aaronharkleroad1192

I know it is a very common question but I would like some input and see if I am missing anything picking an island.

We are looking for a small/quite island with beautiful kid friendly beaches (white sand + turquoise water would be nice), but would like some mountain/jungle interior also. We like to be independent and one thing I am set on is the ability to rent a car for 3+ days and drive around and visit beaches/forts/hiking on our own relatively safely, so decent road infrastructure and not so windy roads are important... a visit to St. John USVI has me scared of driving. In my younger days I very much liked "roughing it", not so much now with a wife and kid but still like to keep it simple. A funky beach bar drinking with the locals is to me much better than swanky resort pool bar with all yanks. One of my favorite memories from St. John is walking around Cruz Bay in the evenings and finding a great local place to eat and drinking painkillers in a shack of a beach bar.

As for lodging, affordable ($300 or less per night would be great) and ocean front or at least within quick walk to ocean. We are not looking for all inclusive/resort experience, although I would go for a resort if it was affordable and convenient. Would really prefer a smaller place with a kitchen since we'd like to cook a few meals, close enough to grocery and bars if we want to walk.

At first I was pretty set on St. Kitts/Nevis because it looks like it checks our boxes... small island which looks fun to drive around, good jungle/fort adventure, affordable beach adjacent lodging, not that touristy (I think). But I am concerned the beaches might be a bit disappointing, and the wife is really looking forward to nice beaches. Also considering Anguilla because of the nice beaches but looks like it would be lacking mountain/jungle, and concerned about lodging affordability and driving. Similar concerns with Aruba and Turks n Caicos as they are limestone based flat islands.

Places I don't think would work for us:
Puerto Rico- nice but seems too large for what id like to do
Jamaica- same as PR
Bahamas- seems flat and touristy
Cuba/DR- too large
USVI/BVI- already been to St. John and im guessing BVI is also hell to drive on, but possibly open to BVI if am wrong

Background-

• Home: Houston
• Time: ~7 days at end of April
• Group: 2 parents in 30s with 4 year old
• Lodging: looking for $300 or less per night, near ocean but not resort (or a smaller resort convenient to town)
• Interests: beach lounging, jungle/mountain hiking, independent driving, botanical gardens (plant biologist at heart)

Any suggestions for islands to check out? Am I over prioritizing the jungle/mountain aspect and should just go for Turks or maybe Cayman? Also open to being talked into St. Kitts again. Appreciate any input!

RoamsAround

First - as a general rule the flat limestone/coral based islands (like Anguilla, Turks & Caicos, Aruba, etc. are the ones with the whitest sand beaches, shallower bright turquoise blue waters and scrubby vegetation while the mountainous volcanic based island (such as St. Kitts, Nevis, St. Lucia, etc) will have dense rain forests, darker sand beaches and surrounding waters that are deeper and take on a darker steel blue hue. That's one of the main trade offs you have to consider when choosing a Caribbean Island.

Since you ruled out St. John, which is one of the few hilly islands that has light golden sand beaches, you probably won't like Virgin Gorda or some of the other smaller BVI's as they are similar to St. John. Tortola might fill your needs so it's worth a look.

All that being said, in looking at your wish list you are describing Nevis almost perfectly. The main difference is the beaches are not ''white" but rather they vary in shades from light beige to brown to grey. They are nonetheless very attractive in their own way, being lined by lots of natural growing palm trees and other tropical vegetation. They are also some of the least crowded beaches in the Caribbean. If you take a short few hundred yard stroll along the beach from any of the beach bars or or beach front resorts or condos you'll find yourself virtually alone. If you can put aside you desire for pure white sand beaches Nevis won't disappoint you.

Nevis also has the ruins of a couple of old forts and ruins of more than a dozen old sugar plantations to explore, rain forests to hike, a botanical garden, some hot springs, an extinct volcano, bat caves, lots of historical places and even a few waterfalls hidden deep in the rainforest. If you are so inclined a short 7 minute water taxi or 45 ferry ride will take you to St. Kitts where you and your family can explore the Fortress at Brimstone Hill, a World Heritage Sight that is one of the oldest, largest and best preserved Forts in the Caribbean.

Nevis also boasts a wide variety of accommodations in all price ranges. By the way, if you are planning your trip toward the latter part of April you may benefit from the switchover in room rates from High Season to the lower rates in Shoulder Season. Accommodations range from high end resorts like the Four Season, to mid-rage beach front resorts like Oualie Beach Resort, to beach front and beach access condos to mountainside villas, condos and cottages with fantastic views that are only a few minutes drive from the beaches.

balthy

There are islands that have the best of both worlds, white sand beaches and rainforest, mountains etc

Martinique - has beautiful white sand beaches but also a volcano and rainforest.Fort de France is worth seeing, unusually for the Caribbean as many capitals are not. You need to be independent there, rent a car and stay in an apartment, it is not an island with 5 star resorts, it is very low key and affordable. The supermarkets are great and similar prices to mainland France. Roads are good but the terrain can be very mountainous in areas.

Guadeloupe - a larger version of Martinique, an island of two halves, one side flat with beautiful white sands beaches and the other half is more lush with rainforest, volcano and a large national park. Even St Martin can offer a bit of both worlds. For the French islands, do you need to speak a bit of French.

Grenada - Grande Anse is a beautiful white sand beach, the interior of the island has a rainforest and hiking trails etc.

St Lucia - the famous Pitons in the south and light sand (not white, but beige sand) in the north. IMO the most beautiful beaches do not have to be white, some of the dark sand beaches are very beautiful.eg Anse Chastanet's dark sand beach is one of the most beautiful I have been on, it sparkles like diamonds in the sand.

aaronharkleroad1192

Thanks for the ideas! I will check out Martinique. Would be cool to have a little French flavor in the trip.

I was also considering Anguilla and St Martin. Looks like quite nice beaches on Anguilla, and maybe I could do a few days or so over in St Martin.

balthy

French flavour is never a bad idea. Check out the area around Les Anse d’Arlet in Martinique, couple of good beaches that are family friendly with bars & restaurants.
St Pierre in the north has volcanic sand beaches, jungly interior & volcano which erupted many years ago.

Anguilla does have beautiful beaches, Meads Bay & Shoal Bay. Budget accommodation does exist eg Carimar, Shoal Bay Villas etc. But apart from the beach there isn’t much there so mixing it with St Martin is a good idea.

If it rains for any length of time or the sea is too rough to swim in, you’re stuck with things to do on islands that only have the beach to offer. Usually though if one beach is rough, another elsewhere will be calm.