St. Martin vs. St. Thomas vs. St. Lucia

Courtney - Advantage for St Thomas is that it's easy to get to (from East Coast, anyway, you can some times get nonstops), you don't need a passport, and you can easily enjoy two islands in one with a day trip to St John. But there are no "wow" resorts there, with the exception of the Ritz Carlton, which is outside of most honeymooners' price range. Advantage for St Martin/St Maarten is that you can enjoy two "countries" in one island, since the Dutch and French sides have such different feels. You can have amazing food up in Grand Case on the French side, and nightlife and casinos on the Dutch side. And you can do day trips to Saba or St Barth's. But of the three, I think St Lucia wins for a honeymoon. The geography and scenery is so unique, the island is so lush and beautiful, and there is such a variety of really good resorts to choose from -- all-inclusive and non-all-inclusive. It IS generally harder to get to and more expensive, but it's worth it.

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Your best bet is to sit down with a travel professional and let him/her help you figure out the "perfect place" for the two of you.

We are most likely going to st lucia for honeymoon...we have been to st. maarten (the dutch side of the island) and we absolutely loved it but there arent many AI options. Many of the islands dont have too many AI options. i know in another post i mentioned riveria maya bec almost all the resorts are AI

I've been to St. Thomas before, but it was for my girls and I annual girls trips back in college. We stayed at the Wyndham (sp) and had a blast!! But then again, it was a girls trip and we did things you wouldnt do on a honeymoon LOL. We were able to take the ferry boat to St. John for the day, (as they are so close together) and it was really cheap; I think about $2-$3 or so. I'm not sure if our hotel was a resort or not, but it was beautiful and really nice. So, I don't know how much help that was but...there ya go lol.

I've been to all three but St Martin and Thomas on a cruise. I've gone to St Lucia twice probably for 2-3 weeks total. It might be my experience based on the time I spent there but I would say St Lucia has a lot more things to do. I had fun in St Martin/Thomas but I haven't really wanted to go back.

St. Lucia looks amazing. It's on my wishlist.

St. Thomas seems so American in a way. It didn't have the Caribbean Island feel I expected when I was there. It was also very congested.

LOVED St. Martin. LOVED LOVED LOVED.

OMG I'm a Caribbean FIEND! Just ask WWChristina I talk about it constantly!

It depends on what you like! Do you want an all-inclusive resort or privacy and where you feel like you're the only 2 on the island!? BVI has some great islands too!

I've spent time on them all, and I'd say St Thomas, hands down.

Courtney idk how you feel about cruises but Carnival has a cruise that goes to all three plus st. Kitts and Barbados for about 4 something per person, that's what we're doing!

Thank you everyone! We are in San Diego so anywhere in the Caribbean is going to be a lot of transfers for us to get to.

WWLeeor, we want something relaxing, beautiful, and fun. What islands do you recommend (not limited to the Caribbean all though I love it so much too!)

Jalissa, we have considered a cruise and its still not out of the question. Just trying to weigh all of our options.

I have been to all three.. I loved them all.. Had a good time at each one.. However St. Thomas was my favorite. Oh well... now I don't know as I am thinking back.. I loved al three!! Ahh! good luck!

I am getting married in St. Thomas this year after lots of thought and consideration on where to have my destination wedding.I have been there several times and I love it. There is lots to do and the flight is easier than some of the other islands.

I was able to book an AMAZING venue (havanna blue) for a great price and the marriot is a nice place for everyone to stay and its connected to havanna blue. We are also booking vacation rentals through trip advisor that are cheaper than hotels, are condos so people can cook their meals etc if they want, and are a really nice alternative for those guests staying the week with us.

I steered clear of mexico because I wouldn't be able to use some of the vendors I wanted without them getting permits first. We also didn't want people to worry about passports.

If you do decide to go to St. Thomas and you want to day trip to the BVI then just make sure that people have a passport or their birth certificate with their drivers L.

Hope that helps!

We Honeymooned in St. Maarten. But we were given a timeshare as a gift. Most the island seems to be timeshares but it was an awesome island. We stayed at the Divi Little bay Beach resort. It seemed to be one of the nicer ones on the island. It is not all inclusive but it might be available to stay at without a timeshare. It has its own beach which was never crowded, little fish swam along side your feet in the water which was awesome. The people are super nice, take american bills, speak english and it is so easy to get anywhere on the island as taxies are everywhere. One of the coolest things is watching the planes that fly in right over the beach by the airport..it is a huge tourist attraction. They have plenty of activities, scuba, sunset cruises, motorsking, and awesome towndown strip with lights framing the streets and performers walking right down middle of it all.

-our resort wrapped all the way around the beach

-view from our room, right over the beach

I've only been to St. Martin and St. Thomas and both were fun...from what I saw, the beaches at St. Thomas were better. FSIL honeymooned in St. Martin and loved it. Future Cousin in Law honeymooned in St. Thomas and loved it...can't go wrong either way!