Caribbean

We took an 11-day cruise in the Caribbean spanning 8 ports of call across 7 countries. The ship, Norwegian Breakaway is an old ship. So, we find the amenities to be a bit lacking compared to our recent experience with the Royal Caribbean . Compared to our previous trip seven years back on Norwegian Cruise Line, the food quality for vegetarians has decline significantly, especially, since the buffet is no longer 24-hours. Further, the dine-in restaurants get startled when we asked for vegetarian food. ...

The oil-rich twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago are the southernmost island in the Caribbean. The smaller Tobago island is more beautiful, safe, and worthy of spending time on than the bigger Trinidad island. So, if you are short on time, just visit Tobago island. There are 30 USD one-way flights between Trinidad’s POS airport to Tobago’s TAB airport. Day 1 - Port of Spain Stroll through Queen’s Park area, checking out places like Stollmeyer’s Castle, Free Botanical Garden, 30 TTD Zoo, and Ariapita avenue. ...

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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

We took a Norwegian cruise in the western Caribbean. The journey was seven-days long, three days on board, and four days at Falmouth (Jamaica), Georgetown (Cayman Islands), Costa Maya (Mexico), and Great Stirrup Cay (Bahamas). If you are a first-time cruiser, read some of my tips for first-time cruisers . Day 1 & 2 - at the sea The boarding is a bit of a mess. With 5000 passengers boarding and everyone required to assemble in the common area for the security briefing, it was complete chaos for a few hours. ...

Among all islands in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico (“Rich Port”) is among the few to have historical and geographical places of interest, alongside the beaches. It is a U.S. territory. Flights from the mainland United States are treated as domestic flights. It has tropical weather, so, a visit in the latter part of the year is recommended. Public transport is poor outside of the main city of San Juan, so, if you want to explore the island, a rental car is highly recommended. Here is a recommended four-day itinerary. ...