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Aruba, Jaimaca, Oooh I Wanna Take Ya to Bermuda, Bahamas... [Vacation Thread!]
firewaterword
SatchitanandaPais Vasco to San FranciscoRegistered User regular
SatchitanandaPais Vasco to San FranciscoRegistered User regular
Sorry, this isn't really about Cocktail. Not that it's not a damn fine movie, but I digress.
I desperately need a vacation, and I want to go to the tropics! Having never been, I don't really have an idea as to what my options are. So it is with great anticipation I turn to YOU, H/A, for some sage wisdom.
The Details:
As far as interests, I'm pretty much down for whatever. I don't have a scuba license, but could potentially acquire one prior if it's worth it. I want to be able to spend a considerable amount of time drinking on a beach, but would like naturey stuff (awesome hikes to waterfalls any whatnot) as well.
So what say you H/A? Where's my ideal destination? What are the key things to keep in mind when planning? How do I not get ripped off? I assume since the economy is in the crapper this should be a good time.
Thanks in advance!
I desperately need a vacation, and I want to go to the tropics! Having never been, I don't really have an idea as to what my options are. So it is with great anticipation I turn to YOU, H/A, for some sage wisdom.
The Details:
- I'm pretty sure I want to head to the Caribbean, but I don't know where.
- I think I want to aim for October or November, but since my work schedule is pretty nebulous right now, I can't nail down a date yet. I would be certainly willing to go off-season, whatever that may be.
- I may be able to convince a friend to go with me, but if not I'll be solo.
- I think I'd like to go for a week or so - 7 or 8 nights depending.
- Cost isn't really a huge deal - I've got a raise coming down in the next few weeks, and haven't blown a bunch of money on myself in a LONG time. I guess 3-4k would be my ceiling, but there's room there as well.
- I'd like to avoid the crowds - the northern part of Kauai would be a good comparison I guess.
As far as interests, I'm pretty much down for whatever. I don't have a scuba license, but could potentially acquire one prior if it's worth it. I want to be able to spend a considerable amount of time drinking on a beach, but would like naturey stuff (awesome hikes to waterfalls any whatnot) as well.
So what say you H/A? Where's my ideal destination? What are the key things to keep in mind when planning? How do I not get ripped off? I assume since the economy is in the crapper this should be a good time.
Thanks in advance!
Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu
firewaterword on
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It's one of the more expensive islands to vacation to, typically prices are about $500 - $1000 more expensive for a week (including hotel and airfare) than to almost any of the other islands, but you can find deals sometimes. That said, theres alot of culture there (as long as you don't go to Almond Beach Resort which basically isolates you so you could be on basically any island, dont get me wrong, it's nice, but it really is indistinguishable from a similar hotel on any other island.) The island has its own currency, Barbados Dollars, which is in an agreement to always be worth exactly half of the US dollar, so everyone accepts the US dollar as well.
Things to do:
Island Safari Tour - they come to your hotel, load you into the back of a modified land rover/jeep pickup truck type thing with seats in the back, give you as much rum punch as you can drink, and drive you around the island and wilderness. The drivers are hillarious as well. I think I paid somewhere around $100, but can't remember whether that was Barbados or US dollars.
Island Safari - walk around a closed in forest area, basically theres quite a few monkeys and some birds and stuff. If you see a monkey with sunglasses, try and steal them back for me. (Really if you travel around the island at all you'll see enough monkeys that this won't really be of much interest to you.)
Chefette - the equivalent of Barbados McDonalds. McDonalds tried to set up on Barbados, but failed and left quickly. Chefette popped up and made delicious fast food stuff. If you like spicy (they can make them mildly spicy too) things, try a Roti. Its a fairly customary food. Theres probably about 10 of them around the island. Also, I'm not sure if you're a fan of KFC or not, but avoid it. $100US-ish for a bucket of chicken is ridiculous.
Which moves us on to the topic of food, if money isn't an issue for you then you can probably afford to not pack a suitcase full of kraft dinner (and whatever else is legal and practical to get through customs), or you could go to an all-inclusive. Typically when I go I stay with family, and since food is so much more expensive (Presidents Choice Mac and Cheese, 2 boxes for $0.99 in Canada, $10.99USD in Barbados for 1 last time I was there.)
