St Thomas, St John, Jamaica or somewhere else in Caribbean?

Stucker052811

The hubby and I are planning our anniversary trip for this summer and are trying to nail down location. We like about 80% relaxation and 20% adventure. We don't have to be all inclusive. We don't like crowded, cruise-ship like resorts and are not focused on nightlife. We like restaurants to choose from, places to hike, kayak, sunset sails, waterfalls, non-crowded beach area, etc. We have been suggested these three locations (St John, St Thomas & Jamaica) by a travel agent. Not interested in Mexico bc we have been before and would like to try somewhere new. We went to Aruba for our honeymoon and LOVED it. If you have any other locations - we are open to anything in the Caribbean. We want good weather, good food, good beaches, and to feel safe! Please give suggestions on resorts/hotels and things to do! Thanks!!!

cruffino

I loved Puerto Rico. Great food, rainforest, beach, historic sites. I don't know where you're flying from but I'm in NYC and the flights are cheap and plentiful. I liked it better than st. Thomas.

I haven't been to st. John or Jamaica. But I hear st john is gorgeous and quiet. If you want to feel safe, Jamaica is probably out unless you're ok with staying on property of an AI.

Jells2dot0

I think  of Jamaica as being a litte bit more crowded, but there are some smaller boutique resorts that might be a good fit. I would recommend Caneel Bay in St. John. There is also a Westin in St. John, but it's a larger resort. No cruise ships dock in St. John, but they do dock in St. Thomas and they will ferry people over to Trunk Bay in St. John while in port. There are plenty of very nice beaches in St. John other than Trunk Bay, though. Another option, depending on budget, is Anguilla. No cruise ships, gorgeous beaches, and known as a foodie destination. You can also ferry over to St. Maarten for the day to shop and do more active things. Turks and Caicos also comes to mind.

lyndausvi

I love Caneel Bay on St John.   My favorite restaurant ZoZo's just moved over there.    Wesitn is nice too, but Caneel is better in my opinion.

Never been to Jamaica to comment.

Stucker052811

Stucker052811 said:

The hubby and I are planning our anniversary trip for this summer and are trying to nail down location. We like about 80% relaxation and 20% adventure. We don't have to be all inclusive. We don't like crowded, cruise-ship like resorts and are not focused on nightlife. We like restaurants to choose from, places to hike, kayak, sunset sails, waterfalls, non-crowded beach area, etc. We have been suggested these three locations (St John, St Thomas & Jamaica) by a travel agent. Not interested in Mexico bc we have been before and would like to try somewhere new. We went to Aruba for our honeymoon and LOVED it. If you have any other locations - we are open to anything in the Caribbean. We want good weather, good food, good beaches, and to feel safe! Please give suggestions on resorts/hotels and things to do! Thanks!!!

I will add to my original post but saying that we would love to keep our budget at $4,000 if possible including airfare/lodging. St. john seems like a perfect fit for us and our agent suggested Caneel Bay, but that is pretty far out of budget. Any suggestions of places similar to St john would be great or quieter areas of St Thomas. Thank you for your comments so far! I appreciate the help!

lyndausvi

If you want full resorts amenities then Westin and Caneel Bay are your only options in St John.  There are smaller Inn like places or condo rentals.

St Thomas as more resorts.   Sugar Bay, Balongo and Marriott to name a few.  There are others that don't have all the amenities of a full service resorts, but are good.   Eylsian, BlackBreads, Sapphire Beach and Secret Harbor.    Then there are places like Sapphire Village, Cowpet, Anchorage, Point Pleasent that are on the beach and offer condo rentals (no daily housekeeping).    There are a lot of villa rents also.  

16maybeless

St. Thomas is a bit more touristed/crowded than St. John, as it's a major cruise port. If you're more into a "wilder" experience, I'd recommend St. John. 

Caneel Bay can be pricey, so if that's quite out of your budget, what about the Westin (rooms are between $200 and $300 per night+)? Other options include a condo rental (check out VRBO, FlipKey, even Airbnb) or the Concordia Eco-Resort, which has both eco tents and studios for rent, for very inexpensive.

