Is a Caribbean resort of Caribbean vacation rental better? I personally prefer Caribbean vacation rentals over Caribbean resorts but there are a few exceptions. Within this video, I explain why Caribbean vacation rentals are a better experience than Caribbean resorts. Enjoy this video and please be sure to subscribe to my channel and check out my other Caribbean travel advice videos too! #Caribbean

How I Filter Through Caribbean Vacation Rentals

When I’m researching vacation rentals on Caribbean islands, TripAdvisor is my first stop. I select “Vacation Rentals” and then sort by price low to high. I identify vacation rentals with a substantial quantity of reviews and then read all reviews to look for potential “red flags.”  I have rented a vacation rental with zero reviews before.  That was a vacation rental on Bermuda’s East End that turned out to be an excellent experience!  With that said, if your risk tolerance isn’t as high as mine, I would recommend sticking to vacation rentals with only a large quantity of positive reviews. 

Confirming That Vacation Rental Location is Optimal

After narrowing down my list of Caribbean vacation rental options, I then load Google Maps and utilize satellite imagery to see what is nearby.  Are restaurants and/or stores within walking distance?  How far is the closest beach?  Is the beach a top-rated beach (keep in mind that not all Caribbean beaches are optimal for swimming).  There are obviously more questions that can be researched as well but as a rule of thumb, I always make certain that I won’t have to encounter an extended drive to do almost everything.  Driving time eats into fun vacation time and in my opinion should be minimized if possible.  With that said, many Caribbean islands like St. John are super small and driving time is a non-issue.  Actually, I prefer to choose “more remote” vacation rentals on St. John to enhance privacy and the “island life” feel.

Caribbean Boutique Resorts

The following two boutique resorts are exceptions to my “Caribbean vacation rentals only” rule:

Le Village St. Barthhttps://levillagestbarth.com

Great House Anguillahttp://www.anguillagreathouse.com/