Are you ready to start planning your honeymoon? If you are like most brides and grooms, you may opt for a Caribbean honeymoon. They come highly rated and recommended. After all, the Caribbean is known for its great all-inclusive resorts, beautiful beaches, tropical weather, and overall romantic atmosphere. Once making your travel plans, you may look for romantic activities to enjoy. There are plenty, but a few popular choices are outlined below for your convenience.
Snorkeling or Scuba Diving
Both snorkeling and scuba diving are romantic activities. With that said, scuba diving is best for experienced swimmers and divers. If you are novice, snorkeling is easier. Snorkeling involves swimming with a diving mask and a breathing tube, known as a snorkel. The diving mask and snorkel enable you to swim along the top of the water, but take in the sights below. The Caribbean is known for its clear water and beautiful beaches. You will see an amazing collection of marine life and reefs. With your new spouse by your side, snorkeling is a great romantic activity for Caribbean honeymoons.
Boat Rides or Cruises
As previously stated, the Caribbean is known for its beautiful beaches and water. You should take full advantage of them and the romantic atmosphere. You can do so by booking a chartered yacht ride or taking a cruise. Sightseeing cruises and dinner cruises are available. For the utmost privacy and ability to achieve romance, opt for a private one. Although this will cost extra, it is more than worth it.
Horseback Rides
If you aren’t a horse person, you might automatically assume horseback riding is the furthest thing from a romantic honeymoon activity, but it actually is one. Horseback riding tours in the Caribbean, like in Jamaica or the Bahamas, involves a morning or afternoon tour. This tour usually starts at a horse farm or ranch. You ride your horse along the trails. What is unique about Caribbean horseback riding tours is that most are marketed as ride and swims. Towards the middle of your tour, you can take your horse for a dip into the beautiful Caribbean waters. How romantic! Many tours also involve a stop for a picnic lunch or dinner.
Helicopter Tours
Regardless of which Caribbean destination you choose, you will find a wide array of landscape. For example, Jamaica has jungles, waterfalls, beaches, cliffs, and more. Unfortunately, some of these are hidden treasures and are difficult, if not impossible, to explore on foot. That is why you should opt for a helicopter tour. These tours enable you to see the Caribbean from a unique view, the sky. Many companies offer tours throughout the Caribbean and most allow you to schedule romantic, private tours.
Dinner at a Nice Restaurant
To get the most out of their Caribbean honeymoons, most bride and grooms opt for all-inclusive resorts. If you have yet to book your trip, keep this in mind. One reason why all-inclusive resorts come highly rated and recommended is their onsite eateries. First, food, snacks, and drinks are included in the cost of [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Caribbean’
Honeymoons in the Caribbean: Romantic Activities to Enjoy
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Tobago – scary Caribbean mothers keep crime down
It was the early 1990s and I was floating in the turquoise blue waters of Tobago’s Caribbean shore engaged in conversation with a local chap about – believe it or not – crime on the island. I’d been to other Caribbean islands before but found Tobago to be the most unpretentious, wholesome, unspoilt destination of them all.
Plus, there was no crime. A real plus for a single lady travelling alone. I saw tourists filing off long haul jets with their designer trainers and expensive cameras, moving amongst local people who would need to work for 20 years to save for either. And yet there was no visible resentment. The Tobagonian people are a shy yet proud people – they love the fact that you love their island and they know how important tourism is to their livelihoods.
I couldn’t understand why the place was so safe for tourists – why compared to other Caribbean destinations this one shone as a safe haven. I was in my early thirties, still in good shape for my age, and yes, there was the inevitable interest from the local chaps – but always in such a polite way. So here I was at Store Bay in Tobago doing a cooling off dip from the fabulously blistering heat, and found myself next to a dreadlocked local youngster who was asking me how I was enjoying my holiday and did I like the island.
He was interesting, and being a nosey journalist researching for www.simplytobago.com I found myself asking him a dozen questions most tourists wouldn’t be interested in knowing the answers to. And he was a good sport, even when he realised his advances were wasted. As I regularly checked my bikini to make sure the waters weren’t displacing anything they shouldn’t, we talked about the economy, transport, and religion.
I asked him why he thought there wasn’t any crime on the island. The answer he gave me seemed alarmingly simple, and if only government ministers were to have bobbed in the tropical seas with this young chap on one of their ‘fact-finding’ missions funded by the tax payer, they’d have learned a lot and saved us all a fortune.
