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St Croix, in the US Virgin Islands in the Caribbean has been a stylish honeymoon location for newly married couples for decades, because the weather there is bright all year round and you can enjoy any number of wonderful holiday activities together.

Things to do include hiking, exploring, taking tours, horse riding, water sports like diving or sailing or just and lying in the sun. However, in the past few years, it has also become very popular to travel to St Croix for the actual wedding ceremony itself, not just for the honeymoon. However, there are both advantages and disadvantages to getting married in a foreign land.

First, you have to think about who you want to have present at your wedding. St Croix is governed by American law, so you will be obliged to have a certain number of witnesses. You can use local volunteers but you may not be able to imagine your wedding without your family or your best friends being in attendance.

It is worth remembering that every guest you want to be at your wedding will have to be flown to the island and in many instances, the guests will not be able to afford this trip themselves, which means that you will have to pay for all or at least some of the cost of the flight and the stay. If you cannot afford this, it may not be possible for you to have everyone there at your wedding ceremony that you would want. The cost of a Caribbean wedding on St Croix is a distinct disadvantage.

Bear in mind also that you will almost certainly be spending your honeymoon wherever you hold the wedding and although it may be nice to have friends and family around you for the wedding, you might wish they would disappear for the honeymoon.

However, your guests may want to take a vacation while they are in the Virgin Islands, so if you want some time to yourselves, book them into a package holiday deal which will keep them occupied in order to give you some time to yourselves. Try to make a block booking and ask for a big discount.

However, one of the main advantages is that you are already in the location where you will be honeymooning. Travel is stressful and tiring, although St Croix, USVI is less than 1,300 miles from Florida, so being on the spot for your honeymoon will save you all that.

Not only that though, your marriage ceremony will be an even more memorable event because an idyllic beach setting with a sunset backdrop is really very moving. Most couples adore the island scenery, so a Caribbean wedding in St Croix may be just right for you.

When planning your marriage in St Croix, remember that the US Virgin Islands are a legal part of the USA, so US laws and marriage laws relate there. You also do not have to have a passport to go to St Croix, although you are allowed $1,600 worth of duty free goods per person per 30 days. This can make up quite a saving.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with St Croix Hotels. If you are interested in St Croix Vacation Rentals in the US Virgin Islands, please click through to our site.

There are lots of destinations for people interested in sailing and if you are tired of the Virgin Islands then move on over to the rest of the Caribbean.

The Caribbean islands are part of an island chain stretching 2,500 miles. Given the enormous distance, it is no surprise that tourists spend weeks out there in order to enjoy the splendour that it has to offer.

Just like in the Virgin Islands, there are loads of charter firms you can try for various hobbies. These firms come in different sizes, but perhaps the best is the yacht charter.

When you charter a yacht, apart from the yacht, the other features and benefits that come with it are meals, separate guest rooms, a galley, toilet and shower.

Since you are the paying guest aboard the boat, you can customize the menu by telling the cook before the trip what you want to eat. You can help out by buying the provisions yourself, having someone from the crew do it for an additional fee or select a set menu from one of their pre-composed packages.

Since most of the islands in the Caribbean are small and uninhabited, you are certain to see places that not many have seen. But if you can’t afford to rent a chartered yacht, don’t worry because you can probably get one that will cost as little as $50 if you are able to book a pre-arranged trip with several other guests to share the bill.

One thing you have to be ready for during you sailing vacation is the likelihood of a storm. These generally happen during the months from June until November. If you are not sure that this is the best time, book the trip on another date.

But if you are adamant about going on your dates, there are some online tools you can use to check if the area you will be sailing in has ever been hit by a hurricane before.

The other option is to plan your itinerary to the Caribbean islands further south because they are less likely to be affected by a storm. These places include the islands of Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, Curacao, and Turks and Caicos.

If you like the idea of going sailing around the Caribbean there are ample opportunities. You could do far worse than start in St Croix in the US Virgin Islands and travel south or west. If you start in St Croix, which the pirates of old used to call Santa Cruz, you will not need a passpert and can take your pets with you, but you will need more ID if you call into foreign islands.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with St Croix Hotels. If you are interested in St Croix Vacation Rentals in the US Virgin Islands, please click through to our site.

If you take pleasure in travelling and visiting new destinations, I recommend a cruise. I have cruised the Mediterranean and the Baltic and my next cruise will be a Caribbean cruise. I am genuinely looking forward to it. If you have never been on a cruise, start saving up now, because it is luxury like you have never imagined before.

Never having been on a Caribbean cruise before, I do not know how much the various Caribbean islands differ from one another, so I do not know how varied that cruise would be. However, I have cruised the Med and the Baltic and woken up to a different country every day and in both of those seas and every country is very different from its neighbours.

On our Baltic cruise we departed from Southampton and steamed to Gothenburg in Sweden. From there we went to Helsinki and Leningrad (in those days). On the way back, we called into Copenhagen and the Tivoli Gardens. None of those countries was in any way similar to another or even Britain.

Similarly, my Mediterranean cruise left from Minorca in north eastern Spain going east to Sardinia and then north along the southern coast of Europe. Italy, France and Spain. The second week of the cruise left Minorca again and went to Sicily and then south along the northern coast of Africa including Malta.

The luxury on a cruise is practically indescribable to someone who has never been on a cruise. There is no standard higher than five stars, but the cruises I have been on offered superior levels of luxury than any five star hotels I have stayed in anywhere in the world.

Food and shore trips play a major part of cruising. The food is top notch with no mistake. Breakfast on a cruise liner is better than most Americans and most Europeans have for dinner. Whatever you want from prawns to steak, from exotic fruit to porridge. Lunch and dinner are even more lavish.

Shore excursions are well organized too. They include a ferry from the cruise liner to the land and then a coach trip by a local firm to the destination, which could be an historical site or a shopping mall. Most cruisers go on these trips, but some would rather stay on board and take advantage of the lower number of passengers and the free food.

I went on every shore excursion and thoroughly enjoyed each one. The trips are usually pricey though, but you are part of a trapped audience, so what can you expect?

I thoroughly recommend a cruise holiday to any and every one. You should go at least once in your life, but do not leave it until late in your life because you will want to go again.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with St Croix Hotels. If you are interested in St Croix Vacation Rentals in the US Virgin Islands, please click through to our site.