About the Caribbean

 Information for Caribbean Vacations and Travel Destinations

The Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea which gets its name from the original inhabitants of the Caribbean - the Carib people. These indigenous Indians inhabited the region at the time of arrival of the first Spanish explorers. These islands curve southward from the bottom tip of Florida to the Northwest of Venezuela in South America. Looking for a warm paradise island to escape to for a while? With over 35 unique destinations, the Caribbean provides a wide variety of tropical isles for all kinds of vacationers. Under sunny skies, the Caribbean islands are ideal places to pursue your passion or find a new one. Turquoise waters, clean sandy beaches, golf, inventive island cuisine, and beach resorts that redefine luxury ensuring many relaxing Caribbean vacations.

Accommodations

Whether your traveling to the Caribbean for business or for leisure and pleasure, you will find accommodations for singles, couples, families and business travelers. Caribbean places to stay vary in size from small to large, from simple guest houses or beach houses to all-inclusive resorts. The smaller properties include vacation homes, bed & breakfasts,  apartments, inns, cottages, paradores and small hotels. Villas and condominiums are also available throughout the Caribbean Islands. Vacation Villa rentals are a good alternative for family trips, group vacations, weddings or your honeymoon.

Activities

The Caribbean Sea is one of the world's most colorful and marine-rich bodies of water and therefore offers travelers some of the best islands for water sports, deep-see fishing charters, sailing, boating, scuba diving, snorkeling and of course golfing on some of the best Golf Courses designed. Of course if you enjoy gambling, most destinations have great Casinos to try your luck.

Events

These tropical islands offer visitors an opportunity to attend many different events while on vacation, from small to large, that may include Golf Tournaments, Marathons, Mardi Gras and Carnivals, Triathlons, Fishing Tournaments or Music Festivals ranging from Blues, Jazz, Raggae or Latin Salsa.

Culture

The culture is very tropical, some say carnival, to the extent that there is rhythm, architecture and food that reflects on the region. Besides some evidence of Tiano, Arawak and Carib Indians, the characterization of the region can be identified through the colonization of some European countries. Culturally this has resulted in overwhelming African cultural presence in Haiti and Jamaica to a Spanish presence in Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. A trip to the wonderful world of the Caribbean would be incomplete without the mouth-watering culinary experience. The ethnic diversity of this region provides the foundation for an array of unique and tasty foods ranging from Jamaican jerk to Bahamian boil fish and Johnny cake, Barbados flying fish, Trinidad's "oil-down", Guyana's "metem", and the menu goes on.

History

The portion of the history of the Caribbean that we know about the most, started with the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the shores of an island in the Bahamas which he renamed San Salvador on October 12 1492. Christopher Columbus, the first European to arrive in the Caribbean described it as "the islands above and below the winds, where both sides of the riverbanks are covered with blooming trees surrounded by dense green vegetation. "The Caribbean has as colorful a history as its festivals. St. Lucia changed owners thirteen times. In the eighteenth century Spain, France and Britain engaged in a war for possession of the island of Antigua and more recently, in 1983, the United States invaded or intervened in Grenada to put-down the tyranny of a military junta. Today, Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic keeps its Spanish tradition intact, traces of Guyana's Dutch influence are still to be found and the glistening salt pans remain as a tribute to the days when Grand Turk was one of the world's largest salt producers. Trinidad and Tobago maintains the distinction as inventors of the only musical instrument of the 20th century-the steel pan while Jamaica is home to the internationally popular reggae music.