Caribbean
Theislands of the Caribbean SeaorWest Indiesare an extensive archipelago in the far west of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly strung betweenNorthandSouth America.They've long been known as a resort vacation destination forhoneymoonersandretireesand are a major area forcruise ships,but a small movement towardeco-tourismandbackpackinghas started to open up the Caribbean to moreindependenttravel. With year-round good weather (with the occasional but sometimes serious exception ofhurricaneseason in the late summer and early fall), promotional air fares fromEuropeand North America, and hundreds of islands to explore, the Caribbean offers something for almost everyone.
Countries and territories
editCuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti) and Puerto Rico, often grouped as theGreater Antilles,are by far the largest islands in the area and the most visited by travellers. The Caribbean also includes theLucayan Archipelagoto the north, which is comprised of the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and theLesser Antilles,a group of much smaller islands to the east.
| Bahamas Archipelago of islands and cays surrounded by coral reefs off the coasts of Florida. One of them was the first piece of American soil Columbus put his foot on. |
| Bermuda(Outside of image map, see dynamic map) Small and wealthy British overseas territory in the Atlantic, known for a type of shorts and the supposedly mysterious triangle. |
| Cayman Islands Known for offshore banking, and a great diving destination. |
| Cuba The largest Caribbean island-nation, marked by decades of socialist government. Famous for classic American cars, cigars, rum, and an embargo which (along with its socialism) crippled its economy. |
| Jamaica An island of tall mountains, birthplace of reggae and a Commonwealth Realm. |
| Haiti Founded by former slaves who won their freedom and then independence against the might of revolutionary and Napoleonic France. Today, having struggled against conflicts and natural disasters, Haiti is undergoing a period of gang violence. |
| Dominican Republic A fast-growing economy with some of the oldest colonial cities in the hemisphere. |
| Puerto Rico A United States territory with bustling nightlife, as well as great inland sceneries. |
| Lesser Antilles(Anguilla,Antigua and Barbuda,British Virgin Islands,Guadeloupe,Montserrat,Saba,Saint-Barthélemy,Saint Martin,Saint Kitts and Nevis,Sint Eustatius,U.S. Virgin Islands,Barbados,Dominica,Martinique,Saint Lucia,Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,Grenada,Trinidad and Tobago) Small islands facing the open Atlantic. Many of them are dependencies of other countries. |
| Leeward Antilles(Aruba,Curaçao,Bonaire) Also known as theABCislands, these islands off the coast ofVenezuelaare associated with theNetherlands. |
| Turks and Caicos Islands Fabulous beaches and offshore banking. |
Other areas include:
- Navassa Island- Administered by theUnited Statesbut also claimed by Haiti, special permission from the US government is required to visit, and access is difficult and hazardous.
- San AndrésandProvidencia- Colombian territories off the coast of Nicaragua. These remote, off the beaten path destinations primarily cater to Colombian tourists.
- TheFlorida Keysare geographically adjacent to the Caribbean, and have a similar environment.Greater Miamiis home to a large Caribbean culture.
- Belize,French Guiana,GuyanaandSurinameare often considered part of the Caribbean as they share a common cultural heritage.
Cities
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- 1HavanaThe "Paris of the Antilles" with gorgeous colonial architecture and old American cars.
- 2KingstonThe capital of Jamaica and a great place to experience the reggae life.
- 3NassauThe main island of the Bahamas.
- 4Port-au-Prince
- 5Port of Spain
- 6San Juan
- 7Santiago de Cuba
- 8Santo Domingo
- 9Willemstad
Other destinations
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- Brimstone Hill Fortress National ParkinSaint Kitts
- 1Citadelle Henri Christophe and Palais Sans SouciinMilot,Northern Haiti
- 2Gran Parque Natural Topes de CollantesinCentral Cuba
- 3Jardines del Rey— a chain of islands of the northern coast ofCentral Cuba
- Maracas National Parkin northernTrinidad
- 4Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del RosarioinPinar del Rio provinceofWestern Cuba
- 5La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic SiteinSan Juan,Puerto Rico
- 6Viñales— a beautiful valley inPinar del Rio provinceofWestern Cuba
- 7Morne Trois Pitons National ParkonDominicafeaturing the Boiling Lake, the world's second largest geyser.