Stucker052811

We are considering condo rentals but would really prefer the convenience of a resort....I think! If we stay on St Thomas I know we will visit St John at least a couple of days. That being said it's been suggested we stay more towards the easy side of the island so transportation is less expensive. We really like the looks of the Marriot....is this in the midst of all the crowd? We are traveling in August so hopefully that means it will be at least slightly less busy. When comparing the Marriot to the resorts truly on the east side it seems the Marriot has more to offer. Any information about the surrounding area of the Marriot would be appreciated!

As for St John it's seems our only affordable resort option would be the Westin. Is this a crowded area? I have seen a couple of things on trip advisor about construction recently...is this completed or does anyone know how far to completion??

Like I said we will most likely spend time on both islands.

Thanks for all the help everyone!

16maybeless

Do you mean the Marriott Frenchman's Reef? I've stayed there for business. It was rather crowded when I was there (I think there was at least one wedding) but for the most part, it was quiet and low-key. Rooms were nice and standard. The infinity pool was wonderful, the pool bar very good (a bit crowded, but definitely worth a few stops). Restaurant was meh, but it was typical of a Marriott, IMO, with somewhat expensive food. If you can, I think the condos on the beach itself are much nicer than the tower and regular rooms of the original hotel. In August, it shouldn't be too busy at all, and I believe cruise numbers are down as a whole.

The hotel is in a fairly easy-to-reach area. Cabs to the harbor and the marina aren't expensive (I cabbed it the entire time I was there). Yacht Haven Grande is fairly nearby and there are a couple of good restaurants and bars. I thought Grande Cru was quite good.

I've only been on a tour of the Westin St. John, but it seemed nice, standard, with a very pretty beach. I thought the rooms were a little bit dated based on the images and tour, but they were absolutely doable. I know the resort is undergoing construction right now, so it may be worth calling and seeing when their planned finish date is. The good thing about resorts under construction is that it often means discounted stays. :P

hutchsl

It is pricey but we rented a sailboat with captain and wife who cooked. it was like an AI on the water. We toured the US and British Virgin Islands. They had kayaks and paddle boards on the boat to use. Did what we wanted. Food and drink was included so we went to only a few bars on the various islands. Avoided the cruise port locations other than necessary for customs/passport control. Found the right boat for us on visailing.com. We were very pleased and want to go back again in the next year or two.

For our HM we went to Costa Rica. Stayed in out of the way location - Montezuma. We stayed at a nice place with a bungaloo on the beach. Going so on the beach from there was no sign of civilization for several miles.The hotel was a 10 minute walk n the beach to the town. Stayed at Ylang Ylang Beach Resort.

Stucker052811

We are now considering St John - Grande Bay Resort - renting by owner (VRBO). We have never rented a condo, villa or anything of the sort, so I am not sure how it works exactly! Anybody stayed there before? Any tips on VRBO?

lyndausvi

They look nice from the outside, never been inside though.  Not really on a beach (despite the what the pictures show.)  It's basically on Cruz Bay with is a more of a harbour.  Walkable from the ferry and bars and restaurants and taxi stand to take you to the other beaches if you do not have a car.  Although I would recommend renting a car for at least one day to go around the entire island.  Other than that the taxis are fine.

[Deleted User]

St. John is definitely more quiet- there's almost nothing commercial at all on the island.

FI's stepbrother lives on a boat in Coral Bay, but we stayed at Gallows Point, which is located on the other side of the island in Cruz Bay, very close to the St.John/St. Thomas ferry.  

If you do St. John, definitely grab a burger of the day (and drink of the day too!!) from Skinny Legs!!  It's out near Coral Bay and DELICIOUS!!!  Our favorite beach is on Saltpond Bay.  You should go and take the short walk to Drunk Bay, where people make these peculiar, cool little figures out of rocks and found objects.  Mine is out there somewhere, too.  Quite a sight!

lyndausvi

Love Skinny Legs.     

Grande Bay and Gallows Point are only a few hundred yards away from each other.