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The Caribbean comes alive with non-stop partying and parades during Carnival season. The best bets are Tobago, Curaçao, the Bahamas, Barbados, the USVI and Jamaica. The high islands feature great eco-adventures, sublime waterfalls and plenty of rainforest hiking, especially on St. Vincent, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, Barbados and Puerto Rico. There's also plenty of green adventure throughout the Central American side in Belize, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras and Mexico. Local markets offer a wide variety of local crafts and goods. The market in St. Georges, Grenada, will overwhelm your senses with the aroma of spices. Sea kayaking along the coasts will give you a unique perspective of mangrove nurseries, lonely beaches and inspiring views. Of course, you can always live the beach life with dozens of soft sand beaches from Bermuda's pink versions to the long stretches of white, sandy solitude on Turks & Caicos. Dozens of locally distilled varieties of rum can be found throughout the region, with each island seeming to have its signature brew. Top tipples include the USVI's Cruzan Rum and the local rums of Barbados, Grenada, Puerto Rico and Jamaica. Don't miss the many botanical gardens. Grand Cayman, St. Vincent and St. Croix have wonderful examples of local fauna. Throughout Central America you'll find a plethora of Maya ruins to explore, and almost every resort has a local spa to eliminate the last vestiges of any stress you might have brought with you.
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Granted, the St. Vincent international airport is not huge, so you'll have to
take a feeder flight from San Juan, Barbados or one of the other nearby
islands.
Sit in on a post-dive happy hour at most any dive resort and you will
inevitably hear tales of the good old days — a magical time of near-virgin
reefs teeming with fish life and charming seaside villages unsullied by
crowds or commercialism.
As you might expect, diving is a 24/7 proposition in Bonaire. You always have
two choices: boat diving and shore diving. The boats generally stick to the
usual schedule of morning, afternoon and the occasional night dive, but you
can always grab some tanks and march in at any of the shore dives around the
island. Expect to buy a $10 marine-park tag for your BC.
The U.S. Virgin Islands is America's number-one Caribbean dive destination. Here's a quick run-down of the islands' diving highlights.
British Virgin Islands
The British Virgin Islands haven't changed much over the years, and that's high praise considering the pressure of development these days. These islands still welcome you with blue skies, vibrant green ...
The underwater wonders of Curaçao hearken back to the Caribbean of 20 years
ago, and there are plenty of PADI 5-Star Dive Centers waiting to take you
exploring by boat and from shore.
You've heard of split personalities? The Turks and Caicos Islands have three. Most people get to know Provo first: big-name luxury resorts, miles and miles of white sand, golf, restaurants, nightlife and, of course, those lovely coral ...
The barrier reef off Belize is second in size only to Australia's Great Barrier Reef, and it's a lot more accessible for most of us. The starting point is Belize City, only a couple of hours by plane from several U.S. hub cities. ...
Two remote island groups never fail to inspire our elemental desire for places that remain raw, uninhabited and wild. Above the water, they are polar opposites. The first, the Revillagigedos, about 250 miles south of Cabo San Lucas, rise above ...
The Cayman Islands are one of the few places on Earth where you will never catch a curious glance for walking down the street with a dripping-wet bag full of dive gear.
The moment I stepped off the plane in Grand Cayman I was greeted by a ...
