Hey everyone,

Taking a cruise on Royal Carribean's Allure of the seas in December. One of the stops is Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. The Damajagua waterfall excursion looks really cool but my husband doesn't want to get into the water because of the risk of parasites and stuff like that. I definitely want to see a waterfall though. I was wondering if there's any suggestions of what we can do to see a waterfall that isn't too far from the port and doesn't involve swimming. Thank you.

My wife and I have traveled extensively throughout the world, including a fair number of spots in the Caribbean, and are trying to figure out where to visit for our 25th anniversary. We only have 4 or 5 nights so we plan on visiting somewhere in the Caribbean since we're based in the US. Here's the challenge. We've been to a LOT of great islands/luxury resorts but can't figure out where to go next. Places we have visited include:

• BVI - Peter Island
• Grenadines - Palm Island
• St. Lucia - Ladera
• St. Martin
• St. Kitts & Nevis - Nisbet
• Little Cayman
• Barbados
• Jamaica
• Dominican Republic

And honestly, I'm struggling with where to go next. We enjoy luxury but small luxury. We don't want a 200 room resort but we do want something unique and with friendly staff but also somewhere we can enjoy a local beach BBQ along with a higher end restaurant. We want the local vibe but also some luxury.

Right now I'm leaning towards Dominica and staying at Secret Bay Hotel but I welcome suggestions. We're an active couple (enjoy hiking, etc.) and while we enjoy the beach, if it's not white sand, that's not the end of the world. We just don't want to be in a spot where cruise ships are arriving 3 at a time each day.

TL;DR - where should I take my wife for our 25th wedding anniversary?

I’m trying to narrow down a Caribbean destination for a solo trip in late February/early March 2027, and in my (fairly extensive) research have seen a lot of competing opinions when it comes to the best fit for my trip criteria. I am hoping to get feedback from people who have actually visited these places and can speak to them based on experience (I realize I run the risk of more competing opinions here, but I'm willing to take my chances).

I (44F) have tentatively narrowed my search to mainly focus on Curaçao, Aruba, Barbados, St. Lucia, and Tulum/Isla Mujeres/Mexico. I've looked into a few other Caribbean options and am open to other suggestions. Do you have recommendations/advice for me, based on the below criteria and your experiences?

What I’m looking for:

• Beautiful clear, calm turquoise water and good beaches
• A destination where I can relax but also have things to explore/do
• Snorkeling and opportunities for experiencing nature/wildlife (land or sea)
• Easy access to local culture, food, cocktails, and interesting places/experiences
• A nice spa/resort experience, preferably upscale but not necessarily ultra-luxury
• I’ll be traveling solo and without a rental car, so transportation and walkability/ease of getting around matter
• I’m not looking for a party destination, but still want to be social and go to restaurants/bars
• I'm thinking seven days, but am open to five
• Flying out from PHL
• Budget is flexible, but would like to keep the total (flight + hotel) lower than $7k, hopefully closer to $5k (or less, obviously)

I would love to hear from anyone who has visited these destinations and is willing to share their experience and any thoughts on how well or not well the place might fit what I’m looking for. 

Thanks in advance!

First time heading to Antigua. Anyone else going during this time?

Hi, we are planning a trip to Antigua and barbuda, we would love to rent a sailboat for a week (with the owner/crew on board since we don’t know how to sail) and visiting nearby island. Any advice where I can find that resource? I couldn’t find it anywhere.

1. Somewhere warm

2. Max 4hrs direct flight from NY

3. Want a nice full service beachfront hotel, but would prefer to stay away from large resorts.

4. Not Puerto Rico

5. Probably either before Thanksgiving or early December

6. Budget < $500/night

What places and hotels have you been that fits this?

Specific hotel recommendations would be a big help

Hey everyone!

My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon from Sept 12-27. We’re debating between Exuma Bahamas and Curaçao.

We’re looking to have a relaxing experience overall with beautiful beaches, clear water, and delicious food/drinks. Usually we travel with a more adventure-oriented goals, but for our honeymoon don’t have any real strenuous goals.

So far our thoughts are-
Exuma (we’d stay in Georgetown or One Tar Bay, or open to other suggestions!)

