I’m in need of some much-needed R & R and was hoping you folks can help me find a particularly beautiful island in the Caribbean–maybe the MOST beautiful, if such a thing exists. Never been to the islands before, though I’m not really interested in the heavy-traffic areas, such as the Virgin Islands.
I hear some of the smaller islands are particularly lovely. Any suggestions?
This is really IMHO bait, but my vote is for Culebra.
http://www.google.com/search?q=culebra&btnG=Google+Search
A botched trip: Lennied!
A better trip with worse photos: http://members.tripod.com/culebra2000/
My wife and I have been to Culebra 5 or 6 times. It’s getting a little more touristy, but it’s still the least known Virgin.
Just be sure you don’t tell anyone, ok? 
Oh, I should point out that Culebra isn’t glamourous but it is decidedly low traffic.
Dominica is lusher and greener and also off the beaten path. More $$ and a longer trip though.
Palm Island may be just the thing if you want upscale seclusion and have the bucks.
St. John is ok. St Thomas and the BVI’s are swarming with tourists.
[moderator watch ON]
Welcome aboard, Country Squire. Let me give you a pointer or two about this message board: The General Questions forum is intended for questions with factual answers. Questions asking about things like beauty are generally not factual, so for things like that, we have a different forum, called “In My Humble Opinion”, or IMHO. Since this question is a better fit for IMHO, I’m moving it over there.
I don’t really have an answer to this question.
But I’m willing to go on a scouting mission to find out for you. 
Let me suggest Cuba for overall beauty. Beaches, rain forests, nightlife, culture, history, music, food, fishing, mountains, cigars, rum – all among the best, if not the best, I’ve found anywhere. Also incredibly safe – even in downtown Havana at 3 a.m. And it’s by far one of the cheapest Caribbean tourist destinations I know. Plus you get the novelty of telling people you went to Cuba. Of course, there’s a lot of poverty and other suffering because of Castro and the U.S. embargo; but poverty exists outside the tourist areas of most Caribbean/Latin American resort destinations. Getting there is a pain from the US, and then there’s that pesky embargo (I went legally). Just go by way of Canada or the Bahamas.
And since tourism is a relatively new enterprise for Cuba, it’s not a “high traffic” destination yet. Most visitors are from Europe and Latin America. Added benefit: there is, of course, none of the ubiquitous American commercialism (liek McDonald’s) to hurt your eyes and pocketbook.
Should have mentioned that more and more Americans are going to Cuba now, and sneaking in is no big deal. They don’t even stamp your passport at the airport in Havana. If you want to go legally, there are U.S. couple companies that can get you there (as part of “cultural visits”) with no problems.
Here’s a Washington Post story on traveling there.
Marazul Tours gets high marks in any review of travel to Cuba. I found their website here.
I’ve only been to the Caribbean once, and that was for a Windjammer Barefoot Cruise (which I highly recommend).
So my knowledge of the islands is limited. but I did visit Grenada and satellite islands, and also landed on several smaller islands of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines nation.
These were all well off the beaten path, most of the way to South America. To give you an idea how remote they were: I traveled with my then-girlfriend, who’s a Chinese-American, and we met people who had never seen an Asian before!
So the beaches were empty and unspoiled, the diving was great, and the people very friendly. From all I’ve heard, this is in strong contrast to places like Jamaica or the Bahamas.
Anguilla. I went a few years back and my wife and I had the most beautiful beaches in the world completely to ourselves. About 5 miles wide and 15 miles long. The people are very, very nice. Not touristy at all. Lots of little places to explore (you’ll need to rent a car - the places are spread out). We stayed at the Sonesta, but had we had the cash we would have upgraded to the Cap.
I am pretty partial to St. Kitts and Nevis. Relatively low traffic and gorgeous scenery. Some awsome beaches too. I highly recomend it.
I like St. Maartan and Martinique, but that was mostly because I felt like I was kinda in Europe when I visited there. Very, very crowded in the cities though.
The Wife and I are going to Cuba in a couple months ourselves. We have heard good things about it. (We are Canadian, so there is no problems getting there whatsoever)
Cuba’s got to be the most beautiful.
Go outside of the states to Canada, or Mexico, and you can travel there.
hmm…i’ve been to a few, and i’d have to say that the most beautiful apearance-wize would be St. Lucia, or at least the parts I saw. The horrible thing is the extremely large amount of poor people. It’s sad that such a beautiful place would be home to some of the poorest people i’ve ever seen
I’ll agree with Culebra, if you’re into the beach and underwater scene and low traffic is a must, it is still unswarmed (one landing approach on that airstrip and you’ll know why) (And if you come from the US, there is no customs bureaucracy to get thru) Anguilla is also in this league, a bit better prepared for the typical tourist. Just be forewarned: lush and verdant.
If you’re more into above-ground nature and still off-the-beaten-path, small-island experience, Dominica could be an alternative.
For a wider variety of both natural and cultural and historical features, you have to to the big islands – Cuba or Puerto Rico(away from Metro San Juan). For now, Cuba has the edge in un-crowdedness, exotism, cheapnes, and, as mentioned, the sense of safety that only a totalitarian state can provide
BTW, to go to Culebra you have to go thru Puerto Rico anyway so you could combine that with a stay in off-metro PR just for a taste – if you get far enough off the Big City you could catch the small-island scene.
St. Barths, near St. Maartin, was by far my favorite island. Gorgeous beaches, amazing restaurants, and an airport landing that will scare the bejeezes out of you (it’s a little tiny strip). A little on the pricey side, but well worth it, IMHO.
My vote (I haven’t been everywhere) goes to Hispaniola. Well, the Dominican Republic half, anyway.
Anybody ever been to haiti? I guess it is not for the fainthearetd-but there must be something in the way of resorts there.