Caribbean? Worth visiting or boring and tacky?

[Nivvers2001]

Planning a trip with family or either February half term or Easter holidays and really want to go somewhere properly hot and exotic and relax, swim, see wildlife etc. I'm a very nervous flier but accept I'm going to need to travel at least 8/9 hours for proper heat. My shortlist is currently Barbados or St Lucia but not sure if there's that much to do. Other options would be Mexico or Thailand (DH ie less keen and both require a longer flight which isn't ideal).

Give it a rest now

Or Puerto Rico is big and varied enough to have nice and not so nice parts. The island is nearly as big as Yorkshire and nobody with any sense is going to write off the whole of Yorkshire because there are areas of some of it's cities are not very nice.

But I don't know why you (and many other people on here) seem so keen on asking people on MN, which they know nothing about, what they would prefer over option X and Option Y.

I could say I would always pick Barbados over the Bahamas but you have no idea what, if anything, qualifies me to determine which of those you would like best.

If I want to know about an area, I always look on Google maps, you can see what it looks like, what is there and if it looks like somewhere nice.

How would a stranger on the Internet who might like different things to me know what I'd like based on something so vague and subjective?

You give it a rest. I'm here to get travel advice. You're here to be nasty.

Blimey, this thread escalated quickly. 😳

@Nivvers2001 I have a cousin who has been to The Caribbean 3 times in the past 4 years. Martinique, Barbados, and St Lucia - her DD's partner's parents are from St Lucia. She absolutely loves it. They are all nice to visit.

Hope you have a nice time - if you go!

Er, you could say that about any question asked on Mumsnet, couldn't you? Why ask strangers on the internet anything?

Not that I have to justify asking the question to you, but my reason for asking is because, as I said, the few people I know in RL who have gone to various Caribbean islands have all said they wouldn't go back so I wanted to get a broader view/perception of how the islands are as a family destination.

Mumsnet is supposed to be a family friendly forum where mums can seek advice about family related matters including holidays although over recent years it has actually turned into a witches coven where you seem to have a group of resident posters who hang about, jumping on threads to attack rather than offering anything relevant or constructive.

@Nivvers2001 Maybe just try and listen to the comments that you find helpful, and don't respond to the others....? The whole thread will be deleted if it carries on like this. Just a suggestion.

Ooh, thank you. Trying to filter through the horrible comments to the helpful ones to get a consensus. Of course it's beautiful but it's an expensive holiday so want to make sure we get it right.

Thank you.

A cruise might be a good option to visit several islands. Definitely opt for a small (and expensive!) ship, big ones can be tacky! They tend to have better itineraries too.

Bahamas is fairly tacky IME. Dominican Republic is generally (but obvs not all) lower quality AI resorts and some areas of Jamaica can be unsafe.

I do like (love) Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua and the French side of St Martin, for a mainly beach holiday. For more interest, and lower prices, Thailand is a better option IMO.

Well 75% of posters on your thread are using the exact words I used. Why aren't you getting them all deleted then?

I guess there's too many now - you caused an avalanche 😂

Maybe don't go around throwing insults at a whole swathe of independent nations. It's no wonder people are jumping to defend the people of the Caribbean.

Because I am responding to your attacks. You came on here to be unhelpful and aggressive and to make personal attacks which is in breach of the guidelines. My posts are not in breach of the guidelines which is why they're not getting deleted. It's a genuine post seeking advice.

Thank you! Which of Barbados, St Lucia and Antigua would you recommend? Also, any suggestions of hotels/where to stay?

. . but it's ok to make personal insults against many nations in one big generalisation as in your opening title?

Totally ridiculous! A nation doesn't have a personality and cannot be insulted. It was also a question based off feedback from a few people who have gone there, asking for feedback. You really are ridiculous. Do you get upset every time someone insults the UK? I bet not.

In addition, the question is about a tourist's experience of going on HOLIDAY in the Caribbean, a totally different experience from living or working in a country and is not a question on the company's worth, cultures, value, GDP, for god's sake!

Fine - you carry on your merry way calling the Carribbean "boring and tacky". I'm sure no-one who lives there will be the least bit offended.

🙄

Usually plenty of apartments to rent, often with access to complex pool, sometimes also with direct beach access on Barbados. You'll want to be on the west coast for beaches. The East/ Atlantic coast is much wilder
Plenty to see/ do in Barbados including water sports, wildlife parks, local history, more traditional Bajan foods like Rotis and flying fish.
Can't comment on hotels though- we've always stayed with family

Barbados is my favourite of the shortlist, west coast, Holetown area. Beautiful seas and great range of bars and restaurants.

From my experience:
Best for snorkelling - Belize, or the Cenotes in the Yukatan
Best for relaxing beaches, chilled vibe and great food - Grenada
Best for stunning scenery and away from mass tourism - St Vincent and the Grenadines (Bequay beaches are unbelievably beautiful)
Best for wildlife - Costa Rica, or Tikal in Guatamala

In just over 2 weeks, we managed to do Yukatan (Akumal), Belize (there's a catameran from Chetumal) and then ferry and minibus (the most uncomfortable ride of your life) to Guatamala, then back into Mexico and up to Cancun to fly home. Because we used cheap local transport, we managed to do this for about £1,500 each.

Boring and tacky (excluding St Barths) literally only amazing thing is the colour of the sea. There are of course some amazing places but once you get out of there it’s usually poverty on the rest of the Island.

We went at Easter for a week this year, I wanted the kids to have a chance to chill on the beach and be able to swim in the sea, knowing that our summer holiday did not involve any beaches. I wasn't sure it would really be for me, but we avoided the AI resorts and chose Negril in Jamaica and I enjoyed it much much more than I was expecting. I read lots of books, ate loads of great food in small local restaurants and did nothing for an entire week. We chose Jamaica as we are in Northern England and there are only 3 Carribbean destinations with direct flights option from Manchester. If you are trying to avoid the mass AI resorts the other options I considered are Grand Anse in Grenada and Barbados. You do need to research the sargassum situation, as some beaches get a lot of seaweed. Might be less of an issue in Feb. For example, a lot of the Mexican beaches on the Yucatan face East and so the seaweed just comes straight in. It's a.risk across the Carribbean not just Mexico.

@Nivvers2001 Most of the suggestions are mainstream islands. They have culture and individualism. However to get a different take on the Caribbean, I’d go to a couple of smaller islands via ferries. The Grenadines and BequIa (Not Bequay) is a gem. PSV is great too.

The BVIs are lovely and have great swimming. They are charming and again ferries get you from one to another.

In general, I’d go for longer and island hop. Smaller islands with no airports are wonderful.

PR is fascinating but some bits are much nicer than others and to be quite honest it's not spectacularly well run, as well as historical neglect from the US. At the moment I don't think I would go as there's a water shortage. Remember it's an island of 3M people, not a small one.

The Bahamas have some less resort-y bits, but keep in mind that it's the furthest north islands. So if you're thinking December-January it might be a bit cooler than you're expecting, not really ideal. It's the same latitude as South Florida.

I think your thread title was offensive actually and it seems quite a few others do too.

I would not consider Puerto Rico. It feels odd being very American. USVIs are better.

I am slightly unsure what tacky means in the context of Caribbean Islands. All inclusive? We have always avoided those. Areas which get vast numbers of cruise ship passengers ? I’d avoid those too. This means going to smaller islands and staying in smaller properties.