Understand
editHistory
edit- See also:Voyages of Columbus
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The Bermuda Triangle
Since the 1950s, popular mythology created a large triangle in the Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda, Puerto Rico and Miami, an area in which ships and aircraft would apparently disappear. Explanations have ranged from alien abductions to methane bubbles from the seabed. It is generally regarded as a complete myth, with shipping and air traffic frequently traversing the area with no issues at all. |
The Caribbean Islands were first inhabited by the Arawak Indians, then were invaded by a more aggressive tribe, the Caribs. Neither could appreciate their victory forever, although the Arawaks may have had a quiet reign of nearly two millennia. With the arrival of the Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, French, Danish, and British, the Carib population steeply declined due to various factors, although the inhabitants today have been proven to still possess significant Carib heritage. The islands have known many historic battles and more than a few pirate stories. Unlike the Central American mainland, which was colonized almost exclusively by Spain (with English protectorates on the Caribbean side), the Caribbean has seen various colonizers, who sometimes fought hard over control of relatively minor islands, primarily because the Caribbean was a very profitable place to grow the cash crop sugarcane with slave labor. Ultimately, slavery became untenable due to uprisings like the Haitian revolution, which succeeded in achieving abolition of slavery and independence in one fell swoop, and due to the increasing moral qualms of the European colonizers themselves. Following the abolition of slavery, the British, and later the Dutch, French and Spanish colonizers brought indenturedIndianlabourers to the Caribbean to work on the plantations instead. As the rest of the world industrialized, many Caribbean nations fell behind because the plantation owners were unwilling or unable to invest their considerable wealth in industry and today most of those islands live from agriculture, the export of raw materials and tourism. Some territories have also found success as "tax havens" or as a destination for casino tourism (e.g. Cuba until the 1950s) due to laxer laws than in the U.S. or other nearby nations. In the 21st century, many Caribbean countries have developed close ties with China, who have invested heavily in infrastructure projects under the auspices of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Culture
editWhile Spanish influence is strong in many parts of the Caribbean, indigenous, African and non-Spanish European influences are strong or even dominant on some islands. While most of the Caribbean is nominally Christian, indigenous and African rites have been blended with some tenets of Christianity to create new and unique belief systems. There are also many adherents of the Yoruba religion — called Santeria and Vodun — that came to the Americas with enslaved Africans. Some islands have substantial Hindu or Muslim minorities or both, while small Jewish communities on several islands includingCuraçaoare among the oldest in the Americas. Jamaica is famous as the wellspring of the Rastafarian religion.
The Caribbean is known worldwide for its African-influenced music, including charanga in Cuba; merengue in the Dominican Republic; ska, reggae and dancehall in Jamaica; and calypso in Trinidad and Tobago. And of course there are the steel pan performers on quite a few islands. But this only scratches the surface of what you can hear on a trip to the Caribbean.
Climate
editIn general the climate of the Caribbean is tropical with little change in temperature over the course of the year, however, rainfall does vary by season and there is also a pronounced hurricane-season with a handful of major tropical storms passing through the region each year.
Get in
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By plane
edit- See also:Avoiding travel through the US
Given the region's colonial past, there are plenty of present connections from many large European cities. The routes do change over time, but generally most islands can be reached viaLondon Heathrow,Frankfurt Airport,Amsterdam SchipholandParis Charles de Gaulle.There are flights fromMadrid Airportto Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.
From theUnited States
editThe proximity of the United States means that most of the islands have a connection. Miami International Airport serves the area best, but there are also flights from many major airports, especially on the East Coast. There is no direct service to the Caribbean from the West Coast; you will usually need to transfer through Miami.
Most Caribbean islands have flights from Toronto and Montreal. Sometimes there are also flights from Ottawa, London (Ontario), Halifax, and Quebec City.
FromCentral AmericaandSouth America
editMajor cities in Latin America have flights to the Dominican Republic and Cuba.
