Caribean Islands Guide 2 (from Washington Post)

Critters? Cuisine? Casinos? Pick Your Perfect Isle

Sunday, March 4, 2007; P08

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Diving and Snorkeling

Divers in the know love Bonaire in the Dutch Antilles, says Ben Davidson, editor of the diving magazine Undercurrents, in large measure because you can simply wade from the beach to find great diving spots.

"There aren't big fish, but that's pretty much true throughout the Caribbean these days," Davidson says. "But the reefs are quite nice, and you can save money and time by not having to take a boat." Bonaire's sister island, Curacao, offers the same advantage. Moreover, both islands have mild currents, and both are virtually hurricane-proof.

The Cayman Islands, and particularly Little Cayman, have dramatic underwater walls and great coral reefs. "It's pretty pristine. You can't compare it to 30 years ago, but it's as good as it gets for underwater terrain," Davidson says, and there aren't many currents.

For nice and easy diving, Grand Turk in Turks and Caicos is a great choice, but don't confuse ease with mediocrity: The island has a dramatic vertical wall not far offshore and a lot of small tropical fish.

More experienced divers -- especially those who don't care that there are no beaches or night life -- should consider Saba. "Offshore pinnacles are quite dramatic, sometimes you can see sharks, the coral is lovely and it's pretty unique," Davidson says. "But many of the pinnacles don't break water, so it feels like open-ocean diving, and you have to go deeper. Saba attracts serious divers but otherwise doesn't get a lot of tourists."

The critter capital of the Caribbean is St. Vincent, where you'll find unusual small things hiding, such as sea horses and inch-long pipefish and frogfish. If you're into macro underwater photography, this is a great place to find tiny living things to shoot. For big, scary things, go to the Bahamas, which has organized shark dives.

The elements that make for great diving -- reefs, crystal-clear water and an abundance of underwater wildlife -- also make for great snorkeling. Thus the islands listed above are also havens for snorkeling. To the "best" list for the activity, however, add Aruba, where visibility is up to 90 feet and coral reefs are covered with sea fans and giant sponge tubes. In St. Lucia, divers love the Anse La Raye wall, but it's also accessible for snorkeling. Nevis has a Sea Life Educational Center, where a marine biologist offers a hands-on lesson, then guides participants on a snorkel search for fish, lobster, octopus, sea stars and turtles.

Golf

And the winner is, six under par: Dominican Republic. The island has 23 courses and more under construction. Only four golf courses in the Caribbean made Golf Digest magazine's list of "100 Best Golf Courses Outside the U.S." in 2005, and two are in the Dominican Republic.

Teeth of the Dog at the Casa de Campo resort is widely considered the best course in the Caribbean and was ranked 17th on the magazine's list. It is challenging and windy, says Peter Finch, a senior editor at Golf Digest. He adds that two other Pete Dye-designed courses at the resort, the Links and the unfortunately named Dye Fore, are first-rate as well.

The Dominican Republic is also home to Playa Dorada, part of the Wyndham resort in Puerto Plata, ranked 53rd on Golf Digest's list. Nearby, the Cap Cana development's Punta Espada course, designed by Jack Nicklaus near a dramatic coastline, is a new competitor. Two other Nicklaus-designed courses are planned at the site.

Jamaica has long been a popular golf spot, but the opening of the White Witch at the Ritz-Carlton in the past decade "really put the island on the golf map," Finch says.

Barbados is best known for its classic course, Royal Westmoreland, which ranked 31st on the golf magazine's list. It was the only significant course in Barbados until the opening of three courses at Sandy Lane resort: the Green Monkey, the Old Nine and the Tom Fazio-designed Country Club Course. The resort is where Tiger Woods had his wedding. The Country Club Course will probably make Golf Digest's new "100 Best" list this year, but some people think it's too stuffy.

Bermuda, known generally for great golfing, has "one of the best courses in the world," Finch says: the Mid Ocean Club, which runs along the water for several holes and ranked 45th on the "100 Best" list. Also in Bermuda, Tucker's Point is tops, Finch adds, saying that the two courses "are next to each other, so you can play one, have lunch, then play the other. A perfect day."

Gourmet Dining

Finding a nice dinner of fresh fish is possible on any Caribbean island. Excellent restaurants are scattered here and there, and if goat stew is your idea of a delicacy, you should find happiness on many islands. But let's face it, gourmands don't usually run to the Caribbean all hopped up about the array of dining choices.

