https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 06 Apr 2026 10:04:59 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-caribbean-island-for-a-vacation-with-lo#post-578745 Wed, 20 Feb 2013 09:37:02 +0000 JoJoGirl 578745@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hilsy85: The food on the French side of St Maarten was pretty damn good too :) Crepes for dinner? Yes please! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-caribbean-island-for-a-vacation-with-lo#post-578665 Wed, 20 Feb 2013 09:16:38 +0000 littlecasita1122 578665@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would highly recommend checking out the Azul hotels in Mexico since you said you're opening to traveling there. Specifically the Azul Beach - it's very baby-friendly but a smaller boutique style hotel so it offers something for everyone. The Azul Sensatori is also nice but reminds me more of Sandals. I work for a travel agency and have visited the Azul hotels but have not actually stayed there. However I have stayed at the sister properties (El Dorado Hotels - adults only) several times and they are amazing. Mexico is a great destination for traveling with LO's because of the shorter flight time - and there's definitely non-stop options flying from NYC. Azul Beach is about 25 min from the airport, so not a long transfer. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-caribbean-island-for-a-vacation-with-lo#post-578630 Wed, 20 Feb 2013 09:07:06 +0000 hilsy85 578630@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JoJoGirl: food is definitely important but so are activities! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-caribbean-island-for-a-vacation-with-lo#post-578620 Wed, 20 Feb 2013 09:04:59 +0000 Smurfette 578620@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hilsy85: We choose the Ritz cause friends stayed there. It wasn't that many more Marriott points then staying at the Marriott. We drove the whole island and we thought the Ritz was a great location. They do drive on the other side of the road, so that did take some getting use too. But the Ritz was nice but wasn't a huge hotel that you felt like a number instead of a valued guest. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-caribbean-island-for-a-vacation-with-lo#post-578612 Wed, 20 Feb 2013 09:03:33 +0000 JoJoGirl 578612@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hilsy85: Yes white-washed is a better word for what I was trying to say. :) also there isn't much to 'do' there if you're looking for activities - St. Lucia has a lot of cool stuff like botanical gardens, hikes, a volcano, etc. If that's a consideration as well, St. Barth's is all high-end french food and beaches. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-caribbean-island-for-a-vacation-with-lo#post-578608 Wed, 20 Feb 2013 09:02:21 +0000 CibMomma 578608@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are researching places in the Caribbean as well right now. Going in June with our then 7 month old. It's between Grand Cayman, St Maarten and Turks and Caicos. Subscribing to this post! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-caribbean-island-for-a-vacation-with-lo#post-578607 Wed, 20 Feb 2013 09:01:34 +0000 hilsy85 578607@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Smurfette: thanks! Will definitely look into the ritz there. </p> <p>@yoursilverlining: we'd considered atlantis but think it will be a bit too crazy for us, and it might be more fun when LO is older...we'd looked at the one&amp;only resort that's right next door, which might be a good option but seems pretty expensive. </p> <p>@JoJoGirl: ha gotcha. I'll have to talk to DH to see what he thinks...we generally don't like things that feel like gated communities/too white washed. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-caribbean-island-for-a-vacation-with-lo#post-578599 Wed, 20 Feb 2013 08:58:45 +0000 JoJoGirl 578599@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hilsy85: I think it depends on what you're looking for. We look for *some* kind of cultural authenticity on our vacations and St. Barth's is definitely not the place to go for that - on St. Maarten they joke that on St. Barth's even people working in the service industry get flown in from France (vs. hiring locals). It's a TINY island so it sort of feels strangely like a big gated community instead of a country. But.. it was absolutely gorgeous and incredibly exclusive so I can understand the appeal. We even found a few beach hotels that were reasonably priced (like $150/night for a 1 BR) which we weren't expecting, so it's definitely a viable option for us for the future! You won't find much authentic caribbean vibe there, though... in that way, St. Maarten was a little more appealing to us, even if the unwashed masses were there too :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-caribbean-island-for-a-vacation-with-lo#post-578598 Wed, 20 Feb 2013 08:58:43 +0000 yoursilverlining 578598@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I know the resort Atlantis offers in-room, private babysitting services (with trained and CPR certified sitters); which is a pretty neat perk so you and your husband could have a nice dinner together! They also will provide any baby essentials you need: strollers, cribs, bottle/food warmers, special food, etc.</p> <p>Its definitely a step up from Sanals, but not sure if that would still be too touristy/resorty though! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-caribbean-island-for-a-vacation-with-lo#post-578595 Wed, 20 Feb 2013 08:58:09 +0000 Smurfette 578595@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We went to St Thomas this summer. We stayed at the Ritz, it was really nice. There were lots of families with kids there. We rented a Jeep and went to other beaches for the day. Took the freight boat, with our car, and went to St John for the day. A must if you go to St Thomas. We really liked it and would go back in a heartbeat. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-caribbean-island-for-a-vacation-with-lo#post-578589 Wed, 20 Feb 2013 08:53:47 +0000 hilsy85 578589@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JoJoGirl: thanks! We definitely would prefer something not sandals-ish...esp for a splurge-y trip, we're more interested in a more unique experience. What did you think of St Barths? That's on our list as well. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-caribbean-island-for-a-vacation-with-lo#post-578587 Wed, 20 Feb 2013 08:52:27 +0000 JoJoGirl 578587@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hilsy85: We stayed in Soufriere in St. Lucia because DH and I *hate* all-inclusives - there are 3 Sandals resorts on that one tiny island so we opted to stay as far from them as possible! Most people stay in one of those and we opted for a 'regular' local hotel/jungle lodge. If you want to go the all-inclusive route, you'd have plenty of options, but I do think St. Maarten would be a better choice to just find somewhere to stay on the beach and make your own experience. We just found a new beach every day to drive to and had a blast, then took the ferry to St. Barth's for a day (30 mins away), which was an experience within itself :) Happy to help with more specific recommendations if you want them! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-caribbean-island-for-a-vacation-with-lo#post-578582 Wed, 20 Feb 2013 08:50:19 +0000 hilsy85 578582@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JoJoGirl: thanks!! St Lucia is on our list, I hadn't considered St Maarten. The direct flight will be key I think! :) I"ll add that into my original post! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-caribbean-island-for-a-vacation-with-lo#post-578576 Wed, 20 Feb 2013 08:48:21 +0000 JoJoGirl 578576@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've been to St. Maarten and St. Lucia in the last year and both seemed SUPER friendly for kids, but especially St. Maarten - it's more developed (but not grossly so if you're on the French side - the Dutch side is a little meh), very easy to get around with a rented car, etc. We saw TONS of kids under 1 when we were there, and you can get a direct flight from New York. We're going to Barbados next week for our babymoon but that's a bit far away I think. St. Lucia was pretty far as well. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-caribbean-island-for-a-vacation-with-lo#post-578571 Wed, 20 Feb 2013 08:46:18 +0000 hilsy85 578571@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DH and I have been talking about going on a tropical vacation this spring. I've never been to the Caribbean and he's only been to the DR and Puerto Rico, so we don't know where to start. Is there an island/location that you would recommend above others? We'll have LO (4 months old) with us, so it needs to be somewhat family friendly (but preferably not Disney world-esque). We're also open to Mexico! We're willing to splurge, as this would be our "big" vacation of the year, most likely.</p> <p>ETA that a direct flight from NYC would be amazing.<br /> ETA that our priorities would be things to do and good food! </p>