My dreadlocked friend looked amused at my ignorance with the question I’d asked. Why wasn’t there any crime on the island of Tobago? ‘We’re all scared of our mothers’, he said, in a way that sounded like it should be obvious. ‘If we get into trouble our mothers would cuss us. And besides, where would we go? This island is tiny. There’s nowhere to hide’.
How refreshing. A young man in his twenties, raised in a Christian household, going to church in his best suit every Sunday, brought up to remember his manners and do what his mom tells him. Over my years travelling to this island I saw this attitude as the norm across a whole generation of young people. They respected their elders and each other.
Sadly today, the picture is slightly different. Drugs and a drip, drip feed [...]
Best Caribbean Beaches
The thought of a Caribbean vacation brings with it images of white sandy beaches bordered by swaying palms. Visions of relaxing on a hammock with a book and a cool tropical drink, or a vigorous game of beach volleyball followed by a massage on the beach and dinner alfresco spring to the mind even as the Caribbean destination is decided upon. So which are the best beaches in the Caribbean?
Grace Bay Beach, a 12-mile soft white sand beach on Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands is a slice of paradise on earth. Home to a number of resorts and villas, this beach is known for its water sports, particularly snorkeling.
Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic has a plethora of resorts that offer a world of activities including golf and water sports, besides evenings of live music and dancing on the beach. Playa Rincon near Samana and Playa Bonita are the best bets for a serene relaxing day at the beach for singles and families
Jamaica’s Seven Mile Beach in Negril is an ideal vacation destination for adults as sections of this beach are open to nudists. Several resorts line this beach with clubs, beach bars, and open-air restaurants that cater to hotel guests and travelers.
Blue Beach in Isla Vieques, Puerto Rico is tailor-made for long walks at sunset. To experience the wonder of bioluminescence, take a kayak tour at sunset in Bioluminsecent Bay near Mosquito Bay and see the glowing marine creatures that emit a light when disturbed by the paddle.
Aruba’s beaches are perennial favorites of holidaymakers and water sports enthusiasts – be it the gentle surf of Eagle Beach or Arashi or the calm-as-a-pond waters at Palm Beach, all are blessed with fine sand.
Of the 45 beaches in Grenada, Grand Anse Beach is the most well known and is acknowledged as one of the finest beaches in the Caribbean. Several restaurants, hotels, and dive shops line this two-mile beach on a sheltered bay. Morne Rouge Beach and La Sagesse Beach are less crowded and the shallow waters make them suitable for children.
Beaches like Antigua’s Half Moon Bay, the Horseshoe Bay in Bermuda, Pigeon Point on Tobago, or Grand Cayman’s Seven Mile Beach, all easily fit into the category of the best beaches in the Caribbean.
Tips on Planning a Caribbean Vacation during Hurricane Season
When one dreams of a Caribbean vacation, sunbathing, water sports, and spending lazy afternoons on a hammock under the trees is what springs to mind. But a hurricane can down the shutters even on those simple pleasures, let alone popular activities like snorkeling and SCUBA diving.
So what is the strategy to plan a vacation in the Caribbean during hurricane season?
• Hurricanes in the Caribbean are more common in the months of August, September and October, though the official season is from June to November. Scheduling a holiday early in the season (June or July) or at the end of the season in November considerably reduces the risk of running into a hurricane while you are there.• Choosing a Caribbean destination like Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Trinidad, Tobago or Barbados is wiser, since these islands are rarely hit by hurricanes.• Check for information on the start of the rainy season in your destination choice – Curacao’s rainy season starts in October, whereas Aruba and Turks and Caicos islands get very little rainfall while in St. Lucia, the rainy season coincides with the hurricane season. • National Weather Service website’s hurricane awareness link gives extended weather forecasts, hurricane warnings or travel advisories,• Book a stay in resorts that offer a hurricane guarantee i.e. allow rescheduling with no additional charge in case the local weather bureau predicts a hurricane during the days booked. It goes without saying that travelers should take the effort to read the fine print to see what the guarantee offers and what is not covered.• Taking travel insurance at the time of travel reservations is a good idea. Rescheduling or claiming refunds would be hassle-free, especially when airports are closed down and flights get cancelled because of a hurricane.
Remember, Mother Nature is unpredictable and a hurricane can change course and hit a vacation destination. To be prepared for such an eventuality,
• Check if your vaccinations are up-to-date and carry a first aid kit and a few days reserve of essential medication • When a hurricane alert is given, contact the local embassy on the island and alert them to your presence.• Check with the hotel reception for hurricane safety procedures and follow their advice – understand that the locals have the experience to deal with the situation.• Keep a copy of your travel documents handy for urgent evacuation.