Where to visit for Fall 2015
There’s a Caribbean island for every travel desire. But every Caribbean island is different, and each one has a diverse range of experiences on offer, whether you’re looking for food, beaches, art or adventure. This year’s Fall List highlights some of the best (and, in some cases, under the radar) attributes of a host of Caribbean destinations. Here are our staff picks for Fall 2015.
Grand Cayman — The Food Destination
You may not realize it, but Grand Cayman is one of the region’s culinary capitals. From Eric Ripert’s Blue to Ortanique, it’s full of more than 200 top-level restaurants featuring both local and international cuisine. In other words, a foodie’s dream. And when you’re finished eating, you can retire to the luxury of the Ritz-Carlton or the Westin on Seven Mile Beach.
British Virgin Islands — In search of adventure
Diving, sailing, snorkeling, hiking and island hopping. The British Virgin Islands is full of adventures big and small, whether you’re snorkeling at The Indians or exploring the caves of The Baths. Virgin Gorda’s North Sound is an adventure in itself — led by its Bitter End Yacht Club (above), the best hotel in the Caribbean for watersports.
The Abacos — An autumn of sailing
Whether you have your own boat or charter with The Moorings, this is one of the best boating destinations in the world, thanks to the archipelago’s ease of navigation, crystal-clear water for which the Bahamas is famous and an endless list of superb beaches. And it’s very close to the US.
Bimini — Gone fishin’
From bonefishing to billfishing, Bimini has some of the best fishing in the wider region, just about 50 miles from Miami. It’s a small place but it packs a serious punch for anglers, since before Hemingway came to visit. There are great marina facilities at both the Bimini Big Game Club and Resorts World Bimini, along with a host of great guides and available charter boats. And there’s a casino at the new Hilton at Resorts World Bimini when you want to have some fun on land.
Curaçao — The hidden gem of diving
While its sister island Bonaire (rightly) gets much of the attention as a diving destination, Curacao is no slouch. Indeed, the Dutch Caribbean island has more than 60 identified dive sites, and some of the region’s best shore diving. And the Lions Dive & Beach Resort is the perfect jumping off point.
Antigua — A trip through history
This is one of the best-kept secrets in the Caribbean. A meticulously preserved and restored dockyard and naval base where Horatio Nelson once sojourned. It’s really great because it’s a historical site where you stay right inside and truly get a feel for one of the region’s historical treasures. At the lovely Admiral’s Inn, a former pitch and tar store, you don’t just live history, you sleep it, too.
Pine Cay — The art of seclusion
There’s getting away and then there’s getting away. The Meridian Club on Pine Cay is the digital detoxer’s dream, the only resort on an 800-acre private island. There are no TVs, no radios, no telephones, just beach and your inner Robinson Crusoe. And it’s all just 15 minutes by boat from Providenciales, Turks and Caicos.
Above: the Anse Cafard Slave Memorial
Martinique — A destination for art
Martinique has many treasures from rhum to food. But it’s also one of the region’s great up-and-coming art destinations, with well-established artists and young, dynamic designers — and even the country’s historical monuments are works of art. It’s easy to explore, particularly in the narrow streets of Fort-de- France. And the island even has some great art hotels, none better than La Suite Villa, a boutique hotel and villa complex in Trois-Ilets where art is the star of the show, both inside the walls and on them.
Above: Half Moon, a RockResort
Jamaica — The Easy Destination
It’s just about an hour and a half from Miami, and many of the best hotels in Montego Bay are about 10 minutes from the airport – none more grand than the venerable Half Moon, home to one of the prettiest stretches of beach you’ll ever see, and some luxurious, old-world-style beach cottages.
The Bielle distillery in Marie-Galante
Guadeloupe — The Rhum Destination
We’ve long said rum tourism needs more attention, and it’s time to put a new rum destination on your itinerary. The archipelago of Guadeloupe has some seriously good rhum agricole distilleries, from larger ones like Damoiseau and Bologne to smaller operations like Bielle and Pere Labat. And they’re easily visited and even more easily consumed.