My Husband and I are having a hard time deciding between Puerto Vallarta or St. Thomas. We are planning to go in September and have read that Puerto Vallarta can be rainy and very hot/humid in September; however, September is prime hurricane season in the Caribbean. We really want to go to a place that has amazing beaches, clear water and be able to see some very cool things while there. Any advice would be great !! Thank you.

PV will be cheaper. Chance of better weather in PV.

Hello,

As the other reply mentioned, yes it would be much cheaper to go to PV instead of St. Thomas. However, these 2 places are very, very different.

If you want to have powdery, white sand and clear, turquoise waters then you must go to St. Thomas. PV has great beaches but they aren't as pristine as in St. Thomas. PV has more of the golden, coarser sand and not clear waters.

As for attractions, PV has much more to see and do than St. Thomas. I am very fortunate to have been to both destinations. PV has many tours, you can go and see a traditional bullfight (if that interests you), excellent restaurants and bars and clubs, and of course the Malecon (their seaside boardwalk). St. Thomas does have a few attractions such as the Botanical Gardens and the Mountain Top and as well as the cable car that takes you to another high peak on the island. One great thing to do is go to the eastern side of the island (Red Hook I believe) and take a ferry to nearby St. John for a day. St. John is a beautiful island with amazing beaches and also, 2/3 of the island is a national forest, where you can go hiking and exploring.

So, if you want more "bang for your buck" then go to PV. But if you want to have a nice, relaxing vacation spent mostly on the beach (and if money isn't an issue at all) then go to St. Thomas. Both destinations are great, romantic and hospitable.

Oh, and about the weather......PV is very hot and humid in September and it can be rainy, but the downpours usually happen during the evening and you will see sunshine in the daytime!

Hope this helps, and if you have other questions, let me know!

I would say the Virgin Islands. I have been to both and both are great places though. I would recommend actually going to St. Johns, which is just a short fairy ride from St. Thomas. If a beach there has about 10 people on it, it is concidered crowded. St. Johns has the BEST beaches and water as clear and calm as a pool. It also has a cute little town. Not as much to do there though. You can relax, maybe rent a boat or kayak.

DelicateVixen's reply is comprehensive & grreally good advice. Would only like to add that from Red Hook or Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas you can easily take day trips by ferry to some of the most spectacular beaches you'll ever see, both on St. John & in the British Virgins Islands.

There are some excellent VT pages built for both PV & the Virgin Islands, why not take a look to get a lot more specific info about places to stay etc.? Just do a Destination Search on both locales and you'll pull up all kinds of tips etc.

Been to both also and we are headed back to St. Thomas. Must say we have been to a lot of beaches around the globe and St. Johns is one of the most beautiful, not to forget Megan's Bay. Of all the places in the Caribbean and Mexico, you won't find more serene beaches. We are headed back to St. Thomas for Christmas this year and have planned to stay at Pavillions and Pools, each suite has their own private pool.
It is more expensive in St. Thomas, but we definitely feel we get a lot more R&R with more beautiful scenery than PV.

I’ve never visited Puerto Vallarta but I just returned from St. Thomas and my experience was very beautiful and memorable we had a private tour with Burlie of www.viscenictours.com she is very informative and friendly, she took us to visits the most exciting sites on the beautiful island of St. Thomas, we visited Crown Mountain to overlook the stunning views of the island, and among many other sites, Mountain top where I just love the banana daiquiris she also took us to the beach the water there are spectacular. Hope this helps.