Options to St John

Hi everyone. I posted this on USVI and Southern C as well in hope to get as many opinions as possible! We LOVE St John but are considering an alternative to see a new island. Love the calm waters, easy in snorkeling, nice people, et al. We rent villas so we don't need hotel or resort living but also don't want an island where the roads are so bad driving is like taking your life in your hands (heard that about BVI's). Looking for white sand beaches, villa/home rental options and calm, clear waters for swimming and snorkeling. Wondering about Grenada, Grenadines, Virgin Gorda.. heard Antigua had limited snorkeling or was it easy in swimming? Anyway, I would really appreciate the help as the internet is making my head swirl! Thanks!

For white sand beaches and some great villa options at varied price points, I would recommend Anguilla. We love it there, and it's close to St. John in beauty and the friendliness of the people. The snorkeling isn't nearly as good as St. John, but I guess it's hard to find everything!

We're going to Guadeloupe on our next trip, to try something new, but I have a feeling our overall rating will end up being ".....but it's no Anguilla" :~).

We've been fortunate to have been to all these places this winter - one of the benefits of sailing your own boat I guess.
Guadeloupe is no Anguilla - that said, I'd go to both again in a heartbeat. Anguilla spec-TAC-ular beaches, Rendezvous Bay if not perfect gets about a 9.9995 rating on 10. The Anguilla House resort has a nice restaurant for lunch and drinks, you can rent loungers without having to stay there. Very laid back vibe, we really enjoyed BBQ lunch on 'The Strip' in the valley.
Guadeloupe is much more developed, bring all the French language skills you can and be prepared to speak sign language if you don't have a lot of French. Not to scare you off, just awareness that's all. We liked Deshaies in the north, cute town, great fresh croissants and breads, Pointe Malendure also nice, very good restaurants.

Have a look at the blog on our site, gives first hand no-holds-barred reviews of many of our stops along the way.

S/V Shirley Jean

Thanks so much, macpete, will check out your blog! We are actually planning to spend most of our time on Marie-Galante, in a small villa. We like the quiet and the fact that many people claim there's nothing to do there is a huge draw for us.

My high school French has served me well enough in Paris and elsewhere in France, as well as in St. Barts so I'm not totally worried about the language. And the universal language of smiles and hand gestures always helps!

One more set of opinions.

We absolutely loved Grenada and thought it to be one of the most beautiful of all the island's we've been blessed to experience. It's not noted for snorkeling but the island's inland sight-seeing ops are breathtaking. The rain forest along with all its flora is beautiful and the Anadale Falls are so worth a visit, to mention but a few options for you. And then there's the beach at Grand Anse......lovely, for sure. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the little village where some of the most exquisitely delicious and widely sought after cocoa beans in the world are grown, not to mention the other spices the island is known for - nutmeg, mace and others that escape me at the moment.

But if snorkeling is your thing, you'll love Anguilla. There are countless organized snorkeling ops and reefs to explore and the beaches are definitely among the most beautiful in the Caribbean, many of them offering easy shore snorkeling ops. Food is very good and nothing there is particularly inexpensive but nothing is as dear as dining on St. Baths either. We particularly like Shoal Bay East but they're all gorgeous. Just my opinion, but as beautiful as the AXA beaches are, the overall beauty of the island does not come near that of Grenada, St. John, Barbados or even St. Maarten.....for that matter. The people are very nice and I've always felt totally comfortable there. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

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