If food is a primary factor in deciding which island to choose, think first of those with French influence. St. Barts attracts young chefs trained in fine French restaurants. Guadeloupe, whose tourism bureau lists 200 restaurants, is also a place to find good French and West Indian Creole, as is St. Martin and, to a lesser degree, Martinique.

Despite its British heritage, Barbados ranks high among the Caribbean islands for dining. Restaurants specialize in European and Caribbean fare, with some Asian touches. The Zagat Survey chose Barbados as the subject of its first and so far only restaurant guide of the Caribbean.

Puerto Rico is known for good food with a Spanish flair, although San Juan's 200 restaurants offer cuisine from around the world. More than 40 restaurants get the government's "mesones gastronomicos" stamp for preserving uniquely Puerto Rican culinary traditions.

Although the number of restaurants in Antigua has dropped as many of the island's resorts have gone all-inclusive, it remains one of the better islands for dining, and some of the all-inclusives welcome diners who aren't staying in the resorts.

You'll also find more fine-dining options in some of the wealthier islands than elsewhere, including Anguilla, Aruba, Grand Cayman, St. Kitts and Nevis, the Grenadines and St. Thomas.

Shopping

Duty-free shopping is an island staple, and you'll find the most extensive array of shops for such things as jewelry, perfume, liquor and designer fashions in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; and Bermuda, which also features English and Irish woolens, crystal and porcelain. In St. Barts, more than 200 boutiques sell upscale luxury goods. Top fashions from New York and Paris are among the items, and such stores as Herm?s, Louis Vuitton and Cartier line the streets. The island is a duty-free port, but given the value of the euro against the dollar, you're not likely to come away with big bargains in clothing -- although duty-free French wine might be a deal.

For locally made items, including folk art, Puerto Rico and Jamaica are probably your best bets, with higher-quality art more likely to be found in Puerto Rico. Haiti has wonderful colorful crafts and art. Crime, among other things, has taken Haiti off the tourist radar, and probably as a result, Haiti has been exporting some local works to Grand Cayman (though not at Haiti prices). Grand Cayman 's duty-free bargains come with a bonus: no sales tax. Locally produced items include jewelry made of a marblelike stone called caymanite, and the island has clothing boutiques with brand names from the United States and Europe. Aruba has a major shopping mall and is building a second.

Shopping for spices? Try an outdoor market in Grenada or the farmers market in St. Lucia to pick them up for a fraction of the stateside cost. Also in St. Lucia, across from the farmers market, a craft market is filled with baskets, leather goods, pottery and wood carvings. You'll also find in town a good selection of batik and silk-screened clothing and table linens. Trinidad, which goes all out creating costumes for Carnival, is another great place to buy fabrics, and there are good buys on leather goods as well.

In addition to duty-free goods, Barbados has two shopping areas, one in Holetown and one in St. Lawrence Gap, that sell local products from brightly painted shops. Crafts include pottery, glass, wood carvings, handmade dolls and paintings.

In addition to being a source for clothing, high-end pottery and glass from local artists plus duty-free luxury goods, Antigua is known for gemstones; it's the largest retailer of Colombian emeralds in the world.

Families

The new rule requiring passports for travel outside the United States has caused many American families to look to U.S. territories for a Caribbean vacation, namely Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, says Kyle McCarthy, editor of Family Travel Forum, an online company that has four family-travel publications.

Puerto Rico offers a number of advantages for families, she adds. "More and more parents want a historic or cultural element in addition to beach, and Old San Juan has fortresses and historic monuments. Kids will be exposed to a foreign language, yet English is common, so that's the best of both worlds." The El Yunque rain forest provides a perfect ecological snapshot. An area on the north shore called Dorado has undergone a lot of development recently, and competition has meant good prices, McCarthy says.

St. John, which is much less developed than St. Thomas or even St. Croix, is McCarthy's second choice for families in the U.S. Virgin Islands because of its combination of good beaches, water sports and historical plantations and gardens.

If passports aren't an issue, McCarthy recommends St. Lucia. "It's very lush, has a small rain forest, a small volcano. The Piton Mountains are good for hiking, and they have great watersports." It is lightly developed and draws European families, so the kids will be exposed to a variety of languages and cultures. The downsides: You'll likely have to take a small plane to get there, and the roads aren't very good.

Kids who are "Pirates of the Caribbean" fans might get a kick out of visiting the Bahamas' Grand Bahama Island, where the last two movies in the franchise were filmed and pieces of the set have become tourist attractions. Also in the Bahamas, if you want a taste of Disney gone educational, the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island will fit the bill. It's big and a bit pricey but filled with activities for kids and teens, including a recently expanded water park.

