Need some suggestions for Carribean/Bahamas

[GoinAllTheWay]

Afternoon all!

My g/f and I are trying to book a trip within the next month to month and a half. We are looking for something other than Mexico.

We went to St. Maarten a few years back and absolutely loved it. Was hoping some here may have some suggestions for other Caribbean destinations? Don't know much about the area other than we really want to see more of it.

Bahamas would be an option too as I would imagine there are more direct flight options?

We prefer to book at an all inclusive resorts but not mandatory. Even just having breakfast included would be fine. We are also not the type that like to stay at the resort the whole time. We alternate one day at the beach, one day exploring surrounding area rinse and repeat.

We have ruled out places like DR, Jamaica and Cuba.

Any tips/suggestions would be most welcome.

[Northendzone]

wondering how many posts it will take before you get told that one of DR, Jamaica or Cuba are the best and every place else sucks......

I thought the knock on Carribean destinations is that there are no direct flights from Calgary

[Fuzz]

Cuba.

Bahamas are great, not sure if you have visited the BVI's, and I'm not sure they have all inclusive options, but you could look into it. I've only done sailing trips around both areas, so can't comment to much on the land base stuff, but the islands are awesome, and you can take water taxis to explore.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

I thought the knock on Carribean destinations is that there are no direct flights from Calgary

That's the hard part. When we went to St. Maarten, we had to take the red eye to TO. The flight time wasn't bad but that first flight sure sucked.

I usually start looking through Expedia and Travelocity just to see what's available in those areas and travel times are usually around 22 hours.

I think finding a good flight to TO and then start looking from there is the way to go.

[calgarygeologist]

Puerto Rico is nice and it is pretty easy to fly there.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

I think the flight options will be terrible, no matter where you go. I went on a cruise a few years back, and thought that St. Lucia was the best. A little more lush and tropical in my mind. Really beautiful spot.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by Fighting Banana Slug

I went on a cruise a few years back, and thought that St. Lucia was the best.

Was just looking at St. Lucia and it does look amazing. Think that may be on the short list.

Someone also suggested looking at departures from Houston.

[photon]

Turks and Caicos is beautiful, but there's not really anything else to do other than the resorts.

[undercoverbrother]

Barbados.


I went there a lot when we had family living there.

I believe you can fly Westjet, Calgary>Toronto>Barbados.

We have not been there for a few years, but when we went it was very safe. We were out and about at all hours of the night.

There are some resorts, but IIRC, no true All Inclusive like Mexico.

There are a lot of rental places on VRBO. Barbados, is kind of like a few islands in one. On the west the ocean is very calm and perfect for diving/snorkeling. On the east it is the opposite and there is surfing. The south is a mixture of the two. The north is no swimming.

All the beaches in Barbados are public. So even large resorts can't stop you from being on their beach. They can control your accessing their beach through their properties, but we never had any issues.

There are a few different things you can do, Rum Distillery Tours (http://www.mountgayrum.com/ is the oldest rum distillery in the world). There are some pretty cools caves in the north of the island.

[troutman]

Often forgotten - Trinidad and Tobago.

http://www.gotrinidadandtobago.com/s...adTDCOct25.pdf

[Finger Cookin]

Barbados is an amazing amalgam of a Carribbean vibe mixed with an equal part of old time British commonwealth stuffiness. I really enjoyed the 10 days I spent there. Between a jeep tour of the island, a pretty typical catamaran swimming, snorkling, and drinkfest, a touristy dinner and beach party, and a wide choice of all-inclusives, I think there'd be a lot there for you to try and see.

[Lubicon]

The wife and I went to Barbados for our honeymoon. Thoroughly enjoyed it as well. Relatively easy to get to via Toronto as well.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Hmmm, welcome to the short list, Barbados.

[oilyfan]

I have been reading about Barbuda, and am absolutely fascinated by it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/0...n_6457084.html

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by oilyfan

I have been reading about Barbuda, and am absolutely fascinated by it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/0...n_6457084.html

Thanks, I had no idea about that.