From the rest of the world
editThere are a few direct flights from major cities inAsia(e.g.ChinatoCuba), but it is probably best to find a connection between your city and either Europe or the United States to make your journey to this region.AustraliaandNew Zealandmay find a rare connection throughLatin Americahowever it will be comparatively expensive, with theUnited Statesproviding more options. Travel fromAfricais likely best served with a connection inEurope.Major airport hubs for access to the region areMiami International Airport,FloridaandTocumen International Airport,Panama.
By boat
editCruise shipsare an alternative for getting into the Caribbean. Largely catering to visitors from the US, probably the most popular starting points for Caribbean cruises areMiamiandKey West,though there may be cruises starting from theYucatán PeninsulaandVenezuelatoo. As cruise ships often spend the Northern Hemisphere summer in the Mediterranean and the winter in the Caribbean, they may offer transatlantic cruises to or from the Caribbean depending on the season.
The only regular passenger ferry from the mainland to a Caribbean island is operated byBaleària Caribbeanand runs daily betweenFort Lauderdale,FloridaandFreeport,in theBahamas.
Caribbean destinations are also popular among those whosail their own vessel.
Get around
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Numerous companies offer cruises, charters, and boat tours in the Caribbean.
By plane
edit- Caribbean Airlines,aTrinidad-based offers flights between islands andCanada,US,Europeand other airport inSouth America
- American Eagle is another notable air carrier between islands
By boat
editExpress des Ilesoffers transport betweenDominica,Guadaloupe,Martinique,St. Luciaand others for about€67one-way and€100round-trip.
Sail Caribbean Yachts[dead link]offers Sailing Boats, Motor Boats, Catamarans and Gulets for exploring the Caribbean sea.
Overland
editWith few exceptions transport on the individual islands is by bus or car only with any remaining railways long past their prime and not serving as practical means of transportation.
Talk
editEnglish,Spanish,DutchandFrenchrespectively are spoken on various islands, depending largely on its former colonial power. However, the majority of the population might not speak the metropole-version of said language but rather acreole,which often incorporates a lot of words from other languages (usually African and/or Native American) and can sometimes differ so much in grammar and spelling as to be unintelligible to even native speakers of the European language the Creole is based on.
The well-educated upper class and those who work in the tourism industry will usually be able to speak a version of the national language closer to what European visitors are used to, and they will often be able to hold a conversation in one or several other European languages as well. However, the likeliness decreases the further you get away from big cities and major tourism hot spots. As most of the Caribbean has a long history of both slavery and racial discrimination, and Creoles arose with that background and still sometimes have a stigma attached to them, you should beextremelycautious not to say anything negative about the Creole languages, their speakers, or their intellectual background. Believe it or not, political tracts and works of literature have been written in various Caribbean creole languages for centuries now, and to give just one example, theJamaican Patoisof Bob Marley is just as capable of expressing complex topics as are any American or British pop songwriters. Code switching is also pretty common and many people can be heard effortlessly switching from one idiom into another depending on the social situation, speaking "broad" Patois with friends or family and a much more metropole-sounding variant with tourists or in formal situations.
See
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Quelle Soufrière?
When theFrenchcolonizers gave names to places in the Caribbean, they apparently lacked imagination when it came tovolcanoes.You can namely find a volcano named Soufrière ( "sulfur place" inFrench) onGuadeloupe,MontserratandSt. Vincent and Grenadines.OnDominica,HaitiandSt. Luciait is the name of a town. Most of the Caribbean being geologically active, you probably won't have to travel far from these towns to see some...soufrière. |
The Caribbean Islands are famous for the "3 S's"Sun, Sea and Sand,which you can find plenty of in the region. There are all kinds of beaches from touristy ones with plane or shiploads of tourists to exclusive and expensive private islands, and of course places popular with locals. Some famous beaches include the Seven Miles Beach in theCayman Islandsand the Arashi beach and Baby Beach inAruba.Traditionally (beach) tourism to this part of the world has been about resorts, cruises and package trips, but independent travel is certainly also possible.
