Amazon.com: The Rough Guide to The Caribbean: More Than 50 Islands, Including the Bahamas (9781858288956): Rough Guides: Books

Book Description

Publication Date: November 21, 2002 | Series: Rough Guide Travel Guides

While the majority of visitors to the Caribbean walk off a cruise ship and head straight for the beach, there are a wealth of sites, both historical and natural, throughout the islands that are fascinating and unvisited. This book covers more than 50 island nations comprehensively, from Anguilla to the Virgin Islands, with tips on getting around and exploring each island, whether you're on a package vacation or travelling independently. It provides detailed reviews of the best places to stay, eat and drink, from all-inclusive holiday playgrounds to characterful tumbledown shacks. There is also practical information on the best ways to get out and explore each island, whether hiking in rainforest, diving around pristine reefs, or experiencing the local culture up close - plus tips on island-hopping.

#outer_postBodyPS { display: none; } #psGradient { display: none; } #psPlaceHolder { display: none; } #psExpand { display: none; } While the majority of visitors to the Caribbean walk off a cruise ship and head straight for the beach, there are a wealth of sites, both historical and natural, throughout the islands that are fascinating and unvisited. This book covers more than 50 island nations comprehensively, from Anguilla to the Virgin Islands, with tips on getting around and exploring each island, whether you're on a package vacation or travelling independently. It provides detailed reviews of the best places to stay, eat and drink, from all-inclusive holiday playgrounds to characterful tumbledown shacks. There is also practical information on the best ways to get out and explore each island, whether hiking in rainforest, diving around pristine reefs, or experiencing the local culture up close - plus tips on island-hopping.

Editorial Reviews

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

WHERE TO GO

Spanning an arc from southern Florida to Venezuela on the South American coast, the islands of the Caribbean are made up of two main chains which form a 3200 kilometre mile breakwater between the Caribbean Sea to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the north. Running south from Florida, the mostly limestone Greater Antilles (Cuba, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic and Haiti, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands) comprise the largest and most geographically varied of the two chains, with white-sand beaches aplenty as well as rainforest-smothered peaks that are remnants of submerged ranges related to the Central and South American mountain systems. Dryer, somewhat flatter and boasting as many black-sand beaches as white, the volcanic Lesser Antilles are further subdivided into the Leeward Islands (Anguilla, St Martin/St Maarten, St Barts, Saba, St Eustatius, St Kitts, Nevis, Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat and Guadeloupe) and Windward Islands (Dominica, Martinique, St Lucia, Barbados, St Vincent, the Grenadines, and Grenada). North of the Greater Antilles, the Bahamas, and Turks and Caicos Islands sit alone, as do Trinidad and Tobago and the "ABC islands" (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao), just off the Venezuelan coast, though the latter are also an autonomous part of the Kingdom of The Netherlands. Together with Saba, St Eustatius and St Maarten, these islands are collectively known as the Netherlands Antilles.

Deciding which of the islands to visit, however, is the fifty-million-dollar question. Obviously, you’ll need to consider what you want from your holiday. If you’re after two weeks of sunbathing and swimming and don’t plan on doing any exploring, then you’ve the freedom to allow a travel agent to pick the cheapest deal available – or just flip through this book and pick which sounds the most appealing. If variety is on your agenda, bigger islands which boast a diversity of landscapes – Cuba, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic – offer more scope for adventurous travel, with possibilities for hiking, rafting, eco-pursuits and cultural tours as well as beachlife, and probably demand a single-island trip. However, as island-hopping can be relatively easy, either by short plane trips or the occasional ferry, it’s well worth seeing more than one island, especially if you’ve picked a destination in the Lesser Antilles.

Of the Caribbean islands, two are not covered in this guide; at the time of writing Montserrat was still recovering from recent volcanic activity, while unrest in Haiti has made travel to that country inadvisable.

WHEN TO GO

As visitors mainly flock to the Caribbean to swap snow, rain and wind back home for the sun and warm waters of the tropics, it’ll come as no surprise to find that the region’s busiest time is the northern hemisphere’s winter (roughly Nov–Feb). During this high season, the daytime heat doesn’t reach blistering proportions, and is tempered by cool breezes and balmy evenings, while rain is generally restricted to brief early-afternoon showers. The downside to this, however, is that the beaches and attractions are busy, hotels are often full, and flights can get oversubscribed, with fares at a premium. Prices for almost everything may decrease in the slow summer season, but it’s not an ideal time to visit the Caribbean: days are oppressively hot and humid and nights are muggy. Late summer also sees the start of the hurricane season, which runs roughly from July to November, and even if there’s no big blow, this usually means a lot of rain. While there’s never really a bad time to holiday in the region, the Caribbean is best enjoyed in the shoulder seasons (early Nov and Feb through June), when flights and hotels are plentiful (and less expensive), and the weather dependable. Spring is also the season for catching one of the Caribbean’s many pre-Lenten carnivals.

CARNIVAL MENTALITY

Balmy temperatures, stunning outdoor venues and a bacchanalian worldview – the Caribbean is a fabulous place to party, and there’s an extensive programme of annual events that cater to the hedonistic urge. The festival calendar may kick off with Christmas Junkanoo parades throughout the region, but the real deal is pre-Lenten Carnival, of which Trinidad’s is the main event, bursting with pure, unbridled energy and with the emphasis on participation. Buy a costume and "play mas" in a costume band with five thousand revellers, or get coated in mud, paint or oil at the rawer, early-hours Jouvert parade. Carnival culture runs pretty much year-round, too, with substantial events in March (Jamaica, St Thomas), July (St Lucia, Barbados, St Vincent, Cuba, Antigua and Barbuda) and August (Grenada). Other major happenings with a uniquely Caribbean flavour include Jamaica’s Reggae Sumfest (Aug), held next to the sea and under the stars – the ultimate way to enjoy the cream of reggae performers in their home ground. Caribbean scenery provides the perfect backdrop for other music, too, and there are major jazz festivals featuring international performers in Barbados (Jan), St Lucia (May), Jamaica and Aruba (June), while Dominica stages the World Creole Music Festival each October. Although you may not be here for the big events listed above, rest assured that as every island has its own sizeable roster, there’ll be something going on whenever you visit; see individual chapters for lists of major festivals and events.