Best Carribean island?

[Highlandbrow]

DP and I are looking at booking our honeymoon shortly, we think we have narrowed it down to the Caribbean but are not sure which island. We’ve heard Barbados is the nicest but it seems the most expensive too! We like luxury but also activities, DP won’t tolerate 2 weeks on the beach 😀What are some recommendations for islands but also hotels? Budget is around £6k - £7k total for a couple of weeks ideally.

Royalton in Domician Republic the one in Punta Cana.

Your right Barbados, and other Islands like that are more money by quite a bit. I would love to try Antiga search TUI.

I've been to Barbados a few times, it's changed for the worse over the last 20 years. The introduction of all inclusive hotels has seen a huge change on the island.
To be honest I found a lot of it very snobby the last time I went too. The beaches are still beautiful and it's easy to get around on the buses or driving (same side of the road).
Have you looked at Cuba? It's one of the islands I haven't been too but I'd love to go to Havana

We went to St Lucia and Barbados. St Lucia is a stunning island but I must admit I felt not really comfortable when we left the resort. Nothing major but just not easy to go for a stroll or eat out.

Barbados - easy to go around, we rented a car for a day, could have easily done a second day. Did two boat trips, riding at the beach and went out for dinner.

Why not do a day or 2 on a few different islands?

You could look at Dominica (NOT the DomRep) as well.

They're all quite different!

Also look at Tobago, Grenada, St Kitts, Tortola as well as the usual Antigua and St Lucia.

Aruba. Beautiful beaches, plenty to see and do and there’s some good shopping too. Plus most of the locals speak excellent English PLUS it’s outside of the hurricane belt.

Have you ever heard of the San Blas islands

Forget that! You want hotels

I’ve been told Antigua is amazing.

I thought Antigua had lovely beaches but we were hassled constantly when we tried to sit on them so it wasn't very restful. I get that people are earning a living but it was relentless.

We did a Caribbean cruise (5 of the Saints)... and then a week in Barbados, but I also love Jamaica for the sunsets, cocktails, music and people. I loved Cuba ... amazing beach/sea/culture ... but food was pretty limited (grim!)

I've been to a few Caribbean islands and my favourite by a mile was Tobago.

Small so you can travel everywhere, unspoiled by tourism, stunning beautiful beaches and wildlife (never seen so many birds!), very laid back and a lot more authentic than some islands where the tourists tend to stay in their 5* AI resorts most of the time!

Have you thought about a week in Florida and a week in the Bahamas?

Petit st Vincent, bliss! St Lucia, Antigua. I'd skip Barbados, we went for our honeymoon, was crap I'm waiting for a do over 😬 hotel was lovely but outside of that wasn't great.

Cuba is fascinating and amazing but not somewhere I'd go for honeymoon - I'd describe it as 'raw' and the food is awful!
I couldn't spend two weeks on one island let alone on the beach. Are you sure you wouldn't be better off with somewhere like the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico? So much to do there - Chichen Itza, Coba, Ek Balam, loads of Cenotes, Holbox Island is fabulous we swam in bioluminescence there and with Whale sharks, just endless things to do. Just don't go to Cancun or Playa del Carmen are make sure there there's not a problem with sargassum where you're going (affects other areas of the Caribbean too).

Or you could do a week of water sports on Terre de Haute and a week of lounging on Guadeloupe?

www.ucpa.com/destination/village-sportif/guadeloupe-les-saintes

Although not technically in the Caribbean, Bermuda is lovely and safe. The beaches are stunning, the food delicious and you can get around the entire island without any concerns. Of course there are no go areas but they are far from the tourist path.

If you stay in Hamilton, The Hamilton Princess has great restaurants. If out of the centre then the following hotels - The Loren, Grotto Bay, Cambridge Beaches, The Regis, Rosewood, Coco Beach.

I go out twice a year as my son works there - paradise

If you are foodies, Grand Case in St Martin is a good option.

Isn't the sea pretty chilly around Bermuda?

For a honeymoon I'd stay at jade mountain, St Lucia.

Nevis also lovely.

Thanks all - we think we have narrowed it down to Antigua and St Lucia and maybe Curaçao and Dominica - DP likes the look of the jungly walks etc in St Lucia so would be interested to know why people have felt unsafe? We are also considering splitting the trip in two to visit different islands although no more than this as I hate having to keep packing/unpacking all the time! My parents who are seasoned cruisers rated St Kitts.

No to Florida, we’ve been plenty of times with work and I’ve never really understood the appeal. It’s so hard to make a decision though! Who did you all book through?

Look at the Royalton in St Lucia. It's fabulous!

St Lucia just has a bit of an uncomfortable vibe. Can't really explain it. Didn't particularly feel unsafe, more uneasy. I'd go with Antigua and think about Tobago.

Have you considered Thailand or Malaysia? I much preferred both to any of the Caribbean islands.

Holidays are so personal though 🤷‍♀️

I thought St Lucia was quite nice but the beaches weren't as nice as Antigua (and on a par with some European beaches).

Second this, absolutely loved it there!

Jamaica is also beautiful and has a good choice of activities. It didn't seem as luxurious as some of the other islands but that may well have been the hotel/area we were staying in.

Having recommended Tobago I agree with a previous poster about thinking about the Far East as well. I've really enjoyed Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand.