JC98

Hi,

My husband and I are trying to use our airline miles to go to a Caribbean island in late Nov to early December for about 9 days. We could get tickets to Puerto Rico or the USVI, but couldn't decide which one is the better option.

We like snorkeling, and from this forum it looks like St. John is the best. But if we got stuck w/ bad weather at the end of Nov. are there other things to do? Looks like Puerto Rico is a much bigger place w/ more diverse activities. We also enjoy hiking.

Also, USVI seems much more expensive than PR. And PR seems to have more interesting food and culture too.

We're from CA and have never been to the Caribbean before. Which place would be worthier of the long flight and the use of our long accumulated miles?

Please weigh in your opinions based on your experience. Really appreciate it!

Jen

oldhippy

They are so close you can actually do both!

You should include your budget goal as that would be a major consideration.

In PR you will need a rental car to do the mainland.

On St John it is not really neccessay...except for a day of touring about.[I once lived there]

Culebra and Vieques PR are two east coast islands worth checking out.

For tropical beauty,[Crusoe style] I would recomend the North east coast of the Dom. Rep.

Here is a link to why. Check out the 2nd photo gallery at: samana.net

For tons more on PR check out the links at:

http://www.rainforestsafari.com/links.html

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jray

Why not do both. Most airlines (definately AA) will allow you to stop over in SJU for a few days (on either leg) and then go onto another island. I have done this numerous times.

jacketwatch

I think you are correct in your assumptions. A split would be cool but spend the lions share of time in PR.

PRnative

St. John beaches are absolutely beautiful, but IMHO 9 days is too long to stay just there. If your budget allows, do as suggested by other posters and split the time. If you don't want to fly between islands, then definitely stick to PR. PR has a lot of variety and you can make it whatever type of vacation you want: from big hotels & fancy restaurants to moderately-priced guesthouses and an adventure-style vacation if leave San Juan (rain forest hiking, kayaking, horseback rides, tour boats to offshore cays & islands, caverns, etc.).

oldhippy

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jray

If you do choose the USVI, then you also have another option in the BVI. You can even stay in the BVI and then visit the USVI. Its just a ferry ride between St. Thoman, St. John, Tortolla and Virgin Gorda. What ever your choose you can't go wrong.

cdt

The original poster noted that the USVI seems to be much more expensive. This appears to be true at first glance, but there are some fairly inexpensive places to stay on St. Thomas if you do some digging (tougher to find on St. John).

There are also modestly priced lodgings on Tortola, just a short ferry ride away.

Some of the most reasonable hotels may not be on a beach, but many of the lower-priced lodgings in PR won't be either, or at least not on a very desirable one.

JC98

Thanks, everyone, for your great suggestions! And yes, we're going to take your advice and do both PR and USVI. What a great idea!

It turns out we found a cruise that departs from San Juan, PR and the cruise does stop by St. Thomas, but unfortunately for only a day. We hope to spend our day on St. John to snorkel.

Is there a ferry to go to St. John from San Juan? How long it takes? If we like St. John so much, we'll come back there after the cruise.

So, we'll extend our vacation to 2 weeks and spend about 6 days in PR (too long?) and 7 days on the cruise going to various other Carib islands.

Thanks again for all your replies! This is a great forum, and I'll contribute to it after my trip!

JC

schmerl

I don't know if there's a regular ferry from San Juan to St.John, but I'm sure you could hire a boat to get you there. OR...you could take the ferry to St. John when your cruise stops in St. Thomas. Many cruise passengers do that.

jacketwatch

Too far to ferry I think. We FLEW from SJ to St. Thomas and it took about 40 min. Ferry from St. Thomas to St. john is about 30 min.

beachplum

There is a ferry that goes between the USVI twice monthly leaving the USVI on Friday afternoons and then returning from PR on Sunday. An option would be to use the seaplane service to St. Thomas and then ferry to St. John from St. Thomas. I cannot imagine anyone thinking that 9 days would be "too long." As you loose most of a day coming and a day going, you stay is only 7 full days. With the options of beaches, snorkeling, hiking, touring, day trips to the BVI, dining and all the rest, the time goes much too too quickly and even 2 weeks never seems enough! Depending on your choice of location on PR, if you are a beach potato, you'll be much much happier in the USVI especially if you enjoy snorkeling. Late Nov into early Dec is pretty "safe" since it is at the end of the Hurricane Season - in fact, it is one of my favorite times to be in the islands - especially after T'Day when the hoards have gone, it it peaceful and quiet.

resident

When you get into STT on the cruise ship you will either be docking at Havensight or Crown Bay. From Havensight you can get a cab (there will be loads of them on the dock) to take you to Red Hook where the ferry to St. John departs on the hour every hour and the ride over to St. John will take about 15 minutes. If you're at Crown Bay, the downtown ferry dock is closer and the ride to St. John will take about 30 minutes.
You could also check out Captain Nautica (www.captainnautica.com) which picks up cruise ship passengers at either location right off the ship (the cruise directors onboard should have all the information) and will take you for a powerboat snorkelling excursion to St. John. It's a great trip and I've taken many visiting friends and family on it.
No, you don't ferry from PR to the VI.
My suggestion would be to book your cruise (by the way, an awesome way to get a glimpse of many different islands) and then maybe spend a few days in PR at the end of it, then fly over to St Thomas and enjoy both St. Thomas and St. John. You don't need to spend a lot on accomodation on St. Thomas as most of your time will be spent beaching and exploring. Have a great time!
Also check out www.usvi-on-line.com for loads of info on the USVI.