If you're into surfing or boogie boarding, check out Basheba and Cattlewash, they're two beaches that are great for that. They are also typically alot less crowded than most of the other beaches because there aren't many hotels near them (they're about a 10minute drive from most of the hotels.) and are where the locals tend to go when they want to go to the beach.
If you're into booze, Banks Beer is their local brand. There is also Mount Gay Rum which is widely considered to be the oldest rum brand in the world. I think they offer tours of their place.
If you're buying stuff from local shops, keep in mind that alot of them have a local price and a tourist price. Yes tourists get ripped off, don't be offended just accept it for what it is.
Oh, and this should go for everyday life and should be assume, but don't be a douchebag. My aunt always talks about how violent everybody in Barbados is. What she won't tell you is while on vacation there she took one cab and refused to pay him at the end, so he pulled a knife on her. Don't be an asshole and you should be fine, but if you are venturing too far from the hotel, it would probably be a good idea to have someone with you.
If you have any other questions about Barbados feel free to ask.
If you want to swim with giant sea turtles, you can follow a small cruise ship out that throws lettuce off the back to attract them. They're friendly and great fun. I can't remember where I did this but we swam out from one of the chefettes right on a beach, try asking someone at a hotel.
All-in-all it was an excellent vacation, and I spent about $1200 total for a week, including the flight -- staying in decent hotel rooms with A/C and private toilets. It helped being able to speak Spanish in Puerto Morelos (it's basically a fishing town, and very anti-tourist spot... it's excellent... they don't allow chain hotels and the like to come in and set up shop), but other than that, most people spoke English (as they rely on tourist dollars).
Well, that's not entirely accurate. They've been to:
Mexico
Jamaica
Cuba
Jamaica
Jamaica
Dominican Republic
and Jamaica.
And this February they plan for all of us to go to Jamaica to celebrate my mom's retirement.
They swear they're never bothering with Mexico or Cuba again, and the Dominican is their #2 choice (under Jamaica). I was on the trip to Cuba, and can vouch for it's crappiness. They tried hard, but really I only like two things about Cuba: the ocean, and a catamaran day trip we paid extra for, and both of those things are available anywhere else in the Caribbean.
[edit] I should also note that during their trip to the Dominican, my dad got severe diarrhea and ended up on an IV for a day of their week long vacation, and that trip still beat out Mexico and Cuba.
As a Cuban, I am pretty firmly against anyone visiting the island because it supports the communist regime, but I don't want to hijack the thread, so I'll say no more about it.
The Bahamas are nice enough, but it feels a lot like being in the US as well as being really touristy. Bermuda feels all business. St. Vincent is dirty. Barbados is alright, with both upscale hotels and restaurants as well as still feeling Caribbean-ish. Dominica was gorgeous, but there's probably not much to do.
If you ever need to talk to someone, feel free to message me. Yes, that includes you.
I remember seeing a Caribbean episode of Globe Trekker awhile ago - I should hunt that down.
Anyways, please keep the advice rolling - very helpful.
If you stay on the coast, you can certainly get by with "Donde esta el bathroom?" and the like... or even no Spanish at all.
That's good to know - the most frequently used Spanish in my life consists of "chilaquiles y cerveza, por favor."
A little googlin' makes it look quite nice. What's up with Curaçao - would it be worth dividing a week between the islands?
Good tip, thanks. I live in the Bay Area, so sometimes I forget about things like that (Earthquakes not withstanding).
I haven't been to Curacao, so I can't say.
Bon Aire is Netherlands Antilles, and fairly modernized. We rented a house on the beach, and chartered a Chineese Junk owned by a guy who lives there to sail around the harbor for a night. He even let us steer for a while. There's para-sailing, awesome restaurants, and some of the best scuba diving in the Caribbean. On the northeast side of the island is a giant bay sheltered by a coral reef a couple hundred yards offshore, that's no more than a handfull of feet deep anywhere, and you can rent windsurfing boards and the like.
Its a pretty awesome island.