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Need advice from Caribbean experts !

D

Deb from NC

TUG Review Crew: Expert
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DH and I have never been to the Caribbean . We LOVE Hawaii, but the flight is sooooo long, several people have suggested that we try the Caribbean sometime. Is there an island there that is Maui-like ? (Or as beautiful in it's own unique way? ) I would prefer to go to a timeshare but am open to other options. Can you help me choose an island/area? We like to swim, snorkel, walk on the beach, just lay by the pool & read. Interesting side trips are always welcome. I don't need to be near a bigger city than Lahaina :)
Advice please?
Thanks!
Deb
 
I would try St. Thomas (Marriott Frenchman's Cove), the reason:

It fits your needs, but also the U. S. Virgin Islands are right next to the British Virgin Islands, so there are numerous islands you can check out via charter boat, each with their own unique features.
 
Thanks! Is there a best time of year to go? (Any times to definitely avoid? )
We usually go to Maui in November, and have consistenly had temps in the low to mid 80's. A little cooler is fine..we don't like really hot weather.
Also, hurricane season is ..when? :)
Deb
 
It's the same year round there, we like the summer because it's less crowded and the water is even warmer.

Hurricanes tend to be late summer, early fall.
 
We love the Caribbean. You might also consider Cancun and Playa del Carmen as well as the Islands. My favorite Islands are Aruba, Puerto Rico, Nassau, St. Thomas, Barbados, and St. Maarten. We have never been to Grand Cayman or Jamaica but anticipate a visit in 2012.
 
Before moving to Hawaii, the Caribbean was our annual vacation spot. Our favorites are St. John, Virgin Gorda and Barbados. All are beautiful and unique.
 
Deb from NC said:
DH and I have never been to the Caribbean . We LOVE Hawaii, but the flight is sooooo long, several people have suggested that we try the Caribbean sometime. Is there an island there that is Maui-like ? (Or as beautiful in it's own unique way? ) I would prefer to go to a timeshare but am open to other options. Can you help me choose an island/area? We like to swim, snorkel, walk on the beach, just lay by the pool & read. Interesting side trips are always welcome. I don't need to be near a bigger city than Lahaina :)
Advice please?
Thanks!
Deb
Click to expand...

I would look into St John. It's a mountainous Island which is two thirds National Park and has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Calm crystal clear waters with excellent snorkeling. From St John you can take day trips to St Thomas and the British Virgin Islands(passports needed for BVI).
 
I like Maui because of the beaches and the city has things to do.

I think from a resort point of view Harborside Atlantis would be my pick. Also liked St. Thomas but not as much as Hawaii or Paradise Island Atlantis.

On the non caribean side that I like very much in comparison to Hawaii would be Nuevo Vallarta Grand Mayan..Puerto Vallarta has many great dining and activities and the resort is very nice for lounging around.
 
Thanks all! Sorry to be so uninformed, but would everyplace except the US Virgin Islands require a passport ?
 
+1 on St Thomas. We like going in December because it's warm and the holidays and not hurricane season. You'll only need a passport if you cruise the British Virgin Islands (not a bad idea). St Thomas is a great jumping off point to go the St John, BVI or St Croix. The resturaunts are great too.
 
You might also consider St. Maarten. Lots of timeshares, beautiful beaches, great food on the French side, and easy day trips to other islands, such as Anguilla, Saba and St. Barth's.

Hurricane season is from June to November, but historically hurricane activity is most active from late August to October.
 
Our favorite Caribbean Islands are St. Barts (no timeshares), St. John and St. Lucia.
 
What are best airline carriers to use from the East Coast and what are the average plane fares to St. Thomas or St Maarten?
 
Last edited:
pedro47 said:
What are best airline carriers to use from the East Coast and what are the average plane fares to St. Thomas or St Maarten?
Click to expand...

We use American or Delta to fly direct from JFK to St Thomas. We choose whoever has the cheapest fare at the time between the two. We travel in March, the fares usually run between $330rt pp and $550rt pp depending...
 
Last edited:
SpikeMauler said:
We use American or Delta to fly direct from JFK to St Thomas. We choose whoever has the cheapest fare at the time between the two. We travel in March, the fares usually run between $330rt pp and $550rt pp depending...
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information the prices are not bad at all.
 
Deb from NC said:
..would everyplace except the US Virgin Islands require a passport ?
Click to expand...
If you travel with the Caribbean and Mexico by boat or car rather than air, you can use a passport card rather than a passport book. The passport card is much cheaper. However, unless you take a cruise (or drive to Cancun), this probably doesn't help you much, since most non-cruise travel from the US to the Caribbean is by air. (My husband and I did travel by boat from Fort Lauderdale to Grand Bahama once, years ago, but I didn't really like Grand Bahama.)

