Sure, every island in the Caribbean has plentiful beaches and perfect snorkeling, but what can you do to get the most of your trip to the Caribbean? Below are a few suggestions to maximize your experiences.
Swim With the Stingrays
One of the most misunderstood sea dwellers are the sting ray. Harmless and graceful, you can snorkel alongside them at Stingray City in the Cayman Islands. Tame enough to eat from your hand, they mingle around tourists, looking for free food.
Witness Carnival
What else can be said about the biggest party in the world? Though each island has their own festivities, Trinidad is world-famous for drawing revelers from all across the globe to come, don a mask and ignore their inhibitions.
Caribbean is home to some of the best beaches . Caribbean Beaches are great for snorkeling, diving, swimming with the stingrays and laying out on the sand. For some the Caribbean beaches are a perfect destination for a Caribbean wedding.
St. Lucia Jazz Festival
With all the attention paid to reggae and steel drum in the islands, it's interesting to see the influence those styles have on the jazz music that finds its center in St. Lucia. Enticing visitors from all over the world, the festival is one of the most popular Caribbean attractions. For those who wish to get away from Bob Marley, if only for a few days, this is the place to do it.
Experience Haiti
The perfect island for those who want to really interact with a foreign culture. Voodoo is exotic and strangely beautiful, especially in many of its non-sacrificial rituals, while tourist crowds are almost non-existent.
Caribbean Shopping is definitely a must for those on vacation. Shopping in the Caribbean can be the hightlight of the trip with the wide variety of goods offered at the market. Jewelry is one of the staples of shopping in the Caribbean and can be found at quite a bargain.
For anyone who ever wanted to share a pool with these gentle, playful creatures, this is it. There are several programs available that allow this to happen, though you will have to make reservations well in advance, as it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Caribbean.
No one leaves the island without raving about the food. You'll find everything from the heights of French cuisine to nearly any style found on the globe, prepared by some of the best chefs in the Caribbean. Most of the best restaurants are located on the French side – Enoch's Place is famous for its traditional Caribbean dishes and Bistrot Nu is one of the many locations specializing in rich French foods.
Brace for Inevitable Financial Disappointment in an Aruban Casino
Like an island Vegas, there are numerous casinos in Aruba to choose from, each with its own particular style. For those who like casual elegance the Casablanca Casino is for you. The Royal Palm is the largest, and its chic interior brings out all kinds of gamblers. But for serious gamblers, the Excelsior is where to play. All the finest table games, plus a well-designed sportsbook – the Excelsior draws those who are serious about cashing in on their Aruba vacation.
This is one of main attractions of the Caribbean for nature lovers. In the Morne Trois Pitions National Park you can see Boiling Lake. The largest of these lakes in the world, no one knows how deep it goes. The surrounding areas cover everything from thick vegetation that rises 30 feet from the jungle floor to the aptly named Valley of Desolation – where sulfur has destroyed everything but the colorful streams of water that run red, orange, purple and black.
Visit a Rum Distillery in Martinique
Rum is forever synonymous with the tiny islands that produce it, but there's a reason that Martinique is sometimes referred to as “rum island.” Mainly producing two brands of the liquor, one from sugar cane and the other from molasses, the La Mauny distillery is the island's most famous and popular. The Saint James distillery to the north is no distant second. For those ready to give in to the liquor's heady appeal, a distillery tour is one of the top tourist attractions in the Caribbean.
Take in the Nightlife on the Southern Coast of Barbados
Besides having some of the best beaches in the region, the St. Lawrence Gap and Worthings-Hasing area also home to many dance clubs and rum shops that keep going until 3 am. While island nightlife is one of the main attractions of the Caribbean, not every nation delivers. The southern coast of Barbados definitely does.
