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I love St. Thomas and feel quite safe there. We even have a resident expert on this forum who we met in person on our last visit to STT. It's one of our favorite ports.
At the opposite end is Tortola which I found unclean and felt quite unsafe and won't go back.
Funny how we all have such different views. Loved Tortola. We stayed in an apartment in Cane Garden Bay and took the ferries around to other islands.
I am planning my next beach vacation and will be watching this thread. So please keep the recommendations coming
So far, I've only been to Bahamas (Nassau and Paradise Island), Negril -Jamaica, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. My absolute favorite was Puerto Rico. The locals were friendly and helpful, food was the best due to its strong Spanish influence (more to my liking than the typical Caribbean cuisine), we explored everywhere with our rental car and never felt unsafe, and the diversity of its island from landscape perspective.
My least favorites were a tie between Bermuda and Nassau. Bermuda was boring and lacked character. you better go there in peak summer or you'll need a light jacket. Nassau sucked due to the locals attitude. I'd rather go back to Jamaica than go to Nassau.
Following up to my earlier message, we just spent an incredible 8 days in the Dominican Republic. We spent one night in Santo Domingo and enjoyed seeing some of the historical sights and city life there before spending a week in Las Terrenas on the Samana Peninsula. It was, by far, my favorite Caribbean locale so far. We never felt unsafe and drove all over Samana. The biggest danger felt like the occasional manhole cover that was missing, demanding constant attention while driving.
If you haven't heard of Las Terrenas or Samana, check it out. If you go and plan on staying anywhere other than a decent sized hotel then you better brush up on your Spanish before going!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdp_az
Curacao felt safer than any Caribbean Island I've been to before. We explored the entire island in a rental car.
I felt very safe throughout the BVI, both on a boat taking the dinghy to shore and while exploring Virgin Gorda for a few days with a rental car.
St. Croix was pretty sketchy. I hear drug related crime in St. Thomas has gotten pretty bad.
Nassau sucked and I hear that crime is a problem, but I never felt especially unsafe there.
Jamaica felt less safe than any of the other Caribbean islands we've been to. We were OK on the beach and the West End road in Negril, but didn't like the vibe as soon as we got out of the town areas of Negril.
While not an island but touching the Caribbean, the Mayan Riviera areas of Tulum, Playa del Carmen and inland towns felt very safe as we explored with a rental car.
We leave for Santo Domingo and the Samana Peninsula in DR today, so we'll see how that compares.
Following up to my earlier message, we just spent an incredible 8 days in the Dominican Republic. We spent one night in Santo Domingo and enjoyed seeing some of the historical sights and city life there before spending a week in Las Terrenas on the Samana Peninsula. It was, by far, my favorite Caribbean locale so far. We never felt unsafe and drove all over Samana. The biggest danger felt like the occasional manhole cover that was missing, demanding constant attention while driving.
If you haven't heard of Las Terrenas or Samana, check it out. If you go and plan on staying anywhere other than a decent sized hotel then you better brush up on your Spanish before going!
Thanks for the update. I'm leaning towards DR as well, although my Spanish is extremely limited and my husband's pretty much non-existent. Can you get by with limited Spanish - Tarzan style (You Jane, me Tarzan)? I heard Samana is pretty secluded, how's the beach? White sand, yellow sand?
Why do so many think the Bahamas is so bad when they have ONLY been to Nassau/Paradise Island or maybe Freeport???
These are just 2 out of the 15+ Bahamian islands that have airline service, (not to mention several dozen more that have no airports).
That is like saying Chicago is a dump based on the south side, or saying that NYC is trashy because of the South Bronx!!!
I mean…..so silly!
Before anyone writes off the Bahamas, please visit the REAL Bahamas, such as the Exuma's, Eleuthera, Cat Island, Rum Cay, Long Island, Crooked Isl, etc.
Why do so many think the Bahamas is so bad when they have ONLY been to Nassau/Paradise Island or maybe Freeport???
These are just 2 out of the 15+ Bahamian islands that have airline service, (not to mention several dozen more that have no airports).
That is like saying Chicago is a dump based on the south side, or saying that NYC is trashy because of the South Bronx!!!
I mean…..so silly!
Before anyone writes off the Bahamas, please visit the REAL Bahamas, such as the Exuma's, Eleuthera, Cat Island, Rum Cay, Long Island, Crooked Isl, etc.
I've wanted to visit the out islands of the Bahamas for a long time. I've never been to any of them (Bahamas), but have researched them...I totally get your point.
Thanks for the update. I'm leaning towards DR as well, although my Spanish is extremely limited and my husband's pretty much non-existent. Can you get by with limited Spanish - Tarzan style (You Jane, me Tarzan)? I heard Samana is pretty secluded, how's the beach? White sand, yellow sand?
Thanks!
The Samana region takes a little work to get to as it's about 2 hours from Santo Domingo, but it's not a bad ride. We had a driver from SD to Las Terrenas and I would recommend that if it's your first time in the DR. We did rent a car in Las Terrenas and had no problems driving around the Samana peninsula. Just be on the lookout for motoconchos coming from every angle and the occasional manhole cover that's missing...it sounds worse than it is. I actually had fun driving there!
I think you could get by with limited Spanish. I always defaulted to Spanish first because it's their language and I wanted to work on my own Spanish...many of them could probably speak limited English comparable to my limited Spanish. If you stay at a hotel you'll probably have no issues as they staff almost certainly speaks English. If you rent a villa, which I recommend, you may find English more limited amongst the staff but that could be part of what you ask about as you inquire about different properties. Learn some key phrases, numbers, etc... and you'll have no problem. I highly recommend the free Duolingo app for brushing up on Spanish skills before you go.
The beaches in and around Las Terrenas are truly spectacular...postcard perfect and uncrowded outside of the town beach of Playa Popi. It really is even prettier than the picture, and this is not some manicured resort...it's just the beach. The beaches are varied in that some have whiter sand and few waves (Playa las Ballenas) and others have surfing waves and sand that's a little more yellow (Playa Coson). They were all beautiful, though!
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