St. Vincent versus Guadeloupe versus Martinique

[morecowbells]

Hello fellow Scubaboarders! I have a third world problem on my hands. In Feb we plan on taking a diving vacation with another couple. They want to try somewhere different, which rules out Bonaire, Curacao, Cozumel, Roatan and Grand Cayman. Over a decade ago they visited St. Vincent and loved the island both topside and underwater. The problem is, flights are horrendously expensive and limited. I noticed Norwegian Air has some very reasonable flights out of Fort Lauderdale to both islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe. Can anybody share their opinion or experience with these islands? If St. Vincent is heads and shoulders above the rest, I guess I can pay out the nose and buy the tickets, but if there are comparable alternatives, I would love to hear about them. Thanks in advance

 

[drrich2]

Did you see ElGringoPerdido's Guadeloupe trip review? Very informative. One of my 1st questions if you're looking at that island is, do you speak French?

Richard.

Also, Guadeloupe or Martinique?

 

[jdcpa]

American is only $514 in mid February from Miami to St Vincent round trip.

That does not seem horrendous to me.

Getting to Miami must be the issue. Seems like you could fine something reasonable to Miami.

 

[morecowbells]

@drrich2, Actually reading the ElGringo report a while back piqued my interest on visiting Guadaloupe. The second link is new to me, thanks for sharing. It appears that Guadaloupe may offer more for divers.

@jdcpa, getting from St. Louis to Miami in time to catch the only flight of the week to St. Vincent seems to be the issue. AA round trip between St. Louis and St. Vincent starts at $1220 per person. I could pay less and fly in the night before, but that starts adding up since we have to stay overnight in Miami on return flight as well. Back in the day when TWA had it's hub in St. Louis, it was easy to get just about anywhere. Now our options are so anemic.