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Why the Caribbean is a Great Vacation DestinationWritten by Katie-Anne Gustafsson |
With 31 main islands, and many smaller ones, the Caribbean offers a huge and diverse range of vacation opportunities for anyone who desires an exotic holiday. It's not just the scenery, which is breathtaking, that makes the Caribbean special, it's the culture, the people, the traditions and of course the sheer variety of things to do there.
The islands of the Caribbean make an arc that stretches 3200km from the South of Florida in North America down to South America's Venezuela. The islands are split into two main groups, the Greater Antilles is the largest and comprises islands such as Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. The other group, the Lesser Antilles, is broken again into two groups, the Leeward Islands (including St Barts, St Kitts, Antigua, and Guadeloupe), and the Windward Islands (including St Lucia, Barbados, Martinique and Grenada). There are other islands that fall within the Caribbean geography that are outside of these two Antilles groups, such as the Bahamas, the ABC islands and Trinidad and Tobago.
Beaches, rainforests, volcanic terrain, oceans (Caribbean and Atlantic) and mountains offer a variety of landscapes from dry desert like atmospheres to lush green forests hiding spectacular waterfalls. The Caribbean offers color from both nature and history. The various nations who've settled within the Caribbean over the centuries have created islands which are similar to each other in some respects and yet completely different in culture and traditions.
Choosing to visit the Caribbean for your holiday means that you'll have the opportunity to do many things you might dream about at home. Whether it's lying on a white sanded beach in the Dominican Republic, hiking up St Lucia's Pitons, or white water rafting in Jamaica, you're sure to have a vacation thats full of excitement. If you get a chance, do some island hopping and discover the diversity of the islands up close. You may find that the next island to the one you're staying on offers a black sanded beach rather than a white sanded one. Perhaps you enjoy a round of golf but the island you've picked doesn't have a great golf course - another nearby island could have an award winning course that will be just what you're looking for. Are you someone who wants to swim with dolphins or learn about the roots of Reggae music? The Caribbean offers the chance to do all of this, and much more, against a stunning natural background.
If you haven't booked your next vacation yet, take a look at the many islands of the Caribbean. You'll find you're spoilt for choice!