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Summertime in the Caribbean is anything you want it to be. With fewer crowds and more deals, it's and ideal time to visit the wondrous islands that make up the region. Some luxury resort even offer value-added package, and airfares tend to be lower as well, during one of the Caribbean's most alluring seasons.
Spend your summer vacation enjoying the pure white powder beaches or diving into the world that lies within the Caribbean Sea. Get active and see a part of the Caribbean so few experience with a hike through a rain forest or just slow journey by river raft. The golf greens beckon and the region's cultural history finds expression in museums, historic sites, and festivals of the season.
Water, Water, Water !!!
In the Caribbean, it's all about the beach, where pearly sands meet the shimmering seawater and azure the sky. Even if you never step foot on the sand or in the sea, you'll likely get the chance to at least gaze at the soft white powder and clear aquamarine colors of the water. If you make beach-going a primary part of your trip, you'll discover sands and surfs of varying personalities. The key is to know where to go to find the right beach for you.
Magens Bay, one of the more than 40 beaches on St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands (U.S.V.I), offers pure beauty and plenty of water-sport fun. Neighboring St. John's Trunk Bay, one of the most often photographed beaches, is set within the Virgin islands National park, Cinnamon Bay, also within the Park, offers a host of activities from kayaking to mountain biking.
The white sand beaches of Jamaica offer a host of activities from water sports to nature watching to beach combing. One of the best known is Seven Mile Beach on Negril on the island's west coast. Protected by a reef, its calm water make for great swimming and snorkeling. Favorite nesting spots for turtles dot the secluded areas of Reggae Vibes Beach, east of Ocho Rios.
On Curacao, you'll find more than 40 public and private beaches. The western part of the island has calm, clear waters and secluded coves. Spend a full day at Playa PortoMari and you can enjoy swimming, snorkeling, diving, and nearby nature trail.
Puerto Rico's 272 miles of coastlines boast hundreds of beaches. Choose your pleasure, from the white sands of one of the top windsurfing spots, Shacks, in the west to the black volcanic sands of the southeast coast near Punta Santiago.
Grand Cayman's own Seven Mile Beach fronts most of the island's top resorts. Here you'll also find water-sport centers, where you can play with such fun "toys" as ocean kayaks, windsurfing boards, hobie cats, wave runners, aqua trikes, view boards, paddle cats, and paddle boats. Windsurfing is big at Grand Cayman's East End, North Sound, and West Coast.
Head for the quiet North Side of the island to Rum Point for a day of swimming, snorkeling, or lying in a hammock. Sister islands Cayman Brac and Little Cayman also offer visitors a host of secluded places in the sand.
The Baths, on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands (B.V.I) are must for any visit there. Beautiful beaches line these special pools and grottos formed by giant boulders.
One of the best ways to explore the Caribbean Islands is by boat, taking in the coastline and sea's beauty Tortola, also in the B.V.I., is one of the top areas in the Caribbean for yachting. Spend your entire vacation abroad a crewed yacht for pure luxury, or just charter one for the day. You'll find in the B.V.I. alone. Another exciting way to explore the waters is by canoeing or kayaking to the inlets and barrier islands.
Dive In !!!
The Cayman Island's reputation as one of the world's top dive destinations is well established. These islands boast more than 200 dive site marked with moorings, 100-foot-plus visibility, and amazing marine life, luring divers from around the globe. The waters surrounding all three islands - Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman - are excellent spots for beginners to advanced divers.
If you snorkel, you can find wonders close to shore on all three islands, or opt for a half-day or daylong boat trip. A boat ride to the famed Stingray City and the nearby Sand Bar in North Sound on Grand Cayman is a must for any first-time visitor.
Curacao, has more than 100 dive sites with visibility ranging from 60 - 150 feet. The Curacao Underwater park is a 12.5-mile coral reef that has been protected as a National Park.
Puerto Rico is just emerging as a dive destination, with such underwater treats as marine-life-filled reefs, walls, caverns, cays, and mangroves to explore.Off Humacao on the eastern side of the island, you can find more than 30 dive sites within a five-mile radius. A 20-mile-long underwater wall abundant with marine life parallels Cabo Rojo to Guanica in the Southwest.
In the U.S.V.I., the 700-acre Buck Island Reef National Monument off St. Croix is an underwater delight for snorkeling ; here you'll encounter tropical fish, coral reefs, flora, and fauna. If you dive, you can discover underwater caves, tunnels, and pinnacles at St. Croix's north shore well. A number of sunken treasures make for popular wreck dives in the waters of Pillsbury Sound, between St. Thomas and St. John. While on St. John, check out the uninhabited Carvel Rock and Congo Cay dives sites.
