After st barts can you really go anywhere else?

celesteA

New Member
Anyone travel to Turks & Caicos & then regret not having just gone back to St. Barth’s instead? My husband & I can’t decide if we should return with our kids or try Turks with them. I’m curious to hear from those of you who have traveled to both—we went solo this year to St. Barth’s & they will be very upset if we don’t take them to an island at some point as they were very jealous of our recent trip)
 
. . . leave them “jealous” for a while! SBH is a wonderful family environment, but recent posts of the trip of you & your husband persuade me that you should spoil yourselves with at least one more solo trip before the couple-romance is replaced by the joy of sharing with kids.
 
I’ve been to Turks and Caicos and will choose St Barth every single time. Period. To me, it’s a no-brainer!
 
I'm with Missy. St. Barths is best solo, duet or family.
I have taken the children to Turks and Caicos. My children would think I had become senile if I asked them "Do you want to go to Turks and Caicos or St. Barths"? or should I say more senile.
 
Cozumel of the 1980s was my (and my family’s) St Barth. Given the option, I’d still choose St Barth today.
 
We have been to Turks and Caicos twice, Jamaica twice, Anguilla twice, each one with the kids once...all a long time ago before we really discovered and fell in love with St. Barths. We don't even consider other islands anymore. Our kids (lucky ducks) grew up vacationing in St Barths and they always want to return whenever given the choice. There is just something about stepping off that small plane (no matter if its Winair, SBC, or Tradewind) when I take a deep breath and just sigh with happiness and gratitude that I have once again returned to my (our) favorite place.
 
I was wondering the same thing! Turks and caicos seems like the only other island id be willing to try that possibly is safe, beautiful, great food, maybe not quite as expensive or hard to get to. We used to travel to Maui all the time, but there is just something about St.Barts that we fell in love with, but feel like ww also should try someplace new next year, but then may regret not booking St Barts! Wow. What a dilemma to have:wink2:
 
We have been to Turks and Caicos twice, Jamaica twice, Anguilla twice, each one with the kids once...all a long time ago before we really discovered and fell in love with St. Barths. We don't even consider other islands anymore. Our kids (lucky ducks) grew up vacationing in St Barths and they always want to return whenever given the choice. There is just something about stepping off that small plane (no matter if its Winair, SBC, or Tradewind) when I take a deep breath and just sigh with happiness and gratitude that I have once again returned to my (our) favorite place.
My oldest son traveled to Turks and Caicos last year with his wife and three teenage children. They had a nice vacation and saved some money, but he wishes they had traveled to St.Barts. He has been to St. Barts twice with his wife and loved it both times.
 
We found St John USVI to be a more beautiful island with better beaches and great snorkling and will return for sure. Is it St Barths? Nope. Doesn't need to be.

We love St Barths for the total package.

The 'trap" if you will, is going someplace and comparing it to St Barths. Can't be done. SBH is unique and one of a kind.

So if you're going to visit another island and constantly compare it to St Barths, don't waste your time and $, IMHO.

OTOH, if you've made your peace with going to the same place every year, so be it. Money well spent!

Remember the 1st rule of vacations!
 
So Celeste and I have been debating and I am glad she posted this. I told her one day we will just try out Turks just to see it because why not. But right now, I am all St. Barts after just one visit. One, I am not in love with the hotels in Turks. Some are nice, but I really enjoyed the villa life. I also feel like staying at a hotel in Turks might tie me down to the hotel (all the watersports are there, resturants, things for kids, etc...). I don't like being tied down when I am on vacation. I want to explore.
What I loved about St. Barts was that I felt like I was a member of a small community. I dont think I would feel the same about Turks. Don't get me wrong, I want to one day go there for the experience, but St. Bart is exactly what I wanted it to be. I also understand why some people might like Turks over St. Barts. I think the experiences are different.
I don't really want to feel like I am at a resort, but still have everything a resort has to offer. I loved staying in the villa and not having to worry about anything. It was different. I could be wrong, but I feel like staying almost anywhere else, including Turks, you are just part of the assembly line of people coming in and out. With St. Barts I felt like a piece of me is there (our hat is literally still there).
 
We love St Barths for the total package.

The 'trap" if you will, is going someplace and comparing it to St Barths. Can't be done. SBH is unique and one of a kind.

So if you're going to visit another island and constantly compare it to St Barths, don't waste your time and $, IMHO.

OTOH, if you've made your peace with going to the same place every year, so be it. Money well spent!

Remember the 1st rule of vacations!

Totally agree.
 
We have found that traveling with another couple or adult children alway keeps St. Barts fresh. You get different viewpoints and watching their reactions is always fun.
 
There are also those who want to go anywhere but St Barth. There is no golf course, no casino, and prices are higher than many other islands.
 
We found St John USVI to be a more beautiful island with better beaches and great snorkling and will return for sure. Is it St Barths? Nope. Doesn't need to be.

We love St Barths for the total package.

The 'trap" if you will, is going someplace and comparing it to St Barths. Can't be done. SBH is unique and one of a kind.

So if you're going to visit another island and constantly compare it to St Barths, don't waste your time and $, IMHO.

OTOH, if you've made your peace with going to the same place every year, so be it. Money well spent!

Remember the 1st rule of vacations!
I could not agree more there is nothing like SBH, totally unique and at this stage in life that is all I am after. As we were planning our trip for next February a client offered me her new condo in Mauna Kea for free for as long as we wanted to stay, I mentioned it to my wife and we considered the lovely offer for about 5 minutes before we called our SBH pals and told them we were in for 2020.
 
I guess the follow-up questions is how long will St Barths maintain that "it" factor. It is changing, we all see that.
 
We found St John USVI to be a more beautiful island with better beaches and great snorkling and will return for sure. Is it St Barths? Nope. Doesn't need to be.

I so agree. St. John is the Garden of Eden and far less developed than St. Barth thanks to its national park status. We considered both STJ and SBH for our summer trip and I would have been thrilled with either island. Besides the great beaches and scenery, St. John has a fantastic dining scene and villa inventory. I especially love the laid-back island vibe, the local music venues and the ease of day sails to the British Virgin Islands.
 
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