John, We have also been to the D.R. a few years ago A/I of course. We did not encounter any problems but been there, done that. We also have been to Jamaica a few times, A/I also but never felt unsafe, We take a cab out for dinner, excursions and have been fine. We have visited almost every island in the Caribbean, with many repeats to our favorites. We had a few incidents with locals (teenagers) on St. Kitts and Tobago. Would not return there. We loved the BVI but our last visit we were over run by cruise ship people. Will not return. Felt very safe in St Barts, Anguilla. In '93 we were on Anguilla when we met Jerimiah Gumbs, owner of Rendezvous Bay at the time. We spent a few hours just talking to him. When I asked him what island is that across the water he said, it's St Martin but you dont ever want to go there. Why? He stated it was full of crime and no one from Anguilla ever goes there because its too dangerous. Needless to say, we stayed away until 2003. Our first trip there, we were hooked!. We have been returning 2 to 3 times per year since then. We love both the Dutch side and the French side. We love everything about this island, beaches, the friendly locals, the food, freedom to wander anywhere etc. We have been lucky and never felt unsafe. Of course we keep our guard up. We are upset with the latest events but I seriously dont know if it will keep me from returning. We did discover Curacao 3 years ago and return every Feb. Its a great place to be when not in SXM. Didn't mean to ramble on, but I honestly dont think I can stay away from SXM! Take care.

I am thinking over some of the comments after just returning from Cozumel for a week in April. My husband and I thought we would really be thrilled going back for a week after not seeing the island for quite a few years. Guess what.
We thought we were getting tired of SXM after coming every year for a month. for many years. But here is the comparison to us.
We had terrible entertainment every night on the resort. By the third night I said get me outa here tomorrow before I go stir crazy. Nothing to do during the day or night. The locals were asking us why we came there when we can go the SXM . They are bored too. We found the island very expensive to rent a car, the store merchants were rude and pushy telling us stories on how we were taking food out of their children's mouths. I stress not all the people from Cozumel were rude. We did not feel the same warmth from people we get in SXM. One store owner told me I was elcheapo because I didn't buy something I didn't even want. There was one gas station hard to find in town with very little to do, and when we did rent the car pretty much there was really nothing to see. We went out and about around the whole island in half a day. The crime it is true is little but we we did hear the police sirens quite a few times. My point being each place is different. We found ourselves saying in SXM we at least can visit many beaches, have lots of variety to shop, and lots to do if we chose to do so. We are a couple just reaching our 60's and never let much grass grow under our feet. Each day is planned and we are up and moving by 6:00am to enjoy the island.We don't get to bed at night before 12:00. Give SXM any day. We are looking forward to coming back. Yes the crime has got worse over the last dozen years we have been coming. But I still would recommend it to any one who asks us about SXM and just tell them to be careful. My own son and daughter in law are going in October. The government will have to address the problem if enough people take time to write them and the islanders keep pushing for better policing.

I guess the store owner should be named elcheapo since he didn't want to give YOU anything for FREE.

I, also, love Barbados!! Great restaurants and terrific people. I honestly can't say the people are stuffy, just more mannerly than most other islanders. That probably comes from the fact that most are very educated. But, family life is important, too. I used to work for a hotel there and got to get around quite a bit. Can't say enough about the place. In fact, I think that's where we're vacationing in Feb.

Re: Bermuda, I worked for a hotel there, too, and really like the island and people, but they're much more reserved than Barbados or any other island I've visited. Beautiful beaches, great restaurants and pricy!

Re: DR We visited a couple of years ago. Can't remember the resort, but it wa 4*. Eh....not 4* by my standards. Food, mediocre. Beaches, crowded and also, not impressive. Security Guards on the beach. One day we decided to go into town. We took a taxi. A short time after we got into the taxi he made a stop and told us we had to visit his 'cousin's' store. What? We told him we didn't want to get out, we wanted to go into town. He said he was stopping and we could take a bus into town. Can you believe that? So, guess what.....we went into the store. We didn't buy anything much to the taxidrivers surprise. So, then he acquiesed and took us into town, which wasn't impressive, either. While walking along and going in and out of stores, two women approached us and appeared nervous and scared. One asked us if they could join us. They told us that a man was following them since they got off the bus. When we looked behind us, there was a man staying close behind us. My husband went up to him and asked him what he wanted. He said he was the women's 'escort'. They'd never met him before. Apparantly, from what we gathered from him, he was staying with them and when they purchased something from a store, the store-owner gave him a percentage of what they purchased. He was supposed to encourage people to shop in a particular store. A complete scam!! Who needs this added B.S.? My hubby gave him a few words of 'advice' and he quickly left our group. These poor ladies were from Canada and they travel quite a bit and have never encountered anything like this.
A while into our walk we found the courthouse. Of course, my husband had to go inside. As we were entering a homeless woman came up to him and grabbed his pant leg. We didn't know what the heck was going on, but she started pointing at his sneakers. It became obvious that she wanted his size 13 & a halfs!! This poor soul could have sat inside his shoes, so it became obvious she wanted to sell them. And he wasn't parting with them, either!! She was relentless just hanging onto him! We offered her money but she didn't want it, she wanted his shoes and she wasn't taking no for an answer. Finally, he 'shook' her off himself and we ran down the road to get away from her. All we wanted at this point was to find a taxi to get the h*ll out of Dodge!! All this happened within one hour of being in town. We found a taxi, left town never to return!!
We can laugh about it now, but it was tense, at the time!

Sure, these things don't happen in SXM......in all my 60+ times there!! However, there are worse things going on, now. No sneakers......guns, machetes and possible bodily harm. Enough to shake my 'fix' of the island, for a long while. C'est la vie!

Contessa

Wow...what an experience in the DR!!! You poor guys! I would as well been horrified. That is definitely an island I will never ever visit, even if it's for free.

Barbados sounds more and more like a place we will some day visit. And I do love Bermuda. This was our first love but unfortunately, it is not an island that is hot all year round. My vacations are in our winter months (work for a Golf Club)so unfortunately this does not work well. I know I would love to live there some day (my father was born and raised in England so I am used to the reserved aura of the people) but knowing how difficult and expensive it is to buy property there, I doubt that will ever happen. What I have heard about Bermuda is that it is the perfect place for all divorced men to move to...(and this is from a divorced man who lives there).

[www.vrbo.com]

Life is not a child's game of follow the Leader. Instead, life is more about finding one's own purpose in life....your life's plan, and then making a positive difference on earth.

Well Tell you all the truth I prefer nature and my favorite island is Dominica. I have been to Curacao also. It was great but did not understand a been what they said. Also been to Suriname, Venezuela, Dom Rep and St.Maarten. So far prefer Dominica.