new to caribbean, loking for opinions

My fiance and I are taking our honeymoon in early September. He is
most interested in beaches and I would really like some hills/mountains
with daytime activities. It's clear that the wide variety of islands
in the caribbean offer both, but I am a little concerned about going in
September, and choosing one that is constantly rainy or worse gets hit
by a hurricane.

I also love the deserts of the American Southwest, and would even
compromise on my precious mountain requirement if there is an ideal
locale with scenic desert.

We also can't seem to narrow down our choice - have thought Martinique,
Guadelupe, Curacao, St. John(?US virgin isl), Dominica, Les Saintes,
Dominican Republic. What we are looking for: Romance - it's our
honeymoon, a nice private hotel, villa or similar accomodations would
be great. For us that could even mean a nice tent, if it were next to
a waterfall, at the foot of the mountains, cold drink, with a wide sand
beach within throwing distance:)

Neither of us are fluent in any language but English, which leave us
trepidatious of some islands - should we be? Regardless, we are up for
adventure, we are a very casual and friendly couple and enjoy new
things.

We eould like to be able to rent scooters or bikes, snorkel, go hiking,
lay on a beach all day, enjoy some good food, and probably at least one
night of drinking and relvery.

I have done several cross country trips, so am very fond of spending a
few days in one place and then moving on - any single island good for
that? Also, if it's not too expensive, we would be happy to travel
between islands. On that note, we are not yachtsman, but have a boat
up here in Tennessee, and would love to charter one for a night or 2
and island hop that way, but know nothing about it. Any advice would
be appreciated.

Thanks!

On Thursday 23 June 2005 15:23, Kimble wrote:

> My fiance and I are taking our honeymoon in early September. He is
> most interested in beaches and I would really like some
> hills/mountains
> with daytime activities. It's clear that the wide variety of islands
> in the caribbean offer both, but I am a little concerned about going
> in September, and choosing one that is constantly rainy or worse gets
> hit by a hurricane.
>
> I also love the deserts of the American Southwest, and would even
> compromise on my precious mountain requirement if there is an ideal
> locale with scenic desert.

No deserts there like you're thinking of. The best you can hope for is
what is called Tropical Maritime Desert, which usually occurs on the
the slopes of a mountain opposite the prevaling wind in what is called
the rain shadow. On one side, lots of rain, maybe even a rain forest,
but over the peak -- very minimal rain. But not like the Southwest
deserts.

> We also can't seem to narrow down our choice - have thought
> Martinique, Guadelupe, Curacao, St. John(?US virgin isl), Dominica,
> Les Saintes,
> Dominican Republic. What we are looking for: Romance - it's our
> honeymoon, a nice private hotel, villa or similar accomodations would
> be great. For us that could even mean a nice tent, if it were next to
> a waterfall, at the foot of the mountains, cold drink, with a wide
> sand beach within throwing distance:)

Why don't you take a honeymoon cruise that visits several of the islands
you're interested in, then on your first anniversary return to your
favorite. Of course, there are the big cruiselines, but the smaller
lines like Windjammer or Windstar or Silverseas, etc. that have smaller
ships, are more intimate, go to the more out of the way, less touristy
places, and tend to stay longer at each port.

> Neither of us are fluent in any language but English, which leave us
> trepidatious of some islands - should we be? Regardless, we are up
> for adventure, we are a very casual and friendly couple and enjoy new
> things.

Don't worry about language. Just go and have a good time.

> We eould like to be able to rent scooters or bikes, snorkel, go
> hiking, lay on a beach all day, enjoy some good food, and probably at
> least one night of drinking and relvery.

Pretty much available everywhere.

> I have done several cross country trips, so am very fond of spending a
> few days in one place and then moving on - any single island good for
> that? Also, if it's not too expensive, we would be happy to travel
> between islands. On that note, we are not yachtsman, but have a boat
> up here in Tennessee, and would love to charter one for a night or 2
> and island hop that way, but know nothing about it. Any advice would
> be appreciated.

