French Caribbean Islands - Which One for Vacation?

We have kicked around all over the Caribbean a lot. Not to every island but most of them. I don't remember any of them using euro. An interesting question and looking forward to a definite answer. Who takes euro? Bring 'em to our next meeting and someone will buy them from you.

PS The only one in that group we have been to is St Martin and I don't remember them taking euro.

I too have been to just about every large and small island in the Eastern Caribbean. My favorite island of them all is St. Lucia. It's the island with the 2800 foot tall Twin Pitons where the mountains meet the sea. And it's also home to some of the finest hotels anywhere like the Jade Resort. We also found the people to be very friendly and warm.

We haven't been to any of the mentioned places except St. Martin. It is half French half Dutch. It is nice, but in my opinion not as authentically Caribbean liken Grenada, St. Lucia and Barbados.

St. Martin draws more wealthy tourists and doesn't have the scenic beauty of St. Lucia, Grenada or St. Thomas.

I have been to St Martin, the Dutch side, several years ago with work and found it ... OK. Didn't really have time for beach lounging. Thought it was overly expensive compare to the US Virgins for example.

And I know that several of the Caribbean islands are still recovering slowly from the hurricanes that did so much damage. Which is one of my main reasons for asking before I blindly blunder onto one of these islands and find it is still in full on hurricane recovery mode with limited or no support for touristy activities.

I’m a St. Bart’s regular. It’s definitely on the Euro, so is the French side of Saint Martin, although you can use the US dollar but don’t expect a favorable exchange rate. St. Bart’s is super expensive around Christmas and NYE but the rest of the year it fits most budgets. St. Bart’s is very unique in the Caribbean as it’s definitely French culture. Not steel drum bands and boat drinks but rosé and house music at feet in the sand Michelin tier restaurants. Air France flights usually dictate the menus for mussels, Arcachon oysters, and the best duck. The restaurants all seem to have coordinated who gets what. The beaches are gorgeous but the snorkeling is ‘meh’ at best. St. Bart’s seems to have recovered much more quickly than the rest of the FWI this last hurricane. Feel free to PM me for more specific info if any of this appeals to you.

Leslie,

Thanks. St Barts sounds exactly like what I am looking forward to. I will let you know if I have any questions as I proceed through the process of booking.

Mark,
Check out SBHOnline.com. That’s the best source for info. The forum is full of very frequent travelers and expats living there. A lot of it is in French though. The info covers everything from budget hotels to places owned by dukes. There aren’t but a handful of hotels but a few of the best located ones are budget friendly. No large resorts or chain anything is on the island. They have super strict building codes so the architecture will definitely remind you of the French Med.