First time to Carribean

[AliasGraced]

Thinking of a winter holiday in the Caribbean. No idea where to start , when to go and where. I don’t fancy Jamaica or Barbados, would prefer a smaller less commercialised island with low crime. Could anyone advise on how to find good deals, which island to choose etc? Thinking post or pre Xmas .

Couldn't agree more. 100% go East rather than West.

Agree about Jamaica and I'd swerve wide of the Dominican Republic too.

I've only been to Antigua, and Guadeloupe. Antigua was very much catered to Americans and the big cruise ship experience which made it feel commercialised to me.

Guadeloupe was just like you see it in Death in Paradise. Quaint. Traditional but less murdery

@waltzingparrot I got bitten to buggery in Antigua -seriously awful after second day I had to wear leggings the whole holiday

My friends went to the Dominican recently, they said it was a shithole and they didn’t feel safe

@AliasGraced The first time I went I did it through British Airways, flight and hotel, but now I book the flights myself (still BA) and book the hotel direct. I stay in a lovely boutique hotel called Bacolet Beach Club, which is on the south coast, not far from Scarborough, the main city. It’s a bit quirky, very comfortable, and has fabulous views over to Trinidad. The owners are lovely and they and their staff make you feel very welcome.

Taxis in Tobago aren’t expensive, and I use them a lot when I’m there, rather than hiring a car, but I think it’s easy enough to hire a car if you’d prefer, and they do drive on the same side of the road as here, so that makes it easier. If you want to know anything else, please PM me.

We like the Virgin Islands and Antigua.

We did Dominican Republic last year for 4K ultra all inclusive. Swam with dolphins, lazed on desert islands in clear sea, snorkelling, ate all the amazing foods. We stayed in Rui Palace which had an amazing spa too and three different pools (quiet/main/party) you also get full use of the water park in the Rui family hotel next door and the Rui party hotel down the road had a night club. Ours was the quiet adults only one. Santa dominga the capital was about a 90 min drive away. Booked with Tui

We did Aruba. It was lovely, felt very safe and is a prosperous island. I don’t think it has rain forests though.

Greneda. Also been to Barbados and Jamaica, but Greneda was fabulous. It definitely has some rainforest, not a huge amount, but we did a guided walk through one.

I've always wanted to visit St Lucia

I’ve always fancied Grenada myself ! Who did you book through and where did you stay please?

St Lucia is beautiful. There are affordable airbnbs in villages like Laborie not far from Soufriere, the village has a beautiful beach, a couple of bars/places to eat, and you can get water taxis (or road taxis) to other places.

@AliasGracedat the time my DH worked for BA , so we flew with them and stayed at Secret Harbour Club. It was quite easy to arrange independently, the hotel collected us from the airport and then arranged a hire car for us. I think it has had a complete overhaul since we stayed, but we thought it was good value for money.

I get badly bitten by mosquitoes, are there some islands that are worse than other for mosquitoes?

Why don’t you fancy Barbados? If you’ve never been to the Caribbean before?

It’s a beautiful island which has, despite its small size, some very distinct areas. The North and East of the island are hilly and have amazing coastlines.

The people are amazing. It’s a safe island, with very diverse places to stay and visit.

I suppose I imagine it’s pretty commercialised . I’ve read some negative comments about it, but maybe I’m wrong.

We went to St Lucia in Feb for DPs 50th. Stayed in a lovely hotel on all inclusive which was £1400 each for 6 nights with BA Holidays. Fantastic island with so much to do and the local people are wonderful. I would jump at going back.

You could definitely do Dominican Republic for about 4 grand, nice resorts. I did Jamaica for 4 grand for two but you said you wouldn’t like to go there

We did St Lucia and Martinique. They’re not cheap destinations so be prepared for that!

St Lucia was beautiful, lots of lovely beaches and hiking opportunities. We had an Air BnB in Soufriere which is a very quiet village, and also stayed in a hotel at Rodney Bay, which is a bit more lively and a bit of a resort town.

The ferry to Martinique took 90 minutes - it felt just like being in France. We did a long weekend here but could have spent longer.

Yes, you are wrong its a fabulous island. Lovely beaches and lovely people. People will have very different impressions of places if they have stayed in an all inclusive resort or an apartment and hired a car.

We always do the later so I wouldn't say Barbados is commercialised. If you like beaches the ones in Antigua are hard to beat but Barbados is our favourite as it has it all.

If you wouldn’t mind PM ing me with the name of the apartment I’d be grateful. It’s not working when I try to PM you.

No one has answered your mosquito query - I’d like to know the answer too. Please can previous visitors advise the island and time of year when they’ve had / not had an issue with mosquitos?

Check our Morne Rouge beach, it's absolute paradise because almost everyone goes to the huge (and also pretty nice) Grand Anse. They're pretty much next to each other though. We stayed in a very cheap £50 a night place by the highway so probably not what you're looking for but there are some really lovely resorts between the two beaches.

Grand Etang is the rain forest park there, if you get a tour/guide they will probably know where to see the Mona monkeys (close to the entrance but they seem to know how to tempt them down with banana) we didn't have a guide but saw another tour and watched them. I would recommend a guide to hike there, I think it would be better. A lot of tours just seem to drop people off, let them wander for 20 minutes or just take them to the lake and then leave so make sure you know what the tour entails if you want to do a proper hike.

I also recommend visiting the Diamond chocolate factory (Jouvay chocolate) - and visiting the House of Chocolate in St Georges which do a nice demonstration of making chocolate and let you taste the different stages.

Yes, looking at Grenada they are a menace. I find France a nightmare so suspect the Carribean will be next level.