Caribbean Escapes

by Lynne Coll

Belizean food is a mix of Caribbean, Mexican, African, Spanish and Mayan culinary influences. The highlight of Belizean cuisine is seafood, including lobster and conch, called the sweetest of all shellfish. Another popular selection is the Belizean national dish—a spicy stewed chicken with a rice and bean combination cooked with coconut milk. On the other hand, travelers can also find burgers, pizza, Chinese, Indian, Arabic and Asian food on their Belize vacations.

Ambergris Caye, a sought after destination for travelers to Belize, offers a wide selection of restaurants dotting the white sand coastline. San Pedro Town, the social hub of the Caye, has the atmosphere of a bustling fishing village in a picture postcard setting of small colorfully painted houses set alongside sand streets nestled beside the clear turquoise sea.

Travelers-in-the-know recommend the following dining spots in San Pedro Town:

• Bluewater Grill – International and Asian food served on the waterfront overlooking water and piers in San Pedro

• Celi’s Restaurant – Dine on expertly prepared seafood indoors or in the screened outdoor dining area; on Wednesday nights, try the popular beach barbecue

• Portofino – Offering an eclectic mix from lobster all year to USDA steaks and the best smoothies on the island.

• Elvi’s Kitchen - One of the most popular and renowned restaurants on Ambergris Caye, with live music every night

• Rojo Lounge at Azul Resort – Probably the coolest place to sip on frozen mojito’s and munch on fresh grilled crab cakes will lounging in their infinity pool/table a pretty cool combination.

Guests staying at the Caribbean beach villas of La Perla Del Caribe also have the option of dining in their private villas. The spacious two to five bedroom units, which range in size from 2,200 square feet to 5,500 square feet, are surrounded by private decks just steps away from the beach.

La Perla Del Caribe can arrange for grocery and bar provisioning, which allows guests to prepare meals together in fully-equipped kitchens. In addition, private Belizean cooks or internationally trained chefs can prepare meals for guests in their villas or under the stars. Vacationers can also enjoy take-out from local restaurants.

With all of the activities available in Ambergris Caye—from swimming, snorkeling and diving to exploring Mayan ruins to bird watching—vacationers can easily work up good appetites. It’s nice for travelers to know that they have several dining options on their Belize vacations.

About La Perla Del Caribe

Located on Ambergris Caye, the largest island off the coast of Belize, La Perla del Caribe captures the Caribbean ambiance in elegance and luxury. Each designer residence in this private beachfront enclave offers a distinctive architectural style with native exotic hardwoods and tiles, and is decorated with local artwork, antiques and artisan-crafted furniture. The villas are situated on a four acre site which slopes gently to the water’s edge on a magnificent stretch of white sandy beach. Close offshore is the Belize Barrier Reef, the largest living barrier reef in the Americas, rated one of the world’s top ten dive sites.

Author, Lynne Coll, is a freelance writer who has recently completed her first novel. She has experience writing about the travel industry, particularly travel destinations, trends, and consumer products. La Perla del Caribe is a private beachfront enclave of nine villas on North Ambergris Caye, Belize. For more information about Belize vacations and La Perla del Caribe, visit the website at www.laperladelcaribe.com .
Article Source: U Publish Articles

by Mike Greaves

If you are interested in a perfect beach holiday, Caribbean is the place for you! Irresistible locations, great weather, remarkable beaches, luxury hotels beach clubs, warm people, and delicious sea food make Caribbean holidays the most sought after in the whole world. The Caribbean boasts of many islands with each one having a diverse cuisine, history, and atmosphere.

You can enjoy a night of live steel pan music in Tobago or experience the historic looks of the old town of Havana. If you are interested in scuba diving try out the Cayman Islands that offer the best scuba diving facilities or go to St Lucia for a magnificent view of the twin Piton Peaks. Wherever you choose to go for your dream Caribbean vacation, you are guaranteed a bundle of sweet and unforgettable memories that will leave you with the feeling to come back for more. The Caribbean has a host of luxury beach hotels that offer the best of facilities.

