My S.O. and I have been on many beach vacations in the last 6 years and we're always looking for the next best trip.

We just got back from 10 days in Grand Cayman -- what an amazing location. I can give more details if anyone's interested in visiting. We brought several bottles of wine to save a little money on this ridiculously expensive island. Included in the mix were bottles of 99 Argyle Reserve PN, Flowers Chard 99, Cloudy Bay '01 SB, and Jordan Chard 98. On their own, the Argyle, Flowers and Jordan were perfectly fine but the location and company made them 10x more perfect and delicious. The Cloudy Bay was, as always, incredibly refreshing and oustanding.

Anyhoo, my question is this: what is the best beach vacation you've ever been on within the Western Hemisphere? We've done the whole East Coast, Hawaii, Cayman, San Diego, Bahamas, Jamaica and Playa del Carmen (our favorite to date) in the short time we've been out of college. We're thinking that St. Thomas may be next.

Thoughts?

kimber,

Off of your list I've done East Coast, Hawaii, San Diego and Bahamas. In addition I've done St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, Texas coast, L.A. area south and way out west Guam. My favorite to date is Kauai.

I think your next potential of St. Thomas is a good possibilty. I was there in June and the Island is very pretty. There are a some good restaurants and duty free shopping is a winner. St. Croix and St. John are a short boat ride away. Just beware. St. Thomas and the rest of the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) are expensive, probably along the lines of the Grand Caymans.

My best beach vaction would have to be the trip my wife and I took to Barbados. Simply beautiful and an island with little or no crime. Barbados is the furthest east of any Carribean island and is unique in the fact you have the Carribean sea on one side and the rough Atlantic on the other. Some things of note are the Caves, Gardens, Rum factories, Bajan food, and Sunset. The Red sands from the Sahara Desert in Africa make it into the atmosphere over Barbados and the sunsets are glowing red and outstanding.

I'd skip St. Thomas and head to St. John (Caneel Bay if you can afford it).

www.caneelbay.com

Went on my honeymoon and still believe it's near the top...

Kauai has the best Hawaiian beaches. But they all rock.

If you have the dough I'd go with Short on this one. St. Johns looks like a winner. Maybe split the trip? See St. Thomas for a couple of days (plenty in my opinion) and REALLY relax on St. Johns.

It depends what you're looking for. Grand Cayman's snorkeling was outstanding. The only other islands in the Caribbean equal to it are St. Croix and Bonaire. Buck Island off St. Croix is America's only underwater national monument and the snorkeling is outstanding. St. Thomas has good snorkeling also. If you're looking for beaches, St. Maarten, St. Croix, and Anguilla are tops. If dining is important, there's St. Maarten, Anguilla, Puerto Rico, and Martinique. The absolute best beach vacation we've had anywhere in the world was at the Four Seasons Resort on Nevis, a small island off St. kitts. The golf course is without a doubt the finest in the Caribbean. The food is also the best we've had in the Caribbean, by far. The service and rooms are also the best. Unfortunately, it is exceedingly expensive, but if you can handle the cost, I'd recommend it over any place I've ever been. Take the golf package if you have any intention of playing golf. The food is unbelievable and there's a decent wine list, surprisingly fairly priced. I'd avoid Antigua and Jamaica at all costs. The Bahamas are OK, but no pizzaz. St. Kitts is a scenic and friendly island as is Barbados. If you've never been to Aruba, it's worth a trip, but I won't be going back. If you want a quiet, more elegant vacation, try St. Barth's. St. Lucia is high on our list for our next Caribbean trip.

Depends on what you are looking for. I got engaged in August of 2000 at sunrise, on the beach - under the Cape Hatteras Light House on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It was the most relaxing trip ever. We rented an excellent home on the beach with a third floor deck overlooking the dunes into the ocean. We bought fresh fish on the docks, and I brought a suitcase of wine to drink with it.

I did St Thomas on my honey moon this August. Meagans Bay is the most beutiful beach I have ever seen. A little crowded, but still fantastic. There were to wine tastings that I hit in town. As has already been stated, St John is right around the corner. It was also a blast. Beware, ladies can't seem to resist the Diamonds in St. Thomas (and I won't lie, I tried on more then my share of Rolex watches)

TCK

Tahiti or Fiji,
Both are relatively cheap at the moment, and they are simply unequivicablyt awesome. Beautiful snorkling, very romantic, yet with enough people there to have fun. I've been to Barbados and I enjoyed it but not as much as Fiji.

Also Fiji has a barter economy which makes buying things very fun at local markets and the like. Sort of liek gambling except you always walk away with something.

Get home from work. Grab bottle from cellar. Get in car, drive 5 minutes. Park. Get out. Walk 2 minutes. Sit in beach chair on beach. Open wine. Pour. Stare at Atlantic Ocean. Smile.

Gas $0.50
Beach chair $15.00
Sandals, shorts,T-shirt $50.00
Living at the Beach- priceless

For Scuba, Bonaire hands down. Overall though my nod goes to The Sea Ranch, CA. Life doesn't get any better, and we bring our own wine

Dr. T, I am jealous!

tj, I did invite you, didn't I?

I may have to make an excuse to drive down yonder......

Insigna '99 was not worth the money spent, or the time drinking. Two of drinking companions [who do like fine wines] asked who the h*** made this? Guess there were three who weren't impressed.

VV: U summed it up. Money over fine wine. A lot of wineries suffer from that syndrome.

Jeremy: You're DA MAN. Correct, in my opinion.

Been to almost all places mentioned here. BUT...

Tahiti (Moorea & Bora Bora) are OUTATHISWORLD, words CANNOT do justice. Paradise on Earth.

Fiji, would be #2.

If need info on Tahiti or Fiji, would be glad to provide.

But, Tahiti, Tahiti, Tahiti...

Trust me. No more Ramtic place in this World. No way...

Little Dix Bay, Virgin Gorda, BVI. Been twice, once on my honeymoon. Would go every year if I could.

My recent personal favorites are:
Costa del Sol- Spain
Cabo San Lucas- Mex
Puerto Vallarta- Mex.
Gualala- Ca.
all over Maui

Jimmy V-

V.Gorda remains one of the less developed and nicer of the VI, perhaps because it is British owned. A good friend of ours lives down there, and is a world class sailer. Has taken us out on trips to unbelievable islands, for diving and fresh fishing etc on some massive yachts. If you are interested, I'll drop you his business line on private mail.

The political environment there is another issue, if you're a homeowner. And the health system is truly Caribbean care, so don't hurt yourself deep sea diving

We just returned in Nov. from St. John and would rank that part of the USVI very high on the list. Its expensive, but not nearly as some other islands (DC and NY are expensive so I guess that's our baseline out here). I would skip St. Thomas and head over to St. John, lots of little beaches and there's something to be said about being on American soil.

Bermuda was tops as well, but its very expensive. But also very clean and tourist friendly, and hey, they use US dollars.