OP, the other place i have been is Cayman Islands. I didn't like it as much as Barbados. That being said it is a safe place.


There is a lot of things to do. I don't dive, but it surrounded by dive sites.

I think Westjet flies there via Toronto. Of the two, I would put Barbados above Cayman.

[Minnie]

Went to one of the outer/"family" islands in the Bahamas a number of years ago - Eleuthera. Slower paced than say, Nassau (New Providence island) - much less touristy. The whole island is only 110 miles long and very narrow - easy enough to explore. Good diving/snorkeling around there. Fishing too, if you like that sort of thing. Beaches are awesome (French Leave, Lighthouse, Ten Bay, Surfer's) - if you surf, definitely go to Surfer's Beach - the waves weren't immense by any stretch, when we were there, but it was fun to watch - a few tried it, and enjoyed it. Ocean Hole might be fun, but I don't know what you're looking for, exactly - you can swim there, and feed the fish (no fishing there though). We never went, and I can't recall the name of the place, but we heard there is a plantation/farm that does tours and they used to grow a whole schwack of hot peppers that they exported and also produced their own hot sauces, etc. If you like hot sauces, Eleuthera lays claim to a number of different brands on the island, that are supposed to be pretty good.

There are some caves that can be fun to explore - Preacher's Cave (Tay Bay Beach is pretty much right there, and really beautiful, so you could explore and then spend time on the beach), Hatchet Bay, The Cathedral, Bat's Cave (Ten Bay Cave), Gale Hole, one that we were told is called Smuggler's Cave but later heard that isn't the official name of it). Glass Window was interesting (Atlantic on one side, Caribbean on the other, separated by a narrow strip of rock) - we stopped on the way back from there and bought fresh pineapple from a roadside stand. So good - they took the outside skin off and left the top tuft on, to hold, and you just eat it like that.

Some of the towns are fun to wander around in - if you're in Tarpum Bay, eat at Barbie's; stop at Tippy's in Governor's Harbour. I dunno - we found a fair amount to keep busy with when we wanted to. Blackbeard is alleged to have spent time on Eleuthera and there is a dive specific to Blackbeard's Treasure Hole (lol) - Eleuthera lays claim to a few somewhat famous pirates and allegedly, there is still some treasure belonging to Blackbeard, that is squirreled away on the island somewhere, and not yet found. We were there during the Goombay Summer Festival and enjoyed that. There are a few resorts on Eleuthera, and a variety of private homes for rent, all over the island.If I had a pile of moola to spend, I'd stay at Five Palms Beach House.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by oilyfan

I have been reading about Barbuda, and am absolutely fascinated by it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/0...n_6457084.html

Oh. My. God. Yes please......

[GP_Matt]

A second vote for St. Lucia. Lots of great beaches and hiking/water sports will keep you busy.

To help your search skip travelocity and go straight to Google Flight Explorer. https://www.google.com/flights/explore/
Type in Calgary, Caribbean and a month and you will get incredible results to help narrow down your planning.

[Amethyst]

I second (third, fourth?) the recommendation for Barbados. After trying a number of options, I think it is my favourite. I stayed at an all-inclusive once (at what is now Sandals in St. Lawrence Gap) because I got a really good deal. In general, I don't think all-inclusive is necessary for Barbados, as there are many great restaurants and bars.

Last time I stayed at the South Gap hotel, which is not a fancy resort hotel, but is a less expensive, locally owned one. It is right in the heart of St. Lawrence Gap (my favourite area to stay on the island) and looks out over the sea. It's got a rocky cliff, so no beach, but a five minute walk in either direction leads to other beaches. The hotel rooms have a little kitchenette, so you can pick up groceries and have breakfast there, if you don't want to go out for breakfast every day.

[Joborule]

Adding on to the Barbados bandwagon because that's where my roots are from!

If you're looking for some adventure to the trip you can also take the Atlantis Submarine ride or go below the earth into Harrison's Cave.