Things to Do in Caribbean

Curacao’s largest nature reserve is Christoffel National Park, the ideal place on the island to see the rare Curacao white-tailed deer, native barn owl and wild orchids.

The best way to explore is by following one of the park’s 8 hiking trails, graded from easy to challenging. The easiest trail is the 20-minute walk through the white-tailed deer sanctuary. If you’re thinking of going on the relatively arduous climb to the top of Mount Christoffel, head off in the early morning so you avoid the heat of the day.

Scenic driving routes lead across the hills to the coastline, or you might like to take a tour of the historic Plantation Savonet within the park’s grounds.

You know the way that bubbles rise from the bottom of a glass of champagne? That’s exactly what the water looks like when snorkeling Champagne Reef. Thanks to small, volcanic vents in Dominica’s ocean floor, powerful streams of miniature bubbles emerge from cracks between the rocks and dance their way to the surface. Place your hand on the ocean floor, and it’s even possible to feel the burst of air bubbling up from the Earth. Add in a wealth of colorful marine life and the turquoise, tropical waters, and it’s little wonder why Champagne Reef is one of Dominica’s most popular destinations to explore with mask and snorkel.

Providenciales’ cotton plantation past is revealed at Cheshire Hall. The plantation is now in ruins, but more than 200 years ago it was a thriving complex of buildings and cultivated land.

The property dates back to around 1790 and the ensuing years when Loyalist brothers Wade and Thomas Stubbs worked the cotton plantation, named for their English home county of Cheshire.

Overlooking the island was the property’s hilltop main building, the Great House, surrounded by outbuildings and the industrial machines of the cotton age.

The plantation was worked for around 30 years, before succumbing to the climate, hurricane and impoverished soil conditions. Today, all that remains is grass-covered rubble and a solitary cannon.

Cheshire Hall is protected by the National Trust. On a visit to the site you can take a wander through the grounds via stone-lined trails. The remains of several buildings are identified, including the kitchen and Great House, cotton gin and cotton press.

You’ll also see signs identifying local flora in the area, such as guinea grass, cow bush and torchwood trees, inhabited by butterflies, birds and lizards.

Even though it’s just minutes away from pulsing Bávaro Beach, Cocotal Golf and Country Club has a relaxed, casual, and laidback feel away from the coastal crowds. Part of the Melia resort complex, Cocotal is an inland course with wide, approachable fairways, and is comprised of three different nine-hole courses designed by Jose “Pepe” Gancedo—a 6-time Spanish champion. Built in 2000, the course is lined by colorful bougainvillea, coconut palms and homes, which are part of the surrounding country club community where many local business staff have homes away from the beach scene.

Coki is St. Thomas’s party beach, thronged with families, revelers and beach vendors.

Snorkelers and divers love Coki’s underwater clarity and sea creatures. Beach day-trippers enjoy the sand, sunshine and wandering vendors of drinks and snacks, souvenirs, sunscreen and hair-braiding.

Coki Beach is quite a scene, lively and fun rather than quiet and laid-back. Beach lounges and thatch umbrellas can be hired, along with all kinds of water sports equipment, from jet skis to snorkel gear.

The fish are used to people at this popular beach, and have even been known to eat from your hand (BYO dog biscuits).

The Charlotte Amalie cruise port serves as a cruisers’ gateway to St Thomas and the rest of the US Virgin Islands, a hugely popular stop on Eastern Caribbean cruises. With great shopping, sightseeing, and beach water sports within easy reach of the cruise terminal, the capital city of Charlotte Amalie and the rest of St Thomas offer everything you need for a perfect day ashore paradise. Other US Virgin Islands include St John, St Croix, and Water Island, also easily reachable from the port.

The Basics
Once on dry land, start your time in St Thomas with a sightseeing tour to downtown Charlotte Amalie for duty-free shopping and Danish architecture on Veterans Drive and Main Street, or a trip to the island’s highest point at the summit of Mountain Top. Some cruise ship passengers opt for shore excursions that highlight Caribbean adventures in the USVI—think snorkeling with sea turtles, kayaking through a mangrove lagoon, and hiking at historic Hassel Island and Virgin Islands National Park. Other cruise excursions include admission to Coral World Ocean Park for a theme park experience or transport to the area’s best beaches, including Lindbergh Bay Beach, Magens Bay, Honeymoon Beach, Sapphire Beach, and the Marriott Beach Resort, for a day of relaxation before heading back to the cruise ship.

• Most St Thomas shore excursion tours include pickup and dropoff at the port.
• St Thomas is fairly compact, so it’s easy to pack a number of activities into your island tour.
• The island enjoys warm weather year-round, although the months of June through November are known as hurricane season.

How to Get to Charlotte Amalie From the Cruise Port
While St Thomas has two cruise ports, most large cruise ships come in at the busy West India Company Dock (Havensight) on the south-central part of the island, about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) from downtown Charlotte Amalie. Take a long stroll along the waterfront to get into town, or opt for a 10-minute taxi ride. At the port area, travelers will find a shopping mall and a few dining options.

Port Information
English is spoken here (often with a French or Spanish lilt), and residents are United States citizens. Banks and ATMs can be found in downtown Charlotte Amalie; the US dollar is the local currency. The British Virgin Islands are neighbors to the east, and Puerto Rico is about 40 miles (64 km) to the west.

On the north end of the small island of Tobago, the town of Charlotteville is a picturesque fishing village deep within protected Man O War Bay. Devoid of large resorts or chain anything, it’s a perfect place to relax in one of the town’s small guesthouses. A walking trail from Charlotteville leads to the beautiful beach at Pirate Bay, a completely undeveloped section of beach where you can swim and sunbathe in the warm Caribbean waters. This sleepy town has a handful of bars and restaurants, and it’s also home to one of the country’s few remaining tamboo bamboo bands, a bamboo percussion music from the slave era. 

The Turks & Caicos capital and seat of government, Cockburn Town is a bougainvillea-fringed, laidback tropical beauty with shabby-chic colonial buildings and dusty unpaved streets.

Cockburn’s major highlight is the National Museum, full to the brim with shipwreck flotsam, tools and artifacts formed from shells, and displays on the island’s original Lucayan people. Don’t miss the collection of washed-up bottles and the poignant messages contained inside.

More recent exhibits focus on the impact of NASA’s Space Program, including displays on the night sky and the personal memories of astronaut John Glenn, who splashed down just offshore in 1962, the first American to orbit the earth.

The museum itself is housed in the whitewashed and red-roofed Guinep House, a historic colonial building constructed almost 200 years ago from the salvaged timber of shipwrecks.

The island’s superb beaches aren’t far away, along with coral-reef diving from the island’s west coast. Guarding the waters north of town is the historic National Trust-listed lighthouse, built in Britain in 1852. The lighthouse is a popular spot for whale-watching in February/March.

Guarding the wild Atlantic waters surrounding Grand Turk’s northern tip, the Cockburn Town Lighthouse is a historic National Trust-listed structure, built in Britain in 1852.

Known as the Grand Turk Light, the cast-iron lighthouse was shipped in pieces and constructed on the island’s northern tip, in an effort to reduce the scarily large number of ships wrecked on the island’s west coast reef.

Over the years, the lighthouse has been lit by whale oil, kerosene and electricity, and its light still shines today. You can see the original Fresnel lens proudly on display in the Turks & Caicos National Museum in Cockburn Town.

The lighthouse is a popular spot for whale-watching in February/March, and for picnics year-round. It’s thought that Christopher Columbus made landfall near here in 1492.