Your fave/least fave Caribbean island and why?!

[Blossom4538]

Hi all,

Looking for those who’ve visited the Caribbean pls!

Where is your favourite place or where were you disappointed with and why?

Thank you x

Wow, love all this info, thanks! Makes me want to go right now!

Why on Earth didn’t you feel safe in St Lucia? What was going to happen to you?

Bubbles I was thinking the same!

I didn’t feel safe in St Lucia, there was a strange feeling as we drove through some villages in a hire car and a big gap between the wealth of the AI hotels and the population. We were staying in B and Bs.

Kitts and Nevis never felt like that...we wandered all over there.

Jamaica...

Visit Portland it's my favourite parish... blue lagoon is there French mans cove & home of jerk... it's lush and green.

St Elizabeth is also another lovely parish... treasure beach for a more low key holiday ... visit lovers leap... breath taking views. Plus the pelican bar in the middle of the sea

Negril is lovely beach beach beach

Kingston... can do the blue mountain hike... get some of the best coffee in the world while watching the sunrise over Kingston

But I'm biased 🙃... as you can tell

Another vote for Aruba here, such a beautiful and happy, friendly place. Travelling around the island is very easy and very safe, none of this not leaving the resort nonsense you have in other islands.

Beaches are beautiful, it's great for snorkelling, food is great. The island was colonised by the Dutch which you can clearly see in the architecture, like a colourful hot Amsterdam lol.

Favourites:

Mustique, closely followed by Bequia. I would choose these over any other by a mile. Both lovely, relaxed, unspoiled. Mustique is very expensive though!
Grenada, very friendly, and lush. Lots to explore.
Bonaire, Dutch island, clean, low population, untouristy. Very 'boaty'.
Agree the BVI's are lovely. The damage caused by the hurricane in Roadtown was horrific.

Least fave:

I felt unsafe in Jamaica. Would take a lot to get me back there.
St Maarten, Dutch side, just a shopping destination really. French side was disappointing too. Have docked there numerous times on cruises and apart from the 12 meter yacht challenge excursion (which was a blast!) and the freebie coconut smoothie they give you at the port I could happily give it a swerve.
Turks and Caicos, admittedly only day visits but I couldn't see the appeal. Beloved by American cruise ships.

I didn't like Barbados, too built up and touristy even though we stayed in an apartment not an AI hotel.

Loved Tobago (we stayed in the north) beautiful, unspoiled, wildlife everywhere!

I adore Antigua. Just booked to go next year. Not as over developed as some of the Caribbean (in my view). Dominican Republic was the worst holiday I ever had which colours my view.
My friend lives in Grenada and is happier than pretty much anyone I know!!

Really interesting thread & some wonderful sounding places! While I agree that perceptions of safety are largely in our heads & may have little to do with reality, i’m not sure ‘no-one is unsafe’ on any island. When I was in Trinidad (23 years ago) with my ex’s family, petty robberies were commonplace. The family felt that I as a relatively affluent appearing white woman shouldn’t be wandering around their rural town on my own & escorted me every time I left the house. One of the daughters had had her bike taken off her at knife point the previous week. This was obviously a long time ago and things may have improved but any glance at the Foreign Office website will show you the security concerns vary island by island and there is no blanket ‘it’s all fine!’. Haiti anyone?! I felt very very different safety wise in Trinidad than I did in Cuba or Cozumel (if we’re counting Mexico!).

I know of a retired couple who were violently attacked and left for dead in their holiday home in Tobago. It has coloured my view somewhat of an otherwise lovely island. Trinidad has a drug problem so I would be afraid of violent crime there too.

There was a piece in the Guardian a couple of months ago about British Jamaicans retiring to Jamaica being the target of a spate of very violent crime. As above, security does seem to vary island by island - very poor people will do desperate things and as a tourist you have to as a PP has said, choose wisely

I also agree with @ BubblesBuddy plus didn't like the overall vibe of St Lucia nor the fact it hasnt got great beaches in general.
Barbados is very varied so can offer lots to different people
Cuba, stayed in Havana for a week, it was amazing. Absolutely unmissable. Went to varadero. Incredible beaches but a well rested hotel was a bit of a nightmare, grim buffet, below par rooms, drunk Americans and blaring music all night. I spoke to management about some issues and we arranged a move to a sister hotel, it was what they classed a European hotel not an American hotel it was amazing I'd go there again any day fot the whole experience.

Been to Barbados, antigua, Grenada, St Lucia. Liked them all tbh. Favourite probably antigua for its 365 beaches and St Lucia for great day trips, whale watching, incredible day flying to the Grenadines and sailing round the small islands.
Barbados has great restaurants and beaches but lots of unattractive vacant lots and a trash problem.
Although obviously not an island, Mexico is fantastic we like the riviera maya.
Only been all incl to Mexico the rest we stayed in hotels without the all Inc option and ate out often in small family restaurants.

