Caribbean Corner

This fabled sea, covering more than a million square miles and 7,000 islands with diverse languages, cultures, and ecosystems, has become probably the planet's premier vacation playground. Here it's all about its regional issues and allures.

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On Aruba's De Palm Island, fun both above & below water

De Palm Island I’ve always envied my scuba-diving friends who describe their magical underwater world full of coral reefs and colorful fish. I’ve snorkeled aplenty but it’s not quite the same. Now, although I remain uncertified as a diver, I have an idea of what the majesty is all about thanks to my SNUBA experience at De Palm Island, an islet just down the coast from Aruba's capital Oranjestad. read post

Started by Tripatini

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Cuisinart -- no, not the blender.

Cuisinart takes the Mediterranean decor + foodie themes of Anguilla and runs with them. Here, a blue-and-white (now Anguilla's marketing colors) room with the unfortunate (for the decorator, not for me) intrusion of long, pale feet.

Started by Ed Wetschler

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Malliouhana, an Auberge Collection Resort

Malliouhana created the Anguilla "brand" and even changed the definition of a Caribben resort when it opened in 1983/4. Instead of faux Colonial-style design, it was updated Mediterranean in its look. And while there were still luxury resorts in the islands that served Sanka and instant potatoes, Malliouhana's founder declared that a high-end resort should offer sophisticated cuisine, so he hired Jo Rostang, a Michelin-starred chef. Other resorts that opened in Anguilla followed this model,…

Started by Ed Wetschler

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Anguilla's Unfair Advantage?

Would it be wrong to say that Anguilla's abundance of drop-dead gorgeous beaches gives it an unfair advantage over some of the other islands? FYI, this is the beach at Cap Juluca, a Belmond Hotel.

Started by Ed Wetschler

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Helen Brown October 5, 2022 at 10:52am

Too many Caribbean islands succumb to the allure of cruise tourism, but Anguilla is a notable standout, citing its negative environmental impact. Of course, it's easier for them, since they make more from their exclusive, high-end brand of tourism. But commendable nonetheless! https://www.express.co.uk/travel/cruise/1669741/caribbean-cruise-sh...

Stunning Caribbean island bans cruise ships - 'Not debatable'

A CARIBBEAN island has said that cruise tourism is not worth the environmental impact. The Government has said it doesn't want to encourage cruise sh…
John Kipper September 16, 2022 at 11:35am

Several months ago, Porthole, a magazine devoted to cruising, ran a piece about what makes St. Kitts particularly special - worth a read! https://porthole.com/what-makes-st-kitts-so-unique/

What Makes St. Kitts So Unique? | Porthole Cruise and Travel News

Cruise guests have looked to St. Kitts as one of their favorite destinations to step ashore for an all-inclusive experience.
David Paul Appell August 16, 2022 at 12:53pm

Of course the Caribbean's number-one draw is its beaches and limpid waters, but currently those throughout the region are enduring a rise in a smothering golden algae called sargassum, and it's affecting both health and tourism in various countries: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/8/11/2115737/-Caribbean-Matte...

Caribbean Matters: A stinky 'golden tide' of Sargassum seaweed strangles the Caribbean

The environmental threats faced by both island nations in the Caribbean Sea and the mainland Caribbean basin are not limited to just hurricanes. Curr…
Jeffrey Kunst August 7, 2022 at 9:26am

The Miami-based website Caribbean Journal recently featured a cool tiki bar in Kralendijk, opened at the end of 2020 and called Tiki & Co. (https://tikiandco.nl/), which it says is a great example of how Bonaire is expanding beyond diving and snorkeling to also become increasingly known for its hot dining and mixology scene: https://www.caribjournal.com/2022/02/18/caribbean-bonaire-tiki-bar-...

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Helen Brown July 19, 2022 at 8:45pm

A good look at St. Barth in the off season, from TheObserver.com: https://observer.com/2022/07/st-barthelemy-travel-guide-le-toiny-ho...
Max Pesling June 5, 2022 at 9:26am

This past February, the British travel site Wanderlust.co.uk ran a piece called "Discovering the Real Haiti" in which it claims "It seems that, from the (now mostly cleared) rubble, a new Haiti is emerging." Well, we've heard this kind of thing before, but writer Phoebe Smith says that this time evidence includes: "chain hotels are springing up; flights from Latin America are launching, making Haiti a viable add-on to a South or Central American adventure; the diaspora in the USA are beginning to take vacations in the coastal resorts of Côte des Arcadins; and whispers abound of more cruise-ship visits – currently only one boat docks here, and that’s on a local-free private beach." Read about it for yourself: https://www.wanderlust.co.uk/content/discovering-the-real-haiti/
Paul Varmuza May 18, 2022 at 11:10am

St Lucia is an irresistible draw for travel writers for a good reason - here's the latest example, by a freelancer for Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/adammorganstern/2022/02/25/10-amazing-...
José Balido April 9, 2022 at 11:34am

At the end of this past year, Lonely Planet came out with this article from its Cuba guide writer about pandemic-era travel to the island, which has had a low number of COVID cases and the world's second highest vaccination rate. Interesting reading; check it out: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/what-its-like-to-travel-to-cu...

Cuba reopens to tourists: what you need to know before you go - Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet's Cuba travel expert visited the country in December as it reopened to visitors. So how did he find restrictions, or was it business as…
- Hal Peat > José Balido April 9, 2022 at 11:14pm
  
  Heavily focused on the logistics of the COVID issue ins/outs, and skirts the issues of cost effectiveness. Whether you're going for leisure or work purposes - the latter being people like me - the air cost has skyrocketed since I went there for the first time in 2017. $400 R/T for a 40 min. flight between MIA/FLL - Havana? You can almost get to Europe from here for that. Biden hasn't solved any of that huge upsurge in air cost since he came in. Very disappointing. Glad I went when I did, was in love with Havana and want to see more, but until the logistics and price points in air and accommodation all change radically back to at least near where they were, it's not for me again.
- José Balido > Hal Peat April 10, 2022 at 2:39pm
  
  Thanks for your observation, Hal. For most of the history of charter and commercial flights between the US and Cuba in the past decades, unreasonably high fares have been more the rule than the exception. I guess like everything else, we'll have to see how this plays out the rest of this year and beyond. But I have a feeling that for the foreseeable future, Cuba is going to take a back seat to more pressing issues in the US, including inflation and other aspects of the economy; the fallout from Russia's invasion of the Ukraine as well as legal/political trauma around Jan. 6 insurrection; the upcoming midterm elections, and more. I hope I'm wrong, but...