Where to..

Petri

Senior Insider
We want to see the sun this winter so I'm looking into booking something during the xmas/nye break, 2.5 weeks or so. As it's high season, the options are limited and we would arrive from Europe to Atlanta and fly somewhere from there. As it's a short trip, we don't want to travel around too much.

At 96 countries visited so far, of course we'd like to visit something new but are mostly looking to see the sun and get some sand between our toes. We just did cultural travel in Kazakstan, Azerbaijan and around so this trip doesn't need to be that :)

But where?

- St Barth is pretty much out because of the season.
- Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, I haven't really looked into these -- any suggestions?
- I found some interesting places in Dominica, so that's among the most interesting option so far
- Trinidad and Tobago looks interesting although a bit far away already
- Somewhere in Panama? Never really looked into that either in detail
- If there was some affordable boutique accommodation in Dominican Republic, even that could go, I guess..

I'm mostly trying to 1) keep it simple, and 2) avoid the crows, and 3) limit the exposure to ridiculousness of high season..

Any inside hints for BVI or USVI?
 
Petri - We have had very relaxing vacations in the BVI and Turks and Caicos. In the BVI your choices could be Tortola, Peter Island, Jost van Dyke or the very quiet The Bitter End. We were bare boating so I can't offer a specific hotel or resort. Jost van Dyke is amazing!!! It was our favorite stop, we would absolutely go back. Good friends go to St Johns in the USVI every January for 2 weeks. They love it.

The family loved Turks and Caicos. Very relaxing with great beaches.

We have also been to Antigua and Barbuda. Not my favorite.

You mentioned keeping it simple, the Florida Keys are definitely low key and simple.

Enjoy your Christmas/New Years holidays

Charlotte
 
Petri--the BVI and USVI have many worthwhile places. We have said around all of those islands and have stayed at the Bitter End. For something a little different, you might want to check out Bequi in the Grenadines. Very laid-back. Nice beaches. There is a little resort---The Bequi Beach Resort. We sailed there but you can get there by air from the U.S. via Barbados or St. Lucia. And both Barbados and St. Lucia might be of interest if you don't want to bother going all the way to Bequi.
 
We are researching Martinique for a visit this spring and that would work into your plans for flying into there instead of Atlanta. Seems like a very interesting place. Volcanoes, rain forests, beaches and simple yet seemingly adequate accommodations for less than $100 per night. I've also looked into Dominica also and would much prefer Martinique. I may be wrong but I don't think there are crows there as the mongooses eat the eggs and have made some species extinct.
 
Have you considered Les Saintes? I have heard some say it is like St Barth before St Barth became "St Barth".
 
Petri.....no island in the BVI s satisfies your three criteria better than Anagada ...A Place I haven't been to in thirty years but am returning next spring ...providing of course it was not completely destroyed yesterday ....

its as laid back and as far from the "ridiculousness of high season" ( love that description ) as you will find down that way

and if the Caribbean is not your only area of the world to explore I would highly recommend Sicily .....gorgeous landscapes....over the top epic food.....and wonderful simple people with haven't drank from the over development Kool aid pitcher
 
Petri.....no island in the BVI s satisfies your three criteria better than Anagada ...A Place I haven't been to in thirty years but am returning next spring ...providing of course it was not completely destroyed yesterday ....

its as laid back and as far from the "ridiculousness of high season" ( love that description ) as you will find down that way

and if the Caribbean is not your only area of the world to explore I would highly recommend Sicily .....gorgeous landscapes....over the top epic food.....and wonderful simple people with haven't drank from the over development Kool aid pitcher
After watching Linda and Bill's travelogue from Croatia I would be considering that.
 
Yes I have a very good friend who married a Croatian girl and she has been telling us for years Croatia is the best kept secret in Europe
 
Thanks all! USVI and BVI definitely sound very interesting, in fact I just sent e-mail to one place in Anegada to check how they're doing. Thanks MikeR! The place looks perfect! As far as the region is concerned, won't be booking much yet until the Irma damage is better known.

I also found a few nice, low-key places in Small Corn Island in Nicaragua that could be an option.

I wish there wasn't this thing called work that is making this travel so badly timed :) Europe is out as it's too cold this time -- and yes, Sicily and Croatia are places we want to visit.
 
Petri .....I'm renting a free standing house at Neptunes Treasure ...unbelievably reasonable for a fully loaded house just a few feet from the water ...most of the bars are pour your own/get your own and put the money in a jar ....this place is a real step back in time..... the people who own the house are fishermen and if you tell them what you want in the morning they ll go out and get it
for you ....

there is a service on Tortola which fills groceriy orders and deliver free on the ferries to Jost and Anagada ..we used them when we went to Jost and all the food for the week was there when we arrived......so we re going to place an order for the week and it will go with us on the ferry to Anagada ....they do booze too ....so it's one stop shopping
 
We love Mallorca or even some of the islands off of the coast of Africa as well- maybe the Seychelles. Dominica is out of the dialogue because of Maria.
 
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