Travelrific® Travel Journal
A blog for travel enthusiasts. Listen to our podcasts at Travelrific® Radio, and visit our Wanderful Places® Travel Shop!Archive for caribbean
Oldest Botanic Gardens in Western Hemisphere
By Linda Tancs
One hundred miles west of Barbados in the Eastern Caribbean lies a chain of 32 islands and cays making up St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Some of the most fertile soil in the world can be found there, but perhaps its biggest claim to fame are the botanic gardens, the oldest in the Western Hemisphere founded in 1763. Among its many distinctions is the sucker from one of the 630 breadfruit plants brought to St. Vincent in 1793 by Captain Bligh. Perhaps not surprisingly, roasted breadfruit (along with fried jackfish) is the country’s national dish.
Caribbean’s Longest Running Resort
By Linda Tancs
If you’d expect a centuries old, longest running resort to be a bit stuffy, then you’d be pleasantly surprised in St. Croix. The Buccaneer is the island’s (and Caribbean’s) longest-running resort, a legend that balances old-world charm with the wish list of today’s traveler, including spa treatments, a kids’ camp, and golf and tennis lessons. Connections are widely available from San Juan, and U.S. residents can leave the passport home. Book now for 20% off select rates this winter.
Craft Market Reopens in Bahamas
By Linda Tancs
After being gutted by fire in 2001, Nassau’s Straw Market in the Bahamas is open for business. The Bay Street fixture offers local handiworks and is accessible by cab or jitney from Cable Beach. Unless you’re a polar bear by nature, you likely won’t be swimming there in January, so why not shop till you drop!
Vacation Deal of the Week
By Linda Tancs
Regent Seven Seas Cruises is offering two-for-one fares, bonus savings and free air on 10- and 11-night Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises when booked by Dec. 30. Want more information? Contact me at www.wanderfulcruises.com.
Sloth Central
By Linda Tancs
The sleepy surf of Costa Rica’s Caribbean side may seem like an unlikely place for a rescue center for the native sloth, but three miles north of Cahuita lies the world’s only sloth rescue center, Aviarios del Caribe. The learning center and sanctuary is home to special adult resident sloths named Millie, Toyota, Spiderman, Einstein, Nala and TopoGigio. The sanctuary offers visitors the opportunity to sleep with the sloths (well, kind of) via a small hotel on the premises. Just one more way to get up close and personal with the natives.
A Sailor’s Life in BVI
By Linda Tancs
Sailors have been competitively plying the warm waters of Nanny Cay in British Virgin Islands now for 40 years. This year marks the 40th anniversary of BVI’s Spring Regatta, taking place today through 3 April. Visitors can fly to the British Virgin Islands through San Juan, Puerto Rico and from Antigua or St. Martin with American Airlines, Cape Air, BVI Airline and LIAT. Flights to Antigua and Barbados are available on Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and BWIA. Ferry service is also available from St. Thomas, USVI.
Dominican Republic is Attractive to Pensioners
By Linda Tancs
The Dominican Republic is known for baseball superstars, sugar cane and cigars. But did you know that the economy has doubled in size since 1990 according to the President’s address at the 2010 UN Millenium Development Goals Summit? The government recognizes that foreign inputs of currency or capital contribute to the development and collective well being of the population, so foreign pensioners can establish exemptions from the payment of tax on dividends, interest, realty and other property as residents of the Dominican Republic. Of course, if you choose to work, you pay local taxes. But why would you do that when you can laze away on the beaches, watch the whales, golf, or venture among 16 national parks, nine natural monuments and six scientific reserves? The choice is yours.
Dutch Treat
By Linda Tancs
Curacao is a Caribbean island in the Netherland Antilles. Independent from the Dutch politically, culturally the ties are as strong as ever. The official language is Dutch, but this country sandwiched between Aruba and Bonaire has a multicultural flair as well. They call it authenticity. With European and African roots, influences abound from the early slave trade, the Spanish and Portuguese migration and, of course, the Dutch occupation. Largely undiscovered and devoid of tourist traps, the island offers lazy beach days, unparalleled diving and world-class shopping among the sherbet-colored Dutch colonial buildings dotting the capital city of Willemstad. Bon Bini!
Cookout in the Caymans
By Linda Tancs
Renowned French chef Eric Ripert of New York’s Le Bernardin is presiding over a long weekend cookout celebrating food, wine and the natural beauty of the Cayman Islands. The star-studded roster of chefs offering tastings, demonstrations, and dinners includes Susur Lee, Charlie Trotter, Rachel Allen and chef-turned-food raconteur Anthony Bourdain of the Food Channel. Now through 16 January, the events range from wine and food tastings at the Ritz-Carlton on Grand Cayman to an oceanfront lunch at historic Grand Old House, a cayside picnic, beachside BBQ and assorted galas to celebrate with grand Caribbean flair. Your culinary heroes await you.
Caribbean Honduras
By Linda Tancs
It’s getting harder to enjoy the quiet life in the bustling Caribbean, but there’s still hope at Roatán, the largest of Honduras’ Bay Islands. West Bay Beach hosts a coral reef that meets the shore at the south end, allowing you to commune peacefully with a variety of colorful fish, sponges and sea fans. The cruise ships generally meet up at a southern point referred to as “Tabayana Beach.” Even so, the area is remarkably quiet–particularly, though, at the northern end. There you can enjoy the fine, silky, palm-lined sand and its accompanying turquoise-blue water. Either way, it’s a win-win.
