woodandsnow

I am planning a week-long trip to the Caribbean Island during Christmas break. I did a lot of research to choose the best Island per our needs and liking, and now I have a list of 5 islands, and I am looking to get expert opinion from the folks here.

We are a couple in the mid-thirties, like nature (Lush green landscape), beach (White sand beach), and hiking. We are not a party people and likes seclude and less touristy places. We also mostly prefer to rent a villa or apartment via VRBO/Airbnb instead of hotel and resorts (to avoid the crowd and have the option to cook as both of us are vegetarian). Budget wise we are okay to spend even on the higher side. We have been to USVI, Hawaii ( Maui and Kauai), and loved St John and Kauai a lot.

Until now, I have jotted down my list of these Islands:

1. Turks & Caicos

2. Cayman Island

3. Anguilla

4. Grenada

5. Antigua & Barbuda

I know that the first three have better beaches and more on the dry, flat side, and the latter two have more green landscape and more to offer but might not have the beaches as compared to the first three. I would appreciate any insights as to which one will better suit our taste.

balthy

I think you'll have difficulty buying vegetables in Cayman Islands, T&C and Anguilla, the supermarkets there are very very expensive, I mean super expensive,everything is imported. The supermarkets in Anguilla are pretty dire TBH. None of these islands are places you want to do much of your own cooking. Its not like Maui etc where you get US supermarkets with stuff that you are used to getting at home. For self catering I would recommend any of the French islands, Martinique, Guadeloupe even St Martin. Food is imported from France.T&C is in the Atlantic so will not be as warm as the islands in the Caribbean. Christmas would be perfect for Grand Cayman, its simply too hot at other times of the year and is peak season for the Caribbean.

Grenada and Antigua on the other hand actually grow fruit & veg and they have local markets. Grenada does have beautiful beaches, have you seen pictures of Grand Anse? Its gorgeous. The interior of Grenada is a rainforest so you can go hiking. Antigua is famous for its beaches, one for every day of the year allegedly. Not as pretty as Grenada, but it has some excellent beaches.