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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Julie January 25, 2011 at 7:12pm

Hi Doug, I echo Debbie's tips for photo opps on St Lucia. Antigua has beautiful beaches. Sites to see (and great photo opps) on Antigua would Shirley Heights lookout and Devil's Bridge, a natural arch bridge. Have a great trip!
Debbra Dunning Brouillette January 25, 2011 at 9:20am

Doug,

You'll be back a few weeks before I leave. I'm taking the Feb. 19-26 cruise. Will be anxious to hear your review of the ports and ship, etc. Happy sailing!
Doug Bardwell January 25, 2011 at 8:44am

Sounds like a plan. Thanks for the suggestions. Maybe I'll see you in Barbados as we debark.
Debbra Dunning Brouillette January 25, 2011 at 8:06am

Doug,

Sounds like you are doing a Royal Clippers cruise next week. I can tell by the itinerary... I will be doing the same cruise mid-February. I've been to St. Lucia and St. Kitts; the others will be new to me so I'm excited to add four islands to my list. St. Lucia is the place for spice shopping. Lots of photo opps on both. The Botanical Gardens, Waterfall, and of course, the Pitons are musts to photograph on St. Lucia. Tour the Brimstone Hill Fort on St. Kitts, the Batik Factory and Romney Manor. My favorite island, Nevis, is a short ferry ride across the 2-mile channel, so I may go there instead to check out the newly opened Four Seasons and have a lobster salad at Sunshine's. I would love to hear all about your cruise upon your return, so perhaps you can help ME with tips and must-dos for my mid-February trip! Feel free to email me privately at debbra@wordjourneys.net.
Doug Bardwell January 25, 2011 at 6:12am

Heading to the Windward Islands next week. Arriving and departing from Barbados, we will also spend a day each on St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Martinique, Dominica, Antigua, and Iles des Saintes. Looking for "not to be missed" activities or adventures, as well as "off the beaten track" places for spice shopping, drinks and photography. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Hal Peat January 23, 2011 at 2:09am

@Lynne - if you're still reading this, a belated thank you to you also for that time we were on a press trip together in the USVI and you gave me such helpful insights on compiling a travel book during my early days in travel writing. I've used your books as a reference guide since and that day and your kindness are remembered with gratitude.
Lynne Sullivan January 21, 2011 at 2:18am

David and Hal, thanks for the interesting chat on Cuba and tourism. I understand both points of view and both totally make sense. It will be interesting to watch the impact on Cuba when US citizens have "full freedom" to vacation there.
David Paul Appell January 20, 2011 at 8:55pm

Well, my point is partly that all that is not going to happen for another bit of a while. Barring a Tunisia- or Romania-style revolution, it's clear that true free enterprise is not going to be fully unleashed in Cuba as long as the Castros are around, and that is compounded by the fact that as long as the Miami mafia lobby keeps its the larger embargo going, it will just be a matter of a larger trickle of US travelers, but still a relative trickle. And the infrastructure issue on the island itself will in the near and possibly medium term still not be equipped to handle a much bigger influx anyway.
Hal Peat January 20, 2011 at 8:32pm

@David - I think once the freedom to travel is totally there as far as both U.S. and Cuban citizens going in and out, then you may see some phenomenal changes. Cubana for instance could really become a regional Caribbean airline, and Havana itself a real airline hub alternative to San Juan. I think costs geographically make it a little cheaper to fly in/out and that will stay - but the ground incidental expenses - transport, food, hotels, activities - a traveler faces will shoot up, up up as soon as free enterprise arrives there.
David Paul Appell January 20, 2011 at 6:44pm

Interesting piece in today's Miami Herald from astute Latin America (and especially Cuba) pundit Andrés Oppenheimer on how increased U.S. travel to the island may or may not affect the rest of the Caribbean. Some say it will be a hard hit, others say not so much -- and may even grow the overall pie. Yes, there will be novelty value and some pent-up demand, but on the other hand this is not exactly an unprecedented opening. And I can tell you first off that it's hardly going to be a flood, at least for the foreseeable future, at least in part because capacity is still pretty limited, and what capacity there is, is being amply used by Europeans, Latin Americans, and the other visitors Cuba already gets. So we'll see how big a move this actually turns out to be...