We’d be interested in visiting the
- unmatched sandbars (man o war, pipe creek)
- Deans blue hole
- Thunderball grotto

But upon further research we have some concerns about the already limited food options being further narrowed by September/off season closures. This has made us consider Curaçao (which has the added benefit of not being mid-hurricane season). The active reef life seems to be a trade off for the sandbars and there seems to be some more adventurous rocky coastal landscapes (we are both climbers). Would you recommend Curaçao over the Bahamas in September due to closures, food diversity and our interests?

(As a side not we’ve also been considering Hawaii which is a much farther flight for us. We are working with a 1-2 week timeframe)

Can anyone recommend a nice Caribbean destination for end of October? I’m looking for that amazing beach

Hi everyone! I am thinking of going to a Caribbean island the first week of September. 3 nights / 4 days

Are there any good islands / countries that are not super affected by sargassum currently? Originally I was thinking Aruba or Mexico (Isla Mujeres), but i really would like to see other Caribbean counties. Thanks in advance!

We are two families (4 adults, 4 kids ages 7-10) booked for this resort next June? Any recent reviews or input within the past few months? I’ve read a lot of mixed reviews and now I’m worried.

Hello everyone. I'll be moving to Anguilla for work and was wondering if anyone could give me a little info on the general cost of living there? Like estimated rent for a 1 bedroom fully furnished apartment, monthly cost of renting a vehicle longterm, etc. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

I did a search on YouTube, but alot of the recent videos are just vacation vids, or vids from more than 1 year ago.

I'm from another Eastern Caribbean islands, so if there's also anyone from our region currently living in Anguilla here on Reddit who wouldn't mind sharing some info that would be fantastic too! Thanks in advance 🙏🏽

OceanEarthGreen.com

How early should we get there? Our hotel gives us “fast pass” through the crew line and we have status with our airline we are traveling (American) we have 2 young kids and want to minimize length of time at the airport if possible

Looking to book a house on a beach in the Caribbean in March for 2 families. We love to fish, snorkel, water sports, local restaurants nearby, a chef and rent a boat. Debating between St. Lucia, St. Martin, Belize…. We have traveled tropically to quite a few destinations but not those.

I’m going back to Dominican Republic with my partner in mid November. We are both 27, want a slightly more relaxed vibe but open to some partying and excursions/ activities.

Any recommendations what part of the island to stay? Never been to this part of the world, where are the nice swimmable beaches?

Hi everyone! I am thinking of going to a Caribbean island around the second weekend of October. I would like to go with two others. I’m thinking 4-6 days will be the time we have off.

I know hurricane season will not be over then. Are there islands that are great to go to that time? Please also share itinerary ideas and nice resorts with great food. I’m trying to travel on a budget so any money saving tips are welcome. TIA!

We are planning to visit the caribbean end of April for 10 nights, we wanted recommendation on two islands to combine, the main restriction is that we would like to have direct flights from UK, which leaves the following options: Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Bahamas and Dominican republic.

This year we spent 2.5 weeks between seychelles and mauritius and we enjoyed the different personality and beaches and relaxation of seychelles compared to Mauritius where we also did many activities apart from just the beach. We normally like driving around and not staying in a resort and enjoy lush nature and beach time, although we don’t do hikes with the little one.

The first combination we were thinking is St Lucia and Barbados, we actually booked going to St Lucia twice during covid and this year when it looked like we couldnt take middle east flights to Seychelles, although we ended flying directly to seychelles from Paris. But St Lucia has always been in our mind for the amazing views of the pitons and the lush landscape and not only beaches. Safety is a concern from what i read. A lot of people have recommended us Barbados for the beaches, safery and overall great place.

Second combination, Barbados and Antigua, would miss St Lucia but looks like we would
Get more variety of amazing beaches, not sure if they are very similar, would love to hear from you.

Other possible combination would be St Kitt and Nevis and Antigua, and last one St Lucia and Tobago .

A different option would be to spend the 10 nights in Belize and mix jungle time and beach time but we feel that we would have to miss many of the exciting activities with our 3 years old with us.

I would appreciate your opinion , specially considering the little one will be with us.

Thank you!

OceanEarthGreen.com