Located in Anguilla, Cap Juluca is one of the excellent luxury beach hotels spread for two miles on the unspoiled and white sandy beach of the Caribbean. This beach resort is totally secluded from the outside world; however, you can reach there in minutes by boat or by air from St. Maarten. Five star restaurants, magnificient tropical gardens, and exclusive service make Cap Juluca one of the top beach resorts in the world. The other features that make this hotel one of the best beach vacations is a collection of entertainment facilities such as a world-class fitness center, yoga classes, spa treatments, water sports, golf range, and tennis courts. If you are looking for a romantic and adventurous vacation in the Caribbean, Cap Juluca is the place you should go!

Another of the top beach resorts in the Caribbean is Fairmont Southampton in Bermuda. This hotel is located on the highest point in Bermuda and boasts of a magnificient 100-acre estate near the beach. You can get an amazing view of the blue sea, glittering sand beaches, plush tropical gardens, and the breathtaking sunset from the private balconies that are a part of each of the guest rooms and suites of this luxurious beach hotel. You can do snorkeling in the reefs, explore the impressive island on a scooter, play golf, or play tennis in this hotel. You can also relax in the luxury hotels beach club under a rainbow of umbrellas.

If you are looking for the best in luxury beach hotels in the Bahamas, One and Only Ocean Club is the place for you. Ideal for the best beach vacations, this legendary hotel has remarkable Versailles gardens and a 12th century Augustinian Cloister that complements its world-class service and accommodation. Among the unique facilities extended by this hotel are butler service for each room, laptops for use, and an exclusive maid service three times a day. One and Only Ocean Club offers a great deal of recreational activities and water sports to all its guests. You can also relax all throughout the day on the luxury hotels beach club and enjoy the sea.

Therefore, for the best beach vacations in the Caribbean, make sure you enjoy staying in one of the best luxury beach hotels. These top beach resorts will surely make your Caribbean vacation is a memorable one!

Mike Greaves is a self-made entrepreneur, a well known travel consultant and internet marketer. Over the years he has traveled across the world and has numerous writings credited to his name in many renowned publications. His areas of writing include travel experiences including reviews of San Diego Luxury Hotels , Ski Resorts and Luxury Spas .
Article Source: U Publish Articles

The island just off the coast of Cancun, Mexico is the Isla Mujeres (also known as the Isle of Women). This long thin island is 5 miles long and is a popular day trip destination for those staying in the hotels of Cancun being situated 8 miles off the Cancun coastline across the Bahia de Mujeres. Although the island has an airstrip this is not used by commercial flights just military. The island is reached by ferries from the Gran Puerto terminal in Puerto Juarez. This is about 10km north of Cancun. From Cancun you can get to the terminal by bus or taxi.

Once on the island you will long thin white beaches, palm trees and clear blue waters. The main town is located on the northern tip of the island here you will also find Playa Coco beach with its wide white sands. Most visitors to the island will while away their time wandering the streets, lazing on the beach and eating and drinking in the bars and restaurants until it is time to get the ferry home, but like most islands there is plenty more to do for the more active. On the beaches you can rent kayaks and snorkelling equipment, or you could go on a more organised snorkelling or diving trip and even arrange to go swimming with dolphins.

If watersports aren’t your thing but you still want to do something then you might like to rent a golf buggy (the most popular way to get about) and go exploring, see the island at your own pace. There is plenty to see for the nature lover including a visit to the Turtle farm on Sac Bajo ( a beach and artificial reef).

Isla Mujeres does not have to be a day trip destination you can stay on the island for the duration at one of the hotels on the island. These hotels include

Casa de Los Suenos - A 10 bedroom luxury adult only boutique hotel
Cristalmar Resort & Beach Club - A 40 bedroom family hotel with its own private beach
Playa La Media Luna - A luxury hotel with 20 or so rooms on the northern tip of the island
Hotel Secreto - A 9 bedroom luxury boutique hotel
Ixchel Beach Hotel - A large 117 room luxury family hotel
La Villa Bella - A 6 bedroom adult only guest house on the Caribbean side beach front

To establish which is the best Caribbean Island for couples we have to narrow down the options to weed out those that are not suitable. You want an island specifically for couples, in reality there is no such thing as a Caribbean island for couples, all of the islands are inhabited, and that means families. So what we are really looking for is the islands or resorts that are best suited to couples. Are you looking for a romantic hideaway or just somewhere where there are no children, do you want to laze around on the beach all day or do you want action packed days to share with your partner?

