The beaches on Culebra or Vieques are spectacular, if you want to tie that in to Puerto Rico, but either would involve a small plane or ferry ride.

Anonymous wrote:Aruba is wonderful and there is a ton to do if you rent a car. Easy to get around as well, and very safe. You can explore the wild side, national park, caves, mine, lighthouse, etc.

+1

Aruba is wonderful and there is a ton to do if you rent a car. Easy to get around as well, and very safe. You can explore the wild side, national park, caves, mine, lighthouse, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like Puerto Rico. Very easy trip and lots of different activities as well as a wide range of resorts.

Bermuda is very nice but it is in the Atlantic. Probably better for a couples trip.

Baha Mar is supposed to be nice (in the Bahamas), although I would probably skip the Bahamas for now.

Costa Rica is fun. Not an island, but you get Caribbean and Pacific, rainforest, volcano, very nice country. Probably good for a 14-18 yo

Thanks! I also appreciate the age range for Costa Rica.

Meant to ask, why would you skip the Bahamas for now?

Probably referring to the crime uptick in Nassau. Its not great in Turks right now either.

Yes. Big increase in crime right now. So I would go somewhere else for now. See how things develop.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like Puerto Rico. Very easy trip and lots of different activities as well as a wide range of resorts.

Bermuda is very nice but it is in the Atlantic. Probably better for a couples trip.

Baha Mar is supposed to be nice (in the Bahamas), although I would probably skip the Bahamas for now.

Costa Rica is fun. Not an island, but you get Caribbean and Pacific, rainforest, volcano, very nice country. Probably good for a 14-18 yo

Thanks! I also appreciate the age range for Costa Rica.

Meant to ask, why would you skip the Bahamas for now?

Probably referring to the crime uptick in Nassau. Its not great in Turks right now either.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you feel about the sand being soft and white and the water being clear, calm and turquoise? Some people, like me feel very strongly about having this and others do not. If you care about this, its going to eliminate a lot places, especially in the summer months.

I don't *need* it but definitely appreciate it and would like to experience it for at least one trip. I guess I'd like both options, because it depends on what else there is to do. Why does that eliminate places in the summer months, is it the sargassum?

Yes, the sargassum in the summer months. For some people it wouldn't ruin their trip but it would for me. I've also ruled out the main island of Puerto Rico because the sand is gold and the water is rougher and not clear. I hear the outer islands are better for what I'm looking for.

For best beaches look at Aruba, Turks & Caicos, Anguilla, St. John, BVI. Aruba in particular doesn't deal with the sargassum due to location, and its also below the hurricane path. But its a longer flight.

It all just depends what you are looking for and how much of a "big deal" the trip is to you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like Puerto Rico. Very easy trip and lots of different activities as well as a wide range of resorts.

Bermuda is very nice but it is in the Atlantic. Probably better for a couples trip.

Baha Mar is supposed to be nice (in the Bahamas), although I would probably skip the Bahamas for now.

Costa Rica is fun. Not an island, but you get Caribbean and Pacific, rainforest, volcano, very nice country. Probably good for a 14-18 yo

Thanks! I also appreciate the age range for Costa Rica.

Meant to ask, why would you skip the Bahamas for now?

We're big on good snorkeling beaches, so our favorites are Curacao and St. John. Haven't been to Grand Cayman, but considering it. Recently went to PR and the kids loved it, but water was kind of rough at most beaches we went to.

Anonymous wrote:We have a tween and are going to Puerto Rico for the first time in a couple weeks. We’ve been to Aruba twice and really enjoyed it. We stayed at the Holiday Inn both times. Really nice pools, very close to beach and an awesome breakfast buffet on site that was one of the highlights for my kid lol.

I would love if you could report back form your PR trip! We really want to go there, but it might be a winter or spring break trip for us.

Aruba seems great for a relaxing vacation. Is there much to do there besides beach? Fine if there isn't, just curious.

Anonymous wrote:How do you feel about the sand being soft and white and the water being clear, calm and turquoise? Some people, like me feel very strongly about having this and others do not. If you care about this, its going to eliminate a lot places, especially in the summer months.

I don't *need* it but definitely appreciate it and would like to experience it for at least one trip. I guess I'd like both options, because it depends on what else there is to do. Why does that eliminate places in the summer months, is it the sargassum?

We have a tween and are going to Puerto Rico for the first time in a couple weeks. We’ve been to Aruba twice and really enjoyed it. We stayed at the Holiday Inn both times. Really nice pools, very close to beach and an awesome breakfast buffet on site that was one of the highlights for my kid lol.

How do you feel about the sand being soft and white and the water being clear, calm and turquoise? Some people, like me feel very strongly about having this and others do not. If you care about this, its going to eliminate a lot places, especially in the summer months.

Anonymous wrote:I like Puerto Rico. Very easy trip and lots of different activities as well as a wide range of resorts.

Bermuda is very nice but it is in the Atlantic. Probably better for a couples trip.

Baha Mar is supposed to be nice (in the Bahamas), although I would probably skip the Bahamas for now.

Costa Rica is fun. Not an island, but you get Caribbean and Pacific, rainforest, volcano, very nice country. Probably good for a 14-18 yo

Thanks! I also appreciate the age range for Costa Rica.

I like Puerto Rico. Very easy trip and lots of different activities as well as a wide range of resorts.

Bermuda is very nice but it is in the Atlantic. Probably better for a couples trip.

Baha Mar is supposed to be nice (in the Bahamas), although I would probably skip the Bahamas for now.

Costa Rica is fun. Not an island, but you get Caribbean and Pacific, rainforest, volcano, very nice country. Probably good for a 14-18 yo

I'm currently looking for a trip for early summer, but also just in general (lots of winter and spring breaks to fill up, recognizing those are going to be $$$ times to go). Prefer nonstop flight for this summer, but open to layovers for other times. We obviously want a nice beach, but would be good if there are some other things to do/explore.

For nonstop flight options, what I could find:
Puerto Rico - seems like it has a lot of different things to do
Grand Cayman - seems great for snorkeling, what if you want other things to do?
Bahamas - seems like the outer islands are the way to go (which adds another flight or ferry), but are there things to do other than the beach?
Bermuda - seems a bit stuffy/formal, and not really Caribbean, but easy to get to and summer is the time to go
St Thomas/St John - St John seems great, St Thomas seems more built up. Need to go through St Thomas to get to St John, both flights are more expensive than the others for the summer right now.

Thoughts on those islands? What about others that aren't nonstop?