St. Kitts and Nevis also get high marks for families, due in large measure to such well-preserved natural attractions as a lush rain forest, dormant volcanoes and a friendly, safe atmosphere. Jamaica has a great number of activities kids will enjoy, and some resorts will provide a nanny and/or a kids' club. If you plan on spending most of your time inside a resort, safety is not an issue, but it's not the best of islands for cruising around on your own with children.

Beaches

Beaches are what the Caribbean is all about, and you can find good to great ones on the majority of the islands. It's easier to note the ones without a wealth of good beaches: Saba, Dominica, St. Eustatius and St. Vincent.

But even among the great, there are standouts. Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman is as long as its name indicates; just know that it is lined with hotels. When it comes to mileage, Negril Beach in Jamaica can match the longest one in Grand Cayman.

St. Martin's Baie Orientale gets rave reviews for its long stretch of white sand. Some argue that Eagle Beach in Aruba, with its powdery strand, is the best beach in the Caribbean, although if you visited years ago and loved it because there was little development, you're in for a big surprise.

Half Moon Beach and Grace Bay on the island Providenciales in Turks and Caicos also have been discovered; still, many of the hotels are low-rise, and other islands in the chain have beautiful, nearly deserted beaches.

If you're looking for something unusual, the Baths on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands has grottoes formed by boulders. Or look for pink sand beaches in Bermuda and on two of the outer islands of the Bahamas, Harbor Island and Eleuthera. St. Barts is known for beaches covered with seashells, a rarity in the Caribbean. If you like to mix it up and enjoy gentle beaches while still catching some waves, Barbados has a calm Caribbean side and crashing surf on the Atlantic side. For pristine little coves, check out St. John.

Antigua 's boast of having a different beach for every day of the year is true only because it includes some pretty so-so beaches, but there is no question the island has a lot of beaches, many of them quite good. Anguilla has miles of brilliant beaches that tend to remain uncrowded. Other primary contenders in the race for best wide, white beaches: the Grenadines and two of the British Virgin Islands, Virgin Gorda and Anegada.

Budget

Finding a budget airfare is the first challenge in planning an affordable Caribbean vacation, and the most likely places to look for relatively low airfares are Puerto Rico, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas-- although the latter can be expensive once you arrive. You might find that a package deal is the most economical way to go. The Dominican Republic is the king of budget package deals, but because of airfare, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas are among the most likely sources for a low-cost package.

If you can snag a good airfare, remember that most islands have a wide array of lodging choices and prices. St. Barts, for example, is generally one of the most upscale islands, and rooms of more than $500 a night are common. Yet you can, with some planning, snare a room in a simple guesthouse for as little as $80 a night. On the other hand, Jamaica is a relatively poor island and relatively cheap package tours abound, but it also has a number of upscale resorts that can provide a personal maid, cook and nanny.

If you have your heart set on a particular island, search first for an airfare. If you find one that fits your budget, then search for lodgings, being aware that you might have to make some concessions if you insist on being on a generally high-priced island.

Dollar for dollar, though, you're most likely to find the biggest selection of budget properties -- and get the nicest room or resort for your money -- on the following islands, in addition to those mentioned above: Bonaire, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Vincent (but not the Grenadines!) and, to a lesser degree, St. Croix and St. John.

History and Culture

England, France, Spain and other European powers waged bloody battles over many of the islands starting in the 1500s. The commanding forts, noble burial grounds and other monuments resulting from these struggles are evident throughout the region. Cuba, first settled by Spanish explorers in the 16th century, has by far the most impressive collection of historical structures. But since that island is inaccessible to most American tourists, your next best bet is Puerto Rico.

One of the most storied and accessible remnants of Spanish settlement in the region is in Old San Juan. Its centerpiece, El Morro, is the largest and most impressive fortification in the region. In the surrounding streets, a cluster of museums and other structures dating to the Spanish settlement have earned this area distinction as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Also poignant are the monuments left by Spanish explorers in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, including the New World's first university, hospital and cathedral.

In Antigua, Nelson's Dockyard National Park in English Harbor offers a well-preserved illustration of the early presence of British explorers. The Georgian-style base, used by the British Navy in the 18th and 19th centuries, has been fully restored. For monuments to French settlement, Martinique is best.

Remnants of the slave trade from the 16th to 19th centuries are also scattered among the islands, and Curacao is the best place to get a full-tilt overview. The comprehensive Museum Kura Hulanda, in the capital city of Willemstad, features a detailed chronology of the slave market on this small Dutch enclave and elsewhere in the region. The massive plantation houses on Barbados and Jamaica, and the white stone slave houses in Bonaire, also are stark reminders of that era.