Our search for the Best Caribbean Island for couples would start by coming up with a list of resorts that are adult only or couples only that we we are not going to be sharing yjr pool or beach with any children. Some resorts are described as adult only but in reality either just have an adults only section or consider the age of 14 upwards to be classed as adult. We have not considered thos in our final list. The following are our final list of adult only or couples only island resorts in the Caribbean

Antigua - Sandals Grand Antigua Resort & Spa
Bahamas - Sandals Royal Bahamian Spa Resort & Offshore Island
Barbados - Almond Beach Club & Spa
Dominican Republic - Excellence Punta Cana
- Barcello Dominican Beach, Playa Bavaro
- Blue Ray Villas Dorados, Puerto Plata
- Gran Bahia Ambar, Punta Cana
- Iberostar Grand Hotel Bavaro, Punta Cana
Jamaica - Sandals, Montego Bay
- Sandals Royal Caribbean Resort & Private Island, Montego Bay
- Iberostar Grand, St James
- Hedonism III, Runaway Bay
- Couples, Negril
- Couples Swept Away, Negril
- Sandals Negril Beach Resort & Spa
- Couples San Souci, Ocho Rios
- Couples Tower Isle, Ocho Rios
- Sandals Dunn’s River Villagio Golf Resort & Spa
- Sandals Grande Ocho Rios Beach & Villa Resort
- Sandals Whitehouse
St Lucia - Rendezvous, Castries
- Sandals Halcyon, Castries
- Sandals Regency La Toc Golf Resort & Spa, Castries
- Sandals Grande St Lucian Beach Resort & Spa, Gros Islet

From this we can see that there are only 7 locations on our final list that have adult only resorts. Remember we are searching for the best Caribbean island for couples, we can now narrow the list down a little. Jamaica and the Dominican Republic can be discounted as although they are beautiful locations they are large islands with large numbers of families staying in the resorts near to yours. We can probably discount Barbados and the Bahamas on similar grounds. So we are now down to the final two Antigua and St Lucia and to be honest it’s a very close call with virtually nothing between them either could be called the best Caribbean Island for couples, both are small enough to be intimate, exclusive enough to be the best and both have at least one adults only resort. So just maybe St Lucia wins with 4 adults only resorts to Antigua’s one.

A vacation break in Barbados does not always require a stay at a beach front gated resort complex, you could always try something a bit different, more basic maybe. We can’t all afford those all inclusive resorts either, in today’s economic climate maybe we need to tighten our belts a little but even so there are still affordable places to stay in Barbados. Yes, you get what you pay for but why not challenge yourself to a ‘real’ Barbados break, see the island as the residents do. Paying less and getting less could actually be more rewarding than you think. So lets have a little look at affordable guest houses in Barbados.

There is the See U Guest House, its not big but it looks great in a faded colonial plantation style with a ground floor and a first floor with sweeping veranda’s around the outside on both levels. It only has 7 rooms and they are a little basic but at the See U prices you could almost stay for a week for as much as some of the big resorts charge for a night. the See U is located at Bathsheba near to the Beach and the Andromeda Tropical Gardens.

How about High Holdings Guest House, Old Sharon, St Thomas, Barbados. This is a small award winning guest house set in tropical gardens with pool, sundeck and spacious bedrooms with air conditioning and ceiling fans and prices start from just $60 per person per night.

The Croton Inn at Christ Church, Barbados is a restaurant and bar with accomodation, rooms are available from as little as $35 per person per night. The Inn is on the South Coast of Barbados, just 15 minutes from the airport and 20 minutes away from Bridgetown and 5 minutes from the nearest beach. Also in Christ church you will find the Dolphin Inn a small 4 bedroom guest house 3 minutes walk from the beach with rooms from $45 per night.

On the west coast of Barbados you can find the Villa Marie Guest House 5 km from Bridgetown with tropical gardens and 200m from the beach and rooms from as little as $49, another west coast affordable guest house is Palm Paradise Guest House 8 miles from Bridgetown and a few minutes walk from Paynes Bay beach. All rooms at Palm Paradise are air conditioned. You can wake in the morning too see monkeys and humming birds at work. Rooms here are as low as $30 per person per night.

At Oistins on the South Coast there is the Alexandria just a short walk from the beach with rooms from $30 per night.