Of course, you could use a cruise to sample different islands, although most cruises leave port far too early for my tastes.
 
Something to consider

From several of the posts, I see people are going from the east coast to the Caribbean. I wanted to mention a problem we have going to the Caribbean from Burlington, Vt. The New England saying “you can’t get there from here” applies. The flights to the Caribbean fly out of a major hub (JFK or Newark for us) in the morning. It is difficult for us to make such a connection, especially in the winter when the weather can be a problem. We are heading to St. Maarten and Nevis in Feb and to make our 8am flight out of Newark comfortably, we are going to fly the day before to Newark, spend the night, and then catch the morning flight. The night in an airport hotel isn’t that much money and we are retired so the extra days are not an issue, but for other people who don’t have simple access to a hub or where the extra days might eat into their vacation, this is something to investigate. On a fairly recent trip to Aruba where we tried to do this in one day, our snowy early morning flight out of Burlington was late causing us to miss our Aruba flight. Luckily there was another flight to Aruba and we were one of the lucky ones to get a few of the available seats, the majority of the people who missed the flight had to wait a day before continuing on to Aruba.

It’s actually easier for us to fly to Hawai’i (Burlington-Chicago-Maui) than it has been to get to the Caribbean.
 
Thank all. It looks like we can get to the US Virgin Islands in about 1/3 of the time (and for about 1/3 of the cost of the flight!) that it normally takes us to get to Maui, so I think we'll have to give it a try :)
 
I always fly from Boston to St. Thomas (someetimes with a short stop in San Juan). $350-$550 is the usual range.
 
I really like St Martin

Deb,

Any non-us territory requires a passport. Each island in the Caribbean is very different from the others. I really like St Martin as the best of both worlds. It is half Dutch and half French. It has great resturants, beautiful water, and lots to do if you want to be active. I own at Oyster Bay Beach Resort and it is isolated from a lot of the island which suits me fine.

I have also been to St John (love it), St. Thomas (too American), St Kitts, Aruba, Dominica, Barbados, Grand Caymen...all are nice and have lovely things to offer. But I still enjoy St Martin the best because it is close to St. Barts, Anquilla (BVI), Saba (another Dutch Island) in addition to what I mentioned above.

Best Wishes,
RIMike
 
Since I don't see a Marriott in what you own I probably wouldn't count on getting St John or St Thomas during any peak period. Maybe last minute within flexchange but then the airfares will probably eat you up.

We have fallen in love with St Maarten. Some like one side over the other but it really doesn't matter. We always stay on the Dutch side. Some of the best restaurants on the island are in the Simpson Bay/Maho/Cupecoy area. Others will extol the virtues of the French side. More beautiful beaches than you will find on most islands and the people are extremely friendly. It's a 2.5 hr flight non-stop out of Charlotte on US Air.
 
Bucky said:
Since I don't see a Marriott in what you own I probably wouldn't count on getting St John or St Thomas during any peak period. Maybe last minute within flexchange but then the airfares will probably eat you up.

We have fallen in love with St Maarten. Some like one side over the other but it really doesn't matter. We always stay on the Dutch side. Some of the best restaurants on the island are in the Simpson Bay/Maho/Cupecoy area. Others will extol the virtues of the French side. More beautiful beaches than you will find on most islands and the people are extremely friendly. It's a 2.5 hr flight non-stop out of Charlotte on US Air.
Click to expand...

You're probably right about St John. It's hard to exchange into the Westin. But the Wyndham properties at Elysian and Bluebeards Beach Club can be had in St Thomas.
 
The Westin St. John is the hardest of the Starwood resorts to trade into, and because of the Starwood to Starwood priority, if anyone is even crazy enough to deposit one of these $$$ weeks into II, a Starwood owner is likely to get the exchange.

It sure doesn't hurt to request it, but request others as well.
 
I do wonder if I have the trade power for ANYTHING in the Caribbean! One thing in our favor (maybe) we can be very flexible on when we go. When we go to Hawaii we normally rent, so I would be willing to do that if needed.
Having said that, I have had wonderful vacations staying in resorts that aren't as high end as a Marriott or Westin....if it's clean & comfortable and in a nice location, I'm pretty darn happy. (Loved Trapp Family Lodge, Harbor Ridge and Crag's Lodge for that very reason) Any recommendations on resorts/time periods I might be able to pull? I never trade my Port O Call week, usually trade Spicebush, and have over 200K Wyndham points.....
Thx !
Deb
 
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