Caribbean vacation

Parent Cafe
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<p>I COMPLETELY second your feelings of being in a foreign country. While I’ve never been out of the US, traveling to Puerto Rico definitely did not feel like traveling to another state. It was nice, though, to get the foreign feeling without dealing with passports (3 younger siblings), customs, really long flights, etc etc. </p>

<p>While not Caribbean, have you considered Hawaii? You could island hop for a few days and get the tourist-y stuff on the Big Island, the tropical stuff on Maui, and the nature stuff on Kauai. I went to Maui a few years ago and seriously cannot wait for my next opportunity to go there!</p>

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<p>Have you ever thought about a chartered yacht vacation? or perhaps a sailboat?</p>

<p>We have been on a couple of these in the virgin islands and elsewhere and I think it is ideal. Basically you get to see all of the islands, stop at the ones you want, and snorkel, dive, shop, hike, fish, waterski, and do whatever else you like. Anddd you have someone to cook for you and all of that. And most importantly, its somewhat reasonably priced. </p>

<p>PM me if you would like details… I know a couple of boats down there and a great broker to set it up.</p>

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<p>Oh, just noticed you were interested in St Maartens… LOVE it there!</p>

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<p>I visited St. Maarten 20+ years ago. It was nice… but I remember it being very small – we were very satisfied with spending a single day there, driving around in a rental car.</p>

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<p>Look into Doctors Cove Beach area of Jamaica. The Coral Cliff Inn.</p>

<p>We have friends that have been going there for years (20+), and we went once a couple of years ago. The hotel, unfortunately, has slot machines in the lobby…but the rooms are lovely, relatively inexpensive, (recently rennovated) and overlook the harbor.</p>

<p>You have to buy a membership to go to the private beach, which is a short walk across the street, but it’s also relatively inexpensive. Can snorkle right at the beach…wonderful coral, flora and fauna.</p>

<p>The only negative is that this area of Montego Bay has fallen out of favor with tourists. There are quite a few all inclusives (Half Moon Bay being the nicest and oldest…from way before all inclusives were popular) but there are fewer and fewer restaurants and limited things to do at night.</p>

<p>Daytrips are easy…hotel can recommend guides. Some of the daytrips you might enjoy are are trip up into the mountains to visit some of the villages, Ocho Rios to the Falls, and a day trip to Negril. We also went on a river rafting trip that was near Montego bay, and a boat trip through a lovely river where we saw crocs (or maybe alligators…) Both of these were touristy trips…but didn’t attract bus loads of tourists…mostly people with private guides. Don’t go on a day trip on the day that the cruise boats come in…</p>

<p>There are lots of people who will tell you Jamaica isn’t safe, and I don’t deny that I’ve heard first hand bad stories. However, most of the problems are in Kingston. Remember to lock your door. In the tourist areas there are people who will “bug” you on the street and beach to buy stuff…but that is similar to experiences I had in the middle east. Just be prepared for it with a friendly, but firm, response.</p>

<p>Check a tourism site for Jamaica and see when there might be a reggae or Jazz festival going on. They seem to happen every couple of months…</p>

<p>If you like getting the “flavor” of a place, and don’t want to stay in an all inclusive, this might work well for you.</p>

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<p>I also love Hawaii, but we went there last year. </p>

<p>I’m a bit worried about crime in Jamaica. Not that we couldn’t deal with pan-handlers but I don’t want to have to be on “alert” status whenever we go into town or whatever. I haven’t ruled it out though. I see that they have two zip lines on the island too!</p>

<p>I’m thinking more about Puerto Rico. It would be easy to do and lots of activities. Anyone have more thoughts about PR? Places to stay?</p>

<p>beth - the sailboat idea sounds interesting. We did a Windjammer trip for our 20th anniversary (the one that we left from PR) and I would have just picked that again but they went out of business. That was wonderful - casual, fairly cheap and very relaxing.</p>

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<p>I have never seen any statistics that suggest crime against tourists is any higher in Jamaica than on most other islands. I was warned more about theft, purse snatching and car break ins in St. Maarten than in Jamaica. I have been to Negril several times and always enjoyed it and never felt the least bit threatened. There are many parts of Jamaica that are more off the beaten path where you encounter no pan handlers. Lots of ecotourism projects in that area. For Port Antonio, you can fly into Kingston - often less expennsive than Montego Bay.</p>

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<p>If you do end up going to St. Maarten, make sure you spend some time on the French side, St. Martin, as well. Like you, H & I hate all inclusives, and St. Martin has fabulous restaurants! The Dutch side has gambling and shopping, the French side has nude beaches. Something for everyone!</p>

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<p>Aruba. We’re in our second week right now. It’s great.</p>

