Anyone with favorite Caribbean destinations?

[Mark IV]

Stopped at St. Johns in 1993 on a cruise and was very impressed. No airport means less traffic.

My No 1 son remembered it so well he and his wife went back last year, they booked a condo on line that was a screaming deal! So screaming that it turns out the price listed on line was missing a digit! But the owner honored the price, so they saved a grand on the weeks rental.

I have not stayed in the cabins" at the national park beach but have been told they are great.

A really beautiful place that has some history and is not over commercial.

[Kasi]

Aruba is nice Barbados is a second one i like

[Archrms]

I second the vote for Grand Cayman. The East end is remote and mostly undeveloped, with a couple of resorts and dive shops. A great place to dive, relax, and get away from the masses of people elsewhere. Stay away from Georgetown and 7-mile beach areas as they are the tourista hot spots on the West side of the island.

[zrayr]

Cat Island, Bahamas. Hard to get to & worth the effort.

Z. Ray

[vegasmike]

NEVIS - Fly Delta nonstop from Atlanta into St. Kitts, take a cab to the dock and a 45 minute ferry ride (less than $20pp) to Nevis. Stay at the Four Seasons and I think they will pick you up in St. Kitts, but not sure. I will be there mid-July. It is a very popular destination for people from the UK.

Bermuda is great without young kids, very refined, relaxing, bit of history.

Turks & Caicos is also very nice.

What's your budget, nice, very nice or over the top?

[Trueoo7]

Originally Posted by CobraEd

Absolutely love Bermuda. have been there 7 times since honeymoon in 71. Low key, beautiful beaches & water, rent the scooter as soon as u arrive as that is the best most fun way to go wherever you want, whenever you want on the whole island.

my three kids heard me and my wife talk about Bermuda their whole lives. As soon as they were old enough to drive (rent scooter) we had them there. Now they all love it as much as my wife and I do. As great as Bermuda is overall, getting to your destination riding along the roads overlooking all the turquoise/aquamarine beaches on the scooter is half the fun!!! speed limit is 25 kph, so it is very leisurly. no big cars or trucks, they are not allowed. No highways, they are not allowed. Only little two lane "Bermuda" roads. No highrises allowed either. They are very conservative and try to maintain their nice simple/elegant lifestyle without any ostentatiousness (sp?). Not much of a party/nightlife island but tons to do during the day. Good restauraunts for meals and dinners.

http://www.bermudatourism.com/index.aspx

Great friendly people. very high standard of living, no unemployment, very upscale. Their per capita income is 50% higher than ours.

From Wikipedia: "Bermuda's per capita income is approximately 50% higher than that of the United States; according to the Bermuda Government's Economic Statistics Division, Bermuda's GDP was $5.85 billion in 2007, or $91,477 per-capita, giving Bermuda the highest GDP per capita in the world.[2]

The affordability of housing has become a prominent issue over the past few years. The CIA World Factbook lists the average cost of a house in June 2003 as $976,000,[1] while real estate agencies have claimed that this figure had risen to $1.6 million by 2006"




So, do u get the impression that I like Bermuda ???? :-)


.

Unless things have changed since 4 years ago they drive on the opposite side of the road from the USA. I had a hard time with that (especially when coming into a circle) let alone teenagers. On the cruise ships they talk down the idea of renting scooters due to the high injury rate this causes.

Guadaloupe had a nude beach but other than that I would not hurry to go back there again.

[CobraEd]

We always adapt instantly to the left hand driving in Bermuda. Never had a bit of trouble even with the traffic circles. It is almost second nature. Plus the speed limit is so slow, there is little danger. My young adult kids had no problem whatsoever, but they are all extremely smart & dynamic like me :-) I have been there seven times and only saw one minor mishap in Hamilton and that was with a local. Could have happened to anyone. I have heard that the cruise ships always tell the people to be careful about the scooters. We always fly directly there vs cruising for maximum Bermuda time.

The one thing that did bother me on the scooter last time, now that I am 58 is that when cruising along on the scooter, I tend to drift off to the side of the road if I turn back to specifically look at something on the side off the road or behind me. That never happened before. I must be getting old !!! ??? I have made a mental note that in the future, I WILL NOT turn my head back to look at something while driving.


Update: Upon further reflection, I believe that I would have always drifted off the road on the scooter if I turned around to look at something while driving. Even when in my 20s. This symptom is not a function of drifting when looking at age 58. . . . . I would not have turned around to look behind me while driving the scooter when I was younger. The fact that I am stupid enough to now turn around to look at something behind me IS a function of my advanced years and acompanying stupidity ;-)


You cannot rent a car in Bermuda, only scooters. Residents are allowed one (small) car per family. Motorcycles for residents only are limited to 100cc.


.

[Ralphy]

I found Grand Cayman too flat for my liking. We joked about the pile of dirt next to our hotel being the highist point on the island.

You also drive on the lefy here. It's no problem when there is traffic. You just play follow the leader. Twice I messed up, once in a parking lot, you let your guard down. The other time was late at night cruising open roads. The guy 1,500 ft. behind me kept flashing his lights. I finally figured it out by the third time he flashed me!

Another thing is that driving a left hand drive car on the left side of the road puts the driver at the outside, very anoying.

Seven Mile Beach is great.

Originally Posted by Archrms

I second the vote for Grand Cayman. The East end is remote and mostly undeveloped, with a couple of resorts and dive shops. A great place to dive, relax, and get away from the masses of people elsewhere. Stay away from Georgetown and 7-mile beach areas as they are the tourista hot spots on the West side of the island.