Haven't been to region for years so may have completely changed:

Cuba - interesting to visit once but would never go back nor recommend especially. Was in 2004, awful lot of property around and whole system seemed wrong - doctors and teachers were paid almost nothing whilst those working in tourism (who seemed to be made to wear indecently short skirts) earned a lot more as got dollars in. Soap was rationed to a bar a month, toilet paper was rationed, constant water shortages, think 95% of homes had no electricity. Food was awful. Took flight to Havana which flew very low and went in sea with dolphins so that was good and hotel was lovely but didn't feel right being there when others were living in poverty. Off to tourist track filthy in places. Left money where we could. Lots of massage services at hotel, which DH thought was cover for prostitution - I didn't but when people don't have enough money to feed families wouldn't be amazed.

Martinique - very French feel, people well looked after by French government so very little poverty. Very safe and relaxing. Very beautiful but not huge amount to do. Food was good but not amazing, lots of lovely fresh fruit and beautiful birds and flowers. Flew from Paris as DH French and flights are subsidised from there so very good value. This would be our favourite but only visited three, not a huge beach fan and also wouldn't go in hurricane season and restricted to school hols now.

St Lucia Just went on day trip there from Martinique. Very American, everyone trying to sell you things. Beautiful. French husband much preferred Martinique but I liked them both though culturally very different.

Cuba, Jamaica and particularly Dominican Republic hold no appeal for me. They are cheaper though.

I have been to St Maarten, Antigua and Anguilla.

St Maarten was really boring and not nicely developed. Antigua and Anguilla both had gorgeous beaches and amazing swimming but tbh not much else to see. If you want to stay in a hotel and lie on a beach all day with maybe a bit of water sports then they would both be heaven, Antigua is more developed so I’d probably say Anguilla.

However, we then went to the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico which has the same amazing beaches and water but also jungles and Mayan ruins and fascinating towns. I much preferred it. If you go there avoid Cancun at all costs. We loved Tulum, Cozumel, Chichin Itzá and Merida.

Another time we visited Belize and that was even better. All the beaches, ruins and things to explore with none of the mass tourism.

We are going to Costa Rica next year and I can’t wait.

We got a lot of hassle in st Lucia, high pressure sales etc each time we left the hotel. Husband's phone was stolen out of his pocket at a fish fry party and we were repeatedly offered drugs by dealers. You can avoid this by not leaving the resorts I know, but I wouldn't go back.

Dutch antilles - Aruba, bonaire and curacao all felt very safe by comparison.

All of these things can happen to tourists in lots of countries. It is a problem in many areas where there are poorer people. It is certainy not just a Caribbean issue. However the vast majority of people are safe and feel safe.

Who on earth goes on hoiday to Haiti? It is not even worth commenting on! Also a cruise ship bubble is not really visiting an island.

Everywhere anyone goes there are rules about staying safe. People hassle you in India, beaches in Africa, Egypt etc etc etc. It is what it is.

I actually loved St Lucia. Absolutely beautiful place, very mountainous.
I loved the African- French vibe of the place
Don’t like Barbados. Too touristy and dare I say it , too many English people

Quite a few sweeping and dismissive statements here! ‘However the vast majority of people are safe and feel safe’. What?! The islanders or the tourists? Doesn’t it depend on where they’ve been too and how can you possibly know? Why mention Haiti - ‘everyone is safe’ - well everywhere in the Caribbean is clearly not safe! And not worth commenting on - well, don’t then?! You can’t be both ‘highly selective’ and ‘nobody knows the Caribbean who hasn’t been to the small islands’ - someone who’s been highly selective is not going ‘know the Caribbean’ as you can’t chose the bits you want & yet know the full picture - counted intuitive surely?! I’m pretty sure swanning around on a £10k a week yacht pulling in to tiny islands from time to time is rather bubble like too! Anyway, yes poverty & crime exist everywhere and no, not just a Caribbean problem. And your chances of getting stabbed i imagine might be not so very different as being in the wrong part of London at the wrong time!

Exactly: there is crime everywhere. I highly value swanning around on a yacht. Do
I detect green eyes there? I’ve been to quite a few islands via all sorts of transport! However most islands are safe if you behave sensibly. Being from a cruise ship does mark you out. Coming out of AI tends not to be great prep for the local town. It’s mostly perception and where people feel comfortable, or don’t. But crime against tourists isn’t high.

Not really love, i hate boats!

Depends what you want really?

Antigua is a nice balance of beautiful beaches with a bit of a buzz but I've never really fallen in love with it
Grenada is very friendly, diverse eco systems, shabby in places and can get gridlocked but pretty safe.
Tobago was gorgeous when I went years ago but I think I was too naive to any problems as was in a bit of a bubble
Trinidad I wouldn't go to - big problems with drugs and violent crime
St LUcia is beautiful and loved by many people but has a horrendous homicide rate and terrible (non-existent) justice system
BVIs are gorgeous, but was quite sanitised Caribbean. I haven't been back since the hurricane
SVG is mixed, depending on which island you go to. PSV and Tobago Cays are pretty much my favourite places on the planet, but you need to go by boat. Mustique is hilariously unwelcoming but also stunning.

Mystique is also hugely manicured. It’s like someone’s garden! If posters think they are unsafe in St Lucia (Jamaica is crime ridden too) then the BVIs make perfect sense! Crime is largely not directed at tourists. If it was, surely tourism would collapse? It hasn’t.