Which Caribbean island? (life, country, safe, people)

[TheKiwi]

My boyfriend and I want to take a trip next month, and I suggested the Caribbean. I've been to the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas before, but have always wanted to check out the USVI, St Lucia, Barbados, etc. We just don't know which island would be right for us!

We have between 7-11 days to go next month (July). We are looking to spend no more than $750 on airfare and $150/night on a hotel room. We don't even mind "roughing it" a bit and staying in an eco-cabin or something like that for cheaper, since we're both young. We would like to visit an island with beautiful clear water, good snorkeling, bicycle, kayak, and stand up paddleboard rentals on the island, hiking, and would like to avoid renting a car so the island should be pedestrian/bicycle friendly. Basically lots of outdoor activities and sights would be perfect for us. Some good restaurants and a little bit of nightlife too! Not looking for tourist-central so something a little more relaxed and low key would be good (I don't want to go to the Cancun of the Caribbean, if there is such a thing)!

What islands would you recommend for us? Thanks so much!

[Davy-040]

Are you looking for a English, Spanish, French or Dutch speaking country?

[TheKiwi]

Originally Posted by Davy-040

Are you looking for a English, Spanish, French or Dutch speaking country?

Does not matter.

[lentzr]

Try Dominica. It is a relatively untouched by mass tourism (no large resorts) and hold lots of possibilities for vigorous hiking in the interior. Note: however, you do not usually go to Dominica for the beaches.

If you go to the USVI, focus in on St. John. It is definetly the nicest of the USVI and holds the most opportunities for outdoor recreation (the Virgin Islands National Park is highly recommended); though it does have more tourists than Dominica.

St. Lucia - like Dominica it has ample opportunities for outdoor recreation. Lots of rainforests and mountains in the interior. Plus, the beaches are good too. The only downside, is St. Lucia is still the Caribbean and many have more tourists than Dominica.

[underthesun7]

Barbados is great, pretty safe too.

[stevej64]

Bvi

[dorado0359]

Although not in the Caribbean, try Bermuda. Absolutely beautiful and much closer than the caribbean islands.

http://www.bermuda.com/

[other99]

Originally Posted by underthesun7

Barbados is great, pretty safe too.

yeh I would choose that too

[NinaN]

I hated St. Lucia. Though it is a very pretty island, the "vendors" (more like beggars) were horrible. You couldn't go 30 seconds without someone shoving something in your face to sell it to you. If you ignored them, they would grab your hand and introduce themselves and keep selling. We even went into the ocean to get away from them, and they followed us in there. Take 10-15 people selling their cheap junk and have each once come by every 10 minutes of the day and it's a real spoiler. I won't be back.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by stevej64

Bvi

I second this.

My husband loves the Caribbean and we've been to several spots.

This was by far our favorite. It was cleaner, less touristy and more friendly than the USVI. (St. John is very beautiful though.)