Opinions about the Caribbean, I’ve never been. Tell me your honest opinions about islands you have visited.

[Anonymous]

Honest opinion: yuck

Beaches are usually nice, but getting to the resorts is painful. You drive through so much poverty and then into the splendor of the resorts. The food at resorts is usually not good. And you're trapped there.

In Jamaica, they warned us not to wander off property because it wouldn't be safe.

We did like the French side St Maartin, but it's $$$

Puerto Rico, near Rincon if you like to scuba dive. Some of the local places have ok food.

The Bahamas are just gross. Nothing good there

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Favs:
Turks and Caicos
Grand Cayman

Least favs:
St. Lucia
Jamaica

Agree with faves, haven’t been to those least faves, but my least faves were Dominican Republic and Aruba.

PP before this post. I wouldn’t visit DR or Aruba from what I understand about these places. Not my cup of tea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thank you PPs!

To answer some of the questions:

I am a huge fan of safety while on vacation (grew up in Ward 8; violent crime in immediate family) and I like to not necessarily let my guard down on vacation but I like to feel safe.

I enjoy beach trips - I did not grow up taking vacations but as an adult I have been (in rotation)to Acadia,Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.

I have never been to an all inclusive.

I love food and restaurants, anywhere with good food gets a win for me.

DH has a huge fear of small planes (a fear that I have now acquired) so anywhere requiring one would be out for a trip.

If you like the vineyard then I would suggest grand cayman and Turks and Caicos (I previously mentioned as favs). Both are very clean, good roads, diversity etc. I would never stay at an all inclusive at either as I did in Jamaica (and disliked). Rent a car like you would in New England and drive around. My son and I stayed at both places and felt safe at all times driving around at night etc. Just the loveliest people in Turks and Caicos. Take a ferry over to Middle Caicos. Writing this makes me want to go back!

[Anonymous]

I have been to Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and St. Martin on the French side. I would say St. Martin and Jamaica have terrific food, which is very important to me when I am on vacation. Puerto Rican food is not my thing (though it is the birth place of the pina colada).

[Anonymous]

I really like Aruba. We stayed at a resort with a kitchenette across from an American like grocery store. Stroopwaffles.
We rented a car (basically a tin can) and spent $9 on gas to tool around the island for an entire week. Yeah it’s desert like but great beaches
I’m in the DR as we speak and although we’re at the resort and won’t leave, the beach is meh.
Grace bay (T and C) is pretty but not great snorkeling.
Loved cayman and need to go back.
St Maarten had some good beaches. Some nude. Chickens everywhere.
Martinique was ok.
Bahamas very Americanized.
Barbados very far south
Cozumel/cancun (I guess Mexico) too crowded. Although we rented a car in Cozumel and drove up the coast and that was gorgeous.

[Anonymous]

Favs: Anguilla, St Barth's, Virgin Gorda, various islands in the Grenadines, St John

Least Favorite: St Martin, Jamaica, St. Thomas

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been to the following Caribbean islands: Aruba, Antigua, Barbados, Bonaire, Curaçao, st Maarten, St John, St Thomas, Tortola, Martinique, Bahamas, Turcs and Caicos, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Dominica, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Jamaica and maybe a couple of others that I am forgetting.

They all have pros and cons.

IMO, the most beautiful beaches were in Provo, T&C (especially Grace Bay).

I also love the ABC islands for their safety, charm, cleanliness and friendly locals. I really loved Klein Bonaire for the snorkeling.

I’m not a fan of places like Bahamas, Jamaica or DR because of feeling unsafe, poverty and being hounded on the beaches. I guess they’re fine if you like AI and will stay in your resort the whole time. But I will say that I’ve visited gorgeous beaches in the Bahamas (and Jamaica).

PP, you have hit every grouping of islands in the Caribbean! You’ve done French West Indies, Dutch West Indies, British West Indies; USVI, BVI; leeward islands, windward islands; lesser Antilles, greater Antilles; ABC islands. You should check out Belize, Guyana and Suriname…a different Caribbean flavor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Such a lazy post.

so rude

[Anonymous]

Really enjoyed: Grand Cayman, British Virgin Islands

Neutral: St. John has lovely beaches, but the tourists are so often middle America types who only hang out with white people and eat hamburgers and not try local food which I find annoying

Disliked: St. Thomas