Which island to choose?

Hi, I've enjoyed two trips now to Culebra, one of the Spanish virgin isles off Puerto Rico. Both times we camped at Playa Flamenco which is $20 US a night, maybe not budget by most camping standards but well worth it in my opinion. The island is quite small , which makes it very managable with the publico, small bus that takes you from Dewey, the town, to Playa Flamenco. Also for budget purposes, the snorkeling is great off shore from a few easily reached spots. The night life is not to extensive but who needs it when you are camped right on the beach and can listen to the music of the waves all night long. You can reach Culebra inexpensivly by using the pubico system from San Jaun to Fajardo and taking the ferry from there right to Culebra( I think the ferry is $2.50 a person ). It will take you a few hours but flying from San Jaun to Culebra seemed to cost just about as much as it cost us to fly from New York to San Jaun so I would say it's worth it. On our last trip we headed to Vieques which was also wonderul. We stayed at La Finca Caribe which was just great. I think it is about $50 to $65 a night for a basic room and you really would want to have a car to explore all of the old military roads and pristine hard to reach beaches so, definetly pricey but a good splurge. The Bio Bay is enough reason to head to vieques but the whole island is really amazing. The campground at Sun Bay, The only campground with facilities as far as I know, seemed to be nothing more than a small fenced in field, and though set right on a gorgeous beach I was glad that we chose not to camp for that part of the trip. I had been told that it is free to camp on any non military area beaches on Vieques but it did seem to be maybe a little sketchy and with no toilets and such, but to each his own. Anyway hope this helps and have a great trip.

tobago

Curacao, Aruba (in that order)

# is on the right track....I'd vote for Culebra based on your comments. However, if at all possible fly from San Juan. It may be a little pricey but getting to the very town of Fajardo by publico in my experience is not that easy or dependable and takes a long time. Also, consider mainland PR. It certainly has lots of towns with culture, has mountains, has a national park (well, national forrest), and lots of things to do. However, a car is really needed if you plan on seeing a lot of the island. Public Transit just isn't that great in PR in my experience. Good luck!
Kevin

jamaica