Travel

If you are planning your first trip to the Caribbean and you want to decide where to go to then this post is right for you. If you are looking for something very touristy, international, and easy to access then pick between English-speaking Belize and the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic . Both of them have all the comforts of the mainland US. And are good for both singles and couples. Both are relatively cheaper than other islands I list below. While Belize is not technically an island, it has great access to the Caribbean sea. ...

The Dominican Republic is probably the most touristy Spanish-speaking Caribbean island. In my experience, it can be aptly called the tout capital of the Caribbean. We went there in the shadows of COVID-19. The island has pretty good intra-city and inter-city public transport. The local currency DOP, Dominican Peso, is about 1/60th of the US dollar. Day 1 - Santo Domingo to Punta Cana We landed at the Santo Domingo airport, took a 200 DOP guagua to Parque Enriquillo, and from there took a 2.5-hour bus ride to Punta Cana. We stayed there near the beach. Punta Cana is a typical Caribbean resort city full of touts. You won’t miss much if you skip it. But if you go, I would recommend Kat’s corner for breakfast. ...

There are several caves at Lava Beds National Monument of varying levels of challenges. I would recommend starting with a few easy ones first before taking it to a higher level. The caves do get really shallow at times, sometimes, less than a foot in height, so, don’t go in if you get claustrophobic. Gears to carry HeadLamp Helmet - even a bike helmet would work Knee Pads Good hiking boots A small chart summarizing which caves to do Detailed report with maps of the caves Caves I started with the Balcony cave, it’s an easy fun cave with a 5-minute journey from entry to exit. The exit of Balcony cave is joined to the Boulevard cave, it was another fun cave to explore. ...

I love taking public transport while traveling. One, not only, gets a chance to see the lifestyles of the locals but also becomes more familiar with the new area. So, when can one count on public transport while traveling? Peru and Ecuador had great public transport, both short and long-distance. Dominica had mediocre, Aruba had just one bus going around the island’s outer road. Hawai’i has mediocre. The Dominican Republic has great public transport for both short and long-distance. So, why is this the case? ...

Aruba, a small Caribbean island 29 km north of Venezuela, is a part of the ABC islands - Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, which form the Dutch Caribbean and is a part of the Netherlands. It is famous for its white-sand beaches. Where to stay Aruba Downtown is very far from the impressive beaches in the northwest. Choose a hotel/resort/Airbnb near the world-famous Eagle Beach or Palm beach. Public transport consists of a bus that takes 5.2 US$ on a single ride and runs almost once an hour. Taxis, just like everything else, on the island, are expensive. ...

Egypt, locally known as Misr (मिस्र) is world-famous for its pyramids and ancient polytheist temples. I made a trip to Egypt in Nov 2020, during the COVID-19 era. Given the general lack of tourism, it was a great time to travel since I didn’t face any queues and in many temples, I was the sole visitor. Very few people outside the tourism industry understand English, so, it is good to make yourself aware of a few basic phrases. The equivalent of “hello” is “As-salamu alaykum”. To ask for a price, say " bekam da ". And of course learn the common numbers like five (hamza), three (thlath), ten (ashri), and twenty (ashrin) since these are what you will encounter on the street. And “I don’t understand Arabic” is “Ana mish fahem al Arabee”. ...

Glacier National Park, Montana is considered to be one of the most gorgeous national parks in the US. We went there in September 2020. It wasn’t snowing but the weather was still pretty erratic with random cold showers during the day. So, I would recommend going no later than August. Also, the east side, which has Native American reservations were closed to prevent COVID-19 spread. Dressing in at least three layers is highly recommended as the weather changes dramatically with heights and the time of the day. ...

Dominica, not to be confused with the Dominican Republic , the nature island, is not easily accessible via the mainland United States. The airport is small and only propeller planes can land there. The island is beautiful and is one of the few Caribbean islands with a rainforest. It is known to have 365 rivers. The currency is East Caribbean Dollar (1 USD = 2.7 XCD). The USD has full acceptance, though. Kalalau is the national dish. It’s a soup made from Dakshin, and I would recommend trying it out. Public transport is better than most other islands but is still limiting if your itinerary is jam-packed. There are two towns, Roseau and Portsmouth. I would recommend staying in Roseau if you don’t have a rental car since most tours, taxis, and buses depart from there. Most good activities are on the south side of the island. The south faces the calmer Caribbean Sea while the north side faces a more turbulent Atlantic Ocean. Things to do Boiling Lake - a 6-hour round-trip hike on a well-marked trail. It starts at Laudat, the highest village on the island. You can either take a 50 EC$ taxi or a 5 EC$ public bus from the Botanical Gardens. There is a “breakfast river” stop one hour into the hike where you can refill water bottles. The temperature at the center of the lake is about 400ºC, while at the edges is 80ºC. Victoria Falls - The most beautiful falls on the island. It has an excellent natural swimming pool. It has a bit convoluted of a hike that involves crossing a river four times. So, it is hard to do this without a guide. Wavine Cyrique Falls - The falls themselves are not extraordinary, but the hike to the falls is pretty intense and involves climbing down a ladder on the cliff along with a cliff hike. ...

Cancun, or, more precisely, Cancún, is a coastal tourist city on the Caribbean (eastern) side of Mexico. There are two significant areas, Punta Cancun (tip of Cancun), also known as the Hotel Zone and Playa Del Carmen. We chose to stay in Punta Cancun. The Hotel Zone is walkable and you don’t need to rent a car if you are staying there. Buses are always available to go to other parts of Cancun though you rarely will. ...

We decided to do a packaged tour of Kerala, India. The tour included round-trip flights from Delhi to Kochi, a taxi for the full journey, and all the hotel stays. Day 1 - Kochi to Munnar While going from Kochi to Munnar, a three-hour drive, we first stopped at Valara falls and then saw the Ayurvedic (herbal) medicinal and spice production at Greenland Spice Garden . Day 2 - Munnar We checked out the Mattupetty Dam and the nearby market. From there, we headed to Echo Point . While returning, we stopped at the Cowboy Adventure Park . I would highly recommend this park; your driver won’t probably want to take you here since the price is too low to give him a kickback. We had to skip Eravikulam national park since we spent too much time (~3 hours) at the Cowboy Adventure Park. Then, we headed back to Munnar and checked out the Tata Tea Museum. There isn’t much to see at the museum. In the evening, we ended up for a massage at an Ayurvedic Massage Centre . The center appears rustic, but the experience was excellent. ...