No matter where you stay on Jamaica, you're likely to find great diving. Among many sites, Airport Reef off Montego Bay has coral caves, tunnels, and steep canyons to explore, while shipwrecks and some of the island's best reefs await discover off Port Royal, near Kingston Airport.
The Western Hemisphere's largest barrier reef, and the second largest in the world, stretches 185 miles of Belize's eastern coast. Divers heading to Belize will discover 70 types of hard corals, more than 400 species of fish, three of the Caribbean's four atolls, seven aquatic World Heritage sites, and close to 200 offshore cays.
Nature's Path !!!
Thought the Caribbean is home to some of the most beautiful and luxurious resorts in the world, most of the area is undeveloped and protected as national parkland. Here you can explore a part of the Caribbean where lush flora and fauna lie undisturbed, as they have for centuries.
Catch a glimpse of Cayman's wild interior, one of the last remaining examples of the Caribbean's dry, subtropical forest, in Grand Cayman's Mastic Reserve, which is protected by the National Trust Guided walks along the two-mile-long Mastic Trail take about two and a half to three hours.
Curacao's 4,500-acre Christoffel Park is protected wildlife preserve and garden. Here you can find a vast array of activities to choose from based on your own adventurous spirit. Options include guided walking tours, cave exploration, moonlight tours, horseback riding, mountain biking, and jeep and four-wheel drive rentals. You might spot prickly pear cactus, divi divi trees, exotic flowers, neon-blue iguanas, rabbits, donkeys, birds, and the protected white-tail Curacao deer.
Puerto Rico's well-known El Yunque Rain Forest outside San Juan is the only tropical rain forest in the U.S. National Forest Service. Guided tours offer a chance to see the lush plants and exotic flower created by the more than 100 billion gallons of annual rainfall. El Yunque is also home to birds and wildlife only found in the rain forest.
Head of Holywell, 21 miles outside Kingston, Jamaica, for an exploration of 120 acres of protected forest and the birds, trees, and wildflowers that call it home. Four nature trails start at Holywell and lead into the blue Mountains, winding past tropical rain forests, valleys, coffee farms, waterfalls, streams and a number of scenic lookout points.
National parkland cloaks the island of St. John in lush, wild beauty. Almost two-thirds of this island's 19 square miles is protected as the Virgin Islands National Park. This more than 12,000-acre park offers natural beauty on land and sea. Twenty self-guided hiking trails will take you to ancient petroglyphs, dense forests, plantation ruins, and lush foliage.
If you're on a quest for magnificent views, be sure to head for St. Thomas's Paradise Peak, a winding quarter-mile nature trail that provides overlooks of the island.
If birding is your passion, you can find plenty of opportunities for your favorite activity while exploring the island's natural attractions on foot. Jamaica has 252 bird species alone, of which 27 are unique to the island. Head for the water in the B.V.I., where the bird sanctuaries found on West Dog, Great Tobago, Little Tobago, and Diamond Cay are accessible only by boat.
Gorgeous Greens !!!
The Caribbean has become a major destination for golf, with beautiful courses lining the sea. George and Tom Fazio designed St. Thomas's Mahogany Run, a par 70, 18-hole championship course. Its 13th, 14th, and 15th holes are nicknamed the Devil's Triangle, as golfers are challenged by the Caribbean Sea that lies between the tee and the green. The 18-holes championship Carambola Golf Course on St. Croix was designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr., and has been the site of many professional tournaments.
The Buccaneer Resort, also on St. Croix, features and 18-hole, par-70 course.
Jamaica has 12 golf courses, with 13th-the par 72 San San Golf & Country Club-currently slated for renovation in Port Antonio. The Island is the side of a number of major tournaments during the year. Play in the footsteps of golf greats in Montego Bay at the 18-hole, par-71 Cinnamon Hill Golf Course at Wyndham Rose Hall Resort & Country Club, design by Robert Von Hagge and Rick Baril. Or head to the long, par-72 Half Moon Golf Course, with a layout by Robert Trent Jones, Sr. Other course choices in Jamaica include the par-71 Sandals Golf & Country Club in Ocho Rios.
The list of designers of Puerto Rico's 23 golf courses (and the six more being built) real like a who's who in the world of golf. The Hyatt Dorado Beach Resort gives guests two courses to choose from, both designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr. Both the East and West courses are 18-hole, par-72 layouts. The 18-hole, par-72 Wyndham El Conquistador Golf Course is an Arthur hills design overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and El Yunque Rain Forest.
The 18-hole, par -71 Links at Safehaven on Grand Cayman lies along the North Sound Coast. The Britannia at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cayman is a Jack Nicklaus design.
A Cultural Tour !!!
Despite being part of a common region and sharing some similarities, each of the islands in the Caribbean has a unique history and culture. More and more of the individual islands are beginning to showcase their heritage in museums and other major visitors' sites. There are good place to begin an understanding of the island's current standing in the world today.
Jamaica's many historic sites include the Seville Great House and Heritage Park on the north coast. Tainos, Jamaica's first inhabitants, established their largest town here. Another way to understand Jamaica's culture is through its Meet-the-People program. When you participate, you're matched up with a Jamaican host and may meet a family ; talk to a musician, businessman, teacher, or artist ; shop at local market ; or tour the countryside as part of the program's goal of introducing its guest to real Jamaica.
Puerto Rico's history comes to life during a walk through Old San Juan, with its narrow cobblestone streets and colonial buildings, a number of which have been declared National Historic Sites by the National Historic Preservation Office. Highlights include four fortresses from the Spanish Colonial Empire, historic sites and buildings dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, and La Muralla, the city wall was built mostly between 11539 and 1641, and was completed in 1782.
The Cayman Islands National Museum in the restored Old Courts Building in George Town on Grand Cayman houses more than 4,000 items in a variety of exhibits. It focuses on the country's cultural and natural history and its seafaring past. See a 14- foot traditional handmade catboat, old coins, rare documents, and a 10-minutes audiovisual presentation.
The Virgin Islands Museum, outlining the Islands' history, is set within St. Thomas's historic Fort Christian, built in 1672. This U.S national landmark is the oldest standing structure in the Virgin Islands. On St. Croix, a 72-mile self guided Heritage Trail driving tour takes in numerous historic and cultural sites. Demonstrations of cultural traditions, such as basket weaving, music, and dance, bring St. John's history to life at the Annaberg Ruins, a former sugar plantation.
Set in a traditional West Indian building, the V.I. Folk Museum on Tartola, B.V.I., features many artifacts from the island's Taino, plantation, and slavery eras, as well as pieces from the famed RMS Rhone wreck For a less formal glimpse into the heritage of the B.v.I., check out the "Wall," a long and colorful mural along Tortola's Ridge Road.
Explore Curacao's past, present, and future at its Maritime Museum. Among the offerings are video presentations, multimedia displays, antique miniatures. 17th-century ship models and maps, and even ferry tours of the harbor.
Where to Stay ???
The Caribbean teems with diverse accomodations, from budget hotels to luxurious resorts.
Couple Resorts, Jamaica
(800-268-7537 ; http://www.couples.com/)
Couples sets itself apart from its competition by overing a "boutique-style collection of unique resorts," all within the 200 room range. Couples Ocho Rios, Couples Sweet Away, and Couples Negril, all located on Jamaica, offer excellent service, luxurious accomodations, unlimited premium-brand drinks, gourmet dining, and host of and on off-site activities. A laid-back, natural setting pervades there resorts, dedicated to offering a romantic time for couples.
Half Moon, Montego Bay, Jamaica
(800-626-05292 ; http://www.halfmoon.com.jm/)
Guests can stay in one of 47 guest rooms, 174 suites, and 32 villas during their stay at this 400-acre property. Relaxation choices include a two-mile-long beach, 50 freshwater pools (mostly assigned to private cottage), a spa, Robert Trent Jones, Sr,- designed 18-hole golf course, and choice of restaurants.
La Samanna, St. Martin
(800-854-2252 ; http://www.lasamanna.com/)
An Orient-Express Hotel, and a memberof The Leading Hotels of the World, La Samanna offers its guests all the luxurious amenities associated with those two names. The 81-suite, 55-acre beachfront property caters to the discriminating guest with seclusion, fine dining, and personalized service. Its extensive wine cellar and cuisine include provisions flown in from France each day.
Puerto Rico Hotel & Tourism Asscociation
Hotels, resorts, and small properties throughtout Puerto Rico are part of the "Puerto Rico is Fun" package program from this member organization. Package inclussions can range from free night (based on minimum stay) and room upgrades to daily breakfast, car rental discounts, and more.
Sandals
(888-SANDALS ; http://www.sandals.com/)
The collection of 12 beachfront, all-inclusive resort on Antigua, The Bahamas, Jamaica, and St. Lucia was designed with couples in mind. The ultra-inclusive rate includes land and water sports such as golf and sucba diving ; beer, wine, and premium liquor ; hotel taxes ; airport transfers ; all meals and snacks ; and all gratuities.
Sheraton
(800-325-3535 ; http://www.sheraton.com/)
Sheraton's properties in the Caribbean offer a top hotel experience and include the newly opened 240-rooms Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel, Puerto Rico, and 477-room Sheraton at Our Lucaya Beach & Golf Resort, Grand Bahama Island, which is part of a 372-acre resort complex.
