We LOVE St. Thomas. And it’s easy to day trip to St. John. Don’t forget to spend an afternoon on Water Island!

PP: Will also add that Grand Cayman was our least favorite island, for what it’s worth. Was fine with our baby at the time, but wouldn’t go back.

DR the people were hands down the friendliest and most service oriented I’ve seen in the islands. Mexico of course as well.

Punta Cana, Montego Bay, Cancun also have direct flights on United. Summer isn’t great for sargassum generally…

Although Jamaica was actually fine last August when we were there- very little to none where we were in Montego Bay and Oche Rios. Water was great in Negril last March.

I was just in Dom. Rep. (Punta Cana) last weekend and also very little. Great water and beaches. Was there for work but saw mainly massive resorts which aren’t really my thing. Good airport infrastructure!

The last two times we were in Tulum there was a lot of sargassum, sadly (both in Aug and February) I believe Cancun does a better job removing it from the beach with big machinery, but it’s not as charming.

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.

What did you do in Aruba? Similar age girl

We were in the Bahamas last year. It wasn’t the most exciting, unless you stayed in a resort

Anonymous wrote:Puerto Rico is best. For white sand beaches in PR try Culebra. On the main island though, the beaches of Crash Boat, Boquerón, Playa Sucia, Dorado Beach (Ritz property beaches), Seven Seas, Icacos, Palomino Island…etc. all have the nice color sand you are looking for.

But not the clear calm turquoise water.

Anonymous wrote:Puerto Rico is best. For white sand beaches in PR try Culebra. On the main island though, the beaches of Crash Boat, Boquerón, Playa Sucia, Dorado Beach (Ritz property beaches), Seven Seas, Icacos, Palomino Island…etc. all have the nice color sand you are looking for.

Thank you so much for this list! We are definitely headed to PR at some point, it looks like it has a lot to keep us interested, but think we want a little more time there than we're able to do this summer. This will be really helpful when we start planning that trip.

Anonymous wrote:Can you rent a car and travel alone in Costa Rica or is a tour group best?

It is safe but the roads can be rough.

Can you rent a car and travel alone in Costa Rica or is a tour group best?

Puerto Rico is best. For white sand beaches in PR try Culebra. On the main island though, the beaches of Crash Boat, Boquerón, Playa Sucia, Dorado Beach (Ritz property beaches), Seven Seas, Icacos, Palomino Island…etc. all have the nice color sand you are looking for.

Anonymous wrote:Thank you all this is really helpful. We definitely want to do Puerto Rico but think we may save that one for a spring break. I think for nonstops this June it's probably down to Aruba or Grand Cayman. Grand Cayman has a slight edge in terms of flight price, flight length, and time of day (midday for Grand Cayman, early morning for Aruba). Is sargassum likely to be an issue on Grand Cayman in mid-late June? While I don't *need* the pristine white beach, if I'm going somewhere that is supposed to have a pristine white beach I would be sorely disappointed to not be able to really use it because of the sargassum.

No one knows. Sargassum “season” is like May to November. It is a risk you are taking.

Another vote for Puerto Rico.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you all this is really helpful. We definitely want to do Puerto Rico but think we may save that one for a spring break. I think for nonstops this June it's probably down to Aruba or Grand Cayman. Grand Cayman has a slight edge in terms of flight price, flight length, and time of day (midday for Grand Cayman, early morning for Aruba). Is sargassum likely to be an issue on Grand Cayman in mid-late June? While I don't *need* the pristine white beach, if I'm going somewhere that is supposed to have a pristine white beach I would be sorely disappointed to not be able to really use it because of the sargassum.

Aruba has US customs at their airport, which is great! It’s fast and you just walk off the gate in the US

Ooooh, this is helpful, thanks!

Anonymous wrote:Thank you all this is really helpful. We definitely want to do Puerto Rico but think we may save that one for a spring break. I think for nonstops this June it's probably down to Aruba or Grand Cayman. Grand Cayman has a slight edge in terms of flight price, flight length, and time of day (midday for Grand Cayman, early morning for Aruba). Is sargassum likely to be an issue on Grand Cayman in mid-late June? While I don't *need* the pristine white beach, if I'm going somewhere that is supposed to have a pristine white beach I would be sorely disappointed to not be able to really use it because of the sargassum.

Aruba has US customs at their airport, which is great! It’s fast and you just walk off the gate in the US

Thank you all this is really helpful. We definitely want to do Puerto Rico but think we may save that one for a spring break. I think for nonstops this June it's probably down to Aruba or Grand Cayman. Grand Cayman has a slight edge in terms of flight price, flight length, and time of day (midday for Grand Cayman, early morning for Aruba). Is sargassum likely to be an issue on Grand Cayman in mid-late June? While I don't *need* the pristine white beach, if I'm going somewhere that is supposed to have a pristine white beach I would be sorely disappointed to not be able to really use it because of the sargassum.