Caribbean (Plus) 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. And yes, the (Plus) means we're including the Bahamas and Bermuda along with the Caribbean coasts of Colombia, Costa Rica, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guayana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Suriname, and Panama.

For other individual island forums, check out Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saba, Statia (St. Eustatius), St. Barth, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Maarten/Martin, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

If there’s one thing the Caribbean isn’t lacking, it’s beaches. From the sugary sands of Grace Bay in Turks and Caicos to Pig Beach in in The...

Tourists flocked to the Caribbean last year in numbers not seen since the pandemic began, with the Dutch Caribbean and U.S. territories like Puerto R…

This caught my eye, I guess because I've been dealing with Puerto Rico and the Dutch Caribbean a good deal in recent months. And my perspective and takeaway is entirely different from the CTO official (whose org closed down in NYC as an active organization sometime back in 2021?) Anyway - I think there's hope ahead for Puerto Rico/USVI and perhaps the Dutch Caribbean - but, that's because they're heavily subsidized by the U.S./Netherlands. The indie countries though, and to make that leap in the generalized statement about "Caribbean sees jump..."? Not so much. I suspect, again just from recent first-hand dealing elsewhere in the wider region, and which is my region going back over 20 plus years, that much has changed and in fact very much in a financial black hole given the double whammy of COVID plus rip-roaring inflation of the past 18 months plus - all of which directly affected that predominant travel component of the past half century - namely the middle classes with the budget to take leisure travel offshore. Bascially, I observe individual entrepreneurs in those individual destinations you mention still emerging and recovering. But not the massive quantity of travelers that the all-inclusive/package deal market relied on. And if they did start to travel again - it was probably very much a one-shot deal, the so-called "pent-up demand" which also by definition also means that it was a one-shot deal for that traveler. "Near travel" is the alternative for the North American ordinary person till things get much much better. Of course, "the rich are always with us" but hey, they rent luxe villas or suites at the Four Seasons, not week packages at Sandals.

People flock to the Caribbean to swim among colorful marine life in crystal-blue water; yet, the most vibrant colors can be found on land during carn…

Comments

Tripatini December 14, 2024 at 1:18pm

Condé Nast Traveller UK (and subsequently the U.S. Condé Nast Traveler) recently spotlighted just eight of what they consider the "best" Caribbean islands: https://www.cntraveller.com/gallery/best-islands-in-the-caribbean

The best islands in the Caribbean

From Barbados to Saint Lucia.
David Paul Appell October 15, 2024 at 10:48am

Here´s a tantalizing look at 25 of the Caribbean´s most fetching places: https://www.travelandleisure.com/most-beautiful-places-in-the-carib...
Dave Acton April 5, 2024 at 2:49pm

Much of the Caribbean is still mildly to virulently homophobic, but there are a handful of cities which are an exception: https://travelnoire.com/gay-friendly-caribbean

The Most Gay-Friendly Cities in the Caribbean - Travel Noire

Several Caribbean cities have experienced a wave of progress and acceptance, turning them into thriving havens for gay vacationers.
John Kipper January 25, 2024 at 6:54pm

The Caribbean ain´t particularly cheap these days, so I found this recent T+L piece welcome: https://www.travelandleisure.com/cheap-caribbean-vacations-6833246
Barbara Necker August 1, 2023 at 9:56am

I´ve been to two of these and they´re spot on, so I´m sure they´re right about the rest: https://travelnoire.com/sink-your-toes-into-these-5-famous-caribbea...

Sink Your Toes Into These 5 Famous Caribbean Beaches - Travel Noire

If there’s one thing the Caribbean isn’t lacking, it’s beaches. From the sugary sands of Grace Bay in Turks and Caicos to Pig Beach in in The...
Helen Brown May 9, 2023 at 12:33am

You can pretty much not go wrong snorkeling anywhere in the Caribbean, but Lonely Planet recently pinpointed what its writer declares are the best of the best. If you've done the mask-and-fins thing down here, do you agree with her choices? https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/best-places-to-snorkel-in-car...

The top 8 places to snorkel in the Caribbean

Kaleidoscopic tropical fish, spectacular coral reefs and year-round warm waters make the Caribbean one of the best places for snorkeling.
Paul Varmuza March 8, 2023 at 10:39am

Looks like the Caribbean - except for Haiti - has bounced back splendidly since the pandemic - in some cases even surpassing pre-COVID visitor numbers: https://news.yahoo.com/caribbean-sees-jump-visitors-since-191600843...

Caribbean sees jump in visitors since pandemic began

Tourists flocked to the Caribbean last year in numbers not seen since the pandemic began, with the Dutch Caribbean and U.S. territories like Puerto R…
- Hal Peat > Paul Varmuza March 9, 2023 at 6:17pm
  
  This caught my eye, I guess because I've been dealing with Puerto Rico and the Dutch Caribbean a good deal in recent months. And my perspective and takeaway is entirely different from the CTO official (whose org closed down in NYC as an active organization sometime back in 2021?) Anyway - I think there's hope ahead for Puerto Rico/USVI and perhaps the Dutch Caribbean - but, that's because they're heavily subsidized by the U.S./Netherlands. The indie countries though, and to make that leap in the generalized statement about "Caribbean sees jump..."? Not so much. I suspect, again just from recent first-hand dealing elsewhere in the wider region, and which is my region going back over 20 plus years, that much has changed and in fact very much in a financial black hole given the double whammy of COVID plus rip-roaring inflation of the past 18 months plus - all of which directly affected that predominant travel component of the past half century - namely the middle classes with the budget to take leisure travel offshore. Bascially, I observe individual entrepreneurs in those individual destinations you mention still emerging and recovering. But not the massive quantity of travelers that the all-inclusive/package deal market relied on. And if they did start to travel again - it was probably very much a one-shot deal, the so-called "pent-up demand" which also by definition also means that it was a one-shot deal for that traveler. "Near travel" is the alternative for the North American ordinary person till things get much much better. Of course, "the rich are always with us" but hey, they rent luxe villas or suites at the Four Seasons, not week packages at Sandals.
Max Pesling February 3, 2023 at 9:27am

The Caribbean Journal recently surveyed the this year's top hotel/resort openings: https://www.caribjournal.com/2023/01/01/caribbean-hotels-new-hot-co...

15 Hot New Caribbean Hotels to Visit in 2023 - Caribbean Journal

We’ve gathered a list of the new Caribbean hotels we’re excited about in 2023, with some that just opened their doors and others coming soon.
Jordan Simon January 8, 2023 at 12:05pm

Carnival season is around the corner, and veteran Caribbean writer Bob Curley lists eight of the islands' top celebrations: https://www.10best.com/interests/festivals-events/eight-caribbean-c...

The Caribbean's top carnivals you can't miss

People flock to the Caribbean to swim among colorful marine life in crystal-blue water; yet, the most vibrant colors can be found on land during carn…