Cook Island & Carribean

Hi Kyra,

You may want to split your time between Dominica & St. Lucia, both are lush, St Lucia is a little touristy but if you get away from the Castries and the harbor, the island is much more user friendly. Take a look at Hummingbird in Soufriere or Henry's La Panache in Gros Islet, two great little West Indian guesthouses. Both have websites with lots of info and both are well within your budget. On Dominica either Papillote Wilderness Retreat in Roseau, Sister Sea Lodge Guesthouse on the beach in Portsmouth, or if you are game for an adventure try Carib Terrritory Guesthouse. All three have websites with lots of info. You hit me at the right time, I am just researching an update on my Caribbean Guidebook, which specializes in guesthouse travel in the Caribbean. I also have a book on the Cook Islands and a third on Palau. Let me know if I can help you with any other questions. Tobago is also a great spot, but a bit harder to get to, the beauty of visiting Dominica and St. Lucia is that you can fly direct to St. Lucia and then take the Caribbean Express Ferry to and from Dominica.

Have A great trip!

Papa Mike
www.mikehollywood.com

Breaux--glad you enjoyed the Cooks.
For this Q, you would get a lot more response on the "Americas---Caribbean" branch.

Raro-she posted it both places.

Good to hear that.

So PapaMike,
Does that mean those are the two islands you would pick to be most like the cook islands???
Do you recommend any others?

Hi Kyra- I am not sure I would pick those two islands, specifically, but they certainly would be on my short list. There really is no Caribbean equivalent to Aitutaki. My favorite island in the Caribbean is tiny Saba. It has no real beaches, is only four square miles in area and is pretty isolated. I also really enjoy St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The beauty of the two I suggested to you is direct flights to St. Lucia and the close proximity and ease of ferry service to Dominica. Both are lush and much like Rarotonga, so they are good choices for someones first visit to the Caribbean region. The problem with Saba is that you have to transfer from St. Maarten, which, in my mind, is way to touristy. St. Vincent also has no direct flights, but you could hop the LIAT flight to St. Vincent from St. Lucia. From St. Vincent, the ferries and mailboats allow you to island hop all the way to Union Island.

I think I'm getting off the subject...as you can see picking one island is like picking the most beautiful sunset...it is all in the eyes of the beholder. I stand by my reccomendations, I am sure you will enjoy both islands. Let me know what you decide and I will E-mail you the chapters for the island.

Papa Mike
www.mikehollywood.com