If chartering is unavailable, many islands have ferry services or
shuttle air flights between them.

--
Stefan Patric
NoLife Polymath Group
tootek2m

Jamaica sounds more like what you might be looking for. Mountains, beaches,
waterfalls. Just keep your wits about you there like you would any other
vacation spot.
"Kimble" <kchristian@grizzlies.com> wrote in message
news:1119565384.915658.292890@g47g2000cwa. o...
> My fiance and I are taking our honeymoon in early September. He is
> most interested in beaches and I would really like some hills/mountains
> with daytime activities. It's clear that the wide variety of islands
> in the caribbean offer both, but I am a little concerned about going in
> September, and choosing one that is constantly rainy or worse gets hit
> by a hurricane.
>
> I also love the deserts of the American Southwest, and would even
> compromise on my precious mountain requirement if there is an ideal
> locale with scenic desert.
>
> We also can't seem to narrow down our choice - have thought Martinique,
> Guadelupe, Curacao, St. John(?US virgin isl), Dominica, Les Saintes,
> Dominican Republic. What we are looking for: Romance - it's our
> honeymoon, a nice private hotel, villa or similar accomodations would
> be great. For us that could even mean a nice tent, if it were next to
> a waterfall, at the foot of the mountains, cold drink, with a wide sand
> beach within throwing distance:)
>
> Neither of us are fluent in any language but English, which leave us
> trepidatious of some islands - should we be? Regardless, we are up for
> adventure, we are a very casual and friendly couple and enjoy new
> things.
>
> We eould like to be able to rent scooters or bikes, snorkel, go hiking,
> lay on a beach all day, enjoy some good food, and probably at least one
> night of drinking and relvery.
>
> I have done several cross country trips, so am very fond of spending a
> few days in one place and then moving on - any single island good for
> that? Also, if it's not too expensive, we would be happy to travel
> between islands. On that note, we are not yachtsman, but have a boat
> up here in Tennessee, and would love to charter one for a night or 2
> and island hop that way, but know nothing about it. Any advice would
> be appreciated.
>
> Thanks!
>

"Kimble" <kchristian@grizzlies.com> wrote:

>My fiance and I are taking our honeymoon in early September. He is
>most interested in beaches and I would really like some hills/mountains
>with daytime activities. It's clear that the wide variety of islands
>in the caribbean offer both, but I am a little concerned about going in
>September, and choosing one that is constantly rainy or worse gets hit
>by a hurricane.

Hurricanes - August and September are usually the peak of the
hurricane season. September is the green (i.e. rainy) season in many
central American locations.

It is also a time when the weather in most of the northern hemisphere
is reasonably warm. So people may choose to go somewhere else other
than the Caribbean during September in order to get their beaches and
mountains.

(Such as Hawaii, although I have not been there myself I think they
have both and probably waterfalls too.)

>
>I also love the deserts of the American Southwest, and would even
>compromise on my precious mountain requirement if there is an ideal
>locale with scenic desert.
>
Generally, as others have pointed out, there are no deserts like those
on islands. That's because islands have a lot of water around them,
so they are more humid than it is in the desert.

>We also can't seem to narrow down our choice - have thought Martinique,
>Guadelupe, Curacao, St. John(?US virgin isl), Dominica, Les Saintes,
>Dominican Republic. What we are looking for: Romance - it's our
>honeymoon, a nice private hotel, villa or similar accomodations would
>be great. For us that could even mean a nice tent, if it were next to
>a waterfall, at the foot of the mountains, cold drink, with a wide sand
>beach within throwing distance:)
>
If you want to be out of the way of hurricanes, the farther down
toward South America that you get, the better off you will be in that
regard. Trinidad, and Tobago are one possibility of two places that
you could do both places and I know they have beaches and mountains
and I think waterfalls to hike to. I haven't been there myself
however.

You could also go to Belize (where they speak English) and travel
around the country from the cayes to the cayo district. Good
snorkeling, but not from a beach - some hiking and lots of interesting
places to go including Mayan ruins. Hurricanes do sometimes hit
Belize, but not as often as some other places.

