i am pretty sure i want to go on vacation to the caribbean....but which island should i choose? i've never even seen the ocean so i want it to be the best choice but i have no experience or knowledge to base it off of! all opinions are welcome! main things i want to do: snorkle and surf. and then whatever else it has to offer. also, what month should i go? i can go anytime between mid-may to mid-august. any tips or advice or recommended websites? thanks!
Be warned that you are going to be travelling during prime hurricane season! Just keep that in mind and be prepared that you may have to be flexible with your dates if one pops up. Also, the snorkeling in the Carribbean isn't that great, but it's really good for beginners. I'd try these sites:
You have to go to the Bahamas! I might be biased since I've never been anywhere else in the Carribean but I've been twice and I love it. We stayed in the Abacos and it is a lot more low key than in Nassau which is really touristy. I got to go snorkeling twice and it was AMAZING. Huge coral reefs and you feel like you are swimming in a giant aquarium. It was so freaking cool. The food and weather were great too, it's safe, the locals are pretty friendly, and there's tons to do, especially if you have a boat. Let me know if you have any more questions if you're interested!
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the cayman islands are great for snorkeling, but i think they were hit hard with the last hurricane season so it may not be quite the same as it was when i went.
i loved martinique, beautiful mountains and rainforests, but i didn't snorkel there so i'm not sure about that.
st. thomas and st. martin are nice. i scuba dive, so i did that there. the diving was good but i don't know if the snorkeling is the same.
i've been to a lot of places in the carribean (bahamas, st.thomas, st. martin, martinique, barbados, cayman islands, antigua, puerto rico) if you have any questions about any of those places. i haven't been, but the dominican republic and turks and caicos on my list of places i want to check out.
i would suggest going in either may or june. Hurricane season runs june-november. june-august is the time when most hurricanes develop in the atlantic and hit the carribean/florida area. sept-nov is when hurricanes mainly develop in the gulf of mexico or west. carribean area and hit the gulf coast. It isn't always like that but that is the trend. Just a little fyi in case you weren't sure or had questions.
I've been to St. Maarten, we stayed on the Dutch side - it was ok if you just want to hang out at a hotel and do some water sports, etc. - I was dissapointed by the downtown areas, even the ones on the French side. St. Barth's is great too!