Hi Friends,
I have a friend who spent several months near to death this year. Now she is fine, but desperate to put it behind her by having a holiday in the sun (as she lives in Scandinavia). She is a bit too frail to do it alone, so I will go with her, and a holiday is always nice.
It turns out that she has a real fixation on going to the Caribbean, and I don't care where it is, so the Caribbean it will be! But not in 2007 - it could be early in 2008.
Neither of us have ever been there, and there are many islands to choose from, so what are your experiences? Price doesn't matter as for only the 2nd time in my life I guess it will be a package deal anyway, so mostly paid for.
But the thing is, we do want the sun, beaches, and swimming, but we can't stand tourist areas of the world. For example, is Barbados riddled with tourists? What of St. Lucia? We simply don't want to get stuck near beaches with people all around, and Europeans getting drunk and fat. We also love wildlife, and know some islands have great inland hikes - but again, even more than me, she has an aversion to crowds.
So where to go in the Caribbean without encountering too many other people? Does anyone know?
P.S. The flight would be from Denmark, so no point in telling us about good deals from here. 🙂
V
Caribbean
I found the North of the Dominic Republic very quiet, there are other people around but quiet beach, fab staff in the hotels and a lovely holiday!
Ellie x
I highly recommend Tobago, it has the rain forest which you can explore, and an abundance of beautiful, brightly coloured birds, including the Mot Mot. The beaches are sandy and sensational, the sea is warm. The fruits taste and smell incredible. The food is good. If you hire a vehicle to get around, petrol is incredibly cheap as Trinidad has its own supplies of oil.
It is quieter than its nearest neighbour Trinidad. It is also very lively if you go to "Sunday School" which is a weekly street party with a soca music being played. (Soca, or soul calypso, is a dance music that originated in Trinidad from calypso. It combines the melodic lilting sound of calypso with percussion. - this music can be heard throughout the other Caribbean islands as well) and it grows on you I love it and love Tobago - can't wait to go back there.
Luv Binah
x
Thanks to both of you. It all sounds good. There's no hurry as it won't be happening in 2007. I just like planning ahead. And to be honest, I myself could put up with a medium tourist scene. But I know she can't. It's pretty darned important to her as she can only get away from her farm about twice a decade!
The music angle I hadn't thought of, but she would love that as she's a superb musician - I don't know how she does it, but she can just pick up an instrument she has never seen in her life before, and play it on the instant. So that's a new angle to keep in mind, thanks a lot.
V
I went to Barbados in 1995, wonderful place. The caribbean side is all palm trees and sandy beaches. If you want scenery and quiet go to the east coast. Spectacular scenery, you are advised not to go swimming on that side because of the great atlantic rollars, but if I went to the island again I would stay on that side and visit the caribbean side. You can hire a car and tour the island in one day.
The yacht cruise was wonderful and so relaxing. Bridgetown is busy, of course as its the main town. The locals are so friendly and chilled out. The crime rate is low there and I felt totally safe wondering about on my mine at times.
For someone who wants to recuperate I dont think you can beat Barbados. I would go there again tomorrow If I could afford it. Beaches were never crowded.