Or you could brave the green season and go to Costa Rica where I think
the beaches on the Pacific side are better, particularly in the Drakes
Bay area. We stayed in a cabin, and they took us to Canos Island
(hiking) and Corcovado where we could see scarlet macaws and hike up
to a waterfall. After a couple of days there you could come back to
San Jose and drive up to Arenal the active volcano (although that
might be a challenge in the green season because of the roads)

Barbados and Bermuda are other islands where they speak English and
more rarely have hurricanes. Neither of them have any mountains to
speak of or any waterfalls that I know of. Bermuda has LOTS of biking
possibilities and lots of things to do, but no mountains and no
waterfalls. Barbados is a fairly large island with lots of things to
do. They both have caves.

>Neither of us are fluent in any language but English, which leave us
>trepidatious of some islands - should we be? Regardless, we are up for
>adventure, we are a very casual and friendly couple and enjoy new
>things.
>
I don't think the language will be a problem as long as you are
willing to be flexible.

>We eould like to be able to rent scooters or bikes, snorkel, go hiking,
>lay on a beach all day, enjoy some good food, and probably at least one
>night of drinking and relvery.
>
>I have done several cross country trips, so am very fond of spending a
>few days in one place and then moving on - any single island good for
>that? Also, if it's not too expensive, we would be happy to travel
>between islands. On that note, we are not yachtsman, but have a boat
>up here in Tennessee, and would love to charter one for a night or 2
>and island hop that way, but know nothing about it. Any advice would
>be appreciated.

If you can deal with the hurricane possibility, I'd suggest going to
St. John, which has lots of hiking and beaches and you can stay at an
eco-resort in tents if you like although the tents are about 300 stair
steps up from the beach. Then you could take a ferry over to the BVI
to Tortola and/or Virgin Gorda. There used to be a two week option at
Caneel on St. John with the second week in the BVI. Also some resorts
in the BVI have various kinds of boats that you can use as a part of
the deal - take a boat and have a lunch they pack for you on a beach.

Another possibility is for you to charter a boat with a crew in
someplace like Belize or the Virgin Islands. You could do as much or
little of the sailing as you would like, but you'd have the advantage
of someone who knows the area and the best places. Plus someone else
will do the cooking. I personally think this would be more peaceful
than going on a cruise ship with a whole lot of other people.


grandma Rosalie

Kimble wrote:
> My fiance and I are taking our honeymoon in early September.

Snip.

You want to go to Kauai. Stay in Poipu at the Kiahuna Plantations
(condos) - snorkeling within walking distance and great beaches and
snorkeling all over the island. You can drive the entire island in two
hours. Watefalls abundant. One of the most beautiful places on Earth.

-L.

In article <1119565384.915658.292890@g47g2000cwa. .com>,
"Kimble" <kchristian@grizzlies.com> wrote:

> My fiance and I are taking our honeymoon in early September. He is
> most interested in beaches and I would really like some
> hills/mountains with daytime activities.

I second many of Rosalie's comments, as she knows whereof she speaks.
See our vacation pics, below, for a fuller description of the British
Virgin Islands (BVI).

> What we are looking for: Romance - it's our honeymoon, a nice
> private hotel, villa or similar accomodations would be great. For us
> that could even mean a nice tent, if it were next to a waterfall, at
> the foot of the mountains, cold drink, with a wide sand beach within
> throwing distance:)
>
> I have done several cross country trips, so am very fond of spending
> a few days in one place and then moving on - any single island good
> for that? Also, if it's not too expensive, we would be happy to
> travel between islands. On that note, we are not yachtsman, but have
> a boat up here in Tennessee, and would love to charter one for a
> night or 2 and island hop that way, but know nothing about it. Any
> advice would be appreciated.

From all I see, you should look into a captained charter. They usually
are couples and love to give honeymooners extra special treatment. I can
think of no more romantic trip.