Night Life

The party spirit rules the Caribbean. If locals on most any outpost have a bottle of rum and a drum, they can make a Tuesday night in August seem like New Year's Eve. But the two islands that never fail to deliver all-out revelry are Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. The major Jamaican resorts regularly stage extravagant shows that often spill out to indoor and outdoor bars. Negril and Montego Bay, the island's top tourist towns, feature weekly beach parties, especially in season. But there is no more lively after-hours scene in the region than the multiple dance floors, concert venues and bars at the Renaissance Jaragua Hotel and Casino in Santo Domingo, the D.R.'s capital. Many of the hotels in Puerto Plata and Punta Cana offer Vegas-style entertainment, too.

Puerto Rico -- particularly San Juan -- has something for every style of partier. Gamblers flock to the Condado neighborhood, home to a cluster of casinos. Well-dressed crowds linger all night at the floor shows, piano bars and, naturally, rows of slot machines and gambling tables. Bodegas, cabaret shows and New York-style dance clubs are scattered throughout the city and across the island.

For bar hoppers, two standout areas on the party map are the St. James neighborhood in Port of Spain, Trinidad, and St. Lawrence Gap in Barbados. Both feature rows of pubs and music and dance venues. In both locales, clubs offer a range of music styles and tropical cocktail specials. Port of Spain has a concentration of clubs specializing in soca and calypso. No serious reveler in the Caribbean misses the Trinidad Carnival, a raucous up-all-night (and day) dance and music celebration, complete with a colorful parade, held every winter.

Aruba, with 10 major casinos, is one of the biggest gambling scenes in the region. Most of the gaming venues also stage cabaret and comedy shows and live music acts. St. Maarten/St. Martin also has a party and gambling scene, but the casinos, concentrated in hotels on the Dutch side, are smaller, and the bars are more upscale.

Nature

Every island by nature has natural attractions: No matter where you go, you'll find lots of watersports and most likely good hiking. But if you're mainly seeking nature activities that don't involve water, choose wisely.

Puerto Rico, one of the Caribbean's largest islands, has lakes, rivers, a rain forest and wide-open spaces with an array of activities. Hikers and mountain bikers head to El Yunque, a national forest, and regular bikers traverse the parts of oceanside Road 466 that remain free of development. Horseback riding is popular, and there are a number of ranches from which to choose. A bioluminescent bay lights up at night in Bahia Mosquito in Vieques, a Puerto Rican island that until recently was a U.S. military base. The island also has a huge underground river system that makes for great spelunking.

Jamaica is similar to Puerto Rico in that it's relatively large and its natural attractions are easily accessible. The lush Blue Mountains, famous for coffee growing, attract hikers and birders in equal measure, although guided tours are recommended over going it on your own. Six hundred steps lead to the top of Dunn's River Falls, which are best visited when the cruise ships aren't in town or have left for the day. Rivers, rain forest, mountains and plains allow a variety of ways to enjoy nature. River rafting, canopy tours and horseback riding are among the soft adventures offered.

Bird-watchers will be thrilled by the more than 400 species in Trinidad and Tobago. Again, the islands are large by Caribbean standards, and among the land features are pristine rain forests, lowlands, savannahs and swamps.

Four small islands have less variety but some distinctive features. St. Eustatius is a tiny island with only 2,700 residents, and one of the major attractions is hiking to an extinct volcano now filled with a rain forest. Dominica doesn't have much in the way of great beaches, but it has one, Champagne Beach, where steam vents from an offshore volcano create bubbly water -- hence the beach's name. The island also has done a great job protecting its rain forest. Among its other natural attractions: waterfalls and geothermal springs.

Saba has no beaches, but if that doesn't bother you, you'll find a lovely, lightly touristed island with mountains and a variety of flora and fauna. The island's capital is in the crater of an extinct volcano, and you walk 400 steps from the town to the sea.

Guadeloupe is famed for biking, plus the island is crisscrossed with hiking trails, rivers and waterfalls. It also offers canyoning, a sport that involves sliding down rivers that flow through canyons. Nature lovers should also check out St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Bonaire. For those who enjoy viewing nature by car, Barbados is a great place for driving through hilly terrain and through sugar cane fields.

Montserrat has long been a quiet, lush, mountainous island, but it became even quieter after a 1995 volcanic eruption. Nature enthusiasts will find lots to explore and a rare place to observe the effects of a relatively recent major eruption.

Fully two-thirds of St. John is national parkland. Need we say more?

-- Cindy Loose and Gary Lee