St Lucia
Posted by: travelhouseuk on: February 5, 2009
Lush and wild, St Lucia’s mountainous interior is covered by a thick rainforest. Strung along the leeward (Caribbean) coastline from Marigot to Rodney Bay are a string of resorts aimed at both couples and families. While the island is one of the Caribbean’s most popular honeymoon destinations, it draws a wide range of holidaymakers who are looking to do more than simply lie at the beach. St Lucia’s iconic Pitons, twin volcanic peaks that frame a picture-perfect bay, also draw divers who want to explore the steep drop-off lined with coral and sponges. While far from picturesque, the capital, Castries, has an exceptionally large market offering locally made crafts and other products. And after dark, who can resist the Gros Islet ‘Jump-Up’, a sometimes raucous street party with pulsing music and delicious (and inexpensive) food and drink.
Pinney Beach
Posted by: travelhouseuk on: February 4, 2009
Picture perfect is how visitors refer to Pinney’s Beach. The rarely crowded shore, with its soft, powdery, white sand and calm waters, caught the eye of tropical vacationers after Four Seasons built a luxury resort there. Pinney’s is on the quiet island of Nevis. Because of the high quality sugar once produced there, the isle was known as the Queen of the Caribbees. Sugar mill ruins still dot the island’s undulating landscape as does a pristine wilderness that green vervet monkeys, orchids and shimmering butterflies call home.
Puerto Rico
Posted by: travelhouseuk on: February 3, 2009
Despite its strong Spanish heritage, Puerto Rico has been largely Americanized as a United States commonwealth. US and Puerto Rican flags fly side by side. One of the Caribbean’s largest islands, Puerto Rico is a land of distinct contrasts. About 75% mountainous, it contains deserts, high mountains, rich rainforests, an extensive underground cave system and many beautiful beaches. Its crown jewel is tiny seven-block Old San Juan, once completely enclosed by a city wall and guarded by one of the hemisphere’s mightiest fortresses. Today, it is a picturesque residential, commercial and historic district ranking as one of the region’s favourite ports of call.
Ocho Rios
Posted by: travelhouseuk on: January 31, 2009
Ocho Rios is known as the ‘garden parish’ because of its lush tropical flora and exotic fauna, magnificent waterfalls and winding rivers. The coastal island town also boasts one of Jamaica’s most popular attractions, Dunn’s River Falls. Cruise ships frequently dock here, unloading thousands of passengers into the town’s craft markets, duty-free shopping areas, beaches and restaurants. Like all Jamaican towns, Ocho Rios is alive with reggae music and tourists who meander along the beaches and through the open-air restaurants and markets. Movie buffs know that ‘Goldeneye’, the luxurious former estate of James Bond author Ian Fleming, is just a few miles east of town. It’s been converted into a high-end resort.
Negril
Posted by: travelhouseuk on: January 30, 2009
Laid-back Negril is known as Jamaica’s ‘capital of casual.’ It is less developed than the island’s other resort towns, although it is still filled with hotels, restaurants and shops ranging from low-end to fancy. Negril became a popular destination in the 1970s, when American hippies flocked there to smoke ganja (marijuana) and jam to the island’s empowering and rebellious reggae music. Since then, the town has evolved into a more upscale tourist destination. It’s best known for its beautiful Seven Mile Beach, frequently ranked among the best beaches in the world.
Montego Bay
Posted by: travelhouseuk on: January 29, 2009
Mo Bay, as it’s nicknamed, is the most popular tourist spot in Jamaica. Despite its reputation for crime, tourists flock here for its beautiful beaches, top-rate golf courses, and bustling town near the main airport. The ‘hip strip,’ along Gloucester Avenue, is constantly abuzz with restaurants, nightclubs and shops, and it’s a huge port for American cruise ships. It may be noisy and untidy in some places, but Montego Bay is also lively and colourful. The town is divided into three sections: the hotel area, the city itself, and then the outlying beach and hillside areas.
Grand Anse Beach
Posted by: travelhouseuk on: January 27, 2009
Measuring only 19km (12 miles) by 34km (21 miles), the Caribbean island of Grenada has long been known as the ‘Spice Basket of the Caribbean,’ an apt name since Grenada supplies about a third of the world’s nutmeg. Grenada claims as many as 45 different beaches, but none compares to 3km (2-mile) long Grand Anse Beach, ideally situated on the sheltered leeward southwest coast. Only a short distance from the capital city of St George’s, Grand Anse is Grenada’s most popular beach and main resort area with accommodations ranging from guest houses and small luxury hotels to 240-room mega-resorts. All the properties are richly landscaped, a preview to what you’ll see in Grenada’s lush mountainous interior, especially the rainforest.
Punta Cana
Posted by: travelhouseuk on: January 24, 2009
Boasting a series of wide white beaches that stretch nearly uninterrupted for 50km (31 miles), Punta Cana was almost completely undeveloped just 40 years ago. Now it’s a busy international holiday destination, with 20,000 rooms scattered among more than 30 large hotels and resorts, almost all offering all-inclusive meal and beverage plans. It has a well-deserved reputation as one of the most affordable destinations in the Caribbean, as well as one of its friendliest, thanks to the Dominican Republic’s lively, Spanish-influenced culture and music. More recent projects, including the in-progress Cap Cana development with its Jack Nicklaus golf courses, are targeting a better-heeled visitor.
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Puerto Plata
Posted by: travelhouseuk on: January 23, 2009
The first beach destination developed for tourism in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Plata, remains one of its most popular, with a long string of affordable beachfront resorts and a reputation as one of the best spots for windsurfing in the world. The city of Puerto Plata, meaning ‘Port of Silver’ in Spanish, dates to 1502, but much of its charm is from its Victorian-era architecture, such as pastel buildings with gingerbread details, and its warm, Dominican-style friendliness. Most of the hotels are all-inclusives catering to package tourists and are built on Playa Dorada, about 10 minutes to the east of the city proper. The resort can also serve as a gateway to the rest of the North Coast resorts, including laid-back Cabarete (famous for kiteboarding) and Sosua, a budget-friendly beach village with low-cost shopping and dining and good snorkelling.
Varadero Beach
Posted by: travelhouseuk on: January 22, 2009
Located in the province of Matanzas, Varadero is the most famous beach resort in Cuba, and one of the largest resorts in the Caribbean. Also known as ‘Blue Beach’ because of its clear, calm waters, Varadero was founded back in the 19th century by a group of rich families coming from Matanzas city. But it became famous after the millionaire Irenée du Pont de Nemours built his estate on the so-called Península de Hicacos, although hotels only started to be built later in the 1950s. Since the early 1990s most of the peninsula has been developed for international tourism and the majority of the 50 or so hotels are co-owned by a foreign business. Varadero is fronted by a 20km (12-mile) fine white sandy beach, which is bathed by the warm waters of the Gulf Stream.
- greta: hello, nice blog, I am in Sinai for 15 years I would be glad to help you with a overview of the beautifull beaches of the Golf of Aqaba. I guess som
