{"id":122967,"date":"2017-10-11T04:09:56","date_gmt":"2017-10-11T08:09:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=122967"},"modified":"2025-01-13T00:10:43","modified_gmt":"2025-01-13T05:10:43","slug":"with-several-islands-in-recovery-mode-some-vacation-advice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/10\/11\/with-several-islands-in-recovery-mode-some-vacation-advice\/","title":{"rendered":"With several islands in recovery mode, some vacation advice"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"FILE:<\/a>
FILE: (Photo courtesy of the official Twitter account of Choice Hotels)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some travellers looking ahead to winter and spring getaways may be wondering what their options are, with all the headlines about hurricane damage in the Caribbean.<\/p>\n

Some islands like Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and St. Martin have a way to go in recovery from the storms. But many others were relatively unscathed. Destinations where it’s business as usual include Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.<\/p>\n

Here are some recommendations from a couple of travel experts about other places you might consider if you had your heart set on a destination that’s now off-limits, but you’re still hoping for sun, sand and sea.<\/p>\n

BEACHES, HISTORY AND DIVING<\/p>\n

Brian Major, executive editor for the Caribbean and Latin America for the trade media company travAlliancemedia, says if you look on a map, it’s easier to understand the storms’ path. The hurricanes mainly impacted the Caribbean’s northeastern Leeward Islands, which include among other destinations Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, St. Martin, Dominica, Anguilla and St. Barts.<\/p>\n

Largely unaffected were islands located farther south, like Grenada and Trinidad, and farther east, like Jamaica and the Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n

Major offered a few other ideas as alternatives to hurricane-impacted destinations.<\/p>\n

\u2014Consider Martinique or Curacao if you’re looking for the European cultural mix found on St. Martin. There’s \u201cterrific air service\u201d to Martinique, he said, and \u201can excellent highway system\u201d if you care to rent a car, \u201cwonderful food\u201d and mostly boutique hotels, along with interesting historic sites like the Schoelcher Library, named for a famed abolitionist. On Curacao, you’ll find great diving, Dutch-style gabled houses on the waterfront and local food vendors at Plasa Bieu.<\/p>\n

\u2014Consider Montserrat for rugged landscapes and outdoor adventures like what Dominica is known for. Montserrat is a volcanic island with soaring mountains, inland rivers, waterfalls, diving and snorkeling.<\/p>\n

\u2014The Bahamas, like the Virgin Islands, offer a little of everything, with easy access from many U.S. cities (about 300 miles or 480 km from Florida). They offer \u201cevery stripe of resort, from all-inclusive to small historic.\u201d Travelers who want to experience the famed Atlantis waterpark on Paradise Island without paying for lodging at the resort often stay across the street at the Comfort Suites. For adventurers, head to Exuma Island. There are even small private islands where you can pitch a tent.<\/p>\n

\u2014Try Barbados for \u201ccosmopolitan flair\u201d and \u201cnice beaches.\u201d A former British colony, it offers everything from UNESCO World Heritage sites to horse racing. Hotels range from all-inclusives like Sandals to three- and four-star and boutique hotels. It’s easy to rent a car and drive around (though Americans must learn to stay on the left) or hire a driver for a tour.<\/p>\n

For information on how hurricanes affected individual islands and resorts, Major recommended the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association .<\/p>\n

ECO-ADVENTURES, CASINOS AND CULTURE<\/p>\n

Kelly A. Luf, a Boston-based leader for Liberty Travel’s Northeast region, offers these ideas for travellers looking for alternatives to hurricane-impacted islands.<\/p>\n

\u2014Consider St. Lucia \u201cfor a customer who was maybe hoping for something like St. John, where they could have a lot of outdoor eco-adventure.\u201d Experiences include hiking, hot springs and mineral baths, and diving to underwater national parks.<\/p>\n

\u2014Try Aruba \u201cif you love a vibrant downtown and shopping like you’d find on St. Thomas.\u201d Aruba also offers \u201cexcellent casinos and gaming\u201d and \u201cincredible beaches.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Barbados might work \u201cif you enjoyed the refinement and food on the French side of St. Martin.\u201d It’s got \u201cEuropean-style culture\u201d and great dining options that make it \u201cthe only island that’s Zagat-rated.<\/p>\n

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\u201d You’d be \u201cequally wowed\u201d with an upscale meal at The Cliff or a fish sandwich from a chattel house, a traditional local eatery.<\/p>\n

NO PASSPORT? CONSIDER HAWAII<\/p>\n

Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have always been favourites among Americans who prefer to travel without a passport. Luf said her office was able to rebook travellers to Hawaii whose trips to St.<\/p>\n

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Thomas and Puerto Rico were cancelled because of the hurricanes. These customers thought Hawaii was unaffordable, she said, but ended up vacationing there for \u201cnot much more\u201d than the Caribbean. While of course Hawaii is a longer haul for East Coast residents than the Caribbean, Luf noted that there are nonstop flights available. Another option: Norwegian Cruise Line trips out of Honolulu.<\/p>\n

Liberty Travel has an excellent online FAQ for Caribbean travel.<\/p>\n

ABOUT CUBA<\/p>\n

Travel to Cuba remains legal for U.S. citizens, the island has cleaned up hurricane damage and prices are lower than in recent years. Just be aware of warnings from the U.<\/p>\n

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S. State Department about unexplained sonic attacks in Cuba and be sure to comply with travel regulations. The Trump administration has said it will issue new regulations but so far has not.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some travellers looking ahead to winter and spring getaways may be wondering what their options are, with all the headlines …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":69932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79],"tags":[27190,27191,27192],"class_list":["post-122967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-travel","tag-islands","tag-recovery-mode","tag-vacation-advice","mauthors-beth-j-harpaz","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122967"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":283132,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122967\/revisions\/283132"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}