While the indigenous heritage has all but disappeared, apart from the small remnant of the Carib people, who live inDominica,theoldest colonial cities of the Americascan be found in the Caribbean. Perhaps no surprise as this was whereColumbusand other Europeans first set foot in the New World, and several islands are still dependencies of France, Netherlands or the UK. Indeed, many of theWorld Heritage Sitesin the Caribbean are colonialold towns,including ones inHavana,San Juan,Curaçaoand theEnglish Harbour.
Back then, the Caribbean Islands also became a major destination for Africans that thecolonizers forcibly brought in to work asslaves.The enslaved people lived under inhumane conditions with hard work, violence, disease and starvation making up their daily life. Slavery is long gone; some former plantations have now been turned into memorials, for instance the Slave Huts onBonaire.Black and mixed people make up a majority of the population of the Caribbean today, and thelocal culturehas African influences, including the voodoo religion of Haiti, the carnival and various styles of Caribbean music and dance.
Natural attractions(other than beaches) include rainforests,volcanoesand other geologically interesting features such as the Boiling Lake in Dominica. Other interesting mountains include the pitons inSaint Lucia(pictured on their national flag), and Pico Duarte in theDominican Republic,which is the highest point in the Caribbean.
Just traveling around the Caribbean can be exciting too, whether you do it by boat, plane or road. OnSaba,you can land and take off on the world's shortest commercially used runway.
The Caribbean conjures up tales of pirates and buried treasures. There are a few interesting hideouts from theGolden Age of Piracythat hold the scars of its swashbuckling past.
Do
editSports
editTwo closely related sports that are popular in the Caribbean arebaseballandcricket.Baseball is very popular in much of the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, while cricket is the more popular sport in the English-speaking Caribbean.
The Caribbean is also known for its sprinters in athletics, withJamaicaand theBahamasin particular regularly producing a large number Olympic gold medallists.
Eat
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Local cuisine is usually very well seasoned whether the outcome be savory, sweet or spicy. Don't be afraid to ask about what you're eating but be open minded when patronizing rural eateries where the cuisine is not tailored for international palates. The not-so-secret ingredient in much of the Caribbean (including the Caribbean coast of mainland Central America) is coconut and you may be surprised by the huge variety of foodstuffs that can be improved by the addition of coconut.
Many Caribbean countries also have largeIndiancommunities due to the fact that many indentured labourers were shipped here from India to work on the plantations instead following the end of the Atlantic Slave Trade. As a result, Indian-influenced dishes like curries as flatbreads are common in countries which received a large number of these Indian indentured labourers such asJamaicaandTrinidad and Tobago.
Drink
editRum is of course the spirit of choice in most of the Caribbean and some of the most well known and internationally acclaimed distilleries are found in this region.
Sleep
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The most affordable prices for accommodations you gonna find in theDominican Republicand onSan Andrés.
Many islands have luxury hotels available specifically for international tourists. Larger resorts are also available with ready access to the sea and swimming pools, but with not much freedom for anything else.
Respect
editAll Caribbean countries have aChristianmajority, with some having significant minorities ofMuslimsandHindus,andJamaicahaving a significant minority practising the indigenous Rastafari religion. Christians in the Caribbean tend to be more religious and conservative than those in the West, so expect many businesses to close on Sundays, when most of the locals will be at church.
Stay safe
editNatural disasters that may affect the Caribbean arehurricanesduring the summer and autumn, and less frequently but anytime and usually without warning:earthquakesandvolcanic activity.
Thecrimesituation varies considerably between islands and you should refer to the article on each island for specific information. Most places do experience low level theft such as wallets and cameras from unsuspecting tourists. Homicide levels also vary greatly, from high levels such as in Trinidad and Jamaica to low levels such as Cuba and Bermuda. Many islands with high crime rates often have exclusive resorts where tourists can be kept safe in a luxurious setting, with the obvious disadvantage that you will not do any exploring or see much of the local culture.
Go next
editFly west to the great deserts ofMexico,or go in the other direction and visit the massive rain forests ofBrazil.Or you could go north and visit the impressiveUSA.Central Americaisn't far away, either.