The Caribbean is one of my favorite regions on the planet to travel; the best trip to this part of the world is one where your pace is slowed considerably and your time is spent in the moment. On more than one occasion, regardless of the country, I heard the phrase, ‘island time’; this lifestyle ethos is built around a no-hurry vibe and a pace focused on relaxation. And in addition, the region is known for its spectacular beaches, diversity of cuisine focused around seafood and outdoor activities. I’ve been […]

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One of the activities synonymous with visiting the Bahamas is swimming with pigs. I have long heard about this, especially during multiple trips to the Bahamas over the past several years. Prior to our latest trip to the Bahamas, the closest I’ve ever come to swimming with pigs was wading with swimming pigs in the remote Tuamotu Islands in French Polynesia. So, when I was invited by EMBRACE Resort in remote Staniel Cay in the Exumas to join one of their tours including swimming with pigs, I did not hesitate […]

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Dodging clouds, discovering sunshine in between and finding inspiration below I found myself on a tiny 12-seat prop plane on my way from Nassau to Staniel Cay (note that ‘cay’ is always pronounced as ‘key’) in the Bahamas. The captain briefly announced our flight plan; 28 minutes to Black Point Cay to drop off a few passengers and then a quick 5-minute flight from there to Staniel Cay. There are not many passengers on board; these planes are small but everyone on the flight seems to know each other. One […]

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Nonstop flights leave from Miami to Cap Haitien daily (only about an hour and 45 minutes) and the small airport is located only about 20 minutes from town. Arriving in the heat of the day it was a short walk to the entrance to the airport where musicians were jamming some local flavors. A quick breeze through customs (helped by the fact I was the first one off the plane), no luggage to pickup and I was soon outside of the airport where my pre-arranged transportation was waiting to take […]

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A gentle breeze blows, not even strong enough to knock over a nearby empty can of ginger beer. I lie alone floating face up in a hot tub on the upper deck in the middle of the Caribbean ocean cruising on a 10-night tour of the Eastern Caribbean on Celebrity Cruises Millennium watching wispy clouds float by; I realize that I have not reached a blissful state of relaxation like this in nearly the past two years. Being back on the water, feels very good. The Celebrity Cruises Millennium departed […]

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Needing the spirit and calming influence of the countryside, I left Havana pinched between the driver and an accompanying passenger in the front seat of a green 1950s Chevrolet. Beautiful from the outside but quite uncomfortable on the inside – 6 or 7 of us were crammed like sardines in a tin can. Hard seats, no air conditioning, a middle front seat on the ‘hump’ with no leg room whatsoever and a suspect suspension system all made for an uncomfortable nearly 3-hour journey. Fortunately I discovered a ‘new’ air conditioned […]

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My trip to Haiti came about in the most random way. Haiti was my last country to visit in the Caribbean – it has certainly been on my radar for some time. A friend took a trip to Cap Haitien in the northern part of the country and spoke highly of his time there. I signed up for the American Airlines Aviator card – made a few purchases in the first few months triggering 60,000 miles. I soon turned around and cashed in those miles for this trip – and […]

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I learned that it takes a few days to warm to Cuba – but when you do, its alluring embrace grabs you with all it has and doesn’t let go. The colorfully dressed person in front of me boarded the plane without any shoes and left the plane without any shoes. Never seen that before. Following a very quick wait in customs, I then caught a taxi to Havana for 30 CUC, the Cuban currency (the airport is about 30-45 minutes from the center of the city). About half way […]

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I must have picked up about 15 people today with my self titled new job on the island, “Dave’s Dominica Taxi service”. Getting around from place to place is dependent on the generosity of drivers – and this hitch hiking seems like an easy and cheap way to see the island. With bridges still out or damaged from the tropical storm in 2015 – one of the main roads was closed leaving a smaller road through the rainforest as the alternative way to get from one part of the island […]

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Our introduction to Curaçao wasn’t an awe inspiring inspirational place of stunning natural beauty (for instance a secluded white sand beach framed by a crescent shoreline and aquamarine waters). Rather it was in a rough part of Willemstad, the capital city. A friend and I found ourselves wandering around the dark streets late at night in search of food in a neighborhood near our hostel. We passed walls topped with razor sharp barbed wire – long menacing shards of steel that make regular barb wire look like something you would […]

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Having explored much of the Caribbean but not yet the ABC’s (Aruba, Bonaire & Curaçao) – I opted to take a week long late summer trip to Aruba. The weather on the island is certainly highly appealing with usually fairly constant temperatures moderated by trade winds, little rain on an annual basis, lots of sunshine and is located outside of the hurricane belt. Although I did have to reroute my original return flight plan which was through Houston (because IAH was shut due to the epic rains from the tropical […]

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Young Island Young Island is home to a private resort that is located a very short boat ride from the ‘mainland’. Once you arrive you are treated to beautiful views from the private beach. A bar floats slightly off shore. Several tables set back from the beach among the gardens are ideal spots to enjoy a buffet lunch with paired with some sort of tropical drink. Passion fruit rum perhaps. Best activity after lunch – do nothing and enjoy the quiet of this pretty place. Botanical Garden The Botanical Garden […]

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The giant cruise ships disembark on the southern side of Grand Turk – towering above you like skyscrapers as you walk down the pier. From your balcony on your state deck you are greeted with azure shallow waters and pure white sand beaches. Beyond the aquamarine waters, the sea turns a dark blue – evidence of the edge of the island shelf where the ocean plummets some 7,000 feet straight down to the bottom. A stop here was part of the Holland America Line’s ms Eurodam Caribbean cruise. Suffering from […]

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The contrasts of travel create an intriguing dichotomy while on the road. Today is a good example of experiences on the extreme ends of the spectrum. I met a beautiful yoga instructor living on the island of St. Barths last week for about 5 minutes. This was in a “remote” part of that tiny island along the rugged shoreline in what the locals call the ‘natural pools’, a series of surf fed ocean water that creates several small swimming areas. I mentioned my travel website to her which she then […]

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So far my latest trip to the Caribbean has involved a variety of transportation modes, a bicycle, a bus, walking, plane and now a helicopter. In the fading rays of the strong sunshine on the island of st. Lucia I hopped on board a helicopter for a 10 minute journey over the interior of the island from Hewanorra International Airport in the south to George F. L. Charles Airport in Castries City in the north. The interior of the island is remarkably remote – covered in beautiful rain-forest draped over […]

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