The Beauty and Wonder of the Caribbean Never Grows Old!

I think we on the east coast of the United States often take the Caribbean for granted. The beauty of the Caribbean is breathtaking. The people are amazing. The variety of the topography and things to do on each island is no less than wondrous. We have had amazing vacations to the Caribbean region and it never gets old. Having the Caribbean region a few hours flight away (and typically direct flights) is a benefit we should never take for granted when living on the east coast.

We have visited over a dozen places in the Caribbean together and even more before we were a couple. All of them beautiful with many things to do. You cannot go wrong with any area of the Caribbean you choose to visit, although we have some least favorite places. The list of locations we have visited include: the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas (Nassau), Barbados, Jamaica, Cancun, Cozumel, St. Thomas, St. Croix, the Dominican Republic (Punta Cana), Belize, Costa Maya, Coco Cay, and Half Moon Cay. We have a cruise planned next month that will take us to Aruba, Curacao, St. Kitts/ Nevis, and St. Thomas. As the title of this blog notes, the beauty and wonder of the Caribbean never grows old!

The Cayman Islands is absolutely beautiful! One thing that is a once in a lifetime must do in the Caymans is swimming with the stingrays. There is a sandbar off the coast of the Cayman Islands in what seems to be the middle of the ocean. A boat will take you out to the sandbar where you can stand up. While you are standing in the ocean with water everywhere you can see, stingrays swim up to you. You can touch them, feed them, or just watch them. It is absolutely a must do when you visit Grand Cayman!

Turks and Caicos quite simply has some of the most beautiful beaches we have ever seen. It is just a beautiful island. The people are very friendly and the island is very safe. In Puerto Rico, we flew into San Juan but stayed in the Rio Grande area at the Gran Melia. We had a wonderful stay and recommend this resort although the beach is very rocky, so bring your swim shoes. We visited El Yunque National Forest and it is a natural wonder. We also visited Luquillo beach. That is a beach open to the public and the water is absolutely stunning. It was also nice to spend time with the local residents.

When we visited Barbados, we stayed on the Gold Coast at the Club Barbados Resort and Spa. I would not recommend this resort. It was horrible. I have no idea how it continues to receive good reviews. The beach is basically inaccessible because there is a seawall between the resort and the beach. You must take stairs down to the water. The beach area is above the seawall. The rooms are old. The linens are old. Also, it is advertised as an all-inclusive and there is only one restaurant. The food was mediocre at best. The staff are very nice but I would never stay at Club Barbados Resort and Spa again.  It was so bad that we went to the Hilton Barbados for a few nights and had an amazing time. The beach at the Hilton is perfect for swimming, and boogie boarding. We also visited the George Washington House and the tunnels used to transport slaves in Barbados (Garrison Tunnels). We had a private tour guide who drove us around the island and also took us to Harrison Cave. We try to do some sight-seeing and visit local attractions whenever we go to the Caribbean. In my opinion, it is a waste to visit these culturally and historically rich islands and stay on the resort the whole vacation. 

We have written about Cozumel before and listed it as a place to see. You can read our prior blog about Cozumel. It is definitely worth a visit. In regard to Cancun and Playa del Carmen which are a ferry ride away from Cozumel, both of those locations are a place for me. We are aware of the current unrest in the region. However, the people, the resorts, the beaches, and the weather cannot be beat. We have stayed in various Secrets resorts in the Cancun and Playa del Carmen area. Secrets the Vine is our favorite thus far. There is also so much to do there. We have visited Xcaret which is an amazing natural wonder and adventure park. It is described as an eco-archaeological park and we have never seen anything like it. It is a must see. We visited Chichen Itza which is listed on some of the seven wonders of the world lists. It is a huge Mayan ruins complex. The history and wonder of it will leave you breathless. When there is no longer a travel warning, we strongly recommend visiting Cancun and/or Playa del Carmen. We visit almost every year.

Jamaica, St. Thomas, St. Croix, and the Dominican Republic are islands that we have visited and loved. We want to visit each of these islands a few more times to really take in the culture and the beauty. We have only visited Montego Bay, Jamaica and loved it!! We want to visit other parts of the island on our next trip to Jamaica. My husband’s birthday party next year will be in Jamaica at the Secrets Wild Orchid and Secrets St. James. That is a great combination resort to visit. We highly recommend it. We have visited St. Thomas together once on a cruise and are going back again in a few weeks on a cruise. We look forward to actually staying on the island. We visited Blackbeard’s Castle and walked around the city of Charlotte Amalie on our last visit. We also walked around the port and visited Ft. Frederik on St. Croix. Jamaica, St Thomas, and St. Croix are definitely places we want to visit again and stay awhile.

We stayed several days in the Dominican Republic (Punta Cana) at the Secrets Royal Beach Punta Cana. We had a wonderful stay at this resort and would stay there again. The staff were so helpful and we had a great oceanfront suite. We had a private tour of the area and visited the shopping district. We look forward to visiting the Dominican Republic again and seeing more of the country.

Coco Cay and Half Moon Cay are private islands owned by cruise line companies. Both are beautiful with beautiful beaches. If you take a cruise, you will have a chance to visit these or other amazing private islands owned by the cruise lines. Make sure you enjoy these islands. You feel like you are in the middle of the ocean and have some of the most beautiful water and beaches at your disposal.  

Of all of the Caribbean islands, Nassau Bahamas is one of our least favorite. There is a lot to do in Nassau and the beaches are nice but compared to other areas in the Caribbean, Nassau Bahamas is not one of our top picks. We have visited a few times and said our next trip to the Bahamas will be to Exuma. We believe that will be breathtaking and cannot wait to visit. If you visit Nassau, be sure to go over to Paradise Island or even stay there. The aquarium in The Atlantis resort is a must see. 

Belize and Costa Maya are also among our least favorite places in the Caribbean. We visited the Mayan Temple, Altun Ha in Belize. It is a temple not ruins because it has not been restored. The history and sanctity of the site make it a must see. The city is very poor and there is not much to see there. The beaches are available on the Belize islands not from the city. Costa Maya is just the port area which is very touristy and there is not much to see or do there either. Mahahual is a very small municipality next to Costa Maya (an area of only about 1500 people) and not much at all in the town. We drove through the town and went out on a glass bottom boat ride. We saw sea turtles while on the boat ride which was a nice treat, but Costa Maya left much to be desired. 

The bottom line is that we absolutely love the Caribbean! It is a place for me for sure! All of the islands and countries in the Caribbean have their own beauty, history and culture. We definitely like some locations more than others. Nonetheless, our goal is to visit them all and tell you all about them. As you travel, include the Caribbean on your must see list!! Safe travels my fellow globe trekkers!!