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<p>I’d be interested to hear from recent visitors to Puerto Rico about the area outside the resort neighborhoods. I still remember visiting PR with my family when I was in high school a long, long time ago. One of my most vivid memories was the contrast between the impoverished areas and the resorts. It really bothered me.</p>

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<p>As for Puerto Rico, take a look at El Conquistador (Las Casitas where we stayed are the villas on the property that are more private) and the Hyatt. My parents have been to both with my dad’s work and definitely enjoyed each. We booked a package through travelocity and airfare+hotel+car was around $700 per person, fyi.</p>

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<p>

I just booked a trip to go back in September. We have been staying at the Sun Oceanfront Apartments for the last several years. Den Laman Apartments look good too. We like a place with a kitchen and a pool, rather than a hotel room. </p>

<p>Water temps don’t vary much, from a low of 78 to a high of 82 or so in late summer. Summer air temps get into the 90’s, but you have sea breezes every month except October. There is usually a week or two in October when the wind dies or you get wind reversals, then everyone goes and dives the east side (the wild side). Anytime school is out is usually busy in the islands. We go when airfares drop, usually late Jan-Feb, late Apr-May, and Sept-mid Nov. It’s never terribly crowded. Continental and American Eagle fly in, along with KLM from Europe.</p>

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<p>We have done the chartered sailboat vacation 5 times. 3 to the British Virgin Islands, St Martin and St Barts and Belize. My spouse is an experienced sailor so we go bareboat but many boats are out with skipper and crew. If you are not experienced I would go for a Cat versus monohull. You don’t get the rolling and also you would have more privacy.
Of the 3 areas I would recommend the BVI. The distances are short but lots of different areas to see. You can sail each day to a different small island or anchorage in a few hours and spend the rest of the day snorkeling or exploring on land. It is also safe. Almost every place we anchored had options for dining on land if cooking isn’t your idea of a vacation.
St Barts has beautiful beaches and good food but the sail from St Martin by sailboat or ferry is a rough trip. If you charter out of St Martin you can also go to Anguilla which someone else recommended. St Martin is probably the best island if you want shopping and fine dining as well. There is more theft then the BVI at least on the boats.
Belize is beautiful. You could do either a land based or ocean based trip. The sailing in Belize is extremely difficult and once you leave the mainland the islands are basically uninhabited. So you must cook onboard every night. But a great vacation is some time inland in the rainforest and then a few days at a ocean based resort. One nice thing about Belize is they speak English.
There are small charter companies or you can look into the two big companies Sunsail and Moorings.
Also I noticed the last time we were in the BVI that there seemed to be a huge increase in the number of powerboat charters.
I might have missed when you plan to go but from experience we have found late Oct to be ideal. End of hurricane season but before the crowds.</p>

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<p>Mom60, your sailing trip ideas sounds wonderful, but I’m afraid a little too challenging for us, and probably too expensive. :frowning: </p>

<p>We have been to Belize but just as a stop on a western caribbean cruise. It was our favorite place and I did think of just going there but there is no direct flight, and the one-stop flight is more than I want to pay.</p>

<p>My husband’s birthday is in December but we’ve found that April travel is perfect for us so that’s what I’m planning for.</p>

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<p>I need more help! After reading all about the different Carribbean islands and looking at airfares, I think I need to fall in love with Puerto Rico. Flights are cheap, lots of things to do, but still doesn’t seem as sexy as Jamacia or St. Martin, St John’s, etc. Please if you have any unique, quirky, fun things to do or places to go in PR, I’d love to hear about them. Kristin, I have looked at El Conquistador and that may work for a few days - thanks!</p>

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<p>I don’t know how much it complicates the trip, but take a look at Vieques - right off the coast of PR. You can take a ferry over. I know someone who planned a trip and was considering the two places I linked below. For some reason that I don’t remember, the trip never materialized but I remember thinking the places looked really nice. Hix House is very cool. </p>

<p>[Inn</a> on the Blue Horizon - Home](<a href=“http://www.innonthebluehorizon.com/]Inn”>http://www.innonthebluehorizon.com/)</p>

<p>[Hix</a> Island House, A Vieques Hotel](<a href=“http://www.hixislandhouse.com/]Hix”>http://www.hixislandhouse.com/)</p>

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<p>Cartera, Coincidentally, Vieques is kind of the tipping point to make PR interesting. When we did our Windjammer cruise ten years ago, Vieques was the very first stop and we did a night-time kayak trip on the Bioluminescent Bay. That’s something I would happily do again. I was thinking maybe a few days there, a day or two in the mountains and a day in Old San Juan, but that might be too much moving around. I’ll look into those places you’ve mentioned. Thanks!</p>