated places in the Carribbean, I'm just very cautious.  There is an organization that does one day hikes, I saw it advertized, I would go with a group.  I think there is more to do on St. M than on Aruba.  Oyster BAy is near Orient Beach, a very busy crowed beach with lots of beach activities, and some nudity.


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## lawren2 (Jan 12, 2007)

gidat1 said:


> Thanks for the info.
> 
> It is realy nice to get a wealth of info from people  who are very knowledgable.
> 
> ...



Philip.

 Oyster Bay is far off the beaten path and quite a drive to anything. I'm not absolutely positive but I believe there is resort construction on the property next door on Dawn Beach (which by the way is the beach you would use).Rumor had it that it was Westin or Marriott but I haven't kept up with the news on that island. For all I know it's completed. 

Hold out for one nearer to the action. and the wonderful restaurants.


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## Judy (Jan 12, 2007)

Hawaii is American.  The Caribbean is a group of islands of diverse cultures and geographies.  The US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are of course, American, although the culture on Puerto Rico is Spanish.  Some islands are Dutch, some are British, some are French, some are Mexican.  Some you would think are American because so many US tourists go there, but others have much different cultures.  Tobago is part of the country Trinadad and Tobago but gets a lot of European tourists.  Margarita Island is part of Venezuela.  I could go on...
Then there's the difference in geography.  Some Caribbean islands are sandbars, like Cancun; some are coral islands and some are volcanic.  Some have incredible SCUBA diving and some have great beaches.
There is so much diversity in the Caribbean, it's hard to choose one island and IMHO impossible to compare the entire Caribbean with Hawaii.
What are you looking for in a vacation?


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## Kal (Jan 12, 2007)

gidat1 said:


> Thanks for the info.
> 
> It is realy nice to get a wealth of info from people who are very knowledgable.
> 
> ...


 
Take it!  It's a nice resort within a few steps of the new Westin at Dawn Beach.  Agree, it's not in a highly populated area, but if you're like me we drive to the French side for most of our meals anyway.  You're actually closer to many great places to eat than being near Philipsburg or Simpson Bay.


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## Blue Skies (Jan 12, 2007)

We have been to Hawaii only once, Maui in March 2006.  We liked not having to worry about customs (either direction.)  We loved the rain forest (Road to Hana.)  The different types of beaches (black sand, red sand, etc.)  We liked that we were in America, using American currency, American laws, American road signs.  We loved the Polynesian history and attending a Luau and watching the Hula dancing.  Everything was really clean and well-kept.  The island of Maui is has much natural beauty, and so much to see.  It sounds weird, but I loved just driving by the sugar cane fields.  The restaurants were very good, and we didn't have to worry about getting sick.  The worst part about the trip was the horribly long plane ride from the upper mid-west.  

We would be more likely to travel to the Caribbean in the future, just because it is easier to get there.  We have only been to Grand Cayman and Curacao, one time each.  Our time share is in Cancun, so we have been there many times (this includes the surrounding area of Playa del Carmen, Cozumel and Isla Mujeres.)  We love the gorgeous white sand beaches and the breathtaking turquoise water with its hues of blues and greens.  We love snorkeling in the warm, crystal clear water.  We love the different cultures, even when they are frustratingly different from our own.  We love the pastel-painted Caribbean buildings, every color of the rainbow.  We love the Caribbean Island language accents and the laid-back attitudes.  We don't like dealing with customs, driving on the "wrong" side of the road, and currency exchanges.  

Just talking about this is giving me and "Island State of Mind."  I'm ready to pack my bags and go now.....


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## boyblue (Jan 13, 2007)

I've Never been to Hawaii but of course it is beautiful and I'm sure if you went back again you would have a great time.  The Caribbean cannot replace Hawaii but it would be a nice change of pace.

There's no harm in trying it once.  Depending on when you travel there are often deals for the Caribbean in Last Call.  If you do come you're almost certain to enjoy your stay even if you do find you prefer Hawaii.


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## scotlass (Jan 21, 2007)

We arrived back from two weeks in Hawaii this morning.  We own two weeks in the Caribbean, Barbados and St. Maarten, and traded for Hawaii.  It's our third trip to Hawaii and we have been several times to the Caribbean.  I think one's perspective is dependent upon what you are looking for in a vacation.  We came back feeling that the Hawiian Islands are much more beautiful than the Caribbean, but we have only been to B'dos, St. Maarten, and Tobago.  Granted the cultures are different in the Caribbean, but in Hawaii there is a strong Polynesian influence, depending on where you go.  We loved the Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu which gives you the background of 7 different Polynesian cultures and how they arrived on Hawaii.  And there is the North Shore, famous for the surfing competitions at this time of year.  Having said all that, the flight from the East Coast is deadly, 12 hours flying out and 10 coming back, with stopovers in between.  We are exhausted, but would probably go back again in a few years when the memory of the flight has lessened.  I hope this helps.


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