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, the Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curaçao, 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.

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Visiting Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas: experiences, tips, and essentials

Don Ramey Logan First opened in 1968 just offshore from Nassau, Atlantis Paradise Island is one of the Caribbean's most iconic resort destinations, which with its world-famous water park, marine habitats, luxury towers, and stunning beaches spread out over 154 acres attracts millions of visitors every year. Whether you're planning a family vacation, a honeymoon, or simply a subtropical getaway, this guide will help you plan the perfect trip—covering the best time to visit, must-do…

Started by Tripatini

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5 highlights of Dutch Sint Maarten

Dave Senior Taking up 40 percent of the island of St. Martin and with a population of around 58,000, this territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands packs a whole lot of fun, flavor, and personality into a petite package. Whereas French St. Martin leans elegant and relaxed, the multicultural, largely English-speaking Dutch side offers its share of quiet corners, but also a livelier menu of casinos, nightlife, beach bars, waterfront dining – along some of the most photographed aircraft landings…

Started by Helen Brown

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Chilling on Tortola and Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands

Victor Block My husband Victor and I are travel writers. Which means when we get to a destination, we explore every aspect, constantly seeking out stories. Until we got to Tortola, capital of the British Virgin Islands, with a population around 15,000. That didn’t happen. And it was almost like — dare I say the word? — a vacation. But let’s back up a bit. We are a lot older than our last trip here 30 years ago when my husband had the temerity to actually hazard driving. To put the roads in…

Started by Tripatini

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Rum and much more in Barbados

Victor Block Most travelers know that most Caribbean islands are soaked in rum, but Barbados goes the rest one better because here, locals say, is where rum was discovered. In capital Bridgetown one early-17th-century day, the story goes, a tavern owner was searching for an empty shipping barrel when he inadvertently stumbled across one filled with a concoction worth selling -- a barrel of sugar cane fermented over time. Well, Mr. Rumball -- the tavern owner -- knew a good thing when he…

Started by Tripatini

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Tony King September 8, 2010 at 1:16am

Not too many Road Warriors in the Caribbean, I used to be one years ago and it was arguably the cushiest job in the Ford Motor Company ; I don't think anyone in Detroit even knew that the job existed - would have probably been fired instantly.... !! Incidentally, I was never restricted as to the use of US hotels as opposed to non-US. ones.
Anil September 4, 2010 at 8:30am

David,Tony,Patricia,Julie et. al. People do stay in Hyatt,JWM,Hilton when travelling internationally. That is the distinct segment known as road-warriors, business traveller and governmental types who have to use US carriers and US hotels. Discussing the nuances of this group is a topic in itself. The right question should be, what security blanket kind of a purpose do the American chains serve that other hotels might not ? Many frequent flyers who do international travel very often say - A Hyatt/Marriott/Starwood removes anxiety and allows them to focus on their business. Now, a leisure resort or island is another story.
BTW: Not all Caribbean islands have a distinct local cusine. In fact some of the islands import everything from US as nothing of substance grows locally.
David Lawrence September 3, 2010 at 1:08am

Shoutout to Tony for the best solution.
Northeast News September 3, 2010 at 12:11am

"It probably depends on the person" is right. When it comes to travel preferences (and culture, and religion, and politics, and spending power) there are no typical Americans. The marketing and branding pros must be walking on eggshells these days.
Tony King September 2, 2010 at 10:21pm

Best solution, close all the hotels, charter a yacht, call me...!!
Julie September 2, 2010 at 9:52pm

It probably depends on the person. My personal preference is definitely small, independent hotels. But I also enjoy eating local cuisine and experiencing the local culture when I travel. However, I also have friends who prefer American chain hotels even when they travel internationally.
Patricia Borns September 2, 2010 at 9:21pm

David raises an important question. How many Americans share or don't share his travel preference? For many years, the Caribbean was on an all-inclusive corporate hotel binge that erased its cultural distinctiveness, because that's what governments believed Americans wanted. Now, the talk is of small footprint boutique hotels and local rentals. To paraphrase Freud, what do Americans really want?
David Lawrence September 2, 2010 at 8:26pm

Good Q, Northeast, 2 good answers. Also as an American, I don't want to stay at a Hyatt or Hilton, especially in another country. Would we go all the way to Japan to stay at a dude ranch?
Tony King September 2, 2010 at 6:16pm

Just to add another thought to Patricia's, there is a tendency to forget that much of the Caribbean i.e. St. Martin, St. Barth, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Cuba, St. Vincent, the Grenadines caters almost exclusively to European visitors who do not visit the Ritz Carlton's, Hyatt's and Hilton's of this world.
Patricia Borns September 2, 2010 at 4:59pm

Are you referring to "U.S. Hotel Brands in the Caribbean: Over-Supplied or Under-Represented?" (www.hvs.com/Library/Articles/?cat=11). The data looks to be two years old, and the authors' main business is stimulating foreign investment. Not to discount their conclusions, but